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  • João Aguiar Machado: If You Plan to Turn the Tide, Be Fearless About It

    João Aguiar Machado: If You Plan to Turn the Tide, Be Fearless About It

    Poseidon meets EU fisheries officials in Brussels
    Poseidon, God of the Sea, keeps vigil outside the European Commission in Brussels

    “Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child’s Meccano set… to write in plain, vigorous language one has to think fearlessly, and if one thinks fearlessly one cannot be politically orthodox”, wrote George Orwell, 72 years ago.

    Not much has changed, it seems. In Turning the Tide, published on The Parliament’s website on April 23, João Aguiar Machado, the EU Commission Director-General of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries signed what appeared to be a hastily assembled list of things to be greenwashed, cobbled into a self-congratulatory work of fiction.

    We do not live in orthodox times – we must employ fearlessness and honesty, not wishful thinking and greenwashing, if we we are to confront and overcome the issues facing our oceans and climate – such as continual EU overfishing.

    Mr Machado writes that the “EU is quickly becoming a world leader in protecting” the oceans. Our Fish would counter that the EU must first show leadership by delivering protection in EU waters before crusading abroad. Reforming the common fisheries policy in 2013, in a bid to save both plummeting fish populations and ailing fishing industries, was an important first step. But six years later, EU countries are still failing to implement those laws – and they are trying to retell the story in a way that makes them look good.

    Mr Machado wrote: “In 2009, the EU fishing fleet was barely profitable. This year, almost 99 percent of the stocks in the North East Atlantic and Baltic Sea, managed by the EU alone, will be fished sustainably.”

    Indeed, the EU Common Fisheries Policy commits to sustainable fishing of all fish stocks by 2015, or by 2020 at the latest (in line with Maximum Sustainable Yield). But here’s how far from the real story that Mr Machado is drifting with his bullet points of progress:

    • In 2019, almost 99 percent of the catches managed exclusively by the EU – by volume, not stocks, will have their fishing limits set in line with scientific advice for sustainable levels.
      • Some fisheries are caught in much higher volumes than others – but these “smaller” fish stocks also have important ecosystem functions. Perhaps more importantly – some of those stocks are now “small” because they have been, and continue to be, severely overfished.
      • In fact, 41 percent of EU TACs (Total Allowable Catches) for 2019 exceed scientific advice for sustainable limits – just a few months from the deadline to have 100% of TACs meeting the CFP’s requirement to end overfishing. So that’s just 59 percent of stocks (not 99) with sustainable fishing limits.
      • Mr Machado opts to mention only EU-exclusively managed stocks, despite the fact that the EU “negotiates” many shared fishing limits with Norway every year, and both have made international commitments to end overfishing.
      • In fact, 53 percent of the TACs for stocks shared with Norway exceed scientific advice for sustainable limits in 2019.
      • There are many fish stocks that are being fished by the EU for which there is not enough data to give reliable scientific advice on sustainable levels – so scientists must give precautionary advice. However, these figures are not included in the Commission’s assessment of progress toward sustainable fisheries.
        • In fact, of 45 ‘data-poor’ fish stocks, 49 percent of TACs exceed the scientific advice in 2019.

    The initial impression is that by focusing on this “99 percent” message, Mr Machado’s article appears to present the EU as mostly “getting it right” with sustainable fisheries management. However, on closer examination, it seems that he, the EU Commission and Member States are trying to rewrite the story on overfishing. They are attempting to shift the baseline to create an acceptable level of overfishing – even when this exacerbates the climate and biodiversity crises that our children are rampaging against.

    “One of our main achievements in fisheries management is the so-called landing obligation” writes Commissioner Machado. “Every year, worldwide, 30 million tons of fish are thrown back into the sea – most don’t survive. The landing obligation puts a stop to this wasteful practice.”

    The landing obligation aimed to end the ridiculous waste of around 1.7 million tonnes of fish by EU fishing fleets each year. But Mr Machado is well aware that the landing obligation has not stopped it, because it is neither being complied with – which is why the Commission introduced a proposal for remote electronic monitoring into the review of the Control Regulation in 2018 – nor is it being implemented in full.

    “From January 2019, EU vessels must bring all catches ashore, without exemption”, says the article.

    This is not correct; the discard plans approved by the European Commission include several exemptions in all sea basins – in some cases, despite warnings from scientists that there was insufficient evidence to justify it. DG Mare even has an exemptions webpage where anyone can read about it – including the Director General.

