Archives: news

  • Video: Giant Pop-up book delivered to EU Commissioners as 150,000 Europeans call on EU to ban bottom-trawling

    Video: Giant Pop-up book delivered to EU Commissioners as 150,000 Europeans call on EU to ban bottom-trawling

    A giant colourful pop-up book depicting the devastation caused by destructive bottom trawling – and how the marine environment thrives in its absence – was delivered to European Union (EU) Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius by NGOs this morning, on behalf of more than 150,000 Europeans who have signed a petition calling for the EU to phase out destructive fishing practices, starting with an immediate ban of bottom trawling in all Marine Protected Areas.

    More than 150,000 Europeans call on EU to ban bottom-trawling to protect ocean and climate

     

    The tens of thousands of signatories are demanding that EU Commissioner Sinkevičius (responsible for the environment, ocean and fisheries) and EU Commission Executive Vice-president Frans Timmermans (responsible for the EU Green Deal) include a ban on bottom-trawling in the upcoming EU ‘Action plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems’ (Ocean Action Plan), to be adopted next spring. Bottom trawling, the most harmful fishing method for the environment and climate, is widely used in Europe where it impacts more than 50% of the seabed, and even takes place inside Marine Protected Areas.

    Oceana, Seas At Risk, Our Fish, WeMove Europe, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, and Environmental Justice Foundation, delivered the 1.5m by 2.5m pop-up book, which features both Commissioners Sinkevičius and Timmermans embarking on an ocean adventure modeled on The Life Aquatic, a popular film which references the work of famous ocean explorer and conservationist Jacques-Yves Cousteau, outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. The book presents a story on how the EU has the chance to turn the tide on destructive fishing by banning bottom-trawling, through a journey from current underwater devastation to a healthy, thriving and resilient marine environment.

    Vera Coelho, Senior Director of Advocacy at Oceana in Europe said “Marine Protected Areas, as the name suggests, are supposed to afford protection to marine life, yet in 2020 over 2.5 million hours of bottom-trawling took place inside them. It is unacceptable that the EU continues condoning the destruction of the very places it has committed to protect. This madness can and must be fixed now, for good.”

    Tobias Troll, Marine Policy Director at Seas At Risk added “European citizens start to realise that the seas are fragile ecosystems that need protection because they are the life support system of the planet. Destructive fishing techniques like bottom trawling must end, inside marine protected areas but also beyond. We need a just transition to low impact fisheries to protect biodiversity and allow future generations of small scale fisherfolk and coastal communities to have a good life.

    Rebecca Hubbard, Program Director, Our Fish said “We can’t just continue with pledges and promises forever – we are running out of time and every ton of carbon counts. It’s time that the EU got serious about transitioning out of destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling, which produces CO2 emissions through burning fuel, releasing carbon stored in the seabed, and depleting fish populations, and instead secured a sustainable and resilient future for our climate, ocean and coastal communities.” 

    Giulio Carini, Senior Campaigner, WeMove Europe said: “Almost half of the EU population lives within 50 kilometers of the sea, and no one wants to have a devastated and dead ocean for decades to come.” 

    Steve Trent, CEO, Environmental Justice Foundation said: “As well as destroying ocean ecosystems, endangering wildlife, and threatening coastal livelihoods, bottom trawling is also hastening climate breakdown. This practice churns up the seabed, releasing vital stores of carbon that have lain safely locked away for centuries. It is gravely disappointing that the EU, which has led progressive efforts to improve sustainability in fisheries, still allows bottom trawling within protected areas. This must end now.”

    Background

    –     Bottom-contacting gear, including dredging and bottom trawling, is the most unselective and destructive fishing gear. The method involves dragging heavy weighted nets across the sea floor, indiscriminately catching all types of living creatures and habitats that happen to be on their way. Such trawling can strip up to 41% of invertebrate life from the sea-bed, and the ocean floor can take many years to recover. Its continuous use has led to drastic, and in some cases irreversible, degradation of marine ecosystems including habitats like corals and seagrass, as well as sensitive species like sharks, turtles and dolphins. Moreover, bottom trawling disturbs the seabed and releases large amounts of carbon stored in sediments into the sea – novel, early-stage research suggests a level of released carbon that would put it on par with the aviation sector (study).

