The Last Ocean - the Fishing continues!

Bad news.

But first, check this out

It is part of the movie about the Ross Sea by John Weller.

Marine image hunter Weller is one of the founders of The Last Ocean, an initiative to completely protect (interesting debate here!) what has been dubbed one of the last pristine marine ecosystems.

This is the trailer to John's movie..

But it looks like it ain't gonna be happening anytime soon.

New Zealand (once again!) wants to continue fishing and exporting the Chilean Seabass (read this) - and as long as they do, I fear that the campaign will continue to hit a brick wall. Like everywhere else where fishing interests appear to have woken up and are mounting a vigorous defense against the conservationists, it's a matter of realpolitik amid widespread financial woes and ever increasing human populations and individual ecological footprints.

That's just not a good backdrop for conservation advocacy, even when in reality, conservation (= good fisheries management plus closures) is the only rational strategy for safeguarding the long-term survival of the fishing industry, and even when it is being proven to be great business, too!

And since we're at it, check this out about the FAD-free tuna! 

This is just great news that will hopefully be a catalyst for addressing that ecological disaster that is the dolphin safe certification!

But I'm digressing as usual.

In fact, the prospects may be even grimmer.

If this guy gets it, and he may well, the USA is likely to stop or even reverse whatever conservation gains have been achieved so far, undoubtedly with far reaching consequences on a global scale.

Indeed, F*@! the Planet!

H/T: MPO

The Demise of the marine Predators - Paper!

Poached Sharks in the Galapagos - click for detail.

From the Conclusions.

By using a modelling approach, our study outlined and confirmed 3 main trends about the impact of global fishing on ecosystems:

• the impacts are considerably greater for predators,
• are concentrated in coastal areas
• and have gradually expanded from northern to equatorial and southern waters.
  

We showed that the long-term operations of fisheries have severely reduced the biomass of predators in their historical fishing grounds, and that this trend is spreading rapidly to areas developed more recently.

To conclude, in the last decade many studies have reported the effects of fishing at multiple scales, through field studies, metrics, models and the analysis of time-series.
The one trend consistently observed is that fishing truncates a considerable portion of the biomass pyramid of ecosystems. Although the current global modelling approach focused on the effects of fishing only from the standpoint of direct biomass removal, the prediction of generalized predator decline implies widespread and fundamental changes to both the structure and the functioning of global marine communities.

Modelling the effects of fishing on the biomass of the world’s oceans from 1950 to 2006
Laura Tremblay-Boyer, Didier Gascue, Reg Watson, Villy Christensen, Daniel Pauly

Synopsis here, Abstract here and full open-source paper here.

ICCAT - some Progess!

Silkies in, I believe, Malpelo - awesome!

Not Success, as the Pew bemoans?
As always, that really depends on the the POV and having had no big expectations, I am quite pleasantly surprised!

The fact is that they are now protecting the Silkies which is great.
Yes many other species undoubtedly do need better protection (good report here!) but once again, conservation is very much a step-by-step process whereby one has to be willing to (grudgingly) accept compromises and also, to acknowledge the realities on the ground - including the ever-present political shenanigans!
But I agree, no progress on the issue of limiting bycatch despite of plenty of highly viable alternatives and also, the failure of tightening the finning regulations are indeed a disappointment.

Which brings me straight over to the Bluefins.
In the context of ICCAT, Sharks are really little more than a side distraction. The real issues at hand are the management of maybe the fisheries for Billfishes (including the non-endangered Swordfish) but above all, that of the endangered Northern Bluefin Tuna. More details about the status of those Fishes right here.
As anticipated, there has not been any revision to the TAC but instead, the attention has been focused on curtailing the widespread shenanigans which is a good thing and very much conducive to reducing the numbers of Tuna that are actually being landed.

So although not being happy, I am quite satisfied.
Yes much remains to be done but at least the direction continues to remain the correct one!

More details on the measures here.

Dolphin-safe Tuna - Video!

Talking about David.

Two of his most memorable posts are his award-winning The ecological disaster that is dolphin safe tuna and Dolphin-safe tuna: conservation success story or ecological disaster?.
Please do read them.

Enter Greenpeace.
They are tackling unsustainable practices within the Tuna industry, and FADs are one of them. Now, they have released this whistle-blower video showing the revolting prectice of purse seining around FADs.

Required viewing!

It's about the Money!

Graph by Oceana - click on it and read the report!

From Patric's post about the Seal hunt.

The end users of trade are the most vulnerable and usually have the most to lose.
The folks on the front lines, the guys with the Hakapiks on ice flows in Canada make nice media targets but at the end of the day have the least to lose, because they are starting with little to begin with. Same goes for the shark finners in Mozambique, or the folks in Latin America coming in with tons of sharks fin on second and third rate fishing boats, selling their fins for a dollar a pound.

Change can come, and ultimately conservation groups can be successful, but the days of staged multi-million dollar media extravaganzas on television, small protests with semi naked protesters, and the endless cycle of online petitions has to end.

Trade agreements between nations trump everything and right now very few NGO's have a seat at the table when it comes to changing trade agreements.

Precisely!
Let's never forget that (over)fishing, the principal immediate cause for the depletion of marine resources is big business providing for countless jobs and food security in many, many countries and thus, any decision in the matter will be political and not driven by ethics.
But there's also the following flip side - the resources allocated to conservation.

From my controversial post about the Doha debacle.

I however see the real chance for the civil societies in quiet, polite and persistent lobbying "on the ground", flanked by developing, financing and implementing economical and social solutions for the fishermen, country-wide education campaigns and above all, money and hardware for effective enforcement and policing.

Let me share two recent anecdotes.
I will try and keep this vague as my aim is not to embarrass anybody but to illustrate where I'm coming from and that there are real problems in a real world that make the task so much more difficult.

One.

Mangroves for Fiji has been embraced by several Government Ministries.
We recently met with a very high ranking government official who sees this as an ideal conduit for motivating coastal communities to restore their vital Mangrove belts instead of cutting them down for the fire wood trade. It was decided that his staff would take us to several of those communities where we could pitch our initiative. Staff were assigned, dates were discussed.
And then the boss said, could you please assist us with fuel for our transport, as we have no more budget allocation for re-fueling our vehicles.

Two.

As you may suspect, I'm working on expanding Shark protection throughout Fiji.
This week, I took the representative of an important NGO to visit a crucial player within the Ministry of Fisheries. He's a scientist in his own right, passionate, knowledgeable, one hundred percent incorruptible and totally committed to the preservation of Fiji's natural resources. The portfolio of his team includes, inter alia, the re-drafting of Fiji's fisheries laws, the farming and restoration of Giant Clams, the protection of Napoleon Wrasse, Bumphead Parrotfish, Turtles, Whales and now Sharks, the establishment of MPAs, running awareness campaigns in local communities, the drafting of position papers for the countless meetings of the countless local and international fisheries agencies, and many many more.
He is the go-to man and without his support, nothing will ever get done.

The meeting was excellent.
We agreed that we would continue the conversation via e-mail and meet at a later stage. The official gave us a gmail address and when I inquired, he explained that the government server was down and that anyway, he did not dispose of a desktop computer and could not access the internet from his office. Whenever he wanted to go online, he had to leave the office and download his mail in the next internet café.

That's where the rubber hits the road!
Again, this is not to embarrass anybody - it is merely to show the real situation on the ground. It is great to make a lot of noise and our collective efforts may indeed succeed in convincing the powers that be to take action, at least on paper. But those victories are merely the first step and to be perfectly clear, the job is not done if we stop there!
If the people tasked with implementing the decisions by the bigwigs are left without the necessary resources, those regulations will forever remain toothless and the killing will continue.

In the end, it's all about the money.
It's also about prioritizing our resources and directing them where they will have the biggest effect. And in view of the plethora of NGOs that are increasingly fragmented and thus underfunded, those resources need to be pooled.

Yes I know I'm repeating myself!

David on Shark Conservation

Not much going on in Sharksville.

Luckily, David aka WhySharksMatter has stepped in and once again written a brilliant post, this time about Shark conservation.
I actually agree with 99% of what he says - which is highly unusual! :)

But: some of those NGOs...

Unststainable European Fisheries

I'm obviously far for being surprised!
Still, this newest report contains an intriguing twist: Europe is not only mismanaging its own Fish stocks, it is exporting its Fish mismanagement to other countries, many of which are poor.
European fleets are expanding into global waters where they pursue the same, or even worse destructive practices all the way to outright poaching.
May European development aid be in any way linked to this?
Honi soit qui mal y pense!

From the Executive Summary

EU fish stocks are in an unprecedentedly poor state yet fish consumption throughout Europe remains high.
The EU has been able to maintain and expand its levels of consumption by sourcing fish from other countries, both through the catches of its distant-water fleet and imports. This report highlights Europe’s increasing reliance on fish products originating from external waters for its fish supplies, and provides pointers towards a more sustainable future for dwindling global fish stocks.

