Saving Seafood

Brexit Could Spark The Next Big Fishing War

August 19, 2019 — Britain’s looming exit from the European Union threatens to spark a new fishing war ― one that risks depleting stocks at a moment when warming seas are already stressing aquatic populations.

Newly sworn-in British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to take his country out of the bloc by the end of October with or without a deal. That raises the possibility of fresh conflicts as European and British trawlers compete for catches in once-shared fisheries and regulatory enforcement falls to the wayside.

A so-called “no-deal Brexit” would pull the United Kingdom out of the EU’s common fisheries policy and could affect “nearly every fishery and species caught commercially in the Northeast Atlantic,” said Michael Harte, a professor and fisheries policy expert at Oregon State University.

Read the full story at The Huffington Post

Brussels enacts emergency ban to protect Baltic cod

July 24, 2019 — Emergency measures to save the ailing eastern Baltic cod stock from impending collapse have been announced by the European Commission. With immediate effect, commercial fishing for cod is banned in most of the Baltic Sea until 31 December, 2019.

The ban covers all fishing vessels and applies in all those areas of the Baltic Sea where the largest part of the stock is present, namely subdivisions 24-26, except for some specific targeted derogations.

It follows measures that have already been taken by some European Union member states, but given that these measures have not ensured a uniform approach in all areas where the eastern Baltic cod stock is found, and that not all member states intended to adopt national measures, the Commission decided that further emergency action was warranted.

“The impact of this cod stock collapsing would be catastrophic for the livelihoods of many fishermen and coastal communities all around the Baltic Sea. We must urgently act to rebuild the stock – in the interest of fish and fishermen alike. That means responding rapidly to an immediate threat now, through the emergency measures the commission is taking. But it also means managing the stock – and the habitat it lives in – properly in the long term,” E.U. Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs, and Fisheries Karmenu Vella.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

“Stocks remain at risk” – Lords slam poor implementation of EU discard ban

July 17, 2019 — Six months after the rules took effect, the U.K. government does not know the extent of compliance with the E.U.’s landing obligation and the fact that the anticipated challenges have not arisen raises concerns that illegal discarding may still be taking place, according to the House of Lords E.U. Energy and Environment Sub-Committee’s new report, “The E.U. fisheries landing obligation: six months on.”

The committee has found that the new rules seem to have had little impact since they came in to full force six months ago. If the landing obligation were being complied with, the committee heard that some vessels would have to stop fishing halfway through the year, and that storage facilities and supply chains would struggle to cope with the amount of undersized fish being brought to shore. It stated that neither of these eventualities have occurred, suggesting fishers are continuing to discard fish illegally.

In its report, the committee highlights that if fishing is permitted above the maximum level that scientific advice states is sustainable, the long-term damage to fish stocks could pose a serious threat to the fishing industry. Given the important ecological reasons for the introduction of the landing obligation, it is concerning both that the government believes illegal discarding is still taking place and that it does not know the extent of compliance, it said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New “Fishyleaks” website seeks to blow the whistle on EU overfishing

July 12, 2019 — A new website launched by the NGO Our Fish aims to provide a confidential, anonymous and secure way for people working in the E.U. fishing industry, public authorities or other areas to report what they believe are improper, unethical or illegal fishing practices.

“We created Fishyleaks to help those who want to share information with us, in a confidential, anonymous and secure manner,” Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish program director, said. “Europe’s fisheries are a common resource, for the benefit of all citizens, that should be managed sustainably and legally to ensure the future of coastal communities, food security and ocean health in the face of the climate crisis. Fishyleaks aims to provide a platform for people who witness activity that undermines these important aspirations, so that they can share that information, while minimizing risk to themselves.”

Fishyleaks.eu provides examples of the kind of report that could prove useful to achieving legal and sustainable fisheries. The website asks whistleblowers whether they believe they have witnessed illegal or unethical activities, or witnessed improper practice at sea, such as illegal discarding or high-grading.

“Our Fish often receives news of infringements, but lack the evidence to prove it. By receiving information via Fishyleaks, we hope to expose the problems in the sector, so that we can push for solutions,” she said

Read the full story at Seafood Source

European markets importing, exporting more seafood products

July 11, 2019 — The E.U. is the number one consumer of fishery and aquaculture products in the world, but with demand far exceeding supply and only limited room for growth in domestic production, the bloc is increasingly sourcing products from around the world in order to meet market requirements, confirms new analysis from the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA).

In its latest review of seafood trade trends, EUMOFA finds that in 2018, E.U. imports from third-countries increased by 4 percent in volume and 2 percent in value over the previous year, reaching 6 million metric tons (MT) with a value of EUR 25.9 billion (USD 29.2 billion). However, it also established that the average unit value of these imports fell by 2 percent to EUR 4.17 (USD 4.70) per kilogram, which, it said, caused the slow growth in overall import value.

Salmonids (USD 6.5 billion, EUR 5.8 billion), crustaceans (USD 5.4 billion, EUR 4.8 billion) and groundfish (USD 5.1 billion, EUR 4.5 billion) were the most imported commodity groups, representing 58 percent of total extra-E.U. import value.

The groundfish category, which increased by 5 percent or EUR 203 million (USD 228.6 million); fish for non-food use, which was 27 percent or EUR 189 million (USD 212.9 million) more; and cephalopods, up by 6 percent or EUR 151 million (USD 170.1 million); were the main contributors to the overall increase in the extra-E.U. import value compared to 2017.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ICES recommends slashing North Sea cod quota, NGOs respond

July 1, 2019 — The 2020 North Sea cod catch should be no more than 10,457 metric tons (MT), which is 70 percent less than this year’s total allowable catch (TAC), the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has recommended.

