News

January 5, 2011

New Study: MPAs help fish stocks far away

A recent study has proven that creating Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) can have a positive effect on spawning, though drifting larvae, for stocks more than 150 kilometres away. “We already know that marine reserves will grow larger fish and some of them will leave that specific area, what we call spillover – now we’ve clearly … Continued


January 5, 2011

Swedish fishermen may get, not bigger, but longer TACs

Sweden’s 50 trawlers with license to catch cod in the Baltic will have their quotas allotted for a whole year, the Board of Fisheries has proposed. After gradually stepping up the given period from what used to be a week to a quarter-year in 2010, the Board now hopes that rations for a full year … Continued


December 30, 2010

Global fishing running out of waters

Reaching a turning point in a historic era of expansion, the world’s fishing industry ten years ago basically ran out of new places to fish, a new study shows. So far, fishing vessels have been able to solve the problem by continually moving to less depleted waters, the researchers say, but warn that we are … Continued


December 28, 2010

We just want our share, Iceland says

Responding to the first EU moves to lock Icelandic fishermen out from Union ports over the mackerel conflict, Iceland angrily accused the EU and Norway of “overfishing” the disputed stock. Pressing for an understanding of his country’s view, Iceland’s chief mackerel negotiator Tomas H. Heidar pointed out that out of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) … Continued


December 28, 2010

Sweden talks tough on eel

The Swedish Board of Fisheries has decided on new tough measures to protect the waning eel, including a total fishing ban along the west coast in 2012, and increased minimum length in the Baltic Sea and freshwater areas. A study published recently by the agency found that eel removal from Swedish waters had gone down … Continued


December 28, 2010

Happy meal for Scottish salmon farmers

Worth almost 600 million euros, and with 70 percent of businesses involved saying that they want to grow “sustainably” over the next five years, Scotland’s salmon farming industry is seeing no recession about. Announcing that the sector had created 234 new jobs in 2010, the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO) said that was good news … Continued


December 27, 2010

EU flexing muscles in mackerel conflict

Just a week after crucial talks on mackerel quotas broke down, EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki has taken the first step in blocking Icelandic fishing vessels from landing catches in Union ports. According to the British Daily Mail newspaper, Maria Damanaki has made a formal request to the European Economic Area (EEA) to meet before … Continued


December 27, 2010

Extended ban on eel exports

Moves by powerful forces to circumvent the European Union’s ban on eel exports to third nations, particularly the Asian market which offers exorbitant prices, have been finally averted – for at least a year. Just days before the glass eel fishing season was to begin on 1 November, the EU Commission issued a “clarification” establishing … Continued


December 23, 2010

Carp in Ice is nice

Actresses Magdalena Rózczka and Julia Pietrucha, along with chef Robert Maklowicz, will join Klub Gaja as celebrity ambassadors in this year’s “Carp is still alive” campaign to stop pre-Christmas cruelty to this popular holiday treat in Poland. “Carp is still alive” is one of the oldest consumer targeted campaigns of Klub Gaja, an environmental organization … Continued


December 19, 2010

FISH Workshop: Thinking out of the box on affecting public opinion

To put work on fisheries issues in perspective in Poland, and to learn from other examples, FISH organised a December Best Practice Workshop “Hitting the wall: how to affect public opinion on adversarial issues” at the Sea Fisheries Institute (MIR) in Gdynia, Poland. The workshop was attended by 23 people, representing 17 Polish NGO groups. … Continued