The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has agreed to a resolution that asks the US government to address a suite of concerns before acting on the proposed expansion on the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (MNM) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The proposed monument expansion could prohibit commercial tuna fishing by US vessels in two-thirds of US offshore waters around Hawaii.
Sweden’s Marine and Water Authority (HaV) is focusing on more protected areas, with a target of 10% of the marine environment under protection by 2020.
Hawaii’s Hunting Farming and Fishing Association has set up a petition asking the President of the US not to extend the North-West Hawaiian Island Marine Monument from 50 miles to 200 miles around the islands, claiming that such an extension would have devastating impacts on small business, fisheries, and culture without justification or public input.
Proposals to lock more than a million square kilometres of ocean into a vast marine protected area (MPA) have been hit by setbacks as the Austral Islands question why such an arrangement is needed. The proposals are for an area around the southernmost islands of French Polynesia to become an MPA, but the process has received far from unanimous support from the islands’ government.
A Belgian-flagged bulk carrier remains at anchor in the lee of the Isle of Arran, having been there for more than a week.
Research has provided a more accurate picture of the effects of trawl gears in MPAs, providing scientists with a better understanding of the level of fishing activity that can be carried out within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), allowing them to remain compatible with conservation objectives.
Feelings ran high in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh today as both fishermen and the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) demonstrated outside over proposals that would restrict towed gear fishing across thirteen sites to due to be protected. These include Loch Sween, South Arran, Upper Loch Fyne and St Kilda.
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) is urging Scottish parliamentarians to support local communities on the West coast by rejecting Scottish Government proposals for an overly restrictive Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Firth of Clyde.
Fishermen from the west of Scotland and the Scottish islands are planning a demonstration on the 27th of January to start at 0900 outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.
Scientists now have a better understanding of the level of fishing activity that can be carried out within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and still remain compatible with conservation objectives, thanks to new research.