Iceland blocked consensus for swift action to curtail the destruction of high seas ecosystems at the United Nations in New York. After it was clear that a moratorium for deep sea bottom trawling could not be reached, UN fisheries negotiators tried to find a compromise. They were looking at text which would have offered immediate … Continued
In spite of scientific advice from ICES that deep water fish such as orange roughy, blue ling and deep water shark fisheries should be closed immediately, EU Ministers in the Council agreed on 21 November on relatively modest reductions in TACs (Total Allowable Catches) for 2007 and 2008, aiming at a final phase-out by 2010/11. … Continued
NEAFC, the intergovernmental commission responsible for managing deep-water fishing in the North East Atlantic, made some progress on improving the protection of deep-water fish and corals last week. However it failed to deliver some much needed tougher decisions to protect deep-sea biodiversity. The proposal to close the fishery on the highly vulnerable stocks of Orange … Continued
On Wednesday scientists warned that deep-sea bottom trawling is destroying seamounts teeming with marine life, causing irreparable damage to ecosystems. The report will be presented at the UN General Assembly on Friday where negotiations will resume on the issue of a high seas bottom trawling moratorium. Over-exploitation of commercial species like cod and hake has … Continued
According to The Wave Newsletter, the Board of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has decided not to expand the current MSC ecolabel to include farmed seafood. At this week’s MSC Board meeting in Thailand, it was agreed that the MSC would not develop its current certification and ecolabelling scheme to cover farmed fish and shellfish … Continued
November 7, angling representatives from the Baltic countries met in Visby, Sweden. The meeting agreed on the joint statement: “The Baltic Sea in focus”. Every year, millions of people in the countries around the Baltic Sea fish for recreational purposes. Among large groups of people, sportfishing promote physical activity and contact with nature. Recreational angling … Continued
According to a report published in the current edition of Science, there is a risk of collapse of the world’s seafood populations by 2048 if current trends in destruction and overfishing continue. Scientific data going back to the 1960s and historical records of over thousand years reveal that marine biodiversity has declined dramatically, with 29% … Continued
The Council decided on the 24th October on the levels of TACs (Total Allowable Catch), the level of agreed fishing in the Baltic for 2007. The decision is a 10% reduction of the TAC for the eastern Cod stock (from 45 339 in 2006 to 40 805 tonnes in 2007) and a 5% reduction of … Continued
The Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council (RAC) is planning a conference on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Copenhagen in March 2007. The focus of the conference is to identify the actions needed to minimize IUU in the Baltic Sea. The conference aims to adress the relationship between catching capacity and the catching opportunities … Continued
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) released a report on October 20 on the status and perspectives of some of the most important Northeast Atlantic fish stocks. The 22 international scientists of the Advisory Committee on Fishery Management (ACFM) analysed the status of commercial fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic. The … Continued