News
February 24, 2011
Baltic Sea states, stakeholders, urge more flexibility in effort management
A Commission-hosted workshop with member states and stakeholders from around the Baltic Sea has ended in a joint call for the Commission’s top advisory body to explore possible ways of introducing flexibility into the current effort management system, without increasing fishing mortality or realised fishing effort. The request was addressed to the Scientific, Technical and … Continued
February 22, 2011
New study highlights upset ecosystems in world oceans
Even though many, at first sight, would prefer sardines on the table to sharks in the water, the decline of predator fish in the oceans has led to an excess of smaller species that seriously threatens the ecological balance, scientists say. A new study, presented recently at the American Association for the Advancement of Science … Continued
February 22, 2011
Mediterranean small-scalers launch network
Representing a majority of fishing jobs around the Mediterranean, artisanal fishermen from four nations have launched a common platform to promote more sustainable fisheries. Small-scale fishermen from France, Greece, Italy and Spain had gathered in the port of Arenys de Mar in Catalonia, Spain, to stake out common ground in light of the upcoming reform … Continued
February 21, 2011
EU Council prolongs Morocco contract
A last-minute campaign in the February Fisheries Council failed to stop an extension of the controversial EU-Morocco agreement. Only Sweden, Denmark and the UK voted against. Under that agreement, the European Union has paid Morocco €144 million over the last four years to fish Moroccan waters, primarily by Spanish fleets. Much of those fisheries are … Continued
February 18, 2011
Morocco agreement: Council next
An extension of the European Union’s controversial fishing agreement with Morocco came one step closer as the member states’ EU ambassadors voted to send the proposal to a final vote among the fisheries ministers on Monday. A last-ditch effort to stop the proposal in Coreper, the ambassadors’ assembly, failed as some nations with many votes, … Continued
February 17, 2011
Ban plan in Bothnian Sea
To protect a dwindling whitefish stock, the Swedish Board of Fisheries is planning to establish a non-fishing zone in the southern Bothnian Sea. The Board considers the lavaret or common whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) as important for both professional fishermen and anglers. Historically, this fishery has been particularly widespread in the Bothnian Bay where catches have … Continued
February 16, 2011
US boosts up aquaculture effort
With almost half of all seafood consumed in the US stemming from aquaculture, but very little farmed domestically, the US Government has proposed its first aquaculture policy. Citing growing interest in seafood’s health benefits, as well as increasing consumer concern about how fish is produced, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published guidelines with … Continued
February 10, 2011
Reports: COM will OK extension of Morocco agreement
The EU Commission, running over its Fisheries Commissioner, is set to propose a one-year extension of the controversial fisheries agreement with Morocco, according to news reports. At focus for the controversy is Morocco’s occupation since 1975 of Western Sahara, off which coast much of that fishing takes place. An agreement between the EU and Morocco … Continued
February 10, 2011
The (very) goods and (very) bads of aquaculture
While a new fact booklet from the industry – with forewords by both FAO and WWF – claims that aquaculture will “feed the world” by 2050, a giant global campaign against “Big aquaculture” has been launched which compares the harms of salmon farming to those of smoking. Issuing a report later this month headlined “Smoke … Continued
February 9, 2011
WWF in hot seat over fish guide un-listing
The WWF’s un-listing, under threat, of a popular Vietnamese farmed fish has provoked a heated debate in Sweden – the WWF claiming that in exchange it reached a strong agreement for that industry to clean up its business. Reporters from the Swedish public radio “Matens pris” (The Price of Food) program had visited Vietnamese Iridescent … Continued