FAO News and Events RSS Feed

GFCM - SAC - SCESS/SCSA/SCSI Transversal Workshop on Fishing Capacity

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0100

FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the risks and benefits of fish consumption

jogeir.toppe@fao.org — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Call for experts and information & data:
Deadline 15 August 2009:
for information and details on how to apply | for information and details on how to send material

GFCM - CAQ - 11th SIPAM Annual Meeting

fabio.massa@fao.org — Mon, 2 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0100

and
Mr Salem, Mohamed HadjAli hadjali.salem@fao.org
or
Mr Camilleri, Matthew matthew.camilleri@fao.org
or
Mr Ramazan, Celebi celebii@yahoo.com

Information to participants | Registration form | Agenda

GFCM - CAQ - Workshop on harmonisation standards for Mediterranean aquaculture data collection

fabio.massa@fao.org — Mon, 2 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0100

and
Mr Salem, Mohamed HadjAli hadjali.salem@fao.org
or
Mr Camilleri, Matthew matthew.camilleri@fao.org

Information to participants | Registration form | Agenda

GFCM - SAC - Coordination Meeting of the Sub-Committees (CMSC)

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Meeting documents

GFCM - SAC - Sub-Committee on Statistics and Information (SCSI) - 10th Session

matthew.camilleri@fao.org — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Meeting documents

GFCM - SAC - Sub-Committee on Stock Assessment (SCSA) - 11th session

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Meeting documents

GFCM - SAC - Sub-Committee on Economic and Social Sciences (SCESS) - 10th Session

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Meeting documents

GFCM - SAC - Sub-Committee on Marine Environment and Ecosystems (SCMEE) - 10th Session

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Meeting documents

GFCM - CAQ - Workshop on guidelines and application on sustainable indicators in aquaculture (InDAM)

fabio.massa@fao.org — Thu, 5 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0100

and
Mr Klaudatos, Spryros sklaoudat@uth.gr

Registration form | Hotels
Agenda

GFCM - CAQ - Multistakeholder Workshop on Siting and Carrying Capacity (ShocMed)

fabio.massa@fao.org — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0100

and
Mr Karakassis, Ioannis
karakassis@biology.uoc.gr

Information | Agenda

GFCM - SAC - SCSA - Working Group on Small Pelagic Species

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Registration | Invitation
Accomodation | Brochure

GFCM - CAQ - WG on Marketing on Aquaculture - Development of a Strategy for Marketing and Promotion of Mediterranean Aquaculture

fabio.massa@fao.org — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:00:00 +0100

and
Mr Rad, Ferit
frad@mersin.edu.tr

Information | Registration
Agenda

GFCM - SAC - SCSA Working Group on Demersal Species

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Registration | Invitation
Accomodation | Brochure

VIT-LCA and its data requirements
SURBA and its data files
XSA and its data files

GFCM - SAC - SCMEE/SCSA/SCESS Transversal Workshop on Selectivity Improvment and Bycatch Reduction

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Registration | Invitation
Agenda

GFCM - CAQ - WG on Siting and Carring Capacity - Meeting on National legislation on Siting, monitoring programmes and EIA regulatory framework for finfish marine aquaculture (ShocMed)

fabio.massa@fao.org — Fri, 5 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Registration | Agenda

Video Managing Bycatch and Reducing Discards

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Every year tropical shrimp trawl fisheries generate millions of tonnes of bycatch. In some countries bycatch is an important source of income and contributes to food supply; in others, bycatch is discarded at sea. This FAO training video, filmed on location in Mexico, the Philippines and FAO Rome's headquarters, explores the issues and solutions to better manage bycatch and reduce discards in tropical shrimp fisheries.

Mozambique EAF National Task Group meeting

kwame.koranteng@fao.org — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:00:00 +0100

This is the inaugural meeting of the National Task Group. The objectives of the meeting:

To explain to members the functions of the NTG within the EAF-Nansen project
To take the NTG members through the ecological risk assessment methodology
To discuss the project concept note submitted by the national focal point and Regional Task Group member and to prepare a plan for its implementation including preparation of the baseline report on the selected fishery.

Mozambique EAF National Task Group News

GFCM - SAC - SCSI - Workshop on a GFCM Regional Logbook for the Mediterranean and Black Sea

matthew.camilleri@fao.org — Wed, 6 May 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Registration | Agenda

Tanzania EAF National Task Group meeting

kwame.koranteng@fao.org — Thu, 4 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0100

This is the inaugural meeting of the National Task Group. The objectives of the meeting:

To explain to members the functions of the NTG within the EAF-Nansen project
To take the NTG members through the ecological risk assessment methodology
To discuss the project concept note submitted by the national focal point and Regional Task Group member and to prepare a plan for its implementation including preparation of the baseline report on the selected fishery.

Kenya EAF National Task Group meeting

kwame.koranteng@fao.org — Thu, 4 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0100

This is the inaugural meeting of the National Task Group. The objectives of the meeting:

To explain to members the functions of the NTG within the EAF-Nansen project
To take the NTG members through the ecological risk assessment methodology
To discuss the project concept note submitted by the national focal point and Regional Task Group member and to prepare a plan for its implementation including preparation of the baseline report on the selected fishery.

EAF Regional Task Group meeting (CCLME countries) and Ecological Risk Assessment Methodology Workshop

kwame.koranteng@fao.org — Tue, 9 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0100

The main objectives of the meeting and workshop:

Discuss and facilitate key processes and activities for the implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management in the Northwest Africa region;
Introduce participants to concepts and principles relevant to Ecological Risk Assessment Methodology;
Discuss modalities for the formation and functioning of Regional and National EAF Task Groups;
Introduction to the preparation of EAF Baseline;
Examine the concept notes prepared for initial in-country activities under the EAF-Nansen project.

Expert Meeting on Indicators for Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries

kwame.koranteng@fao.org — Thu, 4 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0100

The main objectives of the expert meeting:

identify suitable indicators for fisheries management, as required for the application of EAF;
discuss the properties of these indicators such as relevance in relation to main subsets of management objectives, data availability, practicality, etc.
provide advice on methodologies for deriving indicators and on methodologies for integration/aggregation and visualization of indicators.

The meetings was attended by 12 experts from Australia, Canada, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States and FAO. In preparation for the expert meeting, three reviews covering the three main categories of management issues related to ecological well-being, human well-being, and ability to achieve, were undertaken to establish what relevant indicators are available for EAF, their properties, and whether/where they have been used. In particular, each review provided: a structured assessment of available indicators for fisheries management, relevant to EAF issues and operational objectives, classified in accordance with the hierarchical tree framework for identifying major issues in fisheries. Each review was to put special emphasis on applicability in developing countries and/or data-poor situations. The reviews provided background documents for the expert meeting.

GFCM/CIHEAM - Methodologies for Fisheries Stock Assessment in the Mