Spiny Dogfish and Mercury!

Source.

Remember the luncheon Sharks and Chuck's post?

They're obviously still on the agenda.

Here's a really good article exploring the issue, and from what I understand, it ain't looking good. Whatever the finer details, those Sharks are simply too full of mercury to be adequate food for school children, period - so here's to this stupidity being turned down!

And the fishermen?

The quotas are simply too high - not biologically but economically. 

And the solution is not to try and smuggle toxic Fish into school meals, but to land less Dogfish! Yup it's tough - but both economically, medically and ethically, it's the only possible way to go!

PS - and this shit?
Obviously, just the ramblings of one more uninformed moron.
As humans, it is our duty, of course, to regulate ecosystems as we see fit - yeah, right.

PS2 -  and much like anticipated, they have transitioned back from being endangered to being one of the most despised fishes... sigh...

Spiny Dogfish Fisheries - in Limbo!

Source - click for detail!

Interesting.

Who would have thought.

After all the fighting and the controversies about the MSC certification, those certified Spiny Dogfish fisheries simply aren't working - but not because they are not sustainable like some would have suspected: because in BC no ones is catching and processing them as they are apparently not even suitable for the Chinese restaurants; and because on the US West Coast, they have caught too many, swamped the market and thus ended up destroying the financial viability of those fisheries.

Long story short: when put to the practical test, it sure looks like both the Shark activists and the fishermen were dead wrong!

Story with all the relevant links here.

Next, we'll hear the usual complaint about them being pests, and the usual calls for culling and the like - damned if you do damned if you don't!

Mesopredator release anybody?

Norway's Spurdogs at Risk!

Looks like those Viking haier need all the hjelp they can get!

Boy was I wrong!

Forget what I said about not worrying.

This is what Lill writes

Also working to enhance the current legislation in Norway, for better protection of these little guys (or shall we say girls, many of them seem to be pregnant females). 

Even though it is illegal to operate a directed fishery for spiny dogfish in Norway, it is still allowed as by catch - up to 15 percent of the catches, settled on a half year basis. . When fishermen encounter giant numbers of sharks (schools of up to 20,000 individuals have been recorded); this often results in a substantial loss of sharks. 

Now that the rules have changed from weekly to half year basis, it allows the fishermen to take more sharks than before, as by catch. The sharks are migratory, and while in Norway, they stay on the coast for about 3-4 weeks at a time. Thus, fishermen can allocate the sharks with all catches they make in six months. 

NOT GOOD. 

Indeed - this really, REALLY sucks!

Talk about a bloody loophole the size of a barn door - and assuming that pigghå means Spurdog, the allowable bycatch may even be as high as 20%! 

Lill?

Solutions?

Readers may remember that Lill is one of the principals of Norway's Shark conservation org Hjelp Havets Haier (= Save the Sharks of the Sea) which is undoubtedly working on this matter.
Should you want to get involved, please contact them here - and should there be a need for wider public participation, you will probably find an appeal on their Facebook page, and I shall be happy to pick it up and propagate it here. 

Keep watching this space for updates!

 

Viking Sharks!

Great pic - and there's more here! Click for details!

Remember?

Now, I get this message from Lill.

Guys, you got "competition"! 

We have initiated our own shark-feed in Norway - hand feeding, of course, inspired by Rusi and Papa and your lovely bull sharks in Fiji ..: )

The annual spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) gathering is happening right now, for the third year in a row since it was discovered, and finally I managed to go there. AMAZING. (and YES, let's all be glad these sharks are less than one meter long - they are completely fearless, if any bigger I would be chewed up in seconds..! )

And here's a new video!

Very cool indeed - bravo!

So Chuck, what are you waiting for!

This sure beats stuffing them into childrens' meals where for once I'm 100% with the pompous prez - WTF! Yes they may be small but they are long lived = plenty of time for bio-accumulation, and consequently, they are being rated as big no-no by both the Seafood Watch and  EDF!

But worry not: those NE-Atlantic Spurdogs are critically endangered and although not fully protected, at least for now the TAC remains at zero.

 

But I'm digressing as always.

If this takes off, this could well become one of those new Shark diving sites mentioned in that Shark tourism paper!

Talking of which.

I must confess that I was rather annoyed by the total lack of reaction to my rather, uh, robust comments, this despite knowing that the post has been read by its authors and facilitators alike.

But fear not, others have noticed.

The scientific cavalry may be slow - but it is coming.

Keep watching this space!

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?

A Shiver of Fish&Chips?

I sure hope not!
These are Spurdogs, or Spiny Dogfish, a species that is much prized for its meat, to the point that some are considering the North Atlantic populations to be severely threatened with extinction. The fisheries agencies don't appear to concur as they are still being fished in the US, Canada and Europe, albeit under strict quota regimens.

Be it as it may, it's certainly way nicer to see them alive like here in Norway!
Very cute and I may add, surprisingly cocky, too!

Enjoy!



H/T: Lill!