International & Trade

Last week’s long awaited European Commission proposal to overhaul the bloc’s policy on fisheries is being criticised by environmentalists and some parliamentarians for failing to do enough to address sustainability issues. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform proposal – over a year in the making – contains provisions to reduce harvests of the most over-exploited stocks, stop discarding bycatch,  and fix quotas for fish stocks on multi-year basis.

Brussels has acknowledged for years that the current system is unsustainable and had requested input from an array of stakeholders to help shape the new rules.

“The Commission underlines that our current policy does not work anymore,” said Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanki at a 20 July press conference. “We cannot afford business as usual.”

Read the complete story from ICTSD.

 

 

 

 

BEIJING – As ConocoPhillips and China's ocean watchdog try to control the spread of oil leaks in a gulf of the Yellow Sea, fishers in North China's Hebei province are complaining that the disaster has caused the death of a large number of scallops. BEIJING – As ConocoPhillips and China's ocean watchdog try to control the spread of oil leaks in a gulf of the Yellow Sea, fishers in North China's Hebei province are complaining that the disaster has caused the death of a large number of scallops.

"Because of the leak, about 70 percent of the scallops seedlings in Laoting county (Hebei province) have been found dead since late June, and the total economic loss for the local fishing industry is expected to reach 350 million yuan ($54 million)," Yang Jizhen, chairman of the Laoting fisheries association, told China Daily on Monday.

The recent oil leak in Bohai Bay was first discovered on June 4 and a subsequent one was learned of on 17. Both originated from the bay's Penglai 19-3 oilfield.

Read the complete story from China Daily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMIT COUNTY — More than 50 countries have taken a small step to combat unreported, unregulated and illegal fishing that is decimating numerous species of commercially important species like tuna. Illegal fishing results in $23 billion in economic losses each year.

Better enforcement of fishing regulations, together with ound science and effective management are essential to the sustainability of these wide-ranging species that are highly valued in commercial and recreational fisheries.

“Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing undermines the sustainability of fisheries and the ability of fishermen who abide by the rules to make a decent living,” NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a press release. “Sharing information on IUU vessels across oceans will strengthen enforcement and prevent legal and sustainable fishing operations from being disadvantaged in the global marketplace.”

Under the agreement, nations that make up the five regional fishery management organizations managing highly migratory species in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans and adjacent seas will share information about illegal fishing vessels. Regional fishery management rules require their member nations to prevent illegal fishing in their regions. Sharing information  across regions means vessels previously listed in only one region would have more difficulty avoiding detection by moving to another region.

 

Read the complete story

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 15, 2011 – The United States joined more than 50 countries Thursday in a recommendation to regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) to better track vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for tunas, swordfish, sharks and other highly migratory species. Annual global economic losses due to IUU fishing are estimated to be as high as $23 billion.

This action is a first step toward procedures for sharing information about vessels engaged in IUU fishing. Global cooperation to prevent IUU fishing coupled with sound science and effective management are essential to the sustainability of these wide-ranging species that are highly valued in commercial and recreational fisheries.

The recommendation means that the nations that make up the five regional fishery management organizations managing highly migratory species in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans and adjacent seas will share information about IUU vessels. RFMO rules require their member nations to prevent IUU fishing in their regions. Sharing information about IUU vessels across the RFMOs means an IUU vessel previously listed in only one region would have more difficulty avoiding detection by moving to another region.

“Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing undermines the sustainability of fisheries and the ability of fishermen who abide by the rules to make a decent living,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Sharing information on IUU vessels across oceans will strengthen enforcement and prevent legal and sustainable fishing operations from being disadvantaged in the global marketplace.”

This outcome was a key goal for the NOAA-led U.S. delegation to the third joint meeting of the world’s regional fisheries management organizations that manage tunas and other highly migratory species. This week’s meeting, known as Kobe III because it is the third in a series that began in Kobe, Japan in 2007, was hosted by NOAA in La Jolla, Calif.