    “In the face of climate change, our oceans offer us remarkable means to mitigate this planetary challenge”.

    If Mr Machado and the EU Commission truly believe this, what are they waiting for? A recent IPCC report proposed that we have just 12 years to counter the worst effects of the climate crisis. How many of these years will the EU Commission devote to signing off puff-pieces that attempt to assure us that all is well – and that the crisis is being dealt with?

    The IPBES report released this month states that we are threatening 1,000,000 species with extinction – along with the very life-support system we all depend on. One of the key drivers, even more than climate change, is exploitation of organisms (eg. fishing). We are careening towards the cliff edge. Only immediate transformative change will save us, which means facing up to the truth and standing up to those with vested interests who benefit – at least in the shorter term – from ignoring reality.

    If the EU is serious about being a global leader, the new team of Commissioners will need to stop trying to rewrite the truth, and instead focus on changing the future to the one we need. Our children are outraged, our scientists are calling for a revolution. It’s time to deliver on your commitments to us, and to our oceans.

    Ending overfishing is one of the quickest, most straightforward ways the EU can help stop the haemorrhage of marine biodiversity, restore ocean health and build resilience against the worst effects of climate change. Mr Machado and his colleagues know exactly what needs to be done.

    Rebecca Hubbard is the Programme Director of Our Fish, which works to end EU Overfishing.

    An abridged version of this article was published in Parliament Magazine, May 20, 2019

  • Our Fish til Eva Kjer Hansen: Stop overfiskeri, inden deadline overskrides

    Our Fish til Eva Kjer Hansen: Stop overfiskeri, inden deadline overskrides

    DEBAT: Fiskeriminister Eva Kjer Hansen har skrevet under på at stoppe overfiskeri inden 2020. Deadlinen er dog i fare for at blive overskredet. Det betyder, at fremtidens fiskebestande og havmiljøet sættes på spil, skriver Cathrine Pedersen Schirmer fra Our Fish.

    Der er ikke mere end otte måneder tilbage, før vi rammer 2020-deadlinen for stop af overfiskeri af vore danske og europæiske fiskebestand.

    En deadline, som er juridisk bindende, og som fiskeriminister Eva Kjer Hansen (V) og hendes EU-kollegaer er forpligtet til at levere på. Men hvordan går det så egentlig med det? Svaret er desværre ikke opløftende. Det må vi alle sammen indse, inklusive ministeren selv.

    I en netop offentliggjort rapport fra den Videnskabelige, Tekniske og Økonomiske Komité for Fiskeri (STECF) lyder konklusionen fra EU-eksperterne, at Danmark og de øvrige EU-medlemslande sakker gevaldigt bagud i forhold at tage de nødvendige skridt i retning af at nå deadlinen første januar 2020.

    Sakker bagud
    Faktisk sakker de så meget bagud, at deadlinen er i fare for at blive overskredet. Ifølge eksperterne er 41 procent af de nordøstatlantiske bestande – herunder fiskebestandene i de danske havområder – således stadig overfisket.

    Det er ikke godt nok, hvis vi skal sikre et sundt havmiljø og fiskeri fremover, og slet ikke hvis vi skal gøre os håb om, at fiskeriministrene leverer på 2020-deadlinen.

    Derfor hejser en lang række Europæiske organisationer, blandt andet Our Fish, nu det røde flag og beder fiskeriministrene tage STECF-eksperternes udsagn alvorligt. Vi mener i al beskedenhed, at det for alvor er blevet tid til ikke kun at lytte til eksperterne, men også tid til at handle.

    Den nuværende og yderst kritiske situation for torskebestanden i den østlige Østersø er et klart eksempel på, hvor vigtigt det er, at EU og EU’s medlemslande skrider til konkret handling tids nok til at sikre bæredygtige fiskebestande i fremtiden.

    Ifølge en ny og ret alarmerende opgørelse fra Det Internationale Havundersøgelsesråd, ICES, er torskebestanden i den østlige Østersø nu nede på så kritisk lavt et niveau, at den ikke længere i tilstrækkelig grad er i stand til at reproducere sig selv. Det betyder kort sagt, at torskebestanden her er i dyb krise.

    Det er selvsagt hverken godt for miljøet eller for fiskeriet som branche. Forskere og ngo’er har ellers længe advaret fiskeriministrene og EU-Kommissionen om torskens alvorlige tilstand, men manglende politisk handling har betydet, at situationen nu er så alvorlig, at en række ngo’er, blandt andet Verdensnaturfonden, Oceana og Our Fish, i dag har sendt et brev afsted til samtlige fiskeriministre i landene omkring Østersøen for at bede dem om at lukke alt kommercielt fiskeri efter torsk i den østlige Østersø med øjeblikkelig virkning. Det er nødvendigt, hvis vi skal redde torsken.

