Saving Seafood

Upcoming UN Report underlines huge stakes involved, achievable steps to realize 2030 goals and world’s 2050 vision for nature

February 21, 2020 — The following was released by the Convention on Biological Diversity:

The UN’s Global Biodiversity Outlook 5, to debut Mon. May 18, outlines a combination of achievable actions needed to protect nature, ecosystems and nature’s contributions to people, as it underlines the enormous stakes for humanity involved in the success of those efforts.

The report synthesizes comprehensive evidence of the urgent need for action as nations negotiate a 10-year global framework for biodiversity-related policy-making, and prescribes demonstrated pathways to reach new targets for nature to 2030, and the world’s previously-agreed vision for 2050: ‘Living in harmony with nature.’

The framework and targets will be considered at an historic UN Biodiversity Conference — the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), Kunming, China, Oct. 15-29.

GBO5 builds on a wide range of sources, including

  • Four previous GBO reports (2001, 2006, 2010, 2015)
  • Assessments by IPBES (the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), including 2019’s landmark Global Assessment, which referenced nearly 15,000 information sources
  • Recent research and indicators updated since the IPBES GA
  • 6th National Reports to the CBD from the Convention’s member Parties
  • Reports from international bodies, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and others
  • Plant Conservation Report (Global Strategy For Plant Conservation targets, 2011-2020)
  • Local Biodiversity Outlook (relating to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities)

GBO5 offers an integrated overview of the world’s achievements and shortfalls with respect to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (2010-2020), and draws the essential links between biodiversity and other key international objectives, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals), and the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

It examines causes of biodiversity and ecosystem change, the implications for people, and policy options based on programs worldwide that demonstrate successful approaches.

Says Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Director of the CBD:

“Over the past several months, the public in general and especially our youth have demonstrated unprecedented levels of concern about biodiversity loss and the state of nature. Behind these rising calls to halt the degradation of ecosystems and the loss of species and genetic diversity is a growing understanding of the severe threat these challenges pose to human well-being.”

“To succeed in protecting nature, and ourselves, we need knowledge of both the problems and solutions to reach people at every level, and to inspire the resolve to act. In this ‘super year for biodiversity,’ GBO5 represents an important milestone on the fateful road to COP15 in Kunming, China, October 15-29.”

Structure of the GBO5:

Roughly 100-pages, three sections:

Introduction: Recaps conclusions of GBO3 and GBO4, places biodiversity conservation and protection in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Climate Change Agreement

Biodiversity in 2020: Provides a ‘verdict’ on Aichi Biodiversity Targets, identifying shortcomings and areas of achievement and success; builds on the IPBES Global Assessment with recent research and updated indicators, illustrations from the 6th National Reports to the CBD, and a wide variety of additional sources

Transitions to a better future: Identifies a set of ambitious, interlinked and essential changes to reach sustainability; outlines key transitions required in land use, food systems, agriculture, fisheries, cities, climate action, and fresh water. Includes examples which, replicated, scaled up, and supported by economy-wide measures, would support progress toward the agreed vision: living in harmony with nature by 2050.

Expected impacts

GBO5 will:

  • Update the evidence-based knowledge base to inform policy making for the decade ahead
  • Demonstrate the close links and dependencies between meeting objectives for nature, climate change and other components of sustainable development.
  • Raise awareness of the importance of transformational multi-sectoral policies and governance structures, including the effects that policies and other indirect drivers have at a global scale and options to improve trans-regional policy-making

Audiences

GBO5 is presented with a wide audience of readers in mind, including government and business leaders, civil society groups, indigenous peoples and communities.

