While better management of industrial fisheries has been the focus from international institutions such as the FAO of late, this cannot be at the expense of dealing with overcapacity in small-scale fleets, a leading academic said at a recent Stockholm seminar. Moreover, Professor Robert Pomeroy argued that the challenges of managing overcapacity in small-scale fisheries … Continued
Proclaiming new Swedish partnerships, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced that it will open a local office in Stockholm. In an unrelated development, a producers organisation declared that they are seeking MSC certification for their North Atlantic mackerel fishery. MSC, the BalticSea 2020 Foundation and the Swedish Postcode Lottery have agreed to work together to … Continued
The EU Commission still awaits more detailed information from Morocco on where proceeds go from fisheries off occupied Western Sahara, but Commissioner Maria Damanaki underlines that, according to the Commission, some activities do benefit the people there. Ms. Damanaki’s statement was made in response to a question from Isabella Lövin, a Swedish Green member of … Continued
Banning industrial fishing in an area twice the size of the UK, Great Britain is creating the world’s largest marine reserve in the Indian Ocean. The 545,000-sq-km reserve, or Marine Protected Area (MPA), around the Chagos Islands, regarded as one of the world’s richest marine ecosystems, hosts the world’s biggest living coral structure, the Great … Continued
FISH, along with OCEAN2012 and WWF, recently organised and hosted a screening of the fisheries documentary, “The End of the Line”, followed by a panel discussion between representatives from different sectors of the fishing debate. The film screening intended to raise awareness and disseminate information regarding the dire plight of fisheries and the continuous destruction … Continued
British women in fisheries management can now benefit from a €500-plus training program aimed at supporting women in male-dominated industries. The training grant is available through Lantra’s Women and Work programme, Lantra being the Sector Skills Council for environmental and land-based industries, working with 17 industries across the whole of the United Kingdom. The £450 … Continued
Some fishermen in Norway’s dominating fishing district of Lofoten are threatening to block an upcoming seismic survey they claim is threatening their fisheries. Others have accepted an offer of financial compensation in return for remaining in harbour while the tests by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate are carried out in their region. By law, the fishermen have first … Continued
A new report shows a clear link between overfishing and EU subsidies. The study, released by Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management, a consulting firm, and the Pew Environment Group, shows how between 2000-2006 ten member states were handed 93 percent of €4.9billion in fisheries subsidies. “Of the funding analysed, 29 percent went to measures that would … Continued
EU’s fisheries ministers turned down Italy’s request to their March Council meeting for more time to implement technical measures prescribed by a regulation from 2006. The Italian move had been supported by Cyprus and Spain, but Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki reminded the ministers that the member states have had three years to implement the rules … Continued
After the rejection of a proposal to ban international trade in the Atlantic bluefin tuna, some experts now say that its southern cousin is even closer to extinction. The Atlantic bluefin stock, for which all protective measures were voted down at the CITES meeting in Doha, Qatar, in March, has decreased by about three quarters … Continued