Observers drew parallels to the failed UN Climate meeting in Copenhagen and environmentalists declared the outcome a “tragedy of the oceans” as the CITES meeting in Doha ended with not one marine species proposed for protection being granted it. An Associated Press report wrapping up the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting … Continued
It appears a heated discussion between the European Parliament and the European Commission on co-decision procedures may result in the Commission withdrawing the proposed management plans for horse mackerel and anchovy. In recent discussions between the European Commission and the European Parliament, the proposed long-term management plans for anchovy and horse mackerel seems to have … Continued
At a meeting in the European Parliament, Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki emphasized the need for a radical reform of the CFP, continued efforts to reduce discards and the importance of the small-scale fisheries sector and “blue growth”. She also spoke of the importance of integration of different maritime sector policies, regionalisation and marine spatial planning. … Continued
The recent recovery of the Eastern Baltic cod stock was held forth as a success story, while fleet overcapacity was mentioned as a fundamental problem, as the Swedish Government handed over a major report on the windfalls of fisheries policy to the Riksdag (Parliament). The report, “An Account of Efforts in Fisheries Policy”, prepared by … Continued
The Alaska Board of Fisheries has come out in support of a state-wide ban on felt-soled wading boots, seen as a potential threat to the environment. Felt-soled boots are worn by fishermen in creeks and streams to improve footing on wet rocks. The felt stays wet longer and carries more river sediment than rubber boots, … Continued
Only one out of eight purportedly endangered shark species won protection at the ongoing UN CITES meeting in Doha, Qatar. The porbeagle sharks were included in Annex II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Annex II comprehends some 32,500 species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so … Continued
Several Swedish health store chains have halted sales of omega-3 pills after a TV magazine has showed that fish used for the capsules originates in occupied Western Sahara. An earlier program from “Uppdrag granskning” (“Mission: Under scrutiny”) had showed how the owner of one of Sweden’s largest fishing vessels had taken advantage of the newly … Continued
Since the Swedish allotted 2010 catch quota for shrimp in the Norwegian economic zone has all but been exhausted already, the Swedish Board of Fisheries has decided to stop those Fisheries from March 29. From March 30 no landings or transhipments of earlier catches in the Norwegian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the North Sea … Continued
For the first time since the era of the dinosaurs, there are now more species becoming extinct than new ones evolving, according to a British leading biodiversity expert. Simon Stuart, chair of the Species Survival Commission for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – the body which officially declares species threatened and … Continued
The UN meeting in Doha, Qatar, has voted down the proposal to ban international trade in bluefin tuna. The meeting on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is to consider measures to save a number of threatened species, including the bluefin tuna. A proposal to include the fish, a price ingredient in … Continued