Author: Dave Walsh

  • 21 NGOS write to EU Commissioner Vella asking for Closure of Adriatic Jabuka/Pomo Pit

    21 NGOS write to EU Commissioner Vella asking for Closure of Adriatic Jabuka/Pomo Pit

    ‘Overshoot day’ for over-exploited Adriatic Sea

    21 NGOS write to EU Commissioner Vella asking for Closure of Jabuka/Pomo Pit

    Rome, August 2, 2017:- August 2 was Earth Overshoot Day, the day of “over-exploitation of the Earth”, when our exploitation of natural resources exceeds what our planet can generate in one year. A day that unfortunately, arrives earlier every year.

    It was also overshoot Day for the resources of the Mediterranean Sea, and in particular the over-exploitation of the Adriatic : it is enough to think that Italy’s Fish Dependence Day (the day when a country uses up its share of fish and becomes dependent on the import of fish from abroad) fell on March 31, on a date earlier than previous years.

    In response, 21 NGOs representing thousands of citizens (including international, Italian, Greek, Croatian and Slovenian associations) have written to European Commissioner Vella asking him to close trawling in the Jabuka/Pomo Pit between Italy and Croatia, one of the most important areas for the reproduction of species of fish in the Adriatic, such as hake and Norway lobsters (scampi).

    Fishing in the Adriatic produces 50% of all Italian fishery products, but catches have collapsed by 21% between 2007 and 2015 from overfishing. In particular, hake has an over-exploitation rate five times higher than the sustainability limits, although catches have almost halved between 2006 and 2014. This is worse for scampi – catches by the Italian fleet have collapsed by 54% from 2009 to 2014.

    The current situation is a serious problem for the environment, but also for the economy and small-scale fishing, given that 75% of the marine resources are captured by 20% of the large industrial fishing vessels, while 80% of the small fishermen catch just 25% of the fish.

    “We ask for Commissioner Vella’s intervention in order to protect the Jabuka/Pomo Pit and to establish a Fishery Restricted Area (FRA)” said Domitilla Senni, CEO of MedReAct.

    In line with the scientific recommendations of international bodies, and with the commitment of the EU during the Convention on Biological Diversity to ensure the conservation of 10% of its coastal and marine areas by 2020, FRAs are essential for the protection of sensitive habitats – and the species that populate them – from overexploitation due to excessive fishing activity.

    In May this year, the Scientific Advisory Committee of the General Fisheries Commission of the Mediterranean (GFCM) validated the proposal for the establishment of a closed area for demersal fishing in the Jabuka/ Pomo Pit by MedReAct and the Adriatic Recovery Project. “We are now waiting” continued Senni, “for the European Commission to propose the establishment of an FRA for the Jabuka/Pomo Pit closed to bottom trawling and other demersal fisheries at the next GFCM Conference (Montenegro, 16-20 October 2017), according to the advice by the Scientific Advisory Committee”.

    The establishment of a closed trawl area in this area will also be the first test case for the European Commission in the implementation of the MedFish4Ever Declaration, adopted in March this year in Malta to recover Mediterranean fisheries.

    Letter from 21 NGOs to Commissioner Vella:
    https://tinyurl.com/y8y46s3d

    More information, contact:

    Domitilla Senni, +39 349 822 5483
    Medreact:https://medreact.org

    The Adriatic Recovery Project is an alliance of civil society organizations and research organizations to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems and the essential habitats for Adriatic fish species. The project is funded by Oceans5, supported by Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and coordinated by MedReAct – a non-governmental organization engaged in the recovery of Mediterranean marine ecosystems – in collaboration with Legambiente, Marevivo, Stanford University and the Maritime Polytechnic.

  • Undercurrent: NGOs call for onboard cameras to keep North Sea cod sustainable post-Brexit

    Undercurrent: NGOs call for onboard cameras to keep North Sea cod sustainable post-Brexit

    From Undercurrent:

    NGOs the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and Our Fish called for cameras to be installed on UK vessels to ensure North Sea cod, which attained Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) approval late on Tuesday, remains sustainable after the country’s exit from the European Union.

    The WWF praised the efforts of fishermen in getting the fishery MSC approved, which has seen the fish return to Waitrose’s fish counters after an 18-year absence, adding that now is the time to embrace new technology in onboard cameras.

    “The recovery of cod in the North Sea reflects what’s possible if fishermen work together with fisheries managers, scientists and the wider industry to recover fish stocks. However, the amount of North Sea cod at breeding age is well below late 1960s levels and recovery remains fragile,” Lyndsey Dodds, head of UK marine policy at WWF, said.

    “If we’re to get North Sea cod back on British plates for good, it’s vital that we don’t lose focus on sustainably managing fish stocks and ensuring the protection of the marine wildlife and habitats as the UK develops its post-Brexit fisheries policy,” said Dodds.

    “Embracing new technology and installing cameras on the UK fleet would be a highly cost-effective and efficient way to help manage and monitor cod catches, as well as the range of other fish also caught by these boats,” she said.

    “With North Sea cod set to hit UK supermarket shelves again, both retailers and the MSC must demonstrate to consumers that not only are these cod stocks sustainable, but that illegal discarding is not taking place in the fishery,” said Our Fish campaign manager Rebecca Hubbard.

