News
January 26, 2011
Winter hardships for Swedish fishermen
The hard winter of 2010 resulted in an almost 30-year high in payouts to Swedish fishermen locked in by the ice, and this year’s situation does not appear to be easier on them, the Swedish Radio reports. Statistics from the Swedish Fishermen’s Association show that 6.2 million SEK (€693,000) was paid out from the organisation’s … Continued
January 20, 2011
BS RAC speaks up for greater selectivity
At a January meeting in Hamburg, the Baltic Sea RAC unanimously agreed that greater selectivity is the solution to cod discards in the region. The Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council (BS RAC) met to agree on a response to the Commission consultation on the eradication of discards in the Baltic Sea. Bycatch and discards in … Continued
January 20, 2011
Online survey
As part of a project evaluation, FISH and Seas At Risk have sent out a questionnaire to recipients of the extensive briefings we are offering to decision-makers and stakeholders prior to all EU Council meetings with fisheries issues on the agenda. If you are an online reader, please follow the link above and you will … Continued
January 19, 2011
UN announcing first global guidelines for discards
Fisheries experts from 35 nations under UN auspices have agreed on a proposal for reducing discards, a first in UN history. The global guidelines for bycatch management, drawn up at a meeting in December organised by FAO, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, will be up for endorsement as the FAO Committee on Fisheries meets … Continued
January 19, 2011
Reality of fishermen’s wives next on the telly
The US Production company behind reality shows such as ”Who Do You Think You Are”, “World’s Strictest Parents” and “It’s Me or The Dog” has sent out a casting call for its next presumed blockbuster: “Alaska Fishermen’s Wives”. The show, to be produced by Shed Media in Los Angeles and featured on Animal Planet, will … Continued
January 13, 2011
US IUU crack-down targets two EU nations
Italy and Portugal were among six nations that the US Government has reported to Congress for illegal fishing. The report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the federal agency whose responsibilities include fisheries, opens a process leading to direct consultations between the US Government and the six identified nations that have been reported … Continued
January 12, 2011
British celeb chefs to take on fishy business
With Gordon Ramsay confronting heavily armed Costa Rican gangsters/shark finners as a possible high point, Britain’s Channel 4 has enlisted a long line of the nation’s – and Europe’s – most famous celebrity chefs in a campaign to include sustainably fished fish only on menus. With television presenter/food writer Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall – who is … Continued
January 11, 2011
USA has ended overfishing, former gov’ment expert says
For the first time in a century there is no more overfishing in US waters, one of the nation’s top scientists claims. Steve Murawski, who recently retired as the chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service, refers to statistics and assessments that go back to 1900, adding that “as far … Continued
January 11, 2011
Report: Misleading labels common in UK stores
Major British retailers sell many fish products under misleading “eco-friendly” labels, a study by an influential NGO shows. ClientEarth, an organisation of lawyers specialising in environmental law based in London, Brussels and Warsaw, had been looking at products such as tinned tuna, haddock and cod, as well as farmed fish. Their report Environmental claims on supermarket … Continued
January 11, 2011
Co-management is best management, scientists find
Confirming the theories of 2009 Nobel Price winner Elinor Ostrom, a global study finds that community-based co-management between local fishermen and authorities is the most efficient management of the common resource. The study, headed by Nicolas Gutierrez of the University of Washington and published in Nature, found that the traditional top-down approach with central authorities … Continued