International & Trade

Several environmental organizations — Greenpeace, Oceana, Pew Environment Group and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – are calling for a strict control of bluefin tuna fishing, farming, export and import processes.

In addition, the closure of the purse seine fisheries is requested until bluefin tuna recovers, as well as to control industrial overfishing in tuna-fattening farms.

Furthermore, Greenpeace calls for the creation of a sanctuary for bluefin tuna in the south of the Balearic Islands, beyond 12 miles, as a spawning ground.

According to Celia Ojeda, responsible for the oceans in that NGO, this area is the most heavily exploited by Spanish vessels fishing for bluefin tuna.

Read the complete story from FIS Worldnews.

 

 

 

 

 

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Eastern Canadian fishermen have won a court-ordered review of taxes paid on fishing licence buyouts in a long-fought judgment that accuses the Canada Revenue Agency of unfair treatment.

The Federal Court ruling was cause for celebration in hundreds of outports in Newfoundland and Labrador, and along Quebec's north shore, where more than 750 fishermen say they were gouged.

"They paid their taxes in 2000," said their lawyer, Eli Baker. "They've been waiting all the way up to now to finally hear that a judge agrees with us.

In a bluntly worded ruling, Judge Elizabeth Heneghan says the Canada Revenue Agency's Newfoundland and Labrador tax director, Wade Hiscock, "breached the applicant's right to procedural fairness" when he declined to review the case.

Read the complete story by Sue Bailey of The Canadian Press at Google.

 

 

 

 

 

Lady Gaga's lobster hat is among the aquatic-inspired gladrags in a show that aims to raise awareness of overfishing.

When Lady Gaga wore a crystal-encrusted lobster hat last year, crustacean chic was seen as the height of fashion frivolity. Now, thanks to a new exhibition, ocean-inspired designs have been unexpectedly invested with serious meaning.

The Washed Up exhibition uses marine-inspired vintage and haute couture designs to highlight the potentially disastrous impact of overfishing in the world's oceans. The installation forms part of Project Ocean, a five-week programme of events at Selfridges in London. The department store is working with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) to raise awareness of the plight of marine life.

Read the complete story from The Guardian.

 

 

 

 

 

Fishing vessels are to be given long term quota shares guaranteed for periods of up to 15 years under radical proposals to reform the European Union Common Fisheries Policy.

The move, already adopted by countries like Iceland, was hinted at earlier this year, but they now appear to be confirmed in a European Commission draft, a copy of which was obtained by the BBC last night.

Environmental groups are already describing it as a virtual privatisation of the fishing grounds and some aspects are almost certain to attract criticism from fishing interests as well.

The full details will be published in July, but what is certain is that the practice of discards, much hated by fishermen and much criticised by environmentalists, will be outlawed.

Read the complete story from Fish Update.

 

 

 

 

 

Today, Mission Blue, Oceana and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) delivered a letter to President Obama calling for renewed U.S. leadership at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to end subsidies that contribute to overfishing.

In the letter, 77 prominent environmental leaders and groups, including conservation organizations Oceana and WWF, marine scientists Dr. Sylvia Earle and Dr. Daniel Pauly, and celebrity activists Leonardo DiCaprio, Chevy Chase and Darryl Hannah wrote, “The United States has played a strong role across successive administrations, to achieve new rules for fisheries subsidies at the WTO. Recent developments at the WTO may threaten to derail years of progress towards a successful result. We urge you at this important juncture to send clear and public signals that a genuine ‘win’ on fisheries subsidies remains a critical priority for the United States at the WTO.”

Citing government subsidies as one of the most important causes of the worldwide crisis of overfishing, the letter’s signatories highlighted the urgency and importance of reaching an agreement in the ongoing negotiations at the WTO.

“Now is the time to demonstrate that the WTO is an institution capable of achieving major environmental improvements for the global community. We urge you and your administration to demand a strong and timely fisheries agreement in any deal produced from the Doha Round,” continued the letter.

Read the complete story from Oceana.

 

 

 

 

 

In Monday’s paper, Elisabeth Rosenthal writes about efforts to make tilapia farming more sustainable. Americans consume 475 million tons of that fish a year, and careless aquaculture can damage the environment.

