» Fisheries



Oceana report records the extent of over-fishing of European stocks

Oceana reports, November 2016: In order to obtain a complete overview of fisheries in Europe, Oceana has commissioned the most comprehensive scientific report to date on the state of fish stocks in Europe and their potential productivity if managed in a sustainable way. The findings of this independent study confirm that only a minority of […]

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EU provides £6 million to study challenges to fishing in the Irish Sea

ITV News reports, 6th March 2017: More than £6m in EU funding is being given to researchers investigating the risks posed by climate change to the sustainability of fish stocks in the Irish Sea. Two projects are to be carried out in a bid to help protect and develop marine life and fishing industries in […]

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Scottish salmon farming said to be in a sea lice “crisis”

BBC News Scotland reports, 14th February 2017: Marine Harvest, the largest producer of Scottish salmon, says it is losing around 1,500 tonnes of fish per year, out of nearly 40,000 tonnes produced. As consumer demand for fish increases, the price has soared to record levels in recent months. That is expected to feed through to […]

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Proposals for a “mega” salmon farm in Scotland arouse concern

The Herald (Scotland) reports, 5th February 2017: Secret and lucrative plans for the world’s biggest salmon farm around Orkney or Shetland would “abjectly” fail pollution limits and make “fools” of Scotland’s environmental watchdog, according to internal documents seen by the Sunday Herald. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has been privately considering proposals for a […]

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Sustainable tuna fishing in the Pacific can lead to fish food security, says WWF

Dermot O’Gorman, CEO of WWF Australia, writes in The Guardian, 15th February 2016: There has never been a more urgent time for seafood businesses and fishing nations to make a commitment to sustainability. The world’s oceans are in trouble, with marine life plummeting and the people who are dependent on the sea for income and […]

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EU to regulate EU fishing operations outside of EU waters

Oceana reports, 2nd February 2017: The EU has one of the largest fishing fleets operating around the world, and its activities represent 28% of total EU catches. The European Parliament has voted on the European Commission’s proposal to sustainably manage the activities of the EU’s fishing fleet operating outside European Union waters. EU fishing vessels […]

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Fish production and processing has become “globalised”

Yahoo News.com reports, 16th January 2017: That smoked salmon you bought for the New Year’s festivities has a story to tell. The salmon may have been raised in Scotland — but it probably began life as roe in Norway. Harvested at a coastal farm, the fish may have been sent to Poland to be smoked. […]

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A Proposal for Sustainable Salmon Farming, replacing present practices

James Merryweather, scottishsalmonthinktank.net, has published an analysis of present salmon fish farming practices along with reform proposals to place salmon fish farming on a sustainable basis. We provide here material from his website.   FISH FARMS (a review of net-cage salmon farming in Scotland) When I first started to investigate salmon farming in Scotland (and Canada, […]

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Scottish fishing discard rules “not enforced”, says WWF

BBC News reports, 27th January 2017: The ban on discards in the fishing industry is being undermined because it is not being effectively policed, WWF Scotland has warned. The number of Scottish boats carrying cameras — which monitor the fish being caught — has halved since the scheme was introduced. New species were added to […]

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Co-op supermarket to sell only sustainably sourced tuna

The Independent reports, 26th January 2017: The Co-op is cracking down on the supply and sale of unethically sourced tuna, holding some of its biggest brands to account. The high street retailer has said that it had imposed a deadline of the end of the year by which all of the tuna it sells, including […]

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True level of global fishing 50% greater than figures being reported, say scientists

The Blue Marine Foundation reports, 16th January 2017: The Zoological Society of London and the Turing Institute, along with the Blue Marine Foundation, co-hosted a lecture by Professor Daniel Pauly and Dr Dirk Zeller in London on 12th January 2017.  Professor Pauly and Dr Zeller from the University of British Columbia were presenting the findings […]

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50% or more of shark and ray species in the Mediterranean now endangered

Mongabay.com reports, 6th December 2016: More than 50 percent of the sharks and rays native to the Mediterranean Sea are at a high risk of extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced Monday. The major driver of their decline is over-fishing, researchers say. In the 2016 regional assessment of the Mediterranean Sea, […]

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Single Pacific bluefin tuna sold for £½ million at auction, as stock nears extinction

The Guardian reports, 5th January 2017: A bluefin tuna has fetched 74.2m yen (£517,000) at the first auction of the year at Tsukiji market in Tokyo, amid warnings that decades of over-fishing by Japan and other countries is taking the species to the brink of extinction. The 212kg fish, caught off the coast of Oma […]

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New fish stocks join CFP discard ban

Worldfishing.net reports, 2nd January 2017: UK fisheries minister George Eustice announced on New Year’s Day that the latest phase of the discard ban for demersaldemersal Living on the seabed species has now come into force. According to DEFRA, the landing obligation — otherwise known as the discard ban — has been gradually introduced to allow […]

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ClientEarth researches enforcement of CFP Rules in England by MMO and IFCAs

The EU has a control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy — this is Council Regulation (EC) No. 1224/2009. This is known in UK law as the “Control Regulation”, and is an essential management instrument to ensure that the CFP’s rules are being observed by fishermen and enforced by […]

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Weak enforcement is undermining the Common Fisheries Policy, says ClientEarth

ClientEarth reports, 9th December 2016: EU fisheries law is not being properly enforced and fines for illegal fishing are rare. When fines are given, they are very low — in some regions, the average is as little as €288. This is undermining efforts to end over-fishing. ClientEarth’s new report, which focuses on England, the Republic […]

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Marine Management Organisation publishes rules of catching of Bass

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has published guidance, 30th December 2016 on the rules governing the catching of sea bass. These rules read as follows (note: rules are for 2016, but also apply to 2017): If you are a commercial or recreational fisherman for bass you will need to comply with the new rules for: […]

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UK Government publishes its perspective on 2017 fishing quotas

The UK Government (Defra) has published, 14th December 2016, its perspective on the 2017 CFP agreement for UK fishing quotas: The UK government achieved agreements supporting UK fishermen and sustainable fishing at the annual EU talks on fishing quotas. Increased fishing quotas for some valuable species have been agreed at December EU Fisheries Council today, […]

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House of Lords publishes Report on Fisheries and Brexit

The House of Lords Committee on the European Union has published a report, 17th December 2016, on how it sees the issues which will determine the future for UK fisheries following Brexit. The Summary of this Report reads: The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has not always been successful in achieving its objectives of managing a mobile […]

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Scottish salmon farming “fighting a losing battle” against sea lice

The Aberdeen press and Journal reports, 2nd January 2016: “Campaigners have warned that Scottish salmon farming is “fighting a losing battle” against chemically resistant sea lice. It follows the revelation that the use of toxic chemicals to fight sea lice on salmon farms has soared by almost 1,000% in the past decade. According to official […]

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