    –     Recent data by Oceana revealed how EU countries continue to allow destructive fishing in Europe’s Marine Protected Areas, with over 2.5 million hours of bottom fishing occurring in 2020 inside areas supposedly designated to protect Europe’s most valuable and threatened marine species and habitats.

    –     A socioeconomic analysis commissioned by Seas At Risk has revealed that a ban on bottom-contacting gear (bottom trawling and bottom dredging) in Marine Protected Areas would yield net benefits as soon as four years after the ban comes into force.

    –     The EU Action plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems, announced in the EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, is expected in 2022. An EU public consultation is open until December 20th..

  • Stunning Mural Delivers Ocean & Climate Action Message in European Commissioner’s Hometown

    Stunning Mural Delivers Ocean & Climate Action Message in European Commissioner’s Hometown


    Our Fish today presented a stunning mural, “Heartbeat of the Ocean” – painted on a nine-floor apartment building in Vilnius, Lithuania by the world-renowned team of Spanish artists Boa Mistura – to the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, as an early Christmas gift; the mural send a strong reminder that not only is the health of the ocean in his hands, but that the Commissioner must act with urgency to protect it and the climate.

    “Save the Ocean to Save the Climate” is the message of the 300 square metre fresco, created during freezing temperatures by the artists of Boa Mistura, on the entire wall of a nine-storey apartment building at Sausio 13-osios st. 7, near Vilnius’s famed TV tower.

    Stunning Mural Delivers Ocean & Climate Action Message in European Commissioner’s Hometown
    “Save the Ocean to Save the Climate” – message to Virginijus Sinkevičius in Vilnius, Lithuania. Our Fish/Dalius Pacevičius

    “Our Fish wishes to send the people of Vilnius and European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, a Christmas gift that lasts – a bold and beautiful mural that reminds us that the health of Europe’s ocean life is in our hands, and we must act with courage and commitment to protect it for future generations,” said Rebecca Hubbard, Program Director of the Our Fish campaign, which works to end overfishing and restore a healthy ocean ecosystem.

    The mural, which features fish, whales and other ocean creatures, aims to invite Vilnius’ residents, guests and decision-makers to pay more attention to protection of the ocean, and the importance of a healthy ocean to climate action.

    “European seas have been heavily overfished and the ecosystems degraded over many decades. This not only destroys wildlife and diminishes the ocean’s ability to provide us with food and jobs, it undermines its capacity to store carbon and adapt to the climate emergency,” said Hubbard.

    “Commissioner Sinkevičius must use his power, and act with inspired urgency to phase out destructive fishing and ensure a just transition to low-impact fishing, so that we can restore the ocean’s health and ensure it can keep defending us from the worst of climate change”.

    Stunning Mural Delivers Ocean & Climate Action Message in European Commissioner’s Hometown
    The Boa Mistura Team. Our Fish/Dalius Pacevičius

    The mural has been painted by four members of the Boa Mistura team, Pablo Ferreiro, Juan Jaume, Pablo Puron and Javier Ballesteros. Boa Mistura’s huge colourful works adorn buildings and streets, in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, France, USA, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, China, and in other countries.

    “We have created this mural of sea creatures in Vilnius, representing how the Ocean is the heart of planet Earth. Without a healthy ocean, we cannot have a healthy planet – no heart, no life”, said Pablo Puróne, a member of Boa Mistura. “Our mural in Vilnius is our message to the world: message ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’”.

    The European Commission is developing an Action Plan to make fisheries more sustainable, and protect marine ecosystems and their biodiversity, as a key part of their European Green Deal and Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The European Commission is currently asking people for their feedback on the Action Plan in a targeted consultation until December 20.

    “I’m happy that the old Vilnius district of Karoliniškės just became more colourful. But even more – I’m delighted that this mural will remind passengers every day that ocean and sea creatures depend on our everyday choices. The seaside is quite far from Vilnius – we tend to remember it only in summer. But actually, our daily habits add up to climate change, or on the contrary – help to stop it. How we drive past this huge painting, what we eat each day – it’s time to pay more attention to these things. Oceans are warming and becoming uncomfortable to live in. We must pay attention to our carbon footprint, also to the fish species we eat if we want them to also stay in the oceans, not only in the mural,” said Inga Labutytė-Atkočaitienė, from the Lithuanian Fund for Nature, who spoke at the launch of the mural.

