In a letter to leading WWF members, more than 70 environmental and human right groups are protesting the World Wildlife Fund’s plans to launch a certification label for aquaculture products. Claiming that the WWF rejects invitations to discuss the issue with representatives of affected communities in six different aquaculture regions across the world, the letter … Continued
The EESC, a consultative body within the EU structure, has urged the Commission to press for reform of the fisheries control system without waiting for the debate on a new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2010. At a plenary session in May, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted an opinion which stressed the urgent … Continued
In an information drive accompanying the debate leading up to a new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2012, the European Commission has published a free User’s guide to the CFP. The guide, published in English, French and German, can be downloaded from the Internet, but also ordered from the EU bookshop.
”OK – but caution!”, is the new WWF advise to Scandinavian customers lusting for cod from the East Baltic stock. In the fifth edition of the Swedish WWF Fish Guide, published simultaneously with similar local guides in Finland, Denmark and Norway, the red-listing was changed for the first time ever for the Eastern stock, while … Continued
Catch quotas have consistently been set at levels too high for the fish stocks to sustain, the European Commission noted as it released a consultation document outlining its views on how to set fishing possibilities in EU waters for 2010. In a press release, the Commission points out that slow progress has been made in … Continued
If ocean temperatures rise, stocks of northern shrimp could be seriously affected, a study published in the Science Magazine shows. The international team of scientists found that, on average, northern shrimp eggs hatched in time with the spring phytoplankton bloom, the main food source for its larvae. The mating time of the species in the … Continued
A group of Polish stakeholders has met for the second time to agree on the working methods of an expert group composed of different interests. The aim of the project is to improve dialogue but also to come up with joint, workable solutions for the future Polish fisheries policy. On 6 May, a meeting was … Continued
A new wave of media attention surrounding the situation of the still WWF-blacklisted Baltic cod has rolled over Sweden, a nation where consumers have been more eager than in any other European country to follow the WWF recommendations. The first round of debate followed the EU Council’s decision last October to raise TACs (Total Allowable … Continued
Successful actions to save Poland’s “Green lungs” and to stop that nation from becoming “the Trojan horse of genetic engineering” were highlighted as most memorable feats as the Greenpeace Polish branch recently celebrated its 5th anniversary. Much has changed within the scope of environmental work in Poland since Greenpeace’s official opening there on 19 April … Continued
The EU Commission’s recent action plan for the threatened shark stocks was “welcomed” by the Union Fisheries ministers at Thursday’s Council meeting, the Council conclusions supporting the idea to implement some elements of the plan “without delay”. The Ministers commended the plan “particularly in the light of the need to urgently enhance further actions oriented … Continued