    “Given the historically high levels of discarding in the North Sea cod fishery, fishing vessels should at least have onboard electronic monitoring to give assurance that no illegal and unreported discarding is taking place. Failure to implement such monitoring would not only undermine credibility in the fishery, it will undermine the progress made to revitalize the fishery itself,” she said.

    The reformed common fisheries policy introduced the landing obligation in December 2013, making it illegal for fishermen to throw away certain species at sea, and requiring that all catches are counted against their quotas.

    It has been phased in since 2015, and will be entirely implemented across European seas by 2019, with North Sea cod coming under the landing obligation this year.

    A report from the Scheveningen Control Experts Group highlighted the high risk of illegal discarding by the trawl sector, however.

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    Scientists say North Sea cod quota could go up 20,000t
    According to Hubbard, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) estimates that over 18,000 metric tons of North Sea cod could be discarded in 2018.

    “Failure to stop this discarding will threaten the success of improving fisheries, like North Sea cod, and introduce illegality into the seafood supply chain,” she said.

    ICES, however, recently gave a very positive outlook for stocks in the fishery.

    On June 30, ICES said the North Sea cod fishery could take an increase in quota of as much as 20,000t.

    According to the latest advice, “catches in 2018 should be no more” than 59,888t.

    In December 2016, the quota was set at 39,220t, an increase of 16.5% year-on-year. However, ICES had advised the quota could be as high as 47,431t for 2017.

    Continue Reading: NGOs call for onboard cameras to keep North Sea cod sustainable post-Brexit

  • Baltic Sea fishing fleets toying with access rights in quest to overfish Baltic Cod

    Baltic Sea fishing fleets toying with access rights in quest to overfish Baltic Cod

    Baltic Sea fishing fleets toying with access rights in quest to overfish Baltic Cod

    Copenhagen, 14 July 2017:– Responding to recommendations for 2018 fishing opportunities made by the Baltic Sea Advisory Council (BSAC), Our Fish Campaign manager Rebecca Hubbard said today that the German and Danish bottom trawling industry must stop trying to use obfuscation to shield scrutiny of its overfishing and its attempts to disenfranchise eastern Baltic countries of their fisheries rights.

    “Big fishing industry players from the  richer western countries of the EU, like Denmark and Germany, are not only threatening to decimate the Western Baltic Cod stock by setting fishing limits far above scientific advice, they are also threatening the eastern Baltic states’ access to fresh, locally caught fish and historic access rights, by adding eastern cod quota to the western quota”, said Hubbard.

    The Council of EU fisheries ministers set 2017 fishing limits for Western Baltic Cod stocks 352% higher than scientific advice, despite the fact that they were teetering on the edge of commercial collapse (1,2).

    The Baltic Sea Advisory Council, dominated by large scale fishing interests, is encouraging the same approach this year with their recommendations for a Total Allowable Catch of 8,597 tonnes – 62% higher than the upper recommended limit by International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). This includes an extra 3,000 tonnes under the auspices of eastern Baltic cod mixing in the western Baltic zones. The Latvian fishing association voted against this quota transfer in the Advisory Council (3,4,5).

    “Almost every year, for the last eleven years, the Baltic Sea Advisory Council has argued for higher western Baltic cod fishing limits than ICES scientists advise, claiming that these are due to socio-economic concerns for their industry. In reality, overfishing is a driver of these socio-economic problems, and the large scale trawling interests that dominate BSAC use coastal passive gear fishers as a human shield – an excuse to increase fishing limits for themselves, who are also responsible for the historic overfishing“, says Hubbard adding,  “This happens while the small, passive gear fishers, more dependent on healthy fish stocks due to their lower fishing capacity, are left to fight over the scraps of a dying fishery.”

    The eastern Baltic cod stock has fallen from an extraordinary peak of 400,000 tonnes in 1984 to just under 57,000 tonnes in 1992, and ICES advice for 2018 recommends a commercial catch around 26,000 tonnes (6). BSAC are recommending this be set 20% higher at over 30,000 tonnes in the eastern Baltic zones, plus an additional 3,000 tonnes be added to the western Baltic cod quota to account for mixing of eastern cod in the western Baltic Sea.

    “Just because eastern Baltic cod are in the western Baltic, does not mean we increase the western Baltic cod fishing limit – they are different stocks with finite limits that cannot be continuously disregarded without repercussions”.

    “The only thing that these obtuse quota maths add up to is a relentless pursuit to overfish by Danish and German bottom trawlers. This push for overfishing and quota grabbing  comes as a warning for how Denmark will likely approach the Presidency of BALTFISH, that began on  July 1st. It appears that Danish quota barons are still steering the boat on fisheries management in the region and nothing but a shipwreck will stop them”, concluded Hubbard.

    ENDS

    Notes

    31 May 2017: Baltic Sea Ministers Must Act To Stop Cod Collapse

    http://our.fish/press/baltic-sea-ministers-must-act-to-stop-cod-collapse/

    Eastern Baltic states have very little quota access to western Baltic cod, however Denmark has the largest share of western Baltic cod (46%) and the second largest share of eastern Baltic cod (23%). Poland has the largest share of eastern Baltic cod (33%), while Latvia and Lithuania get 9% and 6% respectively. These percentages don’t change with the level of fishing limits annually, as they are based on historic access to the fishery known as “relative stability”, so if eastern Baltic cod is now getting counted in the western Baltic zones where eastern Baltic states have no access to quota, relative stability will be affected.