 “I am pleased with the overall level of cooperation among participants. It has helped us make strides to coordinate measures that improve compliance with international fisheries management,” said Russell F. Smith, NOAA’s deputy assistant secretary for international fisheries, who chaired the meeting. “Now we must focus our efforts on meaningful, binding implementation of these measures within the five tuna regional fisheries management organizations.”

Delegates also recommended to RFMOs a set of decision-making principles designed to ensure all management measures are consistent with scientific advice. “The long-term sustainability of tunas and other highly migratory fish stocks depends on international cooperation and a strong commitment to follow the scientific advice when setting quotas and other measures,” said Eric Schwaab, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service, who headed the U.S. delegation.

Although recommendations and actions from the Kobe III meeting are not binding, this week’s agreements will inform negotiations for binding measures within each of the five regional tuna fishery management organizations.

Delegates from member countries to all five regional tuna fisheries management organizations participated in Kobe III. Representatives from industry, environmental non-governmental organizations, academia, and inter-governmental organizations were observers at the meeting.

The five tuna RFMOs are the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT). The United States is a member of ICCAT, IATTC, WCPFC, and is an observer at IOTC. These organizations are charged with coordinating scientific research and developing conservation and management measures for stocks of tunas and other tuna-like species that are caught in the same fisheries (e.g. swordfish, marlins, sailfish and some sharks.)

To learn more about Kobe, read Dr. Lubchenco’s opening remarks, see articles about participants and photos, go to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2011/07/kobeiii.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

The EU Commission has proposed major changes to the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), designed to cut waste and stop overfishing in European waters.

Under the plan, the existing system of fishing quotas – which often leads to tonnes of perfectly good fish being dumped at sea – will be reformed.

What is wrong with the existing system?

The European Commission says the current policy is wasteful – 75% of stocks are still overfished and catches are only a fraction of what they were 15-20 years ago. Catches of cod for example have declined by 70% in the last 10 years.

Read the complete Q&A from The BBC.

 

 

 

 

 

HALIFAX – July 11, 2011 – Local community members from St. Mary’s Bay and the Atlantic Salmon Federation today filed an appeal to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to oppose the creation of one of the province’s largest fish farms in the community’s traditional fishing grounds.

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Sterling Belliveau's approval in early June of two massive salmon feedlots received overwhelming opposition from local communities. The communities believe the feedlots, which will stock almost two million fish, will devastate their tourism and traditional fishing industries. The farms also threaten several endangered species, including the North Atlantic right whale, roseate tern, harlequin duck and wild Atlantic salmon.
 
“The appeal addresses whether the Minister had the constitutional jurisdiction to issue the licenses and whether it was reasonable for him to neglect communities concerns, gaps in the scientific evidence and socio-economic impacts," said Ecojustice lawyer Hugh Wilkins.
 
Ecojustice is representing the St. Mary’s Bay Coastal Alliance, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, Freeport Community Development Association and the Villages of Freeport, Tiverton and Westport. The groups are calling on the government to revoke the licenses and to put the interests of the local communities before the province’s aggressive aquaculture development plans.
 
“Families have been fishing lobster here for generations,” says David Pugh of the Village of Westport. “It is well-paying, sustainable work that supports our communities. The arrival of these salmon feedlots will put an end to that, displacing the lobster fishery with lower-paying, unskilled jobs.”
 
St. Mary's Bay is one of the richest lobster fishing grounds in the world and is being considered by Parks Canada as part of a significant new national marine conservation area.
 
“Evidence from similar feedlots in New Brunswick shows that they will significantly deteriorate the habitat for key commercially harvested fish and significantly displace and diminish the quality of the existing lobster fishery in the area," said Karen Crocker of the St. Mary’s Bay Coastal Alliance.
 
“The Minister completely ignored the many concerns and comments of the individuals, communities and groups most affected by this project”, said Andy Moir of the Freeport Community Development Association.
 
