International & Trade

Some overseas suppliers of frozen fish are shortchanging consumers by including ice when they calculate the weight of their products, government inspectors have found.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a warning to the industry, flagging this "fraudulent practice" involving frozen fish shipped in bulk containers and destined for Canadian stores and restaurants.

"CFIA inspection activities have determined that the weight of some imported frozen fish products include glaze [ice] as part of the declared net weight. This practice is unacceptable and in contravention of the Fish Inspection Regulations and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations," the industry notice states.

The border inspections began in mid-2009 after the agency fielded a trade complaint regarding unfair practices of some fish distributors. CFIA said Thursday it had accumulated enough evidence to issue the November notice to importers, which was sent to major suppliers overseas.

Read the complete story from the Vancouver Sun.

               

An international conservation conference in Paris made progress Saturday on protecting sharks but didn't do anything to save the Atlantic bluefin tuna, which has been severely overfished to feed the market for sushi in Japan, environmental groups said.

The commission agreed to cut the bluefin fishing quota in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from 13,500 to 12,900 metric tons annually – about a 4 percent reduction. It also agreed on measures to try to improve enforcement of quotas on bluefin, prized for its tender red meat.

The international commission banned fishermen from catching and retaining oceanic whitetip sharks. It voted to limit the catch of several types of hammerhead sharks and to require countries to keep data on shortfin mako sharks.

Delegates also decided that Atlantic fishermen will now be required to carry special gear to remove hooks from sea turtles.

Read the complete story by the AP at CBS News.

 

 

 

 

 

 

OCEANA, the world’s largest international ocean conservation organization, released a new report today that estimates that more than 1.3 million highly migratory sharks were caught in the Atlantic Ocean during 2008, without international fisheries management.

This estimate demonstrates the need for protections of highly migratory sharks at the 17th Special Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), currently underway in Paris, France.

“Sharks are the elephant in the room,” said Rebecca Greenberg, marine scientist at Oceana. “Too many sharks are being caught in the Atlantic Ocean for ICCAT to pretend there is not a problem. Many shark populations are in much worse shape than other fish species already managed by ICCAT.”

Read the complete story from Fish News EU.

 

 

 

 

 

The Isle of Man's 'scallop war' with Scotland has featured on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.

The dispute arose when the Manx government imposed a by-law preventing larger vessels fishing scallops in Manx waters, claiming they destroy stocks.

The Scottish fisheries minister has claimed there is no scientific background to this new by-law.

Listen to the program at The BBC.

 

 

 

 

 

BRUSSELS—France, Spain and other Mediterranean nations forced the European Union to retreat Thursday from an ambitious plan to save the threatened and prized bluefin tuna.

After drawn-out negotiations, the 27-nation EU abandoned a plan to seek cutbacks in fishing quotas based only on scientific advice and said Thursday it will now also consider the interests of tuna fishermen.

Representatives from 48 countries around the world are preparing to set fishing quotas for the Atlantic bluefin, whose tender red meat is popular in sushi in Japan. That meeting in Paris started Wednesday and continues through Nov. 27.

Read the complete story from The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

PARIS — The United States will push to further reduce fishing quotas for Atlantic bluefin tuna at a key multinational meeting, a senior official told AFP on Thursday.

The 48-member International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), convening in Paris through

ICCAT scientists calculate that extending the 2010 annual quota of 13,500 tonnes through 2013 would put the species on track for a 60-percent probability of reaching so-called "maximum sustainable yield" by 2022.

For Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a 60 percent chance of success is not good enough. "It needs to go further than that," she said.

Read the complete story by The AFP at Google.

 

 

 

 

 

The United States stands ready to partner with our colleagues around the table to ensure that ICCAT is perceived by the world as a management organization that is fully capable of and willing to use science-based measures that reflect precautionary and ecosystem approaches to management of highly migratory species in the Atlantic. In the end, ICCAT's actions are only as good as those of its members, whether in management proposals at ICCAT or their implementation in domestic fisheries. Now is the time for us to be leaders. We must be courageous in our decisions and rigorous in the way we go about implementing them.

In conclusion, let's remember why we are here: to protect the fish, the fishermen and associated businesses. Fishing puts food on our table. Fishing provides a livelihood for the brave few willing to go to sea each day to earn it. Fishing sustains a way of life that has endured for centuries, with knowledge passed on from one generation to another. Fishing defines who we are as individuals, communities and nations.
 
