Compromise resolves Baltic logjam
The compromises reached between the EU Parliament and the Council of Ministers on the Baltic Sea plan are set to trigger draft plans for the North Sea and north-western waters, according to the NFFO.
Crowdfunded film points the finger at ocean privatisation
A film by French filmmaker Mathilde Jounot has been premiered at the annual Pêcheurs du Monde film festival currently taking place in Lorient. The crowd-funded documentary attracted enough backing to be able to delve into issues surrounding increasing regulation of the oceans, as well as the question of privatisation and the shadowy role in this played by NGOs.
French fishermen threaten blockade
A Parliamentary amendment linked to the Biodiversity Act that would ban deep water trawling will be voted on by French deputies later this week. France’s fishing industry is furious and Olivier le Nezet, chairman of the Brittany Fisheries Committee has said that such a ban would be a disaster.
Germany seeks sweeping North Sea closures
Natura 2000 areas in German waters could be set to be closed to a variety of fishing activities as the German government seeks to implement restrictions over an area that comprises approximately 31% of the German EEZ, with implications for German and Danish fishermen, as well as those of other neighbouring nations.
Pew’s Baltic spin
Europêche, the leading trade body representing the fishing industry in Europe, has hit back at claims in an article published in the Guardian on Thursday 10th of March that states that a leaked European Commission plan concerning the Baltic Sea would open the gates to overfishing. The article claims that that cod in the Baltic may become extinct and that some fish stocks are in such a poor condition that scientists are even unable to carry out a proper evaluation.
Long overdue – EU brings in new rules
The European Commission has presented proposals for new conservation measures in European waters. So far, these have been decided at EU level through a long adoption process that has frequently resulted in regulation that is cumbersome, complex and often contradictory.
World’s first carbon neutral seafood
Australian fishing company Austral Fisheries, producers of Glacier 51 toothfish and Skull Island prawns, chose today, Sustainable Seafood Day Australia 2016, to announce that they have become the world’s first carbon-neutral seafood business.
Industry ‘beset by corruption’
In an open letter to the Boston Globe, Shannon Eldredge and Niaz Dorry of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance have stated that the fishing fishing industry is becoming one ‘beset with corruption,’ and have pointed to the case of Carlos Rafael who was arrested recently after a sting by the tax authorities.
Deep sea policy should stay in line with standards and science
Members of Europêche today met DG MARE director general Joao Aguiar Machado to express their concerns over the current negotiations regarding possible restrictions on bottom trawling in the deep sea which could see a ban from 800m introduced, even for already regulated areas in international waters.
Why look to nature when you can blame management?
Ray Hilborn of the University of Washington has accused Dr. Geoff Shester, California campaign director for Oceana, of ignoring science to pursue a pre-arranged agenda.