» Fisheries



Is the EU serious about regulating its long-distance fishing fleet?

Based on an Oceana news release, 10th December, Marinet reports: The EU is the largest seafood market in the world, importing more than 60% of the seafood it consumes. Over 15,000 vessels operate under the EU’s Fishing Authorisation Regulation, or FAR, to fish in non-EU waters, through various agreements such as access agreements between the […]

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NEF launches coastal economic regeneration project, titled “New Blue Deal”

The New Economics Foundation reports: On 24th November 2015, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) hosted a cross-party parliamentary briefing at the House of Commons about the Blue New Deal initiative. Thanks to Peter Aldous MP for Waveney, Suffolk, for making this possible. The Blue New Deal aims to deliver more and better jobs for coastal […]

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NEF: To end overfishing, EU Ministers should follow scientific advice

The New Economics Foundation reports, 9th December 2015: On the 14th and 15th of December, Ministers from EU Member States will meet to set Atlantic fishing quotas for 2016. These annual negotiations are extremely important for EU fisheries and Ministers have the opportunity to prevent overfishing and rebuild fish stocks in EU waters. Unfortunately, so […]

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C.O.A.S.T. struggles with the fishing industry’s view of the management for Scottish MPAs

The Community of Arran Seabed Trust (C.O.A.S.T.) reports in its November 2015 newsletter: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designed to protect marine species and habitats (many of which are also fish nursery grounds), while at the same time allowing nearly all of the marine activities which already occur in these areas to continue. They are […]

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Marinet Special – EU Fisheries in Crisis : Politicians are wilfully “breaking the law”

This Marinet Special looks at whether the EU countries and their Fisheries Ministers (The Fisheries Council) are complying with the legal requirements established by the 2014 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Prior to 2014 the CFP, administered by the Fisheries Minister and the EU Commission, was notorious for overfishing, and for setting catch […]

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GM salmon production and consumption approved by USA

The Guardian reports, 19th November 2015: The production and consumption of genetically engineered salmon has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, marking the first time that a genetically modified animal product has been cleared for sale in the US. The FDA said that it has approved the salmon, produced by Massachusetts-based firm AquaBounty […]

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GM salmon egg production in Canada to be challenged in the courts

The Guardian reports, 17th November 2015: Environmental groups are taking the Canadian government to court in an attempt to halt the production of genetically modified salmon eggs, claiming that the process risks a “huge live experiment” with the genetic make-up of all wild Atlantic salmon. A US firm has been granted permission to produce fertile […]

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Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, to petition Norway to end salmon farming

Indiegogo.com reports, November 2015: Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve near Tofino, British Columbia, is the Last Great Rainforest on Vancouver Island — world famous for monumental cedars, bears, wolves and whales. It is home to the Hesquiaht, Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations. Wild salmon are the lifeblood of these ancient forests and cultures, providing food and […]

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The new CFP must be “realistic and sustainable”, says Alain Cadec MEP

Alain Cadec MEP (France), chair of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee, writes in The Parliament Magazine, 19th October 2015: Two years ago, the EU adopted an in-depth reform of its common fisheries policy (CFP). The objective for all of us is the sustainable management of fisheries stocks. It is an essential condition for the competitiveness […]

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EU Ministers ignore scientific advice when setting 2016 Baltic fishing quotas

Oceana reports, 22nd October 2015: The Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the EU has reached an agreement on the 2016 total allowable catches (TAC) for the Baltic Sea fish stocks. Regretfully, just like the last year, European ministers have yet again decided to ignore scientific advice for cod, setting the fishing limits well above sustainable […]

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NEF launch economic action plan to regenerate coastal communities

New Economics Foundation (NEF) News Release, 22nd September 2015: UK seas already support over 750,000 jobs in coastal areas. Yet these communities are often some of the most deprived. Could healthier and more productive seas help provide for more and better jobs in the future? Coastal communities tend to fare worse than other UK regions […]

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Fishing closures are ineffective if the stock has already collapsed and is subject to by-catch

The University of Glasgow News reports 13th August 2015: Measures introduced over a decade ago to protect spawning cod in the Firth of Clyde were “too little, too late”, a new study finds. Data published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, showed no evidence that a seasonal closure of part of the Firth had […]

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94% of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) allow fishing

Mark Costello and Bill Ballantine report in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, September 2015: Conservation needs places where nature is left wild; but, only a quarter of coastal countries have no-take Marine Reserves. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been used to indicate conservation progress, but we found that 94% allow fishing and thus cannot protect […]

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North Sea cod leaves the “endangered” Red List

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) reports 24th September 2015: The iconic European cod fishery which collapsed in the 1980s and has been ailing ever since, has finally increased above dangerously low levels and hauled itself off the MCS Fish to Avoid list. As part of our autumn update to FishOnline (www.fishonline.org), North Sea cod is now rated 4 […]

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Scallop trawler convicted of illegal fishing in Lyme Bay SAC

The Bridport and Lyme Regis News reports, 10th September 2015: The master and owners of a fishing boat have been ordered to pay more than £12,000 after pleading guilty to illegal fishing in Lyme Bay. Leigh Shields and SRR Trawlers Ltd pleaded guilty at Torbay Magistrates Court to eight charges relating to a trip in […]

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Scottish fishermen alleged to be illegally scallop dredging in marine SAC

The Sunday Herald reports, 6th September 2015: Fishermen are facing prosecution for allegedly breaching a ban on scallop dredging designed to protect a wealth of seabed wildlife off the west coast of Scotland. The Scottish Government’s marine watchdog has seized dredging gear and submitted a report to the Procurator Fiscal accusing fishermen of illegally scraping […]

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B.A.S.S. seriously questions whether the EU’s sea bass protection measures are adequate

The Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society (B.A.S.S.) reports: After years of political deadlock, 2015 has been a watershed year for Sea Bass conservation.  With the help of considerable grass roots pressure from recreational anglers and conservationists across the EU, the EU Commission has succeeded in persuading the EU Member States to agree to a number of […]

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Scientific data says deep sea trawling is most unwise, both ecologically and economically

Nature.com reports, 27th August 2015: The first scientific evidence that trawling in waters deeper than 600 metres is ecologically damaging and provides poor economic return is reigniting debate about the controversial fishing practice. For years, European scientists, environmentalists, politicians and commercial fishermen have debated whether or how to limit deep-sea trawling, which critics say causes […]

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New Economics Foundation author explains the CFP, radio interview

We provide here, via audioboom.com, the transcript of a radio interview with Chris Williams, New Economics Foundation, which focuses on his assessment of the current mechanics and future operation of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, click here. Interview length: 23 minutes. Source: Audioboom.com, August 2015

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Sea Shepherd and Wick, Scotland, protest against Faroe Islands whale killings

The Guardian reports, 25th August 2015: Denmark’s autonomous Faroe Islands has announced that they had refused entry to a ship carrying 21 activists from the militant conservation group Sea Shepherd who were trying to disrupt traditional whale hunts. The territory’s government said in a statement that it had barred the ship, the Bob Barker, “with […]

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