Today we have a choice to make:
 
Will we choose sustainability or status quo?
 
Will we continue down the path we are on, or chose a different direction?
 
I believe in a future where fishermen and fish thrive. The world is watching. The world is waiting.
 
Let's rise to the challenge.

PARIS – November 19, 2010 – Why are we here, in Paris, at the ICCAT meeting? Why am I here as Administrator of NOAA? And why is there now such keen international interest in this and other fisheries that heretofore have been the quiet province primarily of fishery managers? Why, indeed?
 
I believe the reasons are simple. (1) Fisheries are more important to food security, economic security, health, and national security than ever before. And (2) far too many fisheries around the world are in dire straits, with serious consequences for jobs, for communities, for biodiversity, for recreational opportunities, and for the healthy oceans upon which healthy fisheries depend.
 
For some of you here, fisheries are about food – food that provides the sole or primary source of protein for over a billion people each day. Fisheries are a food security issue.
 
Because there is increasing recognition of the health benefits of seafood, there is growing demand and burgeoning markets. Fisheries are an economic and trade issue.
 
For many here, fisheries are about jobs – jobs that require deep knowledge of the habits of elusive species, a willingness to take risks, and a deep respect for the dangers and vagaries of the ocean. For commercial fishermen there is the satisfaction of putting food on the tables of families, communities, and others. Recreational fishermen relish the pleasure of simply being out on the water with family or friends, and of testing their skills against a mighty fish. But both commercial and recreational fisheries create not only fishing jobs but additional employment, be it for ice supply, processing and distribution or for boats, tackle, gear and supplies. Either way, fisheries are a jobs issue, especially during tough economic times like the present.
 
For many here, fisheries are about protecting vulnerable species that are not targeted in fisheries, but get caught nonetheless, or protecting the important role that target species play in their ecosystems whether they are food for, or predators on, other species. Fisheries are a biodiversity and conservation issue.
 
For many here, fisheries are about protecting vulnerable species that are not targeted in fisheries, but get caught nonetheless, or protecting the important role that target species play in their ecosystems whether they are food for, or predators on, other species. Fisheries are a biodiversity and conservation issue.
 
With all these pressures on and demands for fish, is it any surprise that managing them for long-term sustainability has been a challenge? In the end, fisheries will be able to deliver this balance of benefits if and only if they are embedded in healthy oceans, managed with strong, science-based and precautionary measures, and characterized by effective compliance. It is this juggling that brings us here this week.
 
ICCAT as one of the oldest regional fishery management organizations, is now in the spotlight. ICCAT has a chance to show that it can learn from the past, balance the range of issues, and make tough decisions.
 
We are looking forward to a productive ICCAT meeting this year. We share an interest with other members of ICCAT in ensuring the sustainability of tunas, swordfish, billfish, and sharks, as well as protected species caught as by-catch in our fisheries. Critical stewardship decisions sit before us – decisions of consequence for the valuable highly migratory species of the Atlantic, their ecosystems, and the fishing communities that depend on healthy stocks. In that regard, the United States appreciates the hard work of the Standing Committee for Research and Statistics (SCRS) in conducting stock assessments and providing scientific advice to the Commission.
 
ICCAT member states have made marked progress in crafting recommendations that better reflect the science and the Convention's goal of long-term sustainability of the target stocks. Compliance with these measures has also improved, thanks to the decisive actions taken by ICCAT as well as by ICCAT's members. While this progress is commendable, much is still left to be accomplished, particularly to ensure that ICCAT management measures take full account of the impact to ecosystems by ICCAT fisheries and also take into consideration the uncertainty surrounding the stock assessment results.
 
Over the past year, SCRS scientists worked diligently to assess ICCAT stocks, including bluefin and bigeye tuna. While data reporting has been – and in some instance continues to be – a problem, the scientific analyses have been increasing in depth and rigor. The most important way for us to show our appreciation to our scientists is to carefully consider the results of their work, and most importantly, to heed their advice.
 
Thanks to the Kobe II Strategy Matrix and its application to newly assessed ICCAT stocks, we now can consider a range of possible management scenarios, taking into account the "known" uncertainties by determining an acceptable level of probability. Additional uncertainties are not quantifiable, however, and warrant a precautionary approach to ensure that management recommendations are sufficiently robust to accomplish our Convention objective.
 