In a context of finite resources and growing populations, the current EU model is unsustainable.
The EU’s increasing ‘fish dependence’ has implications for the sustainability of fish stocks in other countries, which are also overfished, and for the communities that depend on them. The main message of this report is that rising fish consumption in a context of declining stocks is a model that is environmentally unviable and socially unfair.

The EU has highly productive waters that have the potential to sustain a long-term and stable supply of fish, jobs and related social and economic benefits, but only if its fish resources are managed responsibly.
The reform of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) offers a unique opportunity to put the structures in place to turn this situation around. In order for this to happen, policymakers need to look beyond the short-term costs that could result from reform and give priority to the long-term benefits that healthy marine resources will provide.

From the Conclusions

In the context of a steadily growing population, the trend towards the fishing of stocks to depletion before moving on to another resource (either through targeting distant-water fishing grounds or importing produce) is unsustainable, environmentally ruinous and potentially damaging for poorer countries and their development.
Many of the costs of EU fish mismanagement are being exported, with direct consequences on the fish stocks of non-EU countries, simply to meet EU demand.
Change is desperately needed if we are to break this pattern – the EU needs to focus efforts on restoring its own marine ecosystems and to move towards consumption levels that are commensurate with ecosystem capacity.

Abstract here and full report here: for once, well worth reading in its entirety!
SOSF recommendations here.

Med Tuna Fisheries closed!

Betcha you remember this!

Well, as I said, not all hope is lost!
The much-reviled European Fisheries Commission has closed the Mediterranean Tuna fisheries one week early - much like they did last year! The situation of the Northern Bluefin continues to be dire and the Gulf oil spill has likely made things even worse (read this!) - still, this is good news as it clearly illustrates the desire to enforce sustainable fisheries.
As is this - and I may add, very much contrary to these shenanigans!

The equally reviled ICCAT will meet in Paris this November, this after a host of preparatory meetings.
This is the body that has the mandate, and contrary to CITES, the know how to regulate the Atlantic Tuna fisheries. Members here. The fisheries in the Mediterranean are regulated by the GFCM - members here.

Has anybody started talking to them - inclusive of talking to Japan?
And even more importantly: is anybody stepping forward with ideas and funds aimed at mitigating the impact of possible quota reductions, especially when it comes to the poorer African and Caribbean countries - oh, and Greece? All whilst wielding the stick, as in leveraging development aid?

All kidding aside: has anybody learned the lessons of Doha and developed a realistic, and above all, unified strategy - or will the NGOs continue to be naive, badly prepared and fragmented, only to incur yet another inevitable defeat?

We shall see!

Doha - pathetic!

No, this is not yet another post slamming CITES!

From a message by a friend.

The environmental issues need to get into the realm of either the more ruthless, more effective or more monetarily concerned or a combination of all three.
From what I've read, it seems the pro-fishing folks obviously had a strategy and agenda for this meeting. It seems the anti folks just went with their own agendas and hoped to meld once they got there.
It's a full-time job for hardened old internationally experienced, economically savvy lobbyists, not concerned PR grads and volunteer sculptors.

Exactly!
I've been of two minds about this post as once again, it'll get me in trouble for taking on fellow conservationists. I had fervently hoped that somebody else would finally address this total failure of the Marine Conservation movement, or that one of the people involved would have had the courage and the humility to do a proper post mortem and show a modicum of accountability.

Alas, no such luck.
All I get to see are the continued ramblings of the pundits slamming the Japanese and depicting unhelpful doomsday scenarios - and lemme tell you: I am not impressed!
Ocean Death Panel? Sushi-Cide? Tunapocalypse? What's this, a high school poetry contest to complement the pathetic home movies?

It's Copenhagen all over again.
There, everybody and his dog flocked to Denmark, protested, pontificated and vociferated, only to achieve less than nothing - whilst incurring a stunning aggregate expenditure in the process and even more disturbingly, burdening the Planet with a stupendous incremental aggregate Carbon Footprint.

Here, it appears, a motley uncoordinated naïve and clueless group of amateurs paid themselves a trip to Doha in order to protest, pontificate and vociferate - and by those metrics alone, the output has been impressive indeed!
Not however the end result: Zilch, Zero, Nana de Nada!