    Fiskebestande og havmiljøet er truet
    Det behøver dog ikke gå så galt, og det var vel netop derfor, at 2020-deadlinen som del af en række positive tiltag fra 2013 blev skrevet ind i den reformerede Fælles Europæiske Fiskeripolitik (FFP). Her lovede alle EU-medlemsstater, herunder Danmark, at leve op til et lovkrav om at bringe overfiskeri til ophør senest i 2020.

    Eva Kjer Hansen og hendes EU-kollegaer bør smøge ærmerne op nu som direkte reaktion på STECF-rapporten og ICES-rapporten og vise, at de virkelig mener det alvorligt, når de har skrevet under på at beskytte vore europæiske fiskebestande.

    Hvis regeringer og fiskeriministre fortsat tillader overfiskeri, sætter de både fremtiden for Europas fiskebestande og vores havmiljø på spil.

    Så kære Fiskeriminister Eva Kjer Hansen, vil du ikke godt love os, at Danmark tager sagen alvorligt og går forrest i arbejdet for at indfri 2020-deadlinen?

    Af Cathrine Pedersen Schirmer
    Kampagneansvarlig i Our Fish i Danmark

    Altinget: Our Fish til Eva Kjer Hansen: Stop overfiskeri, inden deadline overskrides

    Our Fish til Eva Kjer Hansen: Stop overfiskeri, inden deadline overskrides

  • Are the EU and Norway overfishing in the public interest?

    Are the EU and Norway overfishing in the public interest?

    Our Fish Demands end to EU overfishing in Bergen

    Every year the EU and Norway meet to discuss how much fish they can catch in each others waters. There is sound scientific advice about how much this should be, yet every year the two parties decide to ignore the scientists, by fishing more than is advised. This is overfishing. Carrying on like this makes it difficult for the EU to reach its own target of ending overfishing by 2020 especially give the “shared stocks”, account for a lot of fish. For some EU member states like Germany and Netherlands, the shared stocks  account for some of their most important fish stocks.

    Our Fish is committed to supporting the EU in in meeting its promise to end overfishing. So, in 2018, we realised we needed to pay close attention to  these Norway discussions (the EU & Norway are adamant they are not negotiations). Consultations start during the year, and end in a meeting, typically held in Bergen on the Norwegian coast for a week in November (cold & expensive). So how should we participate; could we join those consultations or just walk into the meeting room?

    We asked the European Commission could we join their delegation (like some fishers do). “Ask a member state”, they said. So we did (three of them). They replied that the EU delegation is represented by the  European Commission one; so we asked the Commission again, and around and around it went. In the end we were not invited join the European delegation (unlike the fishers, who were), but we went to Bergen anyway to create some considerable noise.

    We’re not letting it rest there though. We wrote to the European Commission under Freedom of Information rules, to ask for the correspondence between them about our request. And here is the Commission’s response. Basically they said, the information included, “personal data”. And personal data can only be shared for a specific purpose in the public interest.

    So what do you think? How should we respond? We, you – all of us, we are the European public. Is it not in our interests to know why civil society is denied access to deliberations which result in the over-exploitation of a publicly owned resource i.e. overfishing of fish stocks? Contact us, and let us know your thoughts and ideas, via email, or reply to us on this Twitter post or here on Facebook.

    Rebecca Hubbard is Program Director of Our Fish

  • WHY is the EU Commission Stalling on Ending Overfishing?

    WHY is the EU Commission Stalling on Ending Overfishing?

    Fishing dragger hauls in net full of Atlantic Cod fish
    Fishing trawler hauls in net full of Atlantic Cod fish (Alamy)

    On December 17, 2018 Our Fish and our partners WeMoveEU, Seas At Risk and Deutsche Umwelthilfe, greeted fisheries ministers (the AGRIFISH Council) in Brussels with a petition of over 350,000 people, calling on them to deliver on their commitment to end overfishing by 2020. Even the God of the Ocean Poseidon, and his Minister for Fish – with trumpeters and the whole shebang were there to emphasise just how important it is that EU decision makers act on these commitments, and start delivering their benefits now.