     

    Stunning Mural Delivers Ocean & Climate Action Message in European Commissioner’s Hometown

     

  • Globally Acclaimed Artists Boa Mistura Begin Ocean-Climate-Action Mural in Vilnius, Lithuania

    Globally Acclaimed Artists Boa Mistura Begin Ocean-Climate-Action Mural in Vilnius, Lithuania

    Work on Ocean Mural in Vilnius Commences

     

    The world-renowned team of Spanish artists Boa Mistura is this week creating a reminder of how important healthy oceans are to our wellbeing, by creating a huge mural in Vilnius, Lithuania. Work began this week on the  300 square metre fresco, Heartbeat of the Ocean, which will soon adorn the entire wall of a nine-storey apartment building at Sausio 13-osios st. 7, near Vilnius’s famed TV tower. The mural intends to inspire action to reverse deterioration of the ocean – and negative impacts on the climate.

    Fish and other ocean creatures are the heroes in the painting, commissioned by Our Fish, a campaign  working to end overfishing and restore a healthy ocean ecosystem. The mural aims to invite Vilnius’ residents, guests and decision-makers to pay more attention to legal protection of the oceans and other water bodies.

    Save the Ocean to Save the Climate

    “We chose Vilnius for the Heartbeat of the Ocean mural, as it is the home city of the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius. His mission to rebuild healthy fish populations and thriving ecosystems will not only ensure the oceans’ abilities to continue supporting life on the planet by providing all of us with oxygen and food – it will also contribute to sustaining the oceans’ protective powers against the worst effects of climate change”, Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish Program Director, says.

    According to Hubbard, the European Commission is currently preparing an action plan to conserve fishery resources and protect marine ecosystems. “It is crucial for this plan to set out a pathway for reducing the devastating impact of overfishing on marine life and for bolstering the ocean’s capacity to store carbon. This pathway should outline a transition from destructive bottom trawling towards sustainable fisheries that will also benefit the marine environment and support the livelihoods of our coastal communities”, adds Hubbard.

    The mural will be painted by four members of the Boa Mistura team. These artists’ works, mostly huge, coloured paintings on buildings or streets, are visible in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, France, USA, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, China, and in other countries.

    Work on Ocean Mural in Vilnius Commences
    The Boa Mistura team start work: Photo: Our Fish/Dalius Pacevičius

    “This mural in Vilnius is a new symbol representing awareness and care of the ocean. We have created a heart made of different marine species. It reminds us that every heartbeat of the planet comes from the bottom of the sea, and protecting and caring for marine biodiversity is of vital importance,“ Boa Mistura team members say.

    The slogan “Save the ocean to save the climate” will appear on the bottom of the mural. The nine-storey building was chosen for its strategic location providing great visibility for a large flow of residents and tourists. It’s on a lively avenue, next to the headquarters of the National Social Insurance, large supermarkets, and a polyclinic. The Boa Mistura team will complete their work in the next two weeks.

    Stay tuned for updates!

    The Our Fish Team

  • Fish and the Ocean Play A Crucial Role In Regulating Our Climate and Should Not Be Consigned to COP26 Sidelines

    Fish and the Ocean Play A Crucial Role In Regulating Our Climate and Should Not Be Consigned to COP26 Sidelines

    Save the Ocean to Save the Climate: Illustration by Boa Mistura
    Save the Ocean to Save the Climate: Illustration by Boa Mistura.

    By Emma Cavan, Erica M. Ferrer and U. Rashid Sumaila

    We are three scientists from different life backgrounds and professional pathways: female and male; Latin-American, African and Anglo heritage; student researcher, doctor and professor; biogeochemist, marine biologist, and economist. But as diverse as our fields of study may seem, two things unite us: we have known for a long time that a healthy ocean is critical to life on earth; and, more recently, we’ve learned that healthy fisheries are a crucial and deliverable part of climate action.

    We want the world to know that conserving fish, fisheries, marine ecosystems, and the carbon services they provide, will help us secure the environmental future we need. Ocean issues, including but not limited to fishing, should hold a greater place front-and-center when it comes to drafting climate policies, and we view the UN climate conference, COP26 in Glasgow, as a prime opportunity to make that happen.