I say, there has to be a moment of accountability after a failure of this dimension.
It's time for those righteous and self-congratulatory folks to stop whining, to climb off their high horses and to have a hard look into the mirror - and yes, if they dare doing so, what they will see is a bunch of total and utter losers!
Time for the Director of Conservation Strategies to acknowledge that the "strategy", if ever there was one, sucked; time for the Campaign Manager to realize that her "managerial skills" were pathetically inadequate and the campaign, a total fiasco; time for everybody who made the trip on other people's money to tell them how much the debacle cost and to explain why going to Doha was a good idea in the first place and why the public should continue to send money to finance those useless exercises; time for replacing the failed managers and for abandoning the failed strategies in favor of new, pragmatic approaches with a chance of success.
And please, learn something from the world of sports: there, the losers do not rant and ramble but instead, they learn from their mistakes and progress to win the next match!

Does the defeat make me angry?
No, it really does not. It just sadly reinforces my reservations against some of those NGOs who are so long on pontificating and so short on tangible results. And I certainly will never, ever bequeath, or otherwise deed or gift any cash, securities, real estate or other tangible personal property to them like a particularly brazen one solicits!

The fact is that to everybody with a brain, CITES was always gonna be a very long shot indeed.
Yes it was a great utopia and a bold move which would have provided for a relatively simple solution to overfishing, one of the most complex and intractable policy and conservation challenges. But fisheries are often the major source of income for maritime countries and big business on top of that, and trying to simply pull the rug from under those interests was inevitably going to generate some determined opposition.
In that regard, the whining by some quarters that business succeeded in trumping conservation looks at best naïve and at worst, just plainly stupid - certainly when compared to the Japanese delegation who understood and deftly exploited the unease of many of the delegates.

Solutions?

The good news is that the need for Marine Conservation has been clearly put on the table.
The good news is also that contrary to the usual stupid stereotypes, Fisheries officials very much understand the need to fish sustainably (read this, very interesting!).

Yes that very much comprises the much maligned Joe Borg (to include him, and some of the delegates in this list is just plain stupid - what possible benefit will conservation derive from antagonizing the very people who will make the decisions) who has done some real good things, and his successor Maria Damanaki! And yes, that includes the Japanese, too!
Very much like New Zealand and others, they rightly argue that the best way to manage stocks is to do so via treaties among the nations concerned - in the case of the Northern Bluefin, ICAAT and GFCM.

ICCAT has been widely criticized for failing to achieve its objectives, and rightly so.
But once again, the situation is far from being simple. If you take the time to read the executive summary (page 12) of its own external audit, much of the deficiencies is attributable to non-compliance by some of its members, including some astounding scams by the fisheries industry. In essence, it is the Europeans themselves, and not the much maligned Asian consumers that have created the problems.
When it comes to the fisheries for Bluefin (page 53ff), the problems are complex and manifold and primarily concern the fisheries in the Eastern Atlantic and especially, the Mediterranean.

But contrary to the doomsday scenarios, not everything appears lost.
Read page 69ff and you will find that a whole host of sensible recommendations has been put forward, a fact that was echoed in Doha.
Some forward-looking NGOs like the WWF have recognized this as an opportunity and added some recommendations of their own.

All now depends on the delegates.
ICAAT will meet this November and you can find the list of contracting countries here, and here, the members of GFCM - and yes, both lists feature Japan, like it or not!
It will be those people, and not some clamoring NGO that will seal the fate of the Atlantic Tuna - and the sooner we recognize that and play the role we can play, the sooner we will succeed in influencing them in favor of some tangible progress.

Japan-bashing and insulting the delegates is clearly not the way to go.
One must always keep in mind that since civil societies do not hold the institutional power to make any such decisions, their role can only be to try and influence the vote by convincing the parties that sustainable fishing is ultimately very much in their own interest. To be righteous and confrontational is a clear recipe for failure - as amply proven in Doha!

Luckily and contrary to CITES where many delegates were not fisheries experts, the delegates attending the ICCAT meeting will most likely know what they're talking about. But like in Doha, they will be civil servants acting on instructions from home, so trying to sway them during the meeting will be way too late.

The strategy?
Look no further that the successful campaign by Japan, Inc.
Whilst the Europeans were still bickering and the USA, still pondering its stance, Japanese lobbying started months ahead of the conference when various smaller countries were approached and ruthlessly and charmingly "convinced" that it would be in their best interest to vote in line with the Japanese. At the conference itself, veteran negotiators ensured that their allies would not stray and then orchestrated a veritable ambush where the pro-ban countries were dealt a defeat of truly epic proportions.