ICES latest scientific advice is also 63 percent less than its own recommendation for 2019.

The intergovernmental marine science organization said the change is due to a combination of a downward revision of the spawning stock biomass (SSB) in recent years, the recruitment estimates for 2019 being substantially below the value assumed last year, and the need for a large reduction in fishing mortality to recover the stock to its maximum sustainable yield by 2021.

The United Kingdom’s other cod stocks – in the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea, and West of Scotland – are also subject to similar warnings, with the advice for a zero catch for both the West of Scotland and Celtic Sea.

Following these latest recommendations, E.U. fishing ministers have again come under fire from the NGO community for failing to support the recovery of vulnerable stocks.

“This follows years of policy decisions that put short term political interests over long-term economic and environmental sustainability. Sadly, this was entirely predictable and preventable; failing to follow the scientific advice makes announcements like this inevitable,” Jonny Hughes, U.K. officer for The Pew Trusts’ Ending Overfishing in Northwestern Europe campaign, said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Europol announces increased effort to stop European eel trafficking

June 27, 2019 — During a press conference at the Sustainable Eel Group’s 10 Year Anniversary Event, Europol announced that it has seized at least 15 million endangered European eels and arrested 153 smugglers from across the European Union.

The seizures and arrests represent a 50 percent increase in the organization’s enforcement against the smuggling of the endangered European eel. The eel is subject to a number of European regulations, including a blanket ban on all imports and exports and a global restriction on trade. The species was listed under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and a complete ban on all exports from the E.U. has been in place for multiple years.

Despite the ban, its estimated that 300 million glass eels (also known as elvers) are trafficked from Europe to Asia each year. The eels are worth roughly EUR 1.00 (USD 1.13) each, making even just a kilogram of glass eels worth thousands of euros. That high value and small size makes the species a prime target for poachers and smugglers, which sometime coordinate in large operations that can pull in tens of millions of euros.

It has been estimated that roughly EUR 3 billion (USD 3.4 billion) worth of eels are being smuggled every year. The eels are trafficked out of the E.U. to Asia, where they are grown into full-sized eels and resold, either within Asia or to the U.S., Canada, and the E.U.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

10 nations to jointly study marine resources of the Arctic

June 19, 2019 — A two-day conference of scientific experts from Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway, South Korea, China, Sweden, Japan, and the European Union in the Russian city of Arkhangelsk resulted in an agreement to conduct more research on Arctic fisheries.

The April meeting was the first after an agreement between the 10 countries was signed in October of last year. The legally binding accord prohibits all commercial fishing in the Central Arctic until the nations additional surveys of stocks, their sizes, and how the region’s ecosystems operate. The agreement also included a draft of a joint research plan, with details to be discussed later this year and with implemented stalled until all the participating states ratify the agreement.

There is almost no data on high Arctic stocks, as nearly all the Arctic countries have only surveyed their own 200-mile exclusive economic zones. The only known study of the high seas was conducted by scientists from the Stockholm University. Its results presented at the conference brought some surprise and made it clear that more extensive research is needed, according to Vasily Sokolov, deputy head of the Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries.

“The Arctic Ocean was supposed to contain no great marine biological resources to be of interest for commercial fisheries. But it turned out that stocks of Arctic cod seem to be there, which means that fishing there may be commercially attractive,” Sokolov said. “The density of stocks increases toward the polar cap.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Thailand-based fisheries association threatens protests over IUU rules

June 13, 2019 — The National Fisheries Association of Thailand is threatening protests against the government in the wake of measures by the government to curb illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

According to the Bangkok Post, the association members are threatening to camp out in front of Thailand’s Agriculture Ministry due to rules implemented in the last five years. Those rules partially stemmed from the issuance of a yellow card by the European Union – which was lifted in January – that the country received in 2015 in response to the lack of effective sanctions to prevent IUU fishing.

Those new rules have caused a shortage of workers, forcing operators out of business, association president Mongkol Sukcharoenkhana told the Bangkok Post.

“If these laws aren’t changed, the fishermen will head to Bangkok and camp out in front of the Agriculture Ministry,” he told the paper.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

UK seafood growth will be supported through Brexit and beyond, fisheries minister promises

May 23, 2019 — While the still-unknown nature of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union continues to elevate worry levels across much of the seafood sector, the country’s new fisheries minister, Robert Goodwill, is confident that opportunities should arise from the country once again becoming an independent coastal state and trading nation.

The minister, who was appointed to the position in March, told delegates at the 50th Annual Conference of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) in London that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) was working hard to ensure the disruptions to seafood supply routes would be minimized, and to also pave the way for new trade opportunities.

“I am aware that the E.U. exit is causing serious concerns in this industry, especially the impact of a possible ‘no-deal’ Brexit, and this will perhaps lead to the need for additional export and health certificates and the subsequent delays that these may incur. Our priority is ensuring that trade can continue as smoothly as possible and with minimal disruption,” he said.

With 60 percent of U.K. shellfish exports going to E.U. markets and as shellfish provided 46 percent of the total value of U.K. vessel landings in 2017, at GBP 342 million (USD 434.3 million, EUR 389.6 million), Goodwill welcomed a project conducted by SAGB and the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) to identify the main elements of the shellfish trade and the risks associated with Brexit.

Read the full story at Seafood Source