With currently 140 laws and 20 agencies managing its oceans, US President Barack Obama has set out to draft a first comprehensive national policy within this area. Naming a high-level Ocean Policy Task Force, Obama’s intention was to create a “comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem-based” framework for sustainably using the resources of US oceans, coasts and the … Continued
The Swedish Riksdag (Parliament) has adopted a new law entitling fishermen to buy or sell individual fishing quotas. The new law applies to the pelagic segment, involving herring, sprat, mackerel, great sandeel, blue whiting and horse mackerel. From August 1 those fishermen concerned will be dealt individual annual quotas they can either use for fishing … Continued
A prize-winning journalist/author and novice politician behind a bestseller on the disastrous state of global fisheries has been elected to the European Parliament. Isabella Lövin, a safe bet for the Fisheries Committee, was elected after the Swedish Greens doubled its earlier single-mandate representation in the EU Parliament. Ms. Lövin, at the time a food columnist, … Continued
Active fisheries management for long-term sustainability, as a principle, is nothing new. It may be at least 12,000 years old. Finds off the California coast near Santa Barbara indicate that Channel Island settlers at that time developed a system for harvesting shellfish without endangering the stocks for future Stone Age generations. Researchers from the University … Continued
Researchers are pointing to a new, problematic, consequence of overfishing in the world’s oceans – jellyfish domination. Dr Anthony Richardson, an Australian marine biologist, says marine systems of the world run an acute risk of flipping over to being jellyfish dominated, and mentions Southeast Asia, the Black Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the North … Continued
Claiming that up to 300 catchers could be affected, fishermen in Ireland’s biggest river consider raising legal challenge to the country’s eel fishing ban. The Shannon Eel Fishermen’s Association has found support from both MP’s and, surprisingly, the Green Party’s deputy leader Mary White. The EU Fisheries Ministers last year called for the Member States … Continued
All but exhausted national quotas has led to a Board of Fisheries ban of all Swedish fisheries of cod in the North Sea and common sole in the Skagerrak, the Kattegat and the Baltic. The closure, due on June 15, will be enforced for the remainder of this year in all Union waters in the … Continued
With nearly 40 million practitioners, angling remains one of America’s dominating outdoor recreational activities, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) reports. US Anglers generate over $45 billion annually in retail sales with a $125 billion impact on the nation’s economy, creating employment for more than one million people, a press release from ASA, a trade association, … Continued
Setting environment first, the European Commission has published its much-awaited “Baltic Strategy”. The strategy, expected by its proponents to act as an example for similar regional approaches elsewhere in the Union, had been called for by the European Parliament and the EU Council in a conclusions document in December 2007. The Strategy, published in Brussels … Continued
As a response to Commissioner Joe Borg’s call for fundamental reform of the EU fisheries policy, an important NGO coalition has formed in Brussels to fight overfishing and “enhance human well-being”. OCEAN2012, coordinated by the Pew Environment Group, was founded by the Fisheries Secretariat, the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements, nef (new economics foundation), the Pew … Continued