Timeline

2010: GBO3, evaluated progress against targets to 2010, informed a new decadal global framework and strategic plan

2014: GBO4, mid-term progress assessment

2020: GBO5, evaluates Aichi Targets (2010-2020), informs post-2020 global framework

Friday, 21 Feb., 09:30h US Eastern time: GBO5 “primer” released at outset of the 2nd meeting, Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (OEWG2020), Rome, Feb. 24-29. http://bit.ly/CBDMediaBriefing21-02-20

Mon. 18 May, 09:00h US Eastern Time (13:00 GMT / 14:00 in UK, 15:00 CET):
GBO5 news conference launch, CBD Secretariat, Montreal

Webcast: www.cbd.int/live

Media off-site will be able to submit questions

GBO5 accreditation: Media, NGOs

By accrediting you are agreeing to accept and abide by the date and time of the embargo that will be placed on the respective materials. This means you agree to neither publish, air, nor circulate any of these materials in any form prior to the embargo being lifted. You may approach third parties for comment during the embargo period but only if they agree, in turn, to abide by the same restrictions.

To apply, please:

Email: GBO5Accreditation@gmail.com
Subject line: Accredit GBO5

Specify online or site accreditation

Online: advance access (from Tues. 12 May) to GBO5 news release, full report, other media resources. Requires consent to a strict embargo: 09:00h US Eastern Time, Mon. 18 May.

Site: grants ‘online’ accreditation and access to the news conference

Please include the following information:

  • Organization
  • First Name
  • Surname
  • Gender
  • Country
  • Twitter ID
  • Email address
  • Telephone number
  • Mobile number
  • Position

Media are asked to attach a scan of a valid press card or letter of assignment on company stationery. If you do not have a press card (e.g. a regular blogger but not a formal media employee), please instead submit a recent sample of your work in a subject area related to the work of the CBD

California Considers Sport Crab Fishery for Action Relating to Whale Entanglement

April 19, 2019 — The California Fish and Game Commission is proactively working to avoid further whale entanglements — and further lawsuits.

On Wednesday the Commission approved the Marine Resources Committee to take up the issue of recreational crab fishing, and possibly other fixed gear fisheries, and its potential to entangle whales. The commercial fleet early on questioned why other fisheries, particularly sport fisheries, were not subject to the same scrutiny as the commercial sector.

The commercial season closed earlier this week, on April 15, as part of a settlement agreement between the Center for Biological Diversity, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, which intervened on the case.

CDFW Director Charlton “Chuck” Bonham said during the introduction that, despite a lot of the rhetoric, the increase in whale entanglements in 2015 and 2016 were examples of the real-life impacts of climate change. While the commercial crab season was delayed for months due to elevated levels of domoic acid, whales also ventured closer to shore in search of prey species. Both of those events were linked to warmer ocean waters.

Bonham said during the progression of the lawsuit, the department concluded the judge was likely to rule against the state. Had that happened, the court could have become a “special master” of the crab fishery, he said, and that inserting a federal judge in the management of the fishery wouldn’t make it any easier.

Thus, the state proceeded with settlement discussions between all three parties and began working with NOAA to establish a habitat conservation plan for the whales and get an incidental take permit for the fishery. The process could take up to two years. In the meantime, for some areas, particularly south of Mendocino County, the commercial fishery is scheduled to close on April 1.

The state also is accelerating its rulemaking activities relative to gear, furthering its gear retrieval program, restricting buoy and line configurations and furthering support for the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, Bonham said.

However, there’s also an equity issue, he said.

“It’s time to think about a refined approach to how we manage fixed gear in the water,” noting that recreational crab fishing could have similar issues with whale entanglements as the commercial crabbers have had.

PCFFA Executive Director supported the director’s comments.

“You can’t overstate the impact,” Oppenheim said of the effect on commercial fishermen and processors. “[It was] a seismic shock to our industry.”

The confidential nature of the settlement discussions did not allow any of the parties to discuss potential solutions with the broader fleet, leaving many crabbers frustrated when the agreement was finally disclosed. The fleet had less than a month to remove their gear from the water.

Oppenheim described the past few months as the worst period of his professional career, but it pales in comparison to the livelihoods of his members, he said. Many fishermen are losing the spring fishery on which they depend. Others had to delay their fishing seasons due to elevated levels of domoic acid, so the early closure only made things worse.

Now, recreational fishermen and other fixed gear fishermen may face the same quandary. Entanglements in other fisheries could have an impact on the settlement agreement.