The lesson to be learned is that the pro faction needs to be better prepared, better coordinated and more ruthless - and possibly also more charming!
Europe needs to become tougher with members who stray, like Malta and Spain. Europe and the USA must start lobbying the other members well ahead of time and must be willing to apply the same kind of political pressure, including leveraging their development aid.
At the same time, negotiators should explore any avenues for reaching a preemptive agreement with the suspected nay-sayers like Japan - and that includes being open for compromises but at the same time, very much explaining that both Europe and the USA wield a mighty big stick inasmuch as they have the power to ultimately decide to implement unilateral restrictions if pushed too far, as has already been suggested.

When it comes to those NGOs, what can I say.
For once, try to be useful by helping when asked, by not voicing extreme and childish viewpoints and above all, by discreetly staying where you belong: in the background, acting as valued counselors and facilitators as opposed to vociferous self-promoting agitators!
I'm obviously critical of all that publicly funded convention tourism - but if you really deem it necessary to be represented: coordinate among you, formulate a common strategy and then send over a few seasoned, well prepared and above all, credible lobbyists.

I however see the real chance for the civil societies in quiet, polite and persistent lobbying "on the ground", flanked by developing, financing and implementing economical and social solutions for the fishermen, country-wide education campaigns and above all, money and hardware for effective enforcement and policing.

The good news is this: the arguments in favor of a drastic reduction in quotas or a moratorium altogether are compelling.
After all, at current rates, those countries are at risk of completely losing their fishing industries as the Tuna and other Fishes will eventually become commercially extinct. Most fisheries officials understand that - but whereas wealthier countries can afford to pay off the fishermen and to set in place an effective enforcement regimen, trying to implement the necessary measures in lesser developed countries is extremely difficult.

Other, more effective and pragmatic and at the same time, less vocal NGOs like SOSF, SF, the Pew or the incredibly impressive IUCN have recognized this and quietly pursue local and regional agendas yielding long-term sustainable results, some of which spectacular. No instant gratification here, no grandiose "statements": just a lot of persistent, difficult and tedious work which is conducted for the sake of the cause and not with personal aggrandizement in mind.
This, I believe, is the way to go - no need to re-invent the wheel.

But back to the principal topic of this post.
Guys, please, spare us the "statements" and the pouting!
Coming from you, the losers, they are frankly embarrassing.

The idea of jetting to Doha, making some noise and then coming back for a victory lap has sorely backfired. Veni vidi should be followed by vici - defui is just not good enough, sorry.
Show some humility. Be accountable.
Maybe, then, you will regain some credibility.

(down off soap box)

PS: Wolfgang has weighed in here - much too kind as usual, thank you!
PS2: another must-read by Mark Harding here!
PS3: SouthernFriedScience's take here.

Conservation Fail - again!

Seven to one.

Not protected: Scalloped, Great and Smooth Hammerheads, Oceanic Whitetip, Spiny Dogfish, Dusky and Sandbar Sharks.

Listed on Cites 2: Porbeagle.

Malta - again!

The Maltese shenanigans continue.
That Country sure brings out the worst and the best!

If you want to keep abreast of what's going on in Doha, please consult this informative website - or enjoy the toothy comments by Lesley Rochat!
It's same-old same-old, with a defeat for Shark Conservation (good comments here) the latest bad news.
Thank you China, Russia and Japan!

Fishing for Tuna

Photo: Jonathan Clay

I don't like preaching to the choir.
So, no I'm not about to bore you with yet another larmoyant piece about the decline of global Tuna stocks. Anybody interested in Marine Conservation knows that anyway.

But if you should be the exception, you can read about the status of the various Tuna fisheries here.
As you should know, CITES is meeting in Doha and, among other things, deciding about the fate of the Northern Bluefin. The situation is unequivocal (pdf here!) but alas, I'm not holding my breath that the news will be good as the Japanese are already engaging in the usual shenanigans and the Europeans are still not playing their role despite the fact that it is very much their own fisheries which are at risk of disappearing forever.

But enough pontificating.
Why I'm writing this post is because I want to showcase another one of Jon's stellar video clips, this time about pole & line fishing for Skipjack.
This is one of the more selective and thus, more sustainable techniques, very much unlike the widespread usage of the devastating method of purse seining.

So, without further ado: unbelievable images and fantastic messaging!
Enjoy!

Pole & line Tuna Fishing from Jonathan Clay on Vimeo.