    Humanity is nothing without the ocean. It is the source of all life on our planet, it produces half the oxygen we breathe, provides a reservoir for biodiversity, and is the second largest store of carbon on Earth. Currently, the ocean takes up (“sequesters”) 20-30% of global emissions, and has absorbed over 90% of the excess heat generated since the start of the industrial revolution. Without the cooling effect of the ocean, the global temperature would be, by some estimates, 35°C degrees warmer, making life on unearth untenable for most species, ourselves included.

    Evidence that burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and is bad for the climate has been apparent now for decades, but the data and understanding of fish and fishing’s influence on the ocean’s capacity to store that carbon is less well known. Fortunately, this knowledge has been rapidly advancing in recent years.

    We are members of a group of scientists working to understand how ending overfishing would improve ocean health, and in turn, contribute to improving the ocean’s ability to store carbon. The ocean may be the source of all life on our planet, but it is also on the frontlines of what the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, describes as “humanity’s war on nature”. In the case of the ocean, this war is fought in part with industrial fishing vessels, designed to track down and capture massive amounts of fish.

    If we continue on this path, we might trigger irreversible changes to the ecological conditions under which humanity has evolved and thrived. To navigate ourselves out of this mess, we must turn the political landscape that equipped and enabled this war into one which recognises ocean biodiversity, and the preservation of healthy fish populations, as integral to climate and ecological “success”. In order to achieve this, countries must demobilise and redirect, retool and re-equip their fisheries; instead of racing to catch shrinking fish populations, we need to fish less, and in ways that respect marine food webs, while ending the obliteration of so-called ‘unwanted’ species, and supporting human livelihoods. At the same time, we must acknowledge and support the efforts of fishing operators striving to fish sustainably, and support small-scale fishers and coastal communities in becoming more resilient to climate change. Research shows that this way is possible, it absorbs more carbon, has lower carbon emissions, and is good for both people and profits.

    A recent paper by Enric Sala and colleagues outlines how all marine sediments combine to form the largest pool of organic carbon on the planet, however, destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling cause the release of CO2 stored in marine sediment. By their estimates, approximately 1.47 billion tonnes of carbon are released by bottom trawling every year, a similar volume to emissions from the global aviation industry. For Europeans, this is especially relevant because new research shows that European seas are some of the most heavily trawled but carbon-rich. The ocean is a fantastic source for solutions, but to unlock them, evidence shows that we must lock out destructive fishing practices.

    Ocean solutions to climate change can provide up to one-fifth of the necessary emissions reductions we need if we are to limit climate change to 1.5°C, and leaving fish in the ocean can contribute to these efforts. This is new, it’s exciting, and it’s climate action that we can (and we desperately need to) deliver quickly.

    At the COP26 negotiations in Glasgow, nature will be discussed as central to strategies on lessening climate change. And although the third ‘Because the Ocean’ declaration will be launched by coastal/island nations from across the globe, and other blue carbon events will explain the incredible benefits of ocean-climate solutions, these are likely to play second fiddle to the nitty gritty of carbon counting that goes in the official negotiations.

    On the eaves of this year’s conference, that is the 5th COP since the signing of the Paris Agreement, many big-emitter countries are struggling to demonstrate how their promises to reduce emissions will be enough to substantively curb the climate emergency we’re in. And in some cases, even our language is lacking, where for example any mention of the ocean during negotiations has been few and far between.

    We have known for decades that ending overfishing is the right thing to do for fishers and for biodiversity, and increasingly so, we see how protecting the ocean and its many inhabitants offers us real, decisive and essential means to partake in “climate action”. As scientists who study fish and fisheries, we contend that every country with an ocean-going fleet can take steps to enact ocean-climate action today by phasing out destructive fishing practices (including overfishing), and counting fish as part of their national inventories of carbon emissions and storage. A healthy ocean isn’t a sideshow to climate action, it is essential, and we need to start treating it as such.

