The Japanese Fisheries minister, representing three quarters of the global bluefin tuna consumption, has come out strongly against a trade ban on the threatened species, common in sushi. A meeting of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha, Qatar, on 13-25 March will decide on a proposed inclusion … Continued
Reduced herring quotas are forcing the last US remaining sardine cannery to close down, its parent company has announced. The Stinson Seafood cannery in Prospect, Maine, employing some 130 people, will cease operations on April 18 after having been around for more than a century. Referring to lowered catch quotas for herring in American waters, … Continued
The EU Commission has followed suite after the European Parliament decision to support a trade ban on bluefin tuna, saying that it will now search out Member States to reach a common EU position for the CITES meeting in March. The conference of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) … Continued
Adding insult to injury – Canada won 8-0 – North American environmentalists staged a protest demonstration outside the Olympic Canada-Norway hockey game – against Norwegian aquaculture. Aiming their protest primarily against the Oslo-based Marine Harvest, the world’s dominant salmon farming company, the activist claimed the industry practice to be “tremendously destructive” to the environment. The … Continued
A Swedish Public investigation on how best to manage fish resources and the marine environment proposes a new, integrated Government agency and it looks set to end up in Gothenburg. It remains unclear, however, whether the Agriculture or Environment Minister will be representing Sweden in the Fisheries Council. Over the last few months, the Swedish … Continued
The WWF has announced a new collaboration with one of America’s largest food retailers towards sustainably sourcing the retailer’s wild-caught seafood. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) noted in a press release that fishing is the principal livelihood for over 200 million people around the world and the primary source of protein for about 950 million … Continued
In Gothenburg, it was a week of fish and fisheries. For three days everything from capture fisheries and control to cooking for kids was covered. It concluded with the Swedish Seafood Award presented, at the Gothenburg Opera, to ex-commissioner Joe Borg and the Namibian Fisheries Minister. This year, the Swedish Seafood Award – Kungsfenan – … Continued
The European Parliament has voted in favour of adopting a resolution in support of a ban on the trading blue fin tuna. Support from the European institutions of a ban will likely further pressure the inclusion CITES, the largest global wildlife conservation agreement. Support for the bluefin tuna ban comes with a few conditions, most … Continued
Ministers should not be the ones to set quotas, says a Swedish bestseller-writer-turned-member of the EP Fisheries Committee. Interviewed by the IPS news service, Isabella Lövin added that she supported long-term management plans to replace “the kind of circus, where everyone tries to grab the biggest bit of the cake every December”. Ms. Lövin, the … Continued
The fish that may have inspired the Old-Mariner myth of the Sea Serpent has been caught on film for probably the first time, swimming, literally, back and forth. The oarfish, with a potential of becoming more than 17 metres long, was filmed on a depth of more than 1,500 metres below an oil rig in … Continued