Some of our challenges go beyond science. Foremost among these are the issues of compliance and allocation. We must build on the Compliance Committee's significant accomplishments at last year's meeting, and apply equitable and appropriate measures to address the concerns raised in the letters sent to members. We also must carefully review and candidly discuss new evidence of possible compliance issues, and be ready to take appropriate action. In considering the allocation of individual stocks, we must work together to make use of the principles laid out in the ICCAT allocation criteria. At the same time, we must ensure that resource access is conditioned on countries' commitment to the monitoring and wise stewardship of these resources, including provision of scientific data. Where appropriate, countries should be willing to assist developing states in ensuring capacity building designed for improved management and monitoring for the benefit of the stocks as well as the fishing communities.
 
The United States stands ready to partner with our colleagues around the table to ensure that ICCAT is perceived by the world as a management organization that is fully capable of and willing to use science-based measures that reflect precautionary and ecosystem approaches to management of highly migratory species in the Atlantic. In the end, ICCAT's actions are only as good as those of its members, whether in management proposals at ICCAT or their implementation in domestic fisheries. Now is the time for us to be leaders. We must be courageous in our decisions and rigorous in the way we go about implementing them.
 
Before closing, I would like to thank outgoing SCRS Chairman Dr. Jerry Scott for his outstanding service. His legacy to the work of this organization and beyond is clear; he has enhanced the level of work of SCRS and made the science SCRS produces more understandable to managers. The United States is grateful for all his efforts.
 
In conclusion, let's remember why we are here: to protect the fish, the fishermen and associated businesses. Fishing puts food on our table. Fishing provides a livelihood for the brave few willing to go to sea each day to earn it. Fishing sustains a way of life that has endured for centuries, with knowledge passed on from one generation to another. Fishing defines who we are as individuals, communities and nations.
 
Today we have a choice to make:
 
Will we choose sustainability or status quo?
 
Will we continue down the path we are on, or chose a different direction?
 
I believe in a future where fishermen and fish thrive. The world is watching. The world is waiting.
 
Let's rise to the challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARIS – Representatives from 48 countries are preparing to set fishing quotas for the Atlantic bluefin, which swims waters from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mediterranean and which conservation group WWF says is "on the brink of extinction."

Environmentalists are pressing for dramatic cuts to the current annual quota of 13,500 metric tons in the Mediterranean, where they say fraud and overfishing is rampant. Some are even demanding a suspension of bluefin fishing entirely at the meeting, which runs until Nov. 27.

Conservationists say the tracking system is full of holes and that scientists don't have decent enough data to make an informed recommendation about what the quota should be.

Read the complete story by Angela Doland of the Associated Press at The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

Officials will gather for 10 days in Paris under the auspices of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, a regional fisheries management organization made up of 48 member governments. The commission has the task of apportioning the catch so as to give this prized sushi fish a chance to bounce back from overfishing.

Iccat’s own scientists warn that the bluefin is in danger of extinction, with the stock in serious decline on both sides of the Atlantic. They acknowledge that the commission has been ineffective in controlling overfishing: despite the ‘‘conservation’’ in its name, the commission usually has its efforts devolve into something resembling backroom deals to divide a shrinking pie.

For conservationists, fed up with the commission’s inability to arrest the bluefin’s catastrophic decline and stop widespread cheating by member nations, that means the organization should set the quota at zero. And they want spawning-ground sanctuaries in both the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Read the complete story from The New York Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oceana, the world’s largest international ocean conservation organization, has joined Greenpeace, WWF and PEW  in urging for stronger protection measures for bluefin tuna at the17th Special Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Paris, France.

Oceana is calling on ICCAT to implement the following protections for Atlantic bluefin tuna:

· Suspension of the industrial bluefin tuna fishery in the Eastern Atlantic and a total suspension of all bluefin fisheries in the Western Atlantic;

· Establishment of no-take zones in bluefin tuna spawning areas in the Mediterranean sea and the Gulf of Mexico; and

· Follow scientific advice to restore North Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks to sustainable levels, ensuring the positive outcome of the international agreements.

Read the story in full from Fish Update.