    1. Western Baltic cod has been overfished for a number of years, so that even after a strong 2016 year class, stocks are still at the second lowest biomass levels since the early 1980s, and outside of safe limits for repopulating to a healthy state. ICES (2017), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2017. Cod.27.22-24
    2. New Economics Foundation (2017), Landing the Blame – Overfishing in the Baltic 2017.
    3. Baltic Sea Advisory Council recommendations for the fishery 2018 http://bsac.dk/BSAC-Resources/BSAC-Statements-and-recommendations/BSAC-recommendations-for-the-fishery-2018
    4. When BSAC recommendations are compared with ICES recommendations, they have been consistently above the science http://bsac.dk/BSAC-Resources/BSAC-Statements-and-recommendationshttp://www.ices.dk/publications/library/Pages/default.aspx
    5. Information on Danish fleet: https://stecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu/documents/43805/1034590/2015-07_STECF+15-07+-+AER+2015_JRCxxx.pdf
    6. ICES (2017), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2017. cod.27.25-32

     

    Contacts

    Dave Walsh, Communications Advisor, dave@our.fish +34 691826764

    Rebecca Hubbard, Campaign Manager, rebecca@our.fish +34 657669425

    About Our Fish

    Our Fish works to ensure European member states implement the Common Fisheries Policy and achieve sustainable fish stocks in European waters.

    Our Fish brings together organisations from across Europe to speak with a common voice: overfishing of our waters must be stopped, and solutions put in place that ensure Europe’s waters are fished sustainably. Our Fish demands that the Common Fisheries Policy be properly enforced, and Europe’s fisheries effectively governed.

    Our Fish calls on all EU Member States to set annual fishing limits at sustainable limits based on scientific advice, and to ensure that their fishing fleets prove that they are fishing sustainably, through monitoring and full documentation of their catch.

    http://www.ourfish.eu

  • Onboard monitoring needed to prove North Sea Cod not illegally discarded

    Onboard monitoring needed to prove North Sea Cod not illegally discarded

    Onboard monitoring needed to prove North Sea Cod not illegally discarded

    London, 7 July 2017 :-  Responding to reports that the UK’s North Sea cod fishery has achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards, Our Fish campaign manager Rebecca Hubbard said:

    “With North Sea cod set to hit UK supermarket shelves again, both retailers and the MSC must demonstrate to consumers that not only are these cod stocks sustainable, but that illegal discarding is not taking place in the fishery”.

    According to a report published by Undercurrent News, the Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG) “should be certified in accordance” with the MSC standard, based on an assessment by  ME Certification, the conformity assessment body, for its North Sea Cod fishery. (1)

    “Given the historically high levels of discarding in the North Sea Cod fishery, fishing vessels should at least have onboard electronic monitoring to give assurance that no illegal and unreported discarding is taking place. Failure to implement such monitoring would not only undermine credibility in the fishery, it will undermine the progress made to revitalise the fishery itself”, added Hubbard. (2)

    In order to avoid  the waste of thousands of tonnes of unwanted fish and marine resources each year, the reformed Common Fisheries Policy introduced the Landing Obligation in December 2013, making it illegal for fishermen to throw away certain species at sea, and requiring that all catches are counted against their quotas. It has been phased-in since 2015, and will be entirely implemented across European seas by 2019, with North Sea Cod coming under the Landing Obligation this year. However reports of weak implementation and poor enforcement suggest that there is a high level of illegal and unreported discarding, especially in bottom trawl fisheries. (3,4,5)

    A report from the Scheveningen Control Experts Group highlighted the high risk of illegal discarding by the trawl sector in the North Sea and a recent scientific report found that bottom trawl fisheries like the UK North Sea Cod are at high risk of failing MSC certification or failing to continue to be certified in the case of poor implementation of the Landing Obligation through not meeting monitoring requirements. (6,7)

    “While the gradual recovery of North Sea Cod provides evidence that fish stocks can recover, we could see stronger recoveries if fisheries ministers stopped setting fishing limits above scientific advice, and instead enforced the reformed Common Fisheries Policy rules they have already signed up to”, concluded Hubbard. “ICES estimates that over 18 million kilos of North Sea Cod could be discarded in 2018. Failure to stop this discarding will threaten the success of improving fisheries, like North Sea Cod, and introduce illegality into the seafood supply chain.” (2)

    ENDS

    Notes:

    1. The Assessment body, ME Certification, has recommended that the Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG) (a group of Scottish and English fishing vessels) North Sea cod fishery is certified in accordance with the MSC standard. There is a 15-working-day period during which a previously involved stakeholder may lodge a notice of objection to this determination (COB 18 July 2017). https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2017/06/27/scottish-north-sea-cod-fishery-meets-msc-standard-says-certification-body/ & Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG) North Sea cod  https://fisheries.msc.org/en/fisheries/scottish-fisheries-sustainable-accreditation-group-sfsag-north-sea-cod/@@assessments
    2. ICES (2017), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort.  Greater North Sea Ecoregion cod.27.47d20. Published 30 June 2017.
    3. European PArliament Public Hearing on the State of Play of the Implementation of the Landing Obligation and Allocation of Quotas by the Member States http://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/117542/Veronika%20Veits_DG%20Mare.pdf
    4. European Court of Auditors (2017) no 08, Special Report – EU fisheries controls: more efforts needed
    5. ICES (2017), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Cod.27.25-32. Published 31 May 2017.
    6. Scheveningen control expert group, 2016, Report on Control and Monitoring of the demersal Landing Obligation: Risk assessment and risk treatment.
    7. Blyth-Skyrme, R. & L. Borges (2016). Assessing the implications of the Landing Obligation on MSC certified fisheries in Europe.A report for Funding Fish, August 2016.

