News
January 20, 2010
First six Swedish trawlers to go down
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
January 19, 2010
Damanaki hearing: Live on video link
The hearing of the Fisheries Commissioner-nominee Maria Damanaki in the European Parliament will take place on January 19, which is the last day of hearings. Ms. Damanaki, a former political prisoner under the Greek military junta in the 1970s, will share that session with Sweden’s present EU Minister Cecilia Malmström, who has been nominated for … Continued
January 12, 2010
Pressure is rising to end fish poaching in Poland
In Poland fish poaching is occurring at staggering rates, experts warn. Growing Problem There is no process in place to estimate the rate of illegal catches in Polish rivers, but according to the scientists from the Marine Fisheries Institute and Volunteer Fish Guards in the Western Pomeranian region in Poland, the rates are very high and … Continued
January 7, 2010
Irish scientists to listen to fishermen
A scientific study to take advantage of knowledge amassed by fishermen, not always on par with scientists’ outlook, is underway in Ireland. The study, performed by the newly formed Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit at the university in Galway, has been going on for more than a year, with individual fishermen being interviewed about the history … Continued
January 5, 2010
Used Christmas tree meaningful donation to fish
Obsolete Christmas trees may make excellent habitats for fish, according to a government fisheries biologist in Florida. A good idea is to tie a few trees together for density and anchor them between 1.5–3 metres below the surface. “You’ve got dense cover, which is going to bring in small bait fish because they can hide … Continued
December 29, 2009
UK on CFP: … not just yet …
In its official response to the Commission’s Green Paper, The British Government stresses regionalisation and “greater flexibility” on its wish list for the 2012 CFP. The UK response, however, does not go as far as the Scottish earlier contention that the Common Fisheries Policy should be scrapped. The British vote in the Council is a … Continued
December 29, 2009
Fish eat soybeans at farms
An experiment in Ohio may point to a solution of aquaculture’s biggest sustainability problem, the fact that farmed fish need a much bigger quantity of fish for food. Scientists at Ohio State University are exploring the possibility to use soybean oil and soy-based fishmeal as an alternative to pure fishmeal and fish oil. If successful, … Continued
December 29, 2009
Scotland on CFP: Let it sink
The Scottish Government, administering the lion’s share of UK fisheries, says the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union should be scrapped, not reformed. In a response to the Commission’s Green Paper published last spring, it stated that “even if Scotland remains part of the CFP, then powers must be returned to Member States to … Continued
December 22, 2009
Catch shares help – to a degree, US study finds
The most comprehensive US study so far on the pros and cons of catch shares finds that the system leads to more consistent fisheries, but does not necessarily imply healthier or more abundant fish stocks. This management system, where Total Allowable Catches (TACs) are divided between and allocated to fishermen or fishermen’s collectives, is the … Continued
December 17, 2009
Bad fishing threatens centruries-old liberties
Overfishing and destructive fishing methods may be forcing an end to the 400-year-old freedom of the high seas. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1983 put on paper the 17th-century concept of the freedom of the seas. That principle, the high seas today usually comprising waters outside 200 nautical miles … Continued