    The European Commission has replied, seeking to assure us – and you that they are making progress towards ending overfishing. They say that an increase from 56 to 59 fishing limits, or TACs (total allowable catches or annual fishing limits) in line with scientific advice is good progress. We disagree.

    An analysis by the New Economics Foundation, shows that for 120 TAC decisions made (or confirmed) at the December meeting, 55 TACs exceeded the advice, amounting to 312,000 tonnes of excess TAC – yes – 312,000,000 kilograms of fish. That’s a lot of overfishing.

    While the Commission is certainly not the only one to blame for this failure – many fisheries ministers negotiated hard – it is shocking that the Commission justifies this outcome as good “progress”. Perhaps even more concerning is that the Commission is talkinging about the percentage of the total catch that is in line with scientific advice, rather than the number of individual stocks still being overfished. This distorts the perception of progress to end overfishing of EU fish stocks as there are many smaller stocks which are vulnerable and valuable and in need of recovery.

    We will be continuing our work for healthier oceans and an end to EU overfishing in 2019 – and we hope you can join us – fish and the ocean are, after all, your precious public resources! Sign the petition to end overfishing and receive updates on the campaign here.

    Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish Programme Director

  • Tackle Climate Change, Start With Ending Overfishing

    Tackle Climate Change, Start With Ending Overfishing

    Fishing boats in the village Union Hall, West Cork, Ireland. Dave Walsh
    Fishing boats in the village Union Hall, West Cork, Ireland. davewalshphoto.com

    The ocean is incredible: not only is it the origin of all life, it stores the most carbon, regulates the climate and provides us with every second breath. It is estimated that the ocean has absorbed over 90 percent of human induced global warming; without it, the global temperature would have already increased by more than 30 degrees celsius. A staggering fact, given the risks associated with just a two degree increase.

    The ocean provides food and livelihoods for billions of people around the world, and if it were an economy, it is estimated that it would be the seventh largest. The value of the ocean to the Irish economy was estimated at €1.97 billion  in 2017, but as an island nation, the value to our culture and wellbeing is priceless.

    The ocean is an incredibly rich and dynamic ecosystem, about which we still know comparatively little – more people have been to the moon than to the deepest part of the ocean. But one thing we do know, is that if our exploitation is carefully managed, then the ocean can sustain countless benefits.

    But this is not our track record: pollution, overexploitation, acidification, marine litter are just a few of the ways we have been putting the ocean under pressure. In September 2019, the IPCC is scheduled to publish its report, Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which is expected to make explicit the critical role of the ocean with regard to climate, and the dangerous pressure we are putting it under.

    On Saturday after two weeks of negotiations COP24 concluded in Katowice. Ireland, along with other states, were negotiating renewed climate pledges, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDcs), this despite the fact that Ireland is currently the worst performing EU member state on responding to climate change. We have much to do – but our commitment to the climate and the ocean goes beyond greenhouse gas emissions.

    Overfishing – catching more fish than can be naturally replaced- has the greatest single negative impact on the ocean, and we are addicted to it. Ninety percent of the big fish in the ocean have gone since 1950 – we have simply eaten them. And despite EU member states agreeing to an ambitious reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2013, the appetite for EU overfishing has continued. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates, “33.1 percent [of fish stocks globally] are being fished at biologically unsustainable levels”. 

    In 2013, during Ireland’s Presidency of the EU, member states committed to ending overfishing by 2015, “where possible, and by 2020 at the latest”. As the 2020 deadline approaches there has been some reduction in overfishing but not enough. According to the New Economics Foundation’s Landing the Blame: Overfishing in the Atlantic 2018, the Total Allowable Catch (TACs) awarded to Ireland were 17.8 percent above scientific advice, in other words, it is overfishing.

    Since taking over from Simon Coveney as the minister with responsibility for fisheries, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed has presided over fishing limits which have continued overfishing to Ireland’s “benefit”. This overfishing has typically been celebrated as a “win” for Ireland on early morning radio programmes after theatrically long negotiations in Brussels.

    Just two weeks ago, Mr Creed celebrated an agreement on mackerel claiming it reflected, “the scientific advice”. The agreement reached is to catch 653,438 tonnes in 2019, whereas the scientific advice was to catch no more than 318,403 tonnes. This is overfishing; and it is putting unnecessary pressure on the ocean.

    The minister was even so brazen as to acknowledge the role played by the mackerel fishing sector, “As always, industry representatives, in particular, Sean O’Donoghue of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation were extremely helpful to the Irish negotiating team”. I’m sure he was.