Required Reading!

This February, Why Shark Matter has come up with this epic post.

It discusses the following data.

“Ten thousand sets of purse seine nets around immature tuna swimming under logs and other debris will cause the deaths of 25 dolphins; 130 million small tunas; 513,870 mahi mahi; 139,580 sharks; 118,660 wahoo; 30,050 rainbow runners; 12,680 other small fish; 6540 billfish; 2980 yellowtail; 200 other large fish; 1020 sea turtles; and 50 triggerfish.”

“Ten thousand sets of purse seine nets around mature yellowfin swimming in association with dolphins, will cause the deaths of 4000 dolphins (0.04 percent of a population that replenishes itself at the rate of two to six percent per year); 70,000 small tunas; 100 mahi mahi; 3 other small fish; 520 billfish; 30 other large fish; and 100 sea turtles. No sharks, no wahoo, no rainbow runners, no yellowtail, and no triggerfish and dramatic reductions in all other species but dolphins.”

A whopping 198 (!!!) responses later, the debate is far from being over.

It is intelligent, controversial, passionate and highly entertaining and goes right to the heart of the complexities of conservation, one of the ongoing threads on this blog. It is great reading and I invite you to go explore it - and to add any opinions you may wish to share.
There - not here!

Brilliant!

Thank you The Dorsal Fin!

They've unearthed this simply brilliant conservation video.
Enjoy!

Told you so!

Didn't I!

The Ozzies were clearly too naïvely optimistic: Trust the Europeans to eff it up at the very last minute!
The guys didn't even wait to look at the "latest assessment" by the ICCAT as originally announced but have already decided to drop the demand to have the critically endangered Northern Bluefin Tuna listed under CITES I.

The instigators of this turn-about: Malta and Spain!
And who's surprised!

Remember the Turbot War?
Having contributed to the demise of the Canadian Cod Fisheries and cleaned out the Atlantic (shocking study here!) in general and the Mediterranean in particular, the Spanish Fisheries are now poaching Tuna in the South Pacific. And in case you wondered why a Shark conservation blog would bother to rant about the plight of the Tuna, read this: yes Spain is now one of the principal suppliers of Shark fins! Sharks may have been mere bycatch once - but now, Spanish fishing boats are specifically targeting them and finning them "clandestinely", meaning that everybody knows but nobody does anything about it!

As to Malta, what can I say.
Meet George Pullicino (standing next to Maltese European Fisheries Commissioner Borg in this pic), the big (!) honcho in charge of Fisheries - and apparently, as pro-Fish-killing and anti-Conservation as they get!
On his "watch", Malta's fishing industry is progressing from fishy to fishier to outright brazen.

Talking of which, the latest scandalous development is George's blatant ignoring (as in deleting of e-mails, unopened) of the pleas by our friend Alex to stop the indiscriminate slaughter of the Med's last Angel Sharks, a genus which is protected under European Law.
Fortunately, the matter is likely to be resolved, as Alex now disposes of a letter by the European Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries stating that
...angel sharks are to be released whenever caught in all EU waters and may not be retained on board. This is clearly stated in Annex III (point 19) of our Fishing opportunities Regulation for 2009 (EC No 43/2009). The pictures you show are clearly an evidence of non compliance on this provision.
and signed by César Deben, Director - in the name of Borg!
It couldn't be more unequivocal than that!
Kudos to Alex! And shame on George!
We shall be watching!

But back to the Tuna.
The proposal by the Commission was defeated by an unholy alliance of Mediterranean Countries comprising the two ring leaders and Greece and Cyprus. And France, another one of the notorious quota violators who came back on their word! And Italy, equally guilty!
Yes that would be a paltry six nations, many of which culpable of multiple violations of current Law, blocking a proposal that is supported by a overwhelming majority of twenty-one!
Don't we just love Federalism!

I read that apparently, Monday's move postpones a decision on whether to place bluefin tuna on an endangered species list. EU environment ministers are now expected to reach a final position by the end of the year.

Promises promises.
We shall be watching!

Maltese Shenanigans

Gone - probably forever .

Joe Borg sure talks the talk.

His assessment of the Achievements by the EU Fisheries Commission he heads proudly claims this.

