EMFF launched in UK
With EFF shut down at the end of 2015, its place has been taken by the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), which was announced last week at a meeting at Poole in the south of England.
Nouakchott Declaration calls for support on IUU
President of Mauritania Ould Abdel Aziz, who also chairs the African Union, has urged urgent action to halt the flow of illicit finance and illegal fishing.
Newlyn’s Seafood Champions
The Malta SeaWeb Seafood Champions award, held at the end of the three-day seafood summit in Malta, has gone to Newlyn fishing company Crystal Sea Fishing.
Fishing activist held
There have been international protests over the arrest and detention of Saeeed Baloch, general secretary of the Pakistani Fisherfolk Forum.
Europêche debunks Pauly overfishing claims
Scientists around the world have been quick to criticise an NGO-funded study by Daniel Pauly and others, arguing that it does not tell us anything about the state of fish stocks or about the need for further management. The paper claims that the global catch data, as reported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), is incorrect and it should in fact be lower, citing overfishing as the cause.
Supermarket backs revamped RFS
UK supermarket chain Waitrose has announced that all British vessels supplying its seafood should be part of Responsible Fishing Scheme by 2017.
Danish shrimp closer to MSC certification
The Danish shrimp fishery has moved a step closer towards attaining MSC certification, which is expected to provide the fishery with an advantage in sales terms as well as being a benefit to the stock.
Small-scale fishermen unrepresented at Malta conference
A conference organised by the European Association of Fisheries Economists (EAFE) and with EU Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella in attendance, is due to take place in Malta on the 4th and 5th of February.
French shift towards ITQs
Following an application by Brittany PO Cobrenord, France’s Competition Authority (Authorité de la Concurrence) has published its opinion that the present system of collective quotas as used in France is inefficient and constitutes a threat to fair competition.
NFFO slams ray decision as bad government
NFFO President Paul Trebilcock has criticise the decision to add small-eyed ray to the list of prohibited species, commenting that the decision was made at the December Council with no prior warning, no discussion and without anticipating the consequences.