    Emma Cavan is a Research Fellow at Imperial College, London

    Erica M. Ferrer is a PhD candidate at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego

    Rashid Sumaila is a University Killam Professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver

    More:
    COP26 Event: Video with Emma Cavan & Rashid Sumaila for Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing on November 9th
    Take Action – COP26: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate
    Press release: COP26: Not a Moment to Waste: Ocean Climate Action Needs to be Counted Now

  • ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks

    ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks

    ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks

     

    Activists took a chilly swim in the North-East Atlantic Ocean this morning to demonstrate the importance and value of the ocean in mitigating the effects of climate change, at Ardrossan Beach, near Glasgow where the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, is currently being held, on 4 November 2021. 

    The event was organised by the Our Fish campaign, which works to end overfishing in European waters, which apart from securing fish populations for the future, is essential to address the biodiversity and climate crisis.

    “Freezing our asses off in the Atlantic this morning isn’t just a great way to fortify yourself for the coming days of COP26, it’s a hardy reminder that we need to save the ocean to save the climate”, said Our Fish advisor Mike Walker, who was one of the swimmers. “Decision makers at COP26 must embrace the power of the ocean to fight climate change – and as the largest carbon sink on the planet, climate action plans must include ending destructive activities like bottom trawling and overfishing”.

    How you can help: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate

    In Glasgow? Join our COP26 Event: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing on November 9th

    Today’s swim followers an earlier event in Marseille, during the IUCN World Congress

    Download high resolution photographs here.

     

    ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks 

    Photos: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Our Fish

  • COP26: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate

    COP26: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate

     

     

    Save the Ocean to Save the Climate

    At COP26, world leaders – including the UK and the EU – must agree on actions to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. This action must include drastic cuts to greenhouse gas emissions AND action to deliver a healthy and resilient ocean. 

    We need fisheries – in the EU, UK and internationally – to transition from destructive fishing- and overfishing, which exacerbates CO2 emissions and undermine ocean health, and instead move to low-impact, low-carbon fishing that can restore ocean health and its capacity to mitigate the effects of climate change.

    The ocean must be fully integrated into the climate process. The ocean regulates our climate and buffers us from the full force of climate change by absorbing over 90% of our excess heat and over a third of our CO2 emissions. By making ocean action a core part of climate action, we can help it help us.

    This means we need to start counting the contribution that fish, marine life and marine habitats make to storing carbon – “blue carbon” – as well as the full carbon emissions from the fishing industry

    TAKE ACTION TODAY

    1. Take a photo of yourself with the poster “Save the Ocean to Save the Climate” and post it to twitter or Instagram with #oceanclimateaction and tag your favourite politician.  The most creative photo will win a free Our Fish t-shirt!
    2. Sign up to get emails and take ocean climate action with us > https://save.our.fish/ 
    3. Buy a t-shirt or a hoodie with this beautiful artwork > https://ourfish.teemill.com/ 
    4. Come to our Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing on Tuesday 9th November at Ottoman Coffee House. If you didn’t make it, you can watch the video here.
    5. Read this article by three scientists on why Fish and the Ocean Play A Crucial Role In Regulating Our Climate and Should Not Be Consigned to COP26 Sidelines

    Needs more information? Contact info@our.fish

  • COP26 Event: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing (Video)

    COP26 Event: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing (Video)

    When? This event took place from 0800-0900 (UK Time), Tuesday 9th November

    Where: Ottoman Coffee house, 73 Berkeley St, Glasgow, UK 

    COP26 is a vital point in the response to the global climate emergency. One of the biggest carbon stores is our seas, yet it is not included in nations’ climate change plans, and emissions or sequestration from it are not yet counted in the UK, the EU, or any nation’s annual emissions statistics. This briefing aims to provide an introduction to the role our seas play in addressing the climate crisis and what more should be done to manage activities taking place in them.

    Join our Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing with:

    • Dr Rashid Sumaila, Professor and Director of the Fisheries Economics Research Unit at the University of British Columbia Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
    • Dr Emma Cavan, Research Fellow, Imperial College London
    • Claudia Beamish, former Member of Scottish Parliament and Special Advisor to the Scottish Labour Group on COP26
    • Mike Walker, Our Fish 

    Moderated by Phil Rhodri Taylor, Open Seas

    More reading:
    Fish and the Ocean Play A Crucial Role In Regulating Our Climate and Should Not Be Consigned to COP26 Sidelines – by Emma Cavan, Erica Ferrer and Rashid Sumaila

    Press release: COP26: Not a Moment to Waste: Ocean Climate Action Needs to be Counted Now

     

    Organised by Our Fish and Open Seas

  • Video: Listen to the Ocean

    Video: Listen to the Ocean

    As EU fisheries ministers arrived for the AGRIFISH Council meeting on Monday October 11 in Luxembourg, they received a musical exhortation from a quartet of classical musicians and an opera singer, calling on them to Listen to the Ocean and the science, by setting fishing limits within scientific advice.