     

    Contacts

    Dave Walsh, Communications Advisor, dave@our.fish +34 691826764

    Rebecca Hubbard, Campaign Manager, rebecca@our.fish +34 657669425

    About Our Fish

    Our Fish works to ensure European member states implement the Common Fisheries Policy and achieve sustainable fish stocks in European waters.

    Our Fish brings together organisations from across Europe to speak with a common voice: overfishing of our waters must be stopped, and solutions put in place that ensure Europe’s waters are fished sustainably. Our Fish demands that the Common Fisheries Policy be properly enforced, and Europe’s fisheries effectively governed.

    Our Fish calls on all EU Member States to set annual fishing limits at sustainable limits based on scientific advice, and to ensure that their fishing fleets prove that they are fishing sustainably, through monitoring and full documentation of their catch.

    http://www.ourfish.eu

    Photo credit: Arco Images GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo

  • EU Council Must Get Real on Blue Growth

    EU Council Must Get Real on Blue Growth

    EU Council Must Get Real on Blue Growth

    Brussels, 3 July 2017:-  Following publication of the EU Council conclusions on Blue Growth in the marine and maritime sector, Our Fish Campaign manager Rebecca Hubbard said: (1,2)

    “Instead of making grandiose claims to marine sustainability, the Council of the EU’s aspirations for Blue Growth should focus on practical and achievable targets, like of ensuring that EU governments correctly implement the reformed Common Fisheries Policy”.

    “Unfortunately, putting the word ‘sustainable’ 26 times in a document is no guarantee of EU member states commitment to delivering either sustainable fisheries or healthy seas”, added Hubbard. “Our Fish would prefer to see real, concrete acts by EU governments, such as setting annual fishing limits according to scientific advice and enforcement of existing fishing rules that will clear the path for real blue growth in EU waters.” (3)

    “By rebuilding most of the commercial EU fish stocks just in North Atlantic waters in line with legislation, we could provide 2,052,639 tonnes of additional fish per year (enough to feed 89.2 million EU citizens), €1,565 million additional gross revenues per year, €824 million additional net profits per year, and between 20,362 and 64,092 new jobs each year. (4)

    ENDS

    Notes

    1. Council conclusions on Blue Growth, 26 June 2017
    2. Council Reinforces Support for Blue Growth, Politico, 26 June 2017
    3. Council conclusions on Blue Growth. Out of 26 mentions, 21 refer to development, growth or economy
    4. New Economics Foundation (2015), Managing EU fisheries in the public interest: Results from the Bio-Economic Model of European Fleets.

    Contacts

    Dave Walsh, Communications Advisor, dave@our.fish +34 69182676

    Rebecca Hubbard, Campaign Manager, rebecca@our.fish +34 657669425

    About Our Fish

    Our Fish works to ensure European member states implement the Common Fisheries Policy and achieve sustainable fish stocks in European waters.

    Our Fish brings together organisations from across Europe to speak with a common voice: overfishing of our waters must be stopped, and solutions put in place that ensure Europe’s waters are fished sustainably. Our Fish demands that the Common Fisheries Policy be properly enforced, and Europe’s fisheries effectively governed.

    Our Fish calls on all EU Member States to set annual fishing limits at sustainable limits based on scientific advice, and to ensure that their fishing fleets prove that they are fishing sustainably, through monitoring and full documentation of their catch.

    http://www.ourfish.eu

  • Undercurrent: Our Fish urge ministers heed scientific advice for Baltic cod

    Undercurrent: Our Fish urge ministers heed scientific advice for Baltic cod

    From Undercurrent:

    Campaign group Our Fish has called on Baltic Sea fisheries ministers to take urgent action to protect the region’s cod fisheries by following scientific advice for 2018 quotas, according to a press release.

    Ministers should adopt the “most cautious scientific advice” in order to aid recovery of cod stocks in the Baltic Sea which are still “severely overfished”, said Our Fish, referring to scientific advice published May 31 by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

    The group also said ministers should allow fishers to use more selective fishing gear and ban bottom trawling.

    “Western Baltic cod has been so intensively overfished, teetering on the brink of collapse for ten years, that even after a strong 2016 year class, stocks are still at the second lowest biomass levels since the early 1980s, and outside of safe limits for repopulating to a healthy state,” said Our Fish campaign manager Rebecca Hubbard.

    “To avoid collapse of the Western and Eastern Baltic cod stocks and secure future generations of fish, Baltic Sea fisheries ministers must not only heed this year’s catch advice from ICES, but also allow fishers to develop more selective fishing gears and remove the wasteful forms of bottom trawling currently in use, which are threatening both our fish stocks and our coastal fishers.”

