News
December 29, 2009
Fish eat soybeans at farms
An experiment in Ohio may point to a solution of aquaculture’s biggest sustainability problem, the fact that farmed fish need a much bigger quantity of fish for food. Scientists at Ohio State University are exploring the possibility to use soybean oil and soy-based fishmeal as an alternative to pure fishmeal and fish oil. If successful, … Continued
December 29, 2009
Scotland on CFP: Let it sink
The Scottish Government, administering the lion’s share of UK fisheries, says the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union should be scrapped, not reformed. In a response to the Commission’s Green Paper published last spring, it stated that “even if Scotland remains part of the CFP, then powers must be returned to Member States to … Continued
December 22, 2009
Catch shares help – to a degree, US study finds
The most comprehensive US study so far on the pros and cons of catch shares finds that the system leads to more consistent fisheries, but does not necessarily imply healthier or more abundant fish stocks. This management system, where Total Allowable Catches (TACs) are divided between and allocated to fishermen or fishermen’s collectives, is the … Continued
December 17, 2009
Bad fishing threatens centruries-old liberties
Overfishing and destructive fishing methods may be forcing an end to the 400-year-old freedom of the high seas. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1983 put on paper the 17th-century concept of the freedom of the seas. That principle, the high seas today usually comprising waters outside 200 nautical miles … Continued
December 17, 2009
US stakes on ITQs
The US government agency responsible for fisheries is speeding up efforts to halt overfishing to fill demands set up by Congress, goals generally much more ambitious than EU policy. The focus lies mostly on enforcing a system of Individually Transferable Quotas (ITQs), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA) recently announced that it is … Continued
December 17, 2009
Best practices spun in Warsaw workshop
Strategies for improving the next Common Fisheries policy were drawn up at Warsaw workshop in December arranged by FISH. The Best Practice Workshop, with some 30 participants, had three main objectives: To provide successful ideas and methods for how to create change in fisheries policy by working in collaboration with others. To provide strategies to … Continued
December 16, 2009
EU Council reopens anchovy, rejects cod closures
Strong opposition from Spain in the EU Council forced a decision to reopen the Bay of Biscay anchovy fisheries “temporarily”. The decision will take force on January 1. A Council press release after the prolonged deliberations said that the Bay of Biscay anchovy fisheries “will be subject to a later adjustment in accordance with a … Continued
December 10, 2009
December Council forgets about Norway
The breakdown in negotiations EU-Norway will mean that 2010 TACs set at the upcoming December Council meeting will be for EU vessels only, while the total outtake will be subject to a likely agreement next year. Catch quotas for 2010 are to be set for a large number of stocks at the meeting, the last … Continued
December 9, 2009
Collapsed talks EU-Norway
A conflict over the interpretation of a 1994 mackerel agreement has caused a breakdown in the talks between the European Union and Norway on the 2010 TACs. Reporting on the breakdown, the European Voice news organisation said a new agreement is now unlikely until next year. The EU Commission declined to comment on the halted … Continued
December 9, 2009
CSI: Sharks
DNA tracing may be a way to fight the sharkfin soup threat to that endangered species. The practice of “finning” – cutting off the fins of sharks to meet a dramatically growing Asian demand, then often throwing the fish back into the water, where it sinks to the bottom, unable to move and therefore to … Continued