    Arel Ensemble performed excerpts from String Quartet No. 4 by Bacewicz, String Quartet No. 8 by Shostakovich, String Quartet in E Minor by Czerny, and Movement for String Quartet by Copland, and were joined by mezzo-soprano opera singer Luisa Mauro for Il Tramonto by Respighi outside the European Convention Centre in Luxembourg, where EU fisheries ministers are gathering to set fishing limits for Baltic Sea fish populations for 2022. EU Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius attended the performance.

    I’m performing this morning because I am sensitive to the future of our planet and music is my way of expression”, said mezzo-soprano opera singer Luisa Mauro.“I believe it is important to use an ecosystem-based approach to regulate access to marine resources, in order to ensure sustainability, and to prohibit destructive fishing methods”.

    “The Arel Ensemble is proud to play outside the AGRIFISH meeting here in Luxembourg this morning, to promote the need to fight for the planet and a better, sustainable future!” said Bartłomiej Ciastoń, first violin. “With our Polish roots, the musicians of Arel Ensemble are well placed to respond to, and understand the need, to protect the Baltic Sea from overfishing. As musicians, we are taking action to preserve nature and help the marine environment in a way that we do the best and with heart – by playing music”.

    “Today, the EU AGRIFISH Council will set fishing limits for Baltic Sea fish populations for 2022. We are running against the clock to stop the collapse of the Baltic Sea ecosystem and deliver on political promises to halt the climate and nature crises”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish Program Director. “The setting of fishing opportunities at sustainable levels is an essential precondition to deliver on these promises. Baltic Fisheries Ministers must listen to the ocean and the science, by setting fishing limits within scientific advice.”

    Arel Ensemble is a string quartet based in Belgium and Luxembourg. Its musicians are members of the finest orchestras in the Benelux region and devoted chamber music players.

    Luisa Mauro is a mezzo-soprano opera singer who has performed across Europe and Asia in festivals, concert houses and recorded for Stradivarius label. She teaches vocal technique, interpretation and linguistic support, and in 2019 received the nomination of Chevalier de l’Ordre de Mérite of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

    Video by Mattia Belleville:.

    Press release: Listen to the Ocean: EU AGRIFISH Fisheries Ministers Receive Face the Music: End Baltic Overfishing

    Press release: AGRIFISH: Some Baltic Fish Still in Crisis as the EU Starts to Consider Ecosystem Impacts

  • Mehr als 17.000 Menschen haben an die Europäische Kommission geschrieben – hier ist ihre Antwort

    Mehr als 17.000 Menschen haben an die Europäische Kommission geschrieben – hier ist ihre Antwort

    Save the Ocean. Save the Climate

    Am 19. Juli überreichte Our Fish dem EU-Kommissar für Umwelt, Ozeane und Fischerei, Virginijus Sinkevičius, eine von 17.296 Personen unterzeichnete Petition. In dieser wird die EU dringend aufgefordert, die Natur- und Klimakrise zu verhindern beziehungsweise umzukehren, indem die zerstörerische Überfischung beendet und ein fairer Übergang zu einem auf dem Ökosystem basierenden Fischereimanagement unterstützt wird.

    Im September 2021 hat die EU-Kommission einen Brief an Our Fish zurückgeschickt, dessen Botschaft den Unterzeichnern der Petition mitgeteilt werden soll.

    Hier kannst du das Schreiben der Kommission lesen.

