News
July 30, 2007
Poland opposes EU Commission order to halt trawling for cod
The Polish Fisheries Minister Rafal Wiechecki recommends the Polish government to take the European Commission to the European court of justice, after it ordered Poland to halt trawling for cod in the eastern Baltic Sea. On Monday 6 August the EU Commission ordered Poland to stop trawling for cod in the eastern Baltic Sea, after … Continued
July 26, 2007
European Commission wants to see higher fines for violation of EU fishing laws
Yesterday The European Commission announced that fishermen should face higher fines for infringements of fisheries rules under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). At present the violators are being punished to lightly in most EU member states, the Commission said. According to a report presented by the EU executive on Wednesday, infringements such as illegal fishing, … Continued
July 24, 2007
European Commission adopts hazardous subsidy regime
Joint comment by BirdLife International, the Fisheries Secretariat, Seas At Risk, the North Sea Foundation, Oceana and WWF on the adoption of the regulation on “de minimis” aid for the fishing sector by the European Commission. With today’s adoption of a regulation on “de minimis” aid, the European Commission has opened the door to fuel … Continued
July 10, 2007
Poland misreports catch figures for cod in the eastern Baltic Sea
On Monday the European Commission ordered Polish fishermen to stop trawling for cod in the eastern Baltic Sea. According to the commission, Poland has misreported its catch and exceeded its quota for 2007. Large differences between catch figures from Polish authorities and figures supplied by EU inspectors showed that Poland had now exhausted its entire … Continued
July 9, 2007
Environmental NGOs oppose proposed de minimis regulation
By the end of July the European Commission intends to adopt a regulation on de minimis aid in the fisheries sector. While allegedly intended to cut down on unnecessary bureaucracy, the proposed regulation would allow EU fishing enterprises to receive significant and potentially harmful subsidies. Under the new regulation, a fishing enterprise could receive up … Continued
June 14, 2007
Stricter control of eel trade ahead
Last week, the European Council agreed on joint management measures for European eel; now the world is also offering further protection through stricter regulation of international trade. Last Friday, the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) gave European eel further protection … Continued
June 12, 2007
EU decision on Baltic cod puts focus on illegal fishing
This morning, EU Fisheries Ministers agreed on a long-term management plan for Baltic Sea cod. This is a welcome development, but the state of the cod stocks calls for stronger measures. A European Commission proposal for a multi-annual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks (COM(2006)411) was … Continued
June 11, 2007
Management Plan for eel finally agreed
With only a few per cent left of the European eel population, EU Ministers finally agreed on a joint management plan today. The European Management plan on eel was proposed by the European Commission in October 2005, and has been debated off and on since then. Efforts to find agreement intensified early this year with … Continued
June 7, 2007
Eel is the hot topic all around
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has been drawing attention to the serious state of eel stocks for almost ten years and calling for measures to improve the situation, but without major effect. This week a listing of eel under CITES Appendix II is being negotiated and next week the European … Continued
April 24, 2007
Sargasso eels still elusive
The Danish Galathea 3 expedition spent nine days fishing for eels in the Sargasso Sea, hoping to solve the mystery of their reproduction. But the mystery remains. The area is like a biological desert according to ICES scientist Henrik Sparholt. The Galathea 3 expedition, initiated in August 2006, is the largest Danish research expedition in … Continued