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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45434
Location: Essex
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 Posted: Thu Dec 29, 05 3:57 pm Post subject: EU quotas bring modest fish cuts |
 
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The European Union has agreed new fishing quotas for 2006, after three days of negotiations in Brussels.
The number of days cod trawlers can spend at sea will be cut by 5% - instead of the 15% recommended by the European Commission.
Scientists had called for a blanket ban on cod fishing due to low stocks, but this was opposed by fishing fleets.
France won the right to fish anchovies in the Bay of Biscay after the lifting of an outright ban.
The deal, reached after what was described by the French as a "difficult meeting", appeared to have general backing among the 25 EU states.
There were no votes against, with just Sweden abstaining.
"We have achieved a good deal," British Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw said.
"I believe this agreement will help conserve fish stocks, preserve the marine environment and help the long-term future of the fishing industry," he said.
Compromises
However, ministers have again taken less radical steps than those proposed by the Commission, which in turn was much milder than scientists called for, the BBC's Tim Hirsch reports.
And in recognition of the cuts that the UK has already made to its North Sea fisheries, the 5% cut will be capped at a maximum of five days over the whole year for British boats.
"The agreement reached will provide greater protection for the species most threatened. Overall fishing possibilities will be reduced... also for those species for which cod is a by-catch," EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg said.
The deal included minor adjustments to a string of individual quotas.
Approval was granted for a small increase in prawn fishing, but herring and whiting quotas were reduced.
There were restrictions of between 5% and 10% on the number of fishing days haddock and monkfish trawlers could spend at sea, Reuters reported.
The deal to revive anchovy fishing in the Bay of Biscay came despite major concerns over low stocks. Overall just 5,000 tonnes of anchovies can be caught in the year.
France concluded a quota swap deal with Spain to allow it a 1,000 tonne allowance.
Story from BBC NEWS:
https://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4551318.stm
Published: 2005/12/22 06:30:34 GMT
© BBC MMV |
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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45434
Location: Essex
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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45434
Location: Essex
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 06 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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'Critical danger' warning on fish
Deep sea fish species in the northern Atlantic are on the brink of extinction, new research suggests.
Canadian scientists studied five deep water species including hake and eel.
Writing in the journal Nature, they say that some populations have plummeted by 98% in a generation, meeting the definition of 'critically endangered'.
Scientists and conservation bodies are pressing for a global moratorium on deep-sea fishing which they regard as particularly destructive.
Some fleets have switched to deep-sea fisheries following the collapse in more commonly-caught species such as cod.
Known as bottom-trawling, ships often use heavy trawls which are dragged across the ocean floor, destroying coral and other ecosystems.
Conservation groups have lobbied hard in recent years for a global moratorium.
The most recent attempt to get a moratorium adopted, at the UN General Assembly last November, failed.
Five on the brink
The new study, led by Jennifer Devine of Memorial University in Newfoundland, has produced further evidence that these fishing methods can have big ecological impacts.
The five species studied are all slow to grow and reproduce, attaining sexual maturity only in their teens.
"Deep sea fish are highly vulnerable to disturbance because of their late maturation, extreme longevity, low fecundity and slow growth," the researchers write.
Conservation measures are necessary and lack of knowledge must not delay appropriate initiatives
Jennifer Devine & colleagues
They examined records from Canadian Atlantic waters spanning the period 1978-1994 - roughly a single generation.
They found that populations of roundnose grenadier, onion-eye grenadier, blue hake, spiny eel and spinytail skate all declined spectacularly over the period.
Populations fell by between 87% and 98%; projections show that some would be completely eliminated within three generations.
These statistics would place the five fish within the category of "critically endangered", as defined by IUCN, the World Conservation Union, which publishes the Red List of threatened species.
"Conservation measures are necessary and lack of knowledge must not delay appropriate initiatives, including the establishment of deep sea protected areas," the researchers conclude.
Story from BBC NEWS:
https://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4581428.stm
Published: 2006/01/04 18:33:10 GMT
© BBC MMVI |
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