According to residents in nine Baltic countries, overfishing is one of the main problems and a significant majority saw it as necessary for professional fishermen to take action to improve the Baltic Sea environment. The BalticSurvey, conducted by international research network BalticSTERN, interviewed 9,000 people from the nine countries bordering the sea. In the survey, … Continued
Next year’s catch quotas in the Baltic Sea and tuna management, to be dealt with at the October Council meeting on 26 October, will be the first real test of the Member States’ commitment to prioritising long-term sustainability for fish stocks in this period of preparation for the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. The … Continued
Two organisations representing more than 100,000 anglers in Sweden and Finland have written to the EU Commission voicing “deep concern” over the “greatly lowered” number of spawning wild salmon returning to their rivers this summer. The letter, from the Swedish National Sport Fishing Association, the Finnish Federation for Recreational Fishing and a regional organisation of … Continued
Speaking to the European Parliament Fisheries Committee, Commissioner Maria Damanaki presented details in next year’s CFP work programme, but also took the opportunity to come out in strong support of strengthening the EU ban on some shark fishing practices. Asserting that she aims to present a Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform package to be adopted … Continued
Setting an example for EU member states managing sensitive marine ecosystems, Hong Kong has taken the first steps towards a total ban on all trawl fishing. In his policy address for 2010-2011, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang noted that “in recent years, Hong Kong’s marine environment has been affected by pollution and capture fisheries, … Continued
The Baltic network of the European Greens has issued a statement calling for NGO help in lobbying decision-makers and raising public awareness around marine issues. The Baltic Green Network published its statement on Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) Reform at a European Green Party (EGP) Council meeting in October. In order to increase public awareness of … Continued
With the decision on Baltic Sea quotas coming up at the October Council meeting, European anglers call on the Member States and the Commission to ensure more precautionary management of wild salmon stocks. Following their annual General Assembly in Helsinki on 28 August, the European Anglers Alliance has adopted a resolution on Baltic wild salmon … Continued
ICES revises advice for western Baltic herring after calculation error – up from -36 to -11 percent. The stock, however, is at an all time low and the revision of the advice will not result in any changes in the Commission proposal. ICES was forced to admit changes in its advice for fishing limits in … Continued
The EU Commission’s proposal for deep-sea TACs for 2011-2012 contained no raises, but environmentalists immediately condemned it for being far from enough. A press release from the Commission said that “no increases” in Total Allowable Catches (TACs) had been “granted” in EU waters and the North-East Atlantic “until positive trends in the abundance of deep-sea … Continued
Making ”The Ardoe Declaration” an instant fisheries-policies household word, four North Sea Fisheries ministers have come out strongly in a commitment to reduce discards. The ministers from Great Britain, Denmark and Norway met at Ardoe House in Aberdeen in early October, hosted by Scotland’s Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead. They were joined by Fisheries Commissioner Maria … Continued