The EU and Norway have finally struck a deal on 2010 TACs after lengthy negotiations, with Scotland, seeing itself as hardest-pressed EU member, expressing mixed reactions. The major dividing point when those annual negotiations collapsed last December was the interpretation of a 1994 mackerel agreement, where the EU had stopped Norwegian vessels from catching that … Continued
The European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee has adopted a report on CFP reform that admits that “ecological sustainability is the basic premise also for the economic and social future”, the report however immediately quashed by a key NGO as a “missed opportunity”. The report, based on compromise amendments agreed by rapporteur and political groups shortly before … Continued
Had fisheries management been sustainable, EU catches could have been 80 percent higher, scientists behind a new study say. Meanwhile, the study points out that maintaining or restoring fish stocks at levels that are capable of producing maximum sustainable yield is a legal obligation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea … Continued
A step towards certifying the Canadian sockeye salmon fishery has been another target for criticism of the MSC eco-labelling process. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of that fishery in British Columbia as ecologically sustainable is “corporate eco-fraud”, said Vicky Husband, a senior adviser to the Watershed Watch Salmon Society. “Its credibility will be lost to … Continued
The sad-looking blobfish has good reason for it: it swims about on great Australian depths on the verge of extinction. The fish, with an unfortunate name and an appearance appreciated by few but his mother, is living on depths below 800 metres, a habitat it has the bad fortune of sharing with crabs and lobsters, … Continued
A new platform, working-name ”Baltfish”, is emerging in the EU decision-making process. The conceived body, built around the Fisheries directors of those eight member states that surround the Baltic Sea, is budding from the EU Baltic Sea Strategy, launched as a pet project by the Swedish Presidency last fall. The Fisheries directors, intended to constitute … Continued
With a commitment to ”stick to” the Baltic cod management plan, and praising the Baltic Sea RAC cooperation as “excellent”, Fisheries Commissioner designate Maria Damanaki made an overall headstrong and competent impression in her European Parliament hearing. While holding forth the BS Regional Advisory Council as a good example of cooperation from the Commission’s perspective, … Continued
Pencil the date in your diaries: The week of June 8th will see the first European Fish Week, with events being held all across the continent. The instigator for this is OCEAN2012, a coalition of parties committed to actively participating in the 2012 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, whose goals are to stop overfishing, … Continued
Despite a recent storm of criticism from environmentalists and scientists, the WWF has found the MSC label better than any other certification system. The Marine Stewardship Council eco-labelling process has recently been questioned for its use of commercial consultants, paid by the industry. The study, commissioned by the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), compared … Continued
A total €1.78 millions have been granted to six Swedish West Coast trawlers to be scrapped, the first in a campaign aimed at a 50-percent reduction of the nation’s cod fleet in western waters by 2015. As the application period ran out last summer 45 vessels, equalling one third of the total Swedish capacity for … Continued