Shark Discards - Yes or No?

Source.

Do you agree that discards are madness?

And if it's a bycaught Shark - keep or throw away?

I say, if it is alive: release it if it's both endangered and protected, and keep it if it's neither. 

But what if it's endangered but not adequately protected? And what if it's endangered but already dead - discard  only the protected ones, discard them all, or keep them all as they are already dead anyway?

Thorny thorny!

Did you follow this story?

A fish monger had the audacity to legally buy, and then try and sell a 15ft, 250 kg Common Thresher that had died in a net - and the usual wailing hyenas went absolutely berserk. The abuse became so extreme to include death threats and threats to burn down his home and business premises. The intimidated fish monger has stopped marketing the Shark (the question being, did he end up throwing it away?) and has pledged to donate any profits to a marine conservation agency.

First things first.

This is a fucking disgrace and I sure hope everybody agrees.

What that fisherman and the fish monger did is perfectly legal, and the abuse, let alone the threats heaped upon them are simply unacceptable - or are we now gonna start condoning, promoting and applauding doing the same to every single fisherman, fish monger and sushi restaurant that trade in those threatened Atlantic and Southern Bluefin, and Bigeye Tuna? How about the European Eel?

And the list goes on and on and on...

The good people at the Shark Trust are perfectly correct.

The consumers can send a strong message by refusing to buy those products irrespective of their legality - and many of course already do, and the trade is shifting as a result.
Of course it's equally a disgrace that like in the case of those Tuna, the fisheries authorities have not implemented science-based catch limits and the provision of special protection for those threatened Shark species - but then, be angry at them, not at some poor sod that is trying to make a buck, and this perfectly legally!

And anyway.

How about you stop foaming at the mouth and for once channel all that energy to where it will have a real effect. Support the Shark Trust's and the Shark Alliance's efforts to reform the European fisheries laws - and this not only with noise but also with donations as those causes are bloody lengthy and expensive to run, and those conservation folks got families to feed, too. Or get involved and actually do something! Or if yer too bloody busy, stop complaining and at least go to the polls - and then vote in politicos that champion ecological causes!

And the dead bycatch?

Are we really gonna throw away food that is perfectly good, albeit only if consumed in moderation - or may there be other, maybe a tad more unconventional solutions?

As I said: thorny thorny!

No zero TACs - nice Try!

Porbeagle caught as bycatch - source.

Read this, once again posted on SYM.

Prima vista, it's a good, rational proposition.

Discards are an abomination and should be abolished - but of course what is intellectually unequivocal becomes extremely intractable once it needs to be translated into concrete management measures, like in the present case. 

The problem?

Given the chance, fishermen will cheat - that's one of the corollaries of the Tragedy of the Commons!

Need I elaborate?

So, let's examine this proposal.

It hinges on several assumptions that actually make total sense.

1. Bycatch is unavoidable.

Correct!

Yes we can greatly reduce bycatch by applying adequate mitigation measures, and kudos to the fishing industry on having identified some in point 4 - which begs the question, are they already being implemented, maybe, gasp, voluntarily?

But yes, some residual bycatch is inevitable.

However

• Most Shark bycatch comes up alive and should be released alive, whilst in the water as it will likely be killed if hauled up on deck, if only for reasons of convenience and safety.

• If the retention of bycatch is allowed in general, the fishermen will cheat and establish a targeted fishery and then declare their haul to have been bycatch.

• If the fishermen are allowed to retain and sell only dead bycatch, they will cheat and find ways of ensuring that the Sharks come up dead, e.g. by extending soak time.

• All of the above can only be prevented by 100% coverage of (incorruptible) observers, which is extremely cumbersome and expensive - or would the fishermen be willing to foot those costs?

2. The data about Bycatch are valuable for managing the Fishery.

Correct once again!

But of course, the answer to that is to oblige the fishermen to record those data and/or land any specimen that would be required for analysis.

3. Spurdog and Porbeagle are Food that should not be thrown away.

Absolutely!

So what about actually obliging them to land and then, to donate those dead bycaught Sharks - either to the public or to the fishing authorities that could sell them in order to use the proceeds to implement better management measures.!

Betcha that if the fishermen were forced to reserve hold space for uneconomic cargo, bycatch rates would drop like a stone! :)

How about that for a workable solution!

Or am I once again missing something here?

OCEAN2012 - great Stuff!

Check this out.

This is great - the initiative but also the animation!



Like in all good projects, Pew are behind this.
More info and resources here.

Kudos!

Just another Discard!

H/T: Shark Year Magazine.

Atlantic Fisheries - mixed News!

The good news first.

I remain a huge fan of ex freedom fighter Maria Damanaki and her unshakeable commitment to tackle the various afflictions of the European fishing industry.
She has declared war on overfishing, the completely ineffective and economically nonviable subsidies, poaching and discards. What I also totally like is her idea of automatically reducing the fishing quotas of those members who fail to report their catches, very much along the lines of the precautionary principle.
Her proposals are now going to enter a consultation process and undoubtedly get watered down - but something will survive even the fiercest lobbying and thus, there will be progress.
I say, well done - as so often!

Now, once again, about those poor Tuna.
NOAA in its wisdom has decided not to accord the Northern Bluefin Tuna protection under the Endangered Species Act. Not good, tho I can somehow sympathize, as the Western stocks are certainly more robust and way better managed (read it, it's a great resource!) than the eastern stocks, especially in the Med.
The Tuna however remain a "species of concern" and a new assessment will be made by early 2013.

NOAA is also imposing new weak hooks.
It's about trying to reduce the Bluefin mortality in the Gulf where spawning Bluefins are protected but where they are never the less killed as bycatch of the important commercial Yellowfin and Swordfish longline fisheries.
But as always, things are complicated and reviews have been mixed, especially by the Pew who proposes to ban surface longlining instead.

Here is what the Pew folks have to say.



Long story short?
I do see progress, albeit frustratingly slow, and remain hopeful.
And Patric - do not forget my fine bottle!

Discards - Madness!

Another British celebrity chef, another campaign.

It is so bad, it just totally defies comprehension.
One has to pick one's fights and I'm plenty busy with trying to do something for Sharks - but if you care, check out Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Fishfight campaign website.

Instead of more words, watch the following: obscene!



Solutions?
This is probably unbelievably intractable, as it will likely imply re-writing the European Common Fisheries Policy that regulates the different quotas or TACs - just check out the TACs for 2011 and you'll see what I mean!
But thanks to people like Hugh (and a whole host of NGOs, too), the issue is now firmly on the table - and Maria Damanaki is on the right side of the divide.
Again - and yes I am a fan!

As I said, when it comes to Fisheries policies, I'm basically an ignoramus.But the following graph may be a good starting point for identifying the problem and finding solutions - and not only in the case of discards!
Check it out - see what I mean?