    The group noted that over the past thirty years cod catches have fallen from a peak of 400,000 metric tons in 1984 to just under 57,000t in 1992. This year ICES recommends a catch just over 22,000t, “amounting to one eighteenth of its former peak”.

    The group said Danish and German ministers have repeatedly ignored ICES recommendations. Our Fish also accused the EU’s Agrifish Council meetings, which decide EU cod quotas, of “lacking transparency and accountability”.

    “Last year four out of ten fish stocks were set above scientific advice, with governments knowingly perpetuating overfishing and the decline in social and economic values,” said Hubbard.

    Continue Reading: Undercurrent: Our Fish urge ministers heed scientific advice for Baltic cod

  • Die Minister der Ostseeländer müssen handeln um einen „ Dorschkollaps“ zu verhindern

    Die Minister der Ostseeländer müssen handeln um einen „ Dorschkollaps“ zu verhindern

    Die Minister der Ostseeländer müssen handeln um einen „ Dorschkollaps“ zu verhindern.

    Kopenhagen, Mittwoch den 31.Mai 2017.

    Als Reaktion auf die Entwicklung des Dorschbestandes der vom internationalen Rat für Meeresforschung ( ICES ) untersucht wurde, fordert die Aktionsgruppe „Our Fish“ die Minister der Ostseeanrainerstaaten auf, dringend Maßnahmen zu ergreifen um einen Kollaps der regionalen Dorschfischerei zu verhindern.

    Die Untersuchung der Fischbestände in der Ostsee zeigt, dass trotz eines starken Nachwuchsjahrganges 2016 die Dorschbestände noch immer überfischt werden,.( 1 ) Außerdem wurden laut ICES, 11 Millionen untermaßige Dorsche des östlichen Bestandes durch die Schleppnetzfischerei unbeabsichtigt gefangen -und dann aussortiert und illegal tot oder sterbend zurückgeworfen wurden. (2,3)

    Um den Kollaps der Dorschbestände in der Ostsee zu verhindern und um das Aufwachsen zukünftiger Nachwuchsjahrgänge sicherzustellen, muss nicht nur den Vorschlägen des ICES in diesem Jahr gefolgt werden , sondern auch die Fischer müssen dazu gebracht werden, die Selektivität ihrer Netze zu optimieren. Unsere Leiterin der Fischkampagne REBECCA HUBBART fordert daher die zerstörerische Grundschleppnetzfischerei zu verbieten, die sowohl den Dorschbestand als auch die darauf angewiesenen Fische, in ihrer Existenz gefährden.

    Der westliche Dorschbestand wurde durch intensive Befischung schon seit Jahrzehnten übernutzt und befand sich dadurch schon öfter am Rande des Zusammenbruchs. Trotz des starken Nachwuchsjahrganges 2016 befindet sich die Biomasse auf dem zweitniedrigsten Stand seit den 80er Jahren und außerhalb sicherer Reproduktionsgrenzen. (1) Our Fish ruft die Minister der Ostseeanrainerstaaten dazu auf, die Notwendigkeit einer Bestandserholung bei der Festsetzung der Fangquoten für das Jahr 2018 zu berücksichtigen und nicht über die wissenschaftlichen Empfehlungen hinauszugehen.

    Die ICES Empfehlungen bilden die wissenschaftliche Basis für die Beratungen und die Festsetzungen der Fangquoten, die in der diesjährigen Sitzung der EU Kommission im Oktober stattfinden. Trotz der Verpflichtung die Gemeinsame Fischereipolitik umzusetzen und die Überfischung der Bestände zu beenden, waren und sind diese Sitzungen der EU Kommission wegen mangelnder Transparenz, mangelndem Verantwortungsbewusstsein

    und der laufenden Unterlassung, die Festsetzung der Fangmengen dem geltenden Recht entsprechend vorzunehmen, zu kritisieren. (3,4) Letztes Jahr wurden die Fangquoten bei 4 von 10 Beständen wissentlich oberhalb der wissenschaftlichen Empfehlung festgesetzt. Dies führte zur Fortsetzung der Überfischung und zu einer Abnahme der wirtschaftlichen und sozioökonomischen Leistung.

    Der östlich Dorschbestand war für lange Zeit eine Goldmine für die Fischerei und es wurden hohe Fänge über Jahre hinaus erzielt. Den Höchststand bildete das Jahr 1984 mit 400.000 Tonnen, gefolgt von einer danach kontinuierlich fortschreitenden Abnahme auf 57.000 Tonnen im Jahre 1992. Die Fangempfehlung für dieses Jahr betrug gerade etwas über 22.000 Tonnen-gerade den achtzehnten Teil des Höchstfanges aus 1984. (3)

    In jüngster Vergangenheit haben sich Dänemark und Deutschland für eine Überfischung stark gemacht, unter Nichtbeachtung der ICES Empfehlung. (5,6) „Wenn der dänische Minister für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft ESBEN LUNDE LARSEN und der deutsche Minister für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft CHRISTIAN SCHMIDT diese sinnlose Ausplünderung nicht zuletzt auch durch die 10 % Rückwürfe in der Schleppnetzfischerei nicht umgehend verhindern, sind sie mitverantwortlich für den Niedergang der kommerziellen Fischerei auf Großkuttern, anstatt Nachhaltigkeit zu fördern und die Zukunft der kleine Küstenfischerei zu sichern“ schlussfolgert HUBBART.