    Im Folgenden findest du unsere Analyse des Briefes, das Gute, das Schlechte – und das Abwesende:

    Die Gemeinsame Fischereipolitik (GFP)

    In dem Schreiben betont die Europäische Kommission, dass die vollständige Umsetzung der Gemeinsamen Fischereipolitik (GFP) zu einer nachhaltigen Fischerei führen würde. Die GFP, die alle EU-Mitgliedstaaten unterzeichnet haben und mit der sowohl die Überfischung als auch die verschwenderische Praxis, tote oder sterbende Fische zurück ins Meer zu werfen, in Europa beendet werden soll, wurde jedoch nie vollständig umgesetzt. Tatsächlich hat die EU sowohl die ursprüngliche Frist der GFP von 2015 als auch die neue Frist von 2020 für die Festlegung von Fanggrenzen im Rahmen wissenschaftlicher Gutachten versäumt. In europäischen Gewässern werden viele Arten bis zur Belastungsgrenze gefischt und Ökosysteme zerstört. Die Überfischung wird mit der Zustimmung der Fischereiminister der EU-Länder fortgesetzt, die routinemäßig Fanggrenzen jenseits wissenschaftlicher Gutachten festlegen und dabei die Leitlinien der GFP ignorieren.

    Darüber hinaus wird der Klimawandel in der GFP erst gar nicht erwähnt. Daher reicht sie als Lösungen nicht aus, um sowohl eine Verschlimmerung der globalen Erwärmung durch zerstörerische und umweltverschmutzende Fischerei zu verhindern als auch die Ozeane vor den Auswirkungen der Klimaveränderung zu schützen beziehungsweise die Gesundheit der Ozeane wiederherzustellen. Nur so können uns die Meere vor einem weiteren Zusammenbruch des Klimas schützen.

    Ohne vollständige Umsetzung und Ergänzung durch einen Aktionsplan*, der die Auswirkungen der Fischerei auf das Klima- und Ökosystem limitiert, werden die von der EU festgelegten Regeln und Vereinbarungen zur GFP nicht ausreichen, um die Gesundheit der Meere zu schützen und wiederherzustellen. *Im Rahmen der EU-Biodiversitätsstrategie für 2030 hat sich die EU zu einem Aktionsplan zur Erhaltung der Fischereiressourcen und zum Schutz der Meeresökosysteme verpflichtet, um die schädlichsten Auswirkungen der Fischerei auf die marine Biodiversität und den Meeresboden zu begrenzen.

    Rentabilität

    In dem Schreiben der Kommission taucht ein bekanntes Argument auf, das Our Fish schon oft von der Politik gehört hat; dass der Umweltschutz mit der Rentabilität der Industrie in Einklang gebracht werden muss. Natürlich ist es wichtig, Lebensgrundlagen zu berücksichtigen. Aber ein Blick auf die Geschichte zeigt uns, dass Umweltzerstörung kurzfristig einige Reiche begünstigt, aber die Rentabilität langfristig steigt, wenn der Fischbestand gesund ist. Der beste Weg, um die Gewinne und die Zukunft der Fischereiindustrie zu sichern, besteht darin, die Gesundheit der Ozeane und des Fischbestands zu schützen.

    Fischereiausrüstung und Flotten

    Our Fish begrüßt die Zusage der Kommission, die schädlichste Fischereiausrüstung einzuschränken. Allerdings erfordert die Wiederherstellung der Gesundheit der Meere mehr als nur die Limitierung einiger schädlicher Fanggeräte. Wir brauchen einen Plan zur Umstellung der gesamten EU-Fischereiflotte auf eine kohlenstoffarme Flotte mit geringerer Klimaauswirkung. Einer Flotte, bei der diejenigen Fischer, die der Umwelt und der Gemeinschaft zugute kommen, mit Zugang zu den Ressourcen belohnt werden und faire Wettbewerbsbedingungen durch die Abschaffung aller Subventionen auf die Kraftstoffsteuer geschaffen werden.

    Die Kampagne von Our Fish, die sich zum Ziel gesetzt hat, die Überfischung zu beenden und eine nachhaltige Fischerei in EU-Gewässern zu erreichen, geht weiter: In den kommenden Monaten wird es weitere spannende Möglichkeiten geben, um echte Veränderungen zum Wohle unserer Ozeane zu erreichen. Wenn du bei unserer Kampagne mitmachen möchtest, melde dich bitte unter https://save.our.fish/ an.

     

    Our Fish handover petition to
    Kommissar Virginijus Sinkevičius erhält Petition von Our Fish