    So while Ireland is trying to recover its reputation on climate change in Katowice, today [Tuesday, December 18] the rubber meets the road as Mr Creed is representing us at the Fisheries Council in Brussels, also known as AGRIFISH. Any decision to continue overfishing in 2019 by ministers will not only minimise the chances of realising the 2020 Common Fisheries Policy commitment, it will be another needless assault on the health of the ocean and the long-term viability of the coastal communities which rely on it.

    Michael Creed may claim that to demand TACs in-line with scientific advice is politically too difficult. But just as Simon Coveney and other leaders made tough decisions in agreeing to an ambitious CFP reform, we now need the Minister and his colleagues to realise this ambition, and safeguard ocean health and the livelihoods it guarantees. Overfishing takes our breath away. There is no limit to ambition; but there is to the pressure the ocean can endure, and so we need to set responsible limits to the amount of fish we extract from it.

    Mike Walker, Campaigner for Our Fish

    This article also appeared in the Irish Independent, on December 20, 2018

  • Video: Poseidon Asks the EU To End Its Addiction To Overfishing

    Video: Poseidon Asks the EU To End Its Addiction To Overfishing

    The God of the sea, Poseidon, and his Minister of the Ocean arrived in Brussels to deliver 350,000 signatures from EU citizens calling for an end to overfishing. When they try to enter an EU meeting where fishing quotas are decided – behind closed doors, Poseidon is locked out. Help Poseidon – take action here!

  • De Hele Nacht Opblijven Voor Vis(quota)

    De Hele Nacht Opblijven Voor Vis(quota)

    Elk jaar in december komen de Visserijministers vanuit de hele EU bijeen in Brussel om over de jaarlijkse vislimieten voor de Noordzee en de Atlantische oceaan te onderhandelen. Ze komen aan bij de vergadering, bewapend met het allerbeste wetenschappelijke advies van, ehm, wetenschappers. Maar zodra de deuren dicht zijn, begint het feest en is het wetenschappelijk advies al snel vergeten. In plaats daarvan buigen de ministers onder de druk van de industriebelangen om vervolgens vast te houden aan onduurzame en veel te hoge visquota – met als resultaat overbevissing. Ieder jaar besluiten onze ministers doodleuk om meer vis uit de zee te halen dan wat volgens wetenschappers houdbaar is.    

    Deze waanzin hoeft niet zo door te gaan. Laat EU Commissaris Vella en de EU ministers weten dat jij wilt dat zij een einde aan overbevissing maken!

  • Festen om fiskekvoterne

    Festen om fiskekvoterne

    Hver december mødes EU’s fiskeriministre i Bruxelles for at købslå om de årlige fiskerimuligheder i Nordsøen og Atlanterhavet. Ministrene er udstyret med den bedst mulige videnskabelige rådgivning om bæredygtige fangstkvoter, men når mødet går i gang og festen begynder, glemmes alt om den videnskabelige rådgivning. Vores politikere er i stedet for i færd med at give efter for fiskerierhvervets pres og tillade, at der fanges flere fisk i vores have, end hvad er forsvarligt og dermed godkende at overfiskeri fortsættes hvert år.

    Vi har en nu en meget vigtig anledning til at rette op på denne elendighed! Skriv til EU’s fiskeriministre for at opfordre at der sættes en stopper for overfiskeri.

  • Die ganze Nacht aufbleiben, um Fisch zu bekommen (Quote)

    Die ganze Nacht aufbleiben, um Fisch zu bekommen (Quote)

    Jedes Jahr im Dezember treffen sich Fischereiminister aus der gesamten EU in Brüssel, um die jährlichen Fanggrenzen für den Atlantik und die Nordsee zu verhandeln. Sie kommen mit den bestmöglichen wissenschaftlichen Empfehlungen von Wissenschaftlern zu dem Treffen. Aber wenn die Türen geschlossen sind, beginnt die Party und der wissenschaftliche Rat wird vergessen. Stattdessen entscheiden sich die Minister für zu hohe Fangquoten und geben dem  Druck der Industrie nach und vertreten deren Interessen. Dies führt zu mehr Überfischung. Ja, jedes Jahr sind sich unsere Fischereiminister einig mehr Fische aus dem Meer zu holen, als Wissenschaftler für nachhaltig halten.

    Dieser Wahnsinn muss ein Ende haben. Lass EU Kommissar Vella und die EU Fischereiminister wissen, dass Du ein Ende der Überfischung forderst!