    Schlussfolgerungen

    Die Altersstruktur des westlichen Dorschbestandes leidet unter einer zu geringen Zahl an laichreifen Fischen. (8) Der Anteil der Altersklasse zweijähriger Fische betrug im Jahre 1994 35% wohingegen die Erwartungen für 2016 bei 71 % liegen (2). Ähnlich sieht es aufgrund von langjähriger Überfischung beim östlichen Bestand aus. Große laichfähige Fische fehlen.

    Die Quotenempfehlung für die kommerzielle Fischerei, auf den westlichen Bestand beträgt zwischen 1376 und 3541 Tonnen. Hier von werden 1754 Tonnen der Angelfischerei zugeordnet.

    Der östliche Bestand hat sich in der letzten Zeit so stark verändert, dass brauchbare Daten fehlen. Dies verhindert vorausschauende Bestandsermittlungen und Bestandsempfehlungen und Herangehensweisen .Für diesen Bestand in Verbindung mit vorbeugenden Beurteilungen ( durch             das Fehlen sicherer Daten) soll der EU Anteil, basierend auf die ICSES Empfehlung, nicht höher als 26071 Tonnen sein (3).

    Quellennachweis

    1. ICES (2017), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2017. cod.27.22-24
    2. Limited observer data indicates that undersized cod represent more than 10% of the total eastern Baltic cod catch in tonnes (equivalent to 11 million individuals), while landings of undersized cod are very low and discarding still takes place, despite the Landing Obligation being in place since 2015.

    ICES (2017). Report of the Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group (WGBFAS), 19-26 April, 2017, ICES HQ, Copenhagen, Denmark. ICES CM 2017/ACOM:11.

    1. Anecdotal evidence suggests fishers are modifying selectivity properties of their gear to increase catch rates of all cod, leading to a higher number of undersized fish being caught.

    ICES (2017), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2017. cod.27.25-32

    1. https://corporateeurope.org/power-lobbies/2017/05/fishing-influence
    2. http://transparency.eu/project/overfishing-in-the-darkness/
    3. New Economics Foundation (2017), Landing the Blame – Overfishing in the Baltic 2017.
    4. New Economics Foundation (2016), Landing the Blame – Overfishing in the Baltic Sea 2016.
    5. Marteinsdottir G, &Begg G.A. 2002. Essential relationships incorporating the influence of age, size and condition on variables required for estimation of reproductive potential in Atlantic cod Gadusmorhua. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 235: 235–256.

    Contacts

    Dave Walsh, Communications Advisor,dave@our.fish +34 691826764

    Rebecca Hubbard, Campaign Manager, rebecca@our.fish +34 657 669 425

    Was ist “Our Fish”?

    Our fish:

    • Arbeitet daran sicherzustellen, dass die EU Mitgliedstaaten die Gemeinsame Fischereipolitik, GFP umsetzen und wirbt für nachhaltig bewirtschaftete Fischbestände in den europäischen Meeren.
    • Führt Organisationen zusammen, um mit einer Stimme die Beendigung der Überfischung und Lösungen für eine nachhaltige Befischung der europäischen Meere zu fordern.
    • Fordert eine ordentlich gemanagte und effektive Fischerei.
    • Fordert alle Mitgliedsstaaten auf, dem Fischereiaufwand jährliche Grenzen zu setzen, die sich an nachhaltigen Kriterien ausrichten und sich auf wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen und Empfehlungen stützen. Ziel ist der Nachweis , um nachzuweisen, dass ihre Fischereiflotten durch Kontrollen und Dokumentation der Fänge, nachhaltig fischen.

    http://www.ourfish.eu

    Der Kommentar

    Wolfgang Albrecht,

    1. Vorsitzender des Fischereischutzverbandes Schleswig-Holstein

    Die jüngste Entwicklung in der Dorschfischerei ist kein Anlass zur Freude, sondern, wenn nicht bald durch entschlossene Maßnahmen gegengesteuert wird, eher das Ende auch von vielen Betrieben der stillen Fischerei mit passiven Fanggeräten, die den jetzigen Bestandsrückgang gar nicht verursacht haben. Drei Krisensitzungen im vergangenen Jahr haben außer finanzieller Unterstützung, vornehmlich an der falschen Stelle, nichts gebracht und waren für den nötigen Bestandsaufbau des Dorsches in der westlichen Ostsee, eher ungeeignet, weil die nötigen Maßnahmen ( Paketlösung: Überbrückungshilfen, Verringerung des Fangaufwandes bei den Verursachern) nach wie vor fehlen.

    Es fehlt auf der Entscheidungsebene an Mut und Übersicht, um zielführende Maßnahmen anzuschieben.

    Man befasst sich mit Vermarktungskonzepten und übersieht dabei, dass die stille Fischerei mit passiven Fanggeräten, die bekanntlich nicht in andere Fanggebiete ausweichen kann, kurz vor ihrem Ende steht. Ohne Fänge gibt es dann auch nichts zu vermarkten.

    Was wird dann aus der Touristenattraktion in unseren Häfen ??

    „Dunkeltuten“ !!