Sustainability
Achieving sustainability in biological, economic and social fields has been an ongoing challenge. The basis of the Commission’s work has been to regain a sustainable resource base to allow EU fishermen to secure a viable future. This will also be a crucial objective for the European consumer whose expectations for healthy and sustainably-caught fish products are ever increasing.

a) Ecological sustainability
In order to put fisheries onto a firmer sustainable footing, the 2002 reform of the CFP foresaw a move from a short-term approach towards long term plans for major stocks in EU waters.
These plans include a number of provisions for conservation measures aimed at preventing fi sh stocks from being overexploited and restoring them to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield. These measures seek to avoid that the pressures of fishing activities targeting certain stocks jeopardise the reproductive capacity of the stocks concerned or puts them at risk of collapsing. A number of such plans have already been established whilst others are expected to be adopted by the end of 2009.

Over the past five years the Commission has adopted ten long term plans for the following important stocks:
• Northern hake from the Bay of Biscay to the North Sea
• Southern hake off the Iberian Peninsula
• Nephrops off the Iberian Peninsula
• Plaice and sole in the North Sea
• Sole in the western Channel
• Sole in the Bay of Biscay
• Cod in the Kattegat, North Sea, Skagerrak eastern Channel,West of Scotland and Irish Sea
• Cod in the Baltic Sea
• Herring in the West of Scotland Sea
• Bluefin tuna

Although the Commission is still far from extending the coverage of such plans to all European fisheries, an irreversible framework for better stock management, which will form the basis of our future action, has been set. There has been a definite change in the mind-set of policy planners and stakeholders who now make the request to have such plans developed in the interest of putting both the stocks and operators that live off these stocks on a surer footing

Well well, all very impressive indeed!

But how about walking the walk?
Like all of the apex predators in the Atlantic, the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is all but gone and the EU is seriously contemplating having the species listed under Appendix I of CITES.
Finally!

If backed, this would result in an effective trading ban for all CITES members.
It would also effectively remove the issue from the direct control of the EU and its increasingly controversial Fisheries Commissioner who attempts to procrastinate further by asking for the usual "more data" - a scam that even game fishermen (!) decry.
What part, exactly, of Biologically Extinct does Joe not understand???

Thing is, Borg hails from Malta and the Maltese are obviously not amused, as the ban would apparently jeopardize the livelihood of the majority of their fishermen. As always with fisheries politics, it's the Tragedy of the Commons pure and simple: never mind the the consequences - as long as you can continue to reap and pillage!
And guess who's responsible for the drastic decline in stocks in the first place!

Malta is a major operator of Tuna pens.
As Greenpeace puts it, fishers corral schools of half-grown tuna and tow them in floating pens to marine ranches where they are fed and fattened until they can be killed and shipped to Japan.
There are rules banning fishing fleets from taking undersize tuna out of the Mediterranean, but none that prevent catching immature tuna and fattening them in floating pens. Every country on the Mediterranean (except Israel) takes advantage of this loophole and maintains tuna ranches offshore. The fishers from Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Croatia, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Malta are capturing half-grown tuna by the hundreds of thousands.
If you had to design a way to guarantee the decimation of a breeding population, this would be it: catch the fish before they are old enough to breed and keep them penned up until they are killed.

On top of that, existing fish farms have harmed the environment, polluting coastal ecosystems and putting additional pressure on wild fish populations by spreading disease and toxic chemicals. According to our friend Alex, the Maltese farms spread a diabolical stench and have already led to the pollution of several beaches and the demise of several of Malta's premier dive sites.

Borg's term is due to expire at the end of this year and Malta would have to re-nominate him.
Will he once again pander to his constituency - or will he see the light and ensure that his legacy will include having turned around the fate of the Mediterranean's most iconic predator?

Call me a defeatist - but I remain skeptical.
"Europe" being "Europe", the decision by the the Commission is yet again a compromise inasmuch as the ban will be subject to the "latest assessment" by the International Convention on the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. So far, ICCAT's track record in terms of conservation has been nothing short of ignominious and there's no reason to assume that they will not try their very best to have the ban stalled or revoked altogether.

Believe it or not, this table dates back to 2001!

Fingers crossed that I'm wrong!

Conservation Conundrums

Two apparently different topics dominate the headlines.

One one side you have the battle to protect the Whales.
Much loved and even glorified, they are at the center of a bitter feud that has led to the collapse of the latest Whaling Conference. Once nearly extinct, some species have miraculously come back from the brink, to the point that some Countries want to resume hunting them - and actually do, often in very unethical ways. The anti-whaling activists are dead set against it and the fight is turning increasingly violent.