Sport fishermen noted there are vast differences between commercial and sport crabbing gear and sport fishermen should not be subject to the same settlement agreement.

It’s manifestly unfair to apply that settlement on parties who had no representation to the discussion, said George Osborne, a lobbyist for the Coastside Fishing Club. Osborn said the club insists that any management measures on recreational crabbers be proportionate to the degree that anglers may be contributing to the whale and turtle entanglements.

Commission President Eric Sklar said the commission and managers recognize the differences between the fisheries.

The Marine Resources Committee will continue the discussion when it meets on July 11.

This article was republished with permission from SeafoodNews.com

CDFW, Center for Biological Diversity, PCFFA Agree to Whale Entanglement Settlement

March 28, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — In less than a month, California crabbers will have to pack in their crab pots and end their season, thanks to a settlement agreement filed in federal court Tuesday.

The legal settlement protects whales and sea turtles from entanglement in commercial Dungeness crab gear. The Center for Biological Diversity sued the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in October 2017 after a drastic increase in the number of whale entanglements off the West Coast.

In a joint statement between the Center, CDFW and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, who intervened in the lawsuit on behalf of the fishing industry, the entities said Californians will be pleased to know that Dungeness crab will be caught off the coast with greater care for endangered wildlife under the settlement. The early closure this year is just one of many stipulations in the settlement.

“As I’ve said many times, no one wants whale entanglements to happen,” CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham said in the press release. “This agreement represents hours of intense negotiation to help ensure they don’t happen while supporting the resiliency of the crab fishery in the long run. I am thankful for the leadership of the Center for Biological Diversity and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations who realized something needed to be done together.”

“This is great news for whales and sea turtles fighting extinction off California’s coast,” Kristen Monsell, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney, said in the statement. “The settlement will reduce serious threats from crab gear to these beautiful and highly endangered animals. This agreement is a turning point that gets us closer to zero entanglements and a healthy ocean.”

The settlement, subject to court approval, creates a comprehensive approach to the problem of whale entanglements. It expedites state regulation, ensures stakeholder input from the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group and formalizes a first-ever commitment by CDFW to pursue a federal permit for protecting endangered species. While these steps are executed, the settlement calls for this year’s crab season to end three months early and prescribes protective measures for future springtime fishing seasons, when the greatest number of whales are present off the California coast.

In November 2018, CDFW announced it would seek a federal permit under the Endangered Species Act to address protected species interactions with the crab fishery. Obtaining a permit and developing a conservation plan as part of that process can take years, so the settlement spells out interim protections.

“This settlement represents the path back to normality for California’s crab fishery with built-in protections for whales and crab fishing operations under the Endangered Species Act,” PCFFA Executive Director Noah Oppenheim said in the statement. “The past several years have been extraordinarily challenging for fishing families, and the actions we’re taking here are no exception. But in the end, we’re going to emerge together with a resilient, prosperous, and protective fishery that will continue to feed California and the nation.”

However, as word got out that crabbers would have to pull their gear soon, frustration and anger followed.

Bodega Bay crab fisherman Tony Anello was quoted in the Press-Democrat as saying, “It hurts. Guys like me, right now I want to fish to the end.”

Most of the crab season is over in the first few weeks after it opens. As the crab supply dwindles, ex-vessel prices frequently rise and some of the fishermen rely on the limited supply for small markets in the spring and summer.

Already many large processors have stopped buying crab and turned to other fisheries as the pink shrimp and salmon seasons are set to open soon.

Fishermen and processors in other states are still waiting to understand the full ramifications of the agreement. What it will mean for next year’s fishery, whether the Center may sue other states, how regulations will change are all in question right now.

For example, the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, started in 2015 in reaction to whale entanglements, has made progress, but apparently not enough to satisfy the Center. Kristin Monsell, the CBD attorney, was once a member of the Working Group at its inception, according to working group records, but CBD pulled out of the group later.