    Auch die Behauptung: „ Die Fischer sitzen alle in einem Boot“ hilft uns nicht wirklich weiter, wenn ein Teil der Flotte durch viel zu hohen Fangdruck die Fischbestände dermaßen überbeansprucht, dass als Folge, die Quoten gegen Null gekürzt werden müssen.

    Zur Ursachenbeurteilung bietet die vorstehende Pressemitteilung von „ Our Fish“ viel Interessantes zum Nachdenken.

  • Baltic Sea Ministers Must Act To Stop Cod Collapse

    Baltic Sea Ministers Must Act To Stop Cod Collapse

     

    Copenhagen, Wednesday 31 May, 2017 – Responding to advice on Baltic fish stocks released today by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), campaign group Our Fish called on Baltic Sea Fisheries Ministers to take urgent action to prevent the collapse of the region’s cod fisheries.

    The ICES advice on Baltic fish stocks for 2018 demonstrates that the Baltic’s cod stocks are still severely overfished, despite a year of strong breeding by the western Baltic cod (1). ICES also reported that over 11 million undersized Eastern Baltic cod will be caught as unwanted catch – with a large majority of these illegally thrown back dead or dying (2,3).

    “To avoid collapse of the Western and Eastern Baltic cod stocks and secure future generations of fish, Baltic Sea Fisheries Ministers must not only heed this year’s catch advice from ICES, but also allow fishers to develop more selective fishing gears and remove the wasteful forms of bottom trawling currently in use, which are threatening both our fish stocks and our coastal fishers”, said Our Fish Campaign Manager Rebecca Hubbard.

    “Western Baltic cod has been so intensively overfished, teetering on the brink of collapse for 10 years, that even after a strong 2016 year class, stocks are still at the second lowest biomass levels since the early 1980s, and outside of safe limits for repopulating to a healthy state (1). Our Fish is calling on Baltic Ministers to use this rare opportunity to rebuild the stock and adopt the most cautious scientific advice for 2018”.

    The ICES advice forms the scientific basis for deliberations over Baltic Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits that are set at the annual EU Agrifish Council meeting in October. Despite their important role in applying the Common Fisheries Policy and ending overfishing, these Agrifish Council meetings have been criticised for their lack of transparency and accountability, and persistent failure to set fishing limits according to the law (3)(4). Last year 4 out of 10 fish stocks were set above scientific advice, with governments knowingly perpetuating overfishing and the decline in social and economic values (5).

    The eastern Baltic cod stock once represented a goldmine for fishers, but catches have been plummeting for 30 years. From an extraordinary peak at 400,000 tonnes in the 1984 to just under 57,000 tonnes in 1992, this year ICES advice recommends a catch just over 22,000 tonnes – one eighteenth of its former peak (3).

    “In recent years, Denmark and Germany  have strongly advocated for overfishing, ignoring ICES advice (5,6). If  Danish Minister for Environment and Food Esben Lunde Larsen and German Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt do not stop this senseless plunder, at least 10% of which is being thrown away as discards, mainly from destructive bottom trawlers, they may be responsible for the commercial collapse of this once great fishery, instead of the sustainable and secure future for coastal fishers which it could be,” concluded Hubbard.

    ENDS

    NOTES:

    Western Baltic cod is suffering from age-truncation, a reduction in the age when fish become mature[8]. The proportion mature at age 2 in 1994 was 35%, whereas the most recent estimate for 2016 is 71% mature at age 2 [2]. Similar to the eastern Baltic stock, this age-truncation is a result of overfishing over the long term, with larger, more fecund ‘mother’ cod selected out.

    The total commercial catch advice for western Baltic cod, based on the Baltic Multi Annual Plan, is a range from 1 376 tonnes to 3 541 tonnes. ICES has assessed 1 754 tonnes goes to recreational catch (1).

    The eastern Baltic cod fish stock has been so fundamentally altered over time that a lack of reliable data makes stock assessments unreliable, and ICES advises a precautionary approach (3).

    For the eastern Baltic cod, in accordance with the precautionary approach (due to a lack of reliable data), the EU portion of the TAC corresponding to ICES advice should not exceed 26 071 tonnes (3).

    1. ICES (2017), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2017. cod.27.22-24
    2. Limited observer data indicates that undersized cod represent more than 10% of the total eastern Baltic cod catch in tonnes (equivalent to 11 million individuals), while landings of undersized cod are very low and discarding still takes place, despite the Landing Obligation being in place since 2015. ICES (2017). Report of the Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group (WGBFAS), 19-26 April, 2017, ICES HQ, Copenhagen, Denmark. ICES CM 2017/ACOM:11.
    3. Anecdotal evidence suggests fishers are modifying selectivity properties of their gear to increase catch rates of all cod, leading to a higher number of undersized fish being caught. ICES (2017), ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Baltic Sea Ecoregion. Published 31 May 2017. cod.27.25-32
    4. https://corporateeurope.org/power-lobbies/2017/05/fishing-influence
    5. http://transparency.eu/project/overfishing-in-the-darkness/
    6. New Economics Foundation (2017), Landing the Blame – Overfishing in the Baltic 2017.
    7. New Economics Foundation (2016), Landing the Blame – Overfishing in the Baltic Sea 2016.
    8. Marteinsdottir G, & Begg G.A. 2002. Essential relationships incorporating the influence of age, size and condition on variables required for estimation of reproductive potential in Atlantic cod Gadus morhua. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 235: 235–256.