One commonly overlooked aspect is limiting waste, producing less garbage. A fish farm in Honduras, which is being evaluated for a sustainability certification by the newly formed Aquaculture Stewardship Council, has found a number of masterful solutions.

Aquafinca, a farm owned by Regal Springs Tilapia of Brandenton, Fla., puts every part of its farmed tilapia to use. Nothing is discarded.

Read the complete story from The New York Times.

 

 

 

 

 

BARBATE, Spain—The season for an ancient and spectacular tuna-fishing technique has begun off Spain's southwest coast, and fishermen fear it could soon disappear if fleets of factory ships elsewhere keep overfishing prized Atlantic bluefin tuna.

In the method the Spanish called "almadraba," fishermen stretch maze-like nets from sandy beaches to catch the bluefin, a practice that dates from when Phoenician traders sailed to these shores 1,000 years before the birth of Christ.

This laborious harvest, which includes lifting nets heaving with fish onto ships, is timed to coincide with annual migrations by tuna from the Atlantic to lay eggs in warm Mediterranean waters.

Most environmental groups say the almadraba technique does not represent a serious threat to the survival of bluefin tuna, but they agree overfishing by fleets of factory ships in international waters needs to be cut drastically to save the species.

Read the complete story from The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TONGOY, Chile — Thousands of miles from the shores of Japan across the Pacific Ocean, Chilean shellfish farmers are facing an uncertain future after a giant wave traveled the seas and washed away their scallop beds.

"I don't think I can carry on. Too much has been lost. I had all the scallops I could wish for, and now, look," said fisherman Patricio, shaking his head in despair.

Despite the wave's 17,000-kilometer journey from Japan, the strength of the wave remained very real here, packing enough force to toss aside blocks of concrete weighing nearly a tonne. It was under these blocks that the Tongoy fishermen hung their nets holding the scallops in their fan-shaped shells until the shellfish reach maturity, a lengthy, time-consuming two-year process.

"Never did I imagine that this would cause so much damage," said Tongoy shellfish farmer Eduardo Briones. "We thought the wave would die out before reaching us, or that it would be a small wave."

Read the complete story by The AFP at Google.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GENEVA – A new study suggests that more than 40 fish species in the Mediterranean could vanish in the next few years.

The study released Tuesday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature says almost half of the species of sharks and rays in the Mediterranean and at least 12 species of bony fish are threatened with extinction due to overfishing, pollution and the loss of habitat.

Commercial catches of bluefin tuna, sea bass, hake and dusky grouper are particularly threatened, said the study by the Swiss-based IUCN, an environmental network of 1,000 groups in 160 nations.

"The Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic population of the Atlantic bluefin tuna is of particular concern," said Kent Carpenter, IUCN's global marine species assessment coordinator.

He cited a steep drop in the giant fish's reproductive capacity due to four decades of intensive overfishing. Japanese diners consume 80 percent of the Atlantic and Pacific bluefins caught and the two tuna species are especially prized by sushi lovers.

Read the complete story by The Associated Press at Yahoo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Officials of Northern Fishermen Cooperative Society Limited, Oceana Inc., Oceana in Belize and the Belize Bank today penned agreements that conclude six months of negotiations to buy out the last two Belizean trawlers as a part of a government-backed move to universally ban all forms of trawling—not just bottom trawling for shrimp—in Belizean waters.

The cooperative and Oceana signed a vessel purchase/sale agreement and a security agreement Wednesday afternoon. The parties also signed a separate loan/grant agreement with the Belize Bank.
 
Audrey Matura-Shepherd, vice president of Oceana in Belize, told the media that Oceana is giving $800,000 to the Northern Fishermen Cooperative — $650,000 to purchase the two trawlers and $150,000 to be retained by the Belize Bank.
 
According to the agreement, $100,000 is for micro-loans for fishers, and $50,000 is for disaster relief. The $650,000 goes to the Belize Bank, which had the trawlers held as collateral against the cooperative’s bank debt.

Read the complete story from Belize News.