“The cumulative impacts of new and existing fish farms in the Bay of Fundy are adding up”, said Bill Taylor, president of the Atlantic Salmon Federation. “Without sufficient consideration of the impacts of all these operations on endangered species, like wild Atlantic salmon, the Minister’s decision was clearly unreasonable.” 
 
For more information, please contact:
 
Pierre Hamilton, communications associate | Ecojustice
416-368-7533 ext. 26
 
Sheldon Dixon, LFA 34 Lobster Fishermen | St. Mary's Bay Coastal Alliance
902-839-2830
 
Rikki Clements | St. Mary’s Bay Coastal Alliance
902-839-2255
 
Karen Crocker | St. Mary’s Bay Coastal Alliance
902-839-2923
 
Andy Moir | Freeport Community Development Association
902-839-2337
 
Sue Scott, vice-president communications | Atlantic Salmon Federation
506-529-1027

 

 

 

 

 

PARIS – July 13, 2011 – The European Union on Wednesday proposed a major overhaul of its fisheries policy, including the creation of a market in fishing rights.

But environmentalists said that the plan did not address the overcapacity of the bloated European fleet.

Maria Damanaki, the European Union’s commissioner for maritime affairs and fisheries, said in Brussels that the changes were needed because scientific models suggested that only eight of 136 fish stocks in European Union waters would be at sustainable levels in 2022 if no action were taken.

The aim is to secure both fish stocks and fishermen’s livelihood for the future while putting an end to overfishing and depletion of fish stocks, she said.

Read the complete story from The New York Times.

 

 

 

 

 

The European Commission has unveiled major plans to reform the EU's fishing industry and stop catches being wasted.

The proposal, due to take effect from 2013, would give fleets quota shares guaranteed for at least 15 years.

"Discards" will be phased out – the practice whereby up to half the catch of some fish is thrown back into the sea to avoid going above the quota.

The environmental group Oceana said the plan had "some positive" aspects but stronger measures were needed.

It called the plan "an incomplete work that does not provide the urgently needed strong solutions to restore European seas and ensure the long-term sustainability of fishing".

Read the complete story from BBC News.

 

 

 

 

 

MANILA, Philippines- A militant alliance of small fisherfolk groups is not receptive to the proposed creation of Department of Fisheries, asserting that government should first review and repeal the existing Philippine Fisheries Law of 1998 before jumping into a new venture that would be rendered useless and anti-Filipino by the 14 year old Fisheries Code.

“We suggest our lawmakers to first undertake a thorough review of the Fisheries Code of 1998, pursue the law’s repeal and work out its replacement by a progressive edict that would be responsive to the collective interest of 7 million people directly and indirectly dependent on fishing,” the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said in a press statement.

Lawmakers at the House of Representatives are pushing for the legislative approval of a bill creating the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources which would focus on conservation, development and use of the country’s marine resources.

Read the complete story from All Voices.

 

 

 

 

 

OFUNATO, Iwate — Young fishermen here have been trying hard to revive scallop farming, the main local industry that had thrived before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but land sinkage caused by the trembler is standing in the way of restarting their otherwise lucrative business.

The unloading area of the Koishihama fishing harbor that stretches about 70 meters sank about 70 centimeters, due to the magnitude-9.0 earthquake, and therefore the fishermen have been unable to unload hauls of scallops there. Atsushi Sasaki, the 40-year-old head of a youth group of the Ryori fisheries cooperative, said, "We really want at least some of it to be repaired."

In the Koishihama district of Ofunato, most of about the 30 households have been engaged in scallop farming. Sasaki and others tried to differentiate their scallops from their counterparts cultured elsewhere in and outside the prefecture and in 2003 named their scallops "Koishihama Scallops," or "Love Beach Scallops," a pun on the name of their district "Koishihama", which is literally written in Japanese as "Small Stone Beach". They then started to receive orders by telephone and to sell their scallops directly to consumers.

Read the complete story from The Mainichi Daily News.