     

    Contacts

    Dave Walsh, Communications Advisor, dave@our.fish +34 691826764

    Rebecca Hubbard, Campaign Manager, rebecca@our.fish +34 657 669 425

    About Our Fish

    Our Fish works to ensure European member states implement the Common Fisheries Policy and achieve sustainable fish stocks in European waters.

    Our Fish brings together organisations from across Europe to speak with a common voice: overfishing of our waters must be stopped, and solutions put in place that ensure Europe’s waters are fished sustainably. Our Fish demands that the Common Fisheries Policy be properly enforced, and Europe’s fisheries effectively governed.

    Our Fish calls on all EU Member States to set annual fishing limits at sustainable limits based on scientific advice, and to ensure that their fishing fleets prove that they are fishing sustainably, through monitoring and full documentation of their catch.

    http://www.ourfish.eu

  • Electric Pulse Fishing: EU Agrifish Council must make comprehensive impact assessment

    Electric Pulse Fishing: EU Agrifish Council must make comprehensive impact assessment

    During the meeting, EU Fisheries Ministers will consider technical measures for European fisheries management, including how to limit and regulate “innovative fishing gears” such as electric pulse fishing. There is currently limited understanding of the environmental impacts of this fishing method.

    A release of the Draft Technical Measures, show that the Council have weakened the proposal by removing requirements for full environmental impact assessments of electric pulse fishing on sensitive habitats and non-target species, evaluated and confirmed by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) (1).

    “By failing to uphold stringent environmental impact assessments for electric pulse fishing , the Agrifish Council is in danger of abandoning the precautionary principle in favour of pandering to the demands of the fishing industry”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish Campaign Manager. “Our Fish is calling on the EU Fisheries Ministers at the Agrifish Council to ensure the highest level of environmental impact assessment on habitats and non-target species from electric pulse fishing , by reinserting the need for STECF review, or return to a total prohibition”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish Campaign Manager.

    Electric pulse fishing is a form of trawling that emits electric pulses into the seabed to shock fish off and out of the seafloor, where they are caught by trawl net. The Dutch fishing industry has been advocating for the development of electric pulse fishing in European waters, despite significant concerns from fishermen, conservation organisations and politicians for unknown impacts on habitats and marine life (2,3).

    Until 2007, fishing using electrocution was prohibited in European waters, however the dramatically reduced fuel costs, compared to conventional beam trawling, has motivated the Dutch fishing industry to lobby for its development. After experimental exemptions were granted, the practice has spread throughout the North Sea.

    Combined with historically low price of fuel, electric pulse fishing fishing makes for a more profitable haul. The Dutch fishing industry and government claim that electric pulse fishing is environmentally sustainable and less damaging than beam trawl fishing (4).

    “Considering how beam trawl fishing steamrolls seabed habitats and catches vast quantities of other non-target species, saying that electric pulse fishing is ‘better’ doesn’t make for a ringing endorsement”, said Hubbard. “There have been limited thorough studies on the impacts of electrocution trawl fishing on sensitive habitats, and non-target species, especially animals that rely on electroreception, and on fish eggs and larvae . The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea has reported on the significant gaps in knowledge and the need for more thorough research and regulatory framework (5)”.

    ENDS

    Notes

    (1). Release of Draft Technical Measures (Politico) http://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Council-Technical-Measures.pdf?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_campaign=baeffc217c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_04_27&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10959edeb5-baeffc217c-190010205

    (2). A shocking way to catch fish: electric pulse beam trawling http://lifeplatform.eu/a-shocking-way-to-catch-fish-electric-pulse-beam-trawling/;

    Bloom: Pulse Fishing  https://www.bloomassociation.org/en/pulse-fishing/;

    Bloom: French Environment Minister calls for a true European ban on pulse fishing

    https://www.bloomassociation.org/en/french-environment-minister-calls-for-a-true-european-ban-on-pulse-fishing/

    (3). Project Pulsefishing

    https://pulsefishing.eu/en/project-pulsefishing/node/50;

    Agreement to double pulse trawl licences

    https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2014/02/18/agreement-to-double-pulse-trawl-licences

    (4). Ibid.

    (5). Request from France for updated advice on the ecosystem effects of pulse trawl lhttps://www.ices.dk/sites/pub/Publication%20Reports/Advice/2016/Special_Requests/France_Effects_of_pulse_trawl.pdf

    Contacts

    Dave Walsh, Communications Advisor, dave@our.fish +34 691826764

    About Our Fish

    Our Fish works to ensure European member states implement the Common Fisheries Policy and achieve sustainable fish stocks in European waters.

    Our Fish brings together organisations from across Europe to speak with a common voice: overfishing of our waters must be stopped, and solutions put in place that ensure Europe’s waters are fished sustainably. Our Fish demands that the Common Fisheries Policy be properly enforced, and Europe’s fisheries effectively governed.

    Our Fish calls on all EU Member States to set annual fishing limits at sustainable limits based on scientific advice, and to ensure that their fishing fleets prove that they are fishing sustainably, through monitoring and full documentation of their catch.

    http://www.ourfish.eu