News
October 5, 2005
A New Way to Manage North Sea Fisheries
A plan to manage North Sea fisheries as a whole ecosystem and encourage greater stakeholder participation was unveiled at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) science conference in Aberdeen, 20-24 September. The draft Fisheries Ecosystem Plan (FEP) seeks to manage North Sea fisheries in a more sustainable and inclusive way. Rather … Continued
August 24, 2005
Summit explores African fish supply crisis
African leaders, development organizations and fisheries experts are meeting in Nigeria this week to discuss the importance of fisheries and aquaculture for Africa’s development and explore ways of improving fish supplies. The Fish for All Summit, being held in Abuja, Nigeria 22-25 August has been organized by the Secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa’s … Continued
August 23, 2005
Steady stream of interest in MSC certification
Despite controversy over some high profile fisheries, the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) environmental standard for sustainable fisheries has seen a steady flow of interest in the past few years and plans to extend its global reach. Steady stream of interest in MSC certification In March 2000, Thames Herring and Western Australian Rock Lobster became the … Continued
August 15, 2005
Commission delays draft Marine Directive
As part of a wider EU Marine Strategy, a proposal for a directive to protect the marine environment has been prepared by DG Environment and was discussed by the Commission in June. The proposed directive follows a Communication from the Commission in 2002, “Towards a strategy to protect and conserve the marine environment” (COM 2002/539), … Continued
June 28, 2005
First meeting to establish a Baltic Sea RAC
On June 22, interested stakeholders met for the first time to discuss the establishment of a Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council (RAC). The new regional advisory bodies on fisheries are being established all around the EU after the CFP reform in 2002 and the Council’s Decision in July 2004 (2004/585/EC). The meeting held in Copenhagen … Continued
June 16, 2005
Closure of North Sea sandeel fishery expected
The European Commission is expected to announce the closure of the North Sea sandeel fishery this month. The Commission’s Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries recommended an immediate closure of the fishery for the rest of the year, to conserve depleted sandeel stocks. The Commission will for the first time either close or scale … Continued
June 14, 2005
UNICPOLOS fails to recommend a moratorium on bottom trawling
The United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (UNICPOLOS) again failed to recommend a moratorium on bottom trawling at their sixth meeting, held in New York, 6-11 June. Despite support from several countries, the move to recommend a global moratorium was blocked by the EU and Iceland. Support … Continued
June 13, 2005
Removing cod has major repercussions for marine ecosystems
The collapse of cod stocks in the northwest Atlantic during the 1980s and 1990s has had a major impact on the entire ecosystem of the Scotian Shelf, off Nova Scotia in Canada. The results of a new study, which analysed abundances of fish, seals, invertebrates and plankton from 1960 to the present day, show that … Continued
May 20, 2005
First proposal for Marine Bill to be discussed in the UK
A draft Marine Bill is to be discussed in the new session of the UK Parliament, which opened on 17 May. Environmental groups have welcomed the move and are urging the government to press ahead so that a full bill can be introduced quickly. The Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of UK environmental NGOs, … Continued