Saving Seafood

NGO finds EU countries could catch 56% more fish if ministers stop Atlantic overfishing

December 19, 2018 — Research undertaken by the NGO Oceana shows Denmark, France and the UK would ultimately register the highest increases in catch volume if EU ministers follow scientific advice when they meet to set the new 2019 quotas on Dec. 18.

The EU could increase the volume of fish landings from the North-Eastern Atlantic and the North Sea by 56%, up to more than 5 million metric tons, according to a study by Oceana.

The organization found that the recovery would take less than ten years, and that Denmark, France, the UK, Netherlands and Spain would benefit the most if scientific advice was followed. Ministers are under pressure in the approach to 2020, whereby under the common fisheries policy, all total allowable catches must be set sustainably.

Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana Europe, implored EU ministers to think of the longer-term benefits over short-term gains.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Over 150 scientists warn of Mediterranean ‘overfishing crisis’

September 24, 2018 — More than 150 international scientists have signed NGO Oceana’s “Mediterranean Statement” urging the EU and its member states to end what it calls an environmental crisis in the Mediterranean, it said.

It cited a recent report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calling it the world’s most overfished sea.

“This environmental crisis is not just a warning – it’s the harsh reality of the Mediterranean Sea. Europe has for decades turned a blind eye to this situation, and this passive stance has brought us today to almost the point of no return,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana in Europe.

“The EU must curb overfishing to avoid the worst-case scenario — the collapse of fish stocks — by adopting a science-based management plan in the western Mediterranean,” he said.

Overfishing in the Mediterranean affects around 90% of evaluated fish stocks, with average exploitation rates exceeding more than double the recommended sustainable levels, said Oceana, citing the EU’s own Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Oceana calls for IUU fishing to be made an environmental crime

June 5, 2018 — NGO Oceana has urged national governments to make illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing a punishable environmental crime.

The call for governments to establish measures to be able to take legal action against pirate fishing comes amid an international awareness campaign by the United Nations on June 5 – also World Environment Day – to tackle the magnitude of the problem.

“On World Environment Day and International Day for the Fight Against IUU Fishing, we’re sending out an SOS to call on governments around the world to make illegal fishing an environmental crime,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana in Europe.

“Countries need to recognize that large-scale illegal fishing is organized crime and should be dealt with as such. Pirates should be behind bars, not sailing free on the world’s oceans.”

Globally, IUU fishing is estimated to account for 20% of total fish catches, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN. Conservative evaluations of illegal and unreported fishing put the annual cost in loses to the global economy at between €9 billion and €20bn, which in terms of fish, is 11 million-26m metric tons.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

New online trawler tracking tool aims to help end overfishing

August 19, 2016 — Anyone with internet access and a passion for seafood will soon be able to track commercial fishing trawlers all over the world, with a new tool that its developers hope will help end the overfishing that has decimated the world’s fish stocks.

Millions of people depend on fish to survive, and fish will be vital to feeding the world’s growing population that is predicted to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, the United Nations says.

But overfishing has diminished fish stocks, and illicit fishing is threatening people’s access to food in many poor countries, according to the United Nations.

“We currently have around 450 million people globally who get their primary source of food from the ocean. This is 450 million meals a day under threat,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana in Europe on Wednesday.

“To solve the overfishing problem, including illegal fishing, we want to create transparency in the oceans,” Gustavsson told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Madrid.

Read the full story at The Guardian

Google and Oceana Partner to Track Fishing Vessels

August 17, 2016 — Anyone with internet access and a passion for seafood will soon be able to track commercial fishing trawlers all over the world, with a new tool that its developers hope will help end the overfishing that has decimated the world’s fish stocks.

Millions of people depend on fish to survive, and fish will be vital to feeding the world’s growing population that is predicted to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, the United Nations says.

But overfishing has diminished fish stocks, and illicit fishing is threatening people’s access to food in many poor countries, according to the United Nations.

“We currently have around 450 million people globally who get their primary source of food from the ocean. This is 450 million meals a day under threat,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana in Europe on Wednesday.

“To solve the overfishing problem, including illegal fishing, we want to create transparency in the oceans,” Gustavsson told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Madrid.

Read the full story at Maritime Executive