Like California’s working group, Oregon and Washington have developed similar entities to deal with entanglements. They too have representatives of sport and commercial fishermen, ENGOs, industry, marine mammal experts and state and federal managers.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Appeals court blocks another US gov’t effort to overcome Mexico gillnet import ban

November 30, 2018 — The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Wednesday shot down an effort by the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and other federal agencies to end a four-month-old ban on the import of Mexican shrimp and other seafood caught in the country with the use of gillnets.

The decision to reject a “stay of the order” request backs a US Court of International Trade (CIT) ruling, issued in July, that was sought by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Center for Biological Diversity and Animal Welfare Institute as part of an effort to protect the endangered vaquita porpoise in the northern Gulf of California from being driven into extinction by pressuring the Mexican government.

Widely decimated by the use of gillnets in pursuit of the totoaba — another endangered fish sought for its swim bladder due to black market demand in China — there are believed to be a little more than a dozen vaquita remaining.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Wildlife NGOs urge Canadian gov’t to expand right whale protection

November 5, 2018 — Wildlife protection groups, led by the Centre for Biological Diversity (CBD), have submitted recommendations to the Canadian government urging them to uphold and expand the existing protections for the North Atlantic right whale, a press release said.

The measures put in place this year to outlaw forms of entanglement fishing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence followed the news that 12 right whales had died in Canadian waters in 2017. The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) responded by closing key fishing areas in the gulf, including the entanglement-prone snow crab fishery.

Aside from the recommendation to expand the protected area, the letter also requested that all Atlantic Canadian fisheries have marked equipment, enabling the owners of entanglement gear to be identified; and make the transition from trap/pot fisheries to ropeless gear.

“The right whale population is plummeting as these incredible animals continue to get entangled in Canadian and US fishing gear,” said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the CBD.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News 

 

Center For Biological Diversity Takes Aim at California Dungeness Fishery With New Petition

November 15, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Center for Biological Diversity is attacking the California Dungeness Crab fishery again — this time under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

A petition, co-signed by the Turtle Island Restoration Network, asks the National Marine Fisheries Service to designate the California crab fishery as a Category 1 fishery under the Marine Mammal Protection Act because of its rising injuries to humpback, blue, killer and gray whales, the Center said in a press release. Moving the fishery into the top category of concern would prioritize state and federal resources to help protect whales along the West Coast, the statement also said.

But the press release fails to note the petition itself goes much deeper. The Center focuses on the Central American breeding population of humpback whales — which feed primarily in California waters.

CBD cites an estimated average of 1.35 mortalities per year between 2011-2015. The Center also references the potential biological removal (PBR) of 0.8 in the stock assessment is below the estimated mortalities.

“This shows that the California Dungeness crab pot fishery – and not the
Oregon or Washington Dungeness crab pot fishery – primarily impacts the Central America [distinct population segment]. Without additional information, all interactions of the California Dungeness crab pot
fishery should be assigned to the Central America DPS,” the center says in the petition.

However, the years cited do not include the most recent seasons, when fewer whales were entangled.

Furthermore, the Center requests NOAA add blue whales; the offshore stock of killer whales; and the endangered Western North Pacific population of gray whales — of which three of seven tagged whales have been documented on the West Coast — to the list of marine mammals injured or killed in the California crab fishery.

A 2017-18 Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP) report, a pilot program put together by the California Dungeness Crab Fishing gear Working Group, identifies four priority factors that evaluate elevated risk of whale entanglements: crab season delay, forage/ocean conditions, whale concentrations and rate of entanglements. The report uses established data sources and the expertise of the working group members to determine entanglement risks.

The Working Group determined the whale concentration risk level is moderate; rate of entanglements risk is low; the chance of a season delay is low; and whale forage and ocean conditions risk level also is low.

The Central California crab season opened today, although some smaller vessels may be holding off for better weather.

“We are excited with the on-time opening of our local Dungeness crab season,” Angela Cincotta, with Alioto-Lazio Fish Company, said this morning. “We pray that all of our fishermen stay safe while the weather bats them about the sea. We are thankful for their commitment to our industry and their respect of the oceans.”

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.