On the other side you have the ongoing decline of the Tuna.
Everybody wants to eat them and stocks have been depleted to the point where many species are severely threatened and the Northern Bluefin Tuna is all but extinct. Once romanticized as some kind of heroic feat by intrepid fishermen, the killing is increasingly depicted as what it really is, the extermination of a species.



Whereas the Fisheries Agencies are finally trying to limit the catches, the fishermen have started to fight back as their existence is being threatened. Once again, violence is on the rise.

But really, these are just two examples of the same conundrum.
I've blogged about it a while ago when talking about the Shark fin industry: in order to protect the animals we love, we will have to accept that some of them are killed.

What I'm talking about is sustainable fishing.
Provided that the stocks are sufficiently plentiful (or after a moratorium, once we have allowed them to recover), we will have to accept a compromise: in exchange for agreeing to preserve the species, fishermen will have to be allowed to harvest sustainable quotas.

If that is true - and assuming that ethically speaking, all life has the same value regardless of personal preferences (and assumed cognitive faculties, etc.)

• some species of Tuna can probably be harvested sustainably. Other species, like the Northern Bluefin should be fully protected until stocks replenish (tho from what I hear, it may already be too late)
• some species of Shark can probably be harvested sustainably. Other species like the Hammerheads (please read the link) should be fully protected.
• most probably, the same applies to the Cetaceans where the populations of some Dolphins and e.g. Minke Whales appear quite robust, whilst other species warrant full protection.

Do I like it? Hell, No!

But pragmatically speaking, it's probably the only way forward - as long as we cannot curb the demand . And when it comes to Sharks and Tuna, chances for that are very slim indeed.

The sooner we accept that, the sooner we will work towards achieving tangible and hopefully, long lasting results - which is ultimately the only thing that counts.

Gone

I've followed my own advice and browsed the Website of The End of the Line.
Kudos to the authors for having followed up by posting a lot of pertinent information.

There's a really interesting News section and that's where I learned that the Atlantic , or Northern Bluefin Tuna is all but gone. Roberto Mielgo Bregazzi has researched the topic and I invite everybody to read this shocking synopsis of his findings. Nothing new really, but what had been depicted as imminent in 2006, 2007 and 2008 has apparently eventuated - basically, it's over.

Barring a miracle that is - but alas, I'm not hopeful.
The very much not aptly named International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) has only one track record - and that is, to continue applying unsustainable quotas despite all evidence pointing to the imminent catastrophe. It's the bloody same farce every time they meet: politicians and functionaries trying to "negotiate" against scientific facts - last time in November where they didn't adopt the recommendations by their own scientists and then managed to congratulate themselves for the fiasco!

Want to know the full extent of the debacle - involving mismanagement, fraud and piracy?
Read this!

Like in the case of Sharks, we are faced with a supply limited fisheries with zero price elasticity where the Tragedy of the Commons is preventing any useful consensus about applying sustainable quotas, let alone a fishing moratorium where stocks would be allowed to replenish. Contrary to Sharks which are extremely slow breeders, Tuna reach sexual maturity between 3 and 5 years and such a strategy could really lead to positive results within a comparatively short period of time.

Alas, it's not likely to happen.
The policy makers will continue to drag their feet and Bluefin Tuna will become a prized delicacy for the rich, then the very rich and finally, only the select few.
And then, it'll be gone for good. Forever.

Oh well.
Back to the Sharks.

Historical Movie

I'm talking about The End of the Line.

It's being compared to Al Gore's An inconvenient Truth and it deals with the overfishing of our Oceans. Underwater Thrills have written about it and I invite you to go read that post and to browse the above link.
Or watch this.



The relevant YouTube page features several excerpts and trailers of which this is but a small selection.











And not to be all gloom and doom, a possible solution.
Reminds me of that place in Fiji!

Dolphins suck!

Being Mammals, they must!
End of debate!

Why I even bother to meddle in Cetacean matters is that like Blogfish, I do read Southern Fried Science - and I could not agree more on his take on them!
They are certainly thought provoking and eminently debatable!

Wanna really know where Dolphin-mania (too good a link for not re-posting it!) has led us: read this remarkable post!

Then marvel at the take of FAO, a United Nations org, on the "main negative impacts" of purse seines! Tho I must say that people with long memories cannot be surprised: it was the same FAO that recommended and promoted the use of long lines, drift nets and purse seines in the fifties and thus started the industrial pillage of the Oceans in the first place!
In the meantime, the Tuna management madness continues, with some species on course for extinction within the next few years.
Just Great!

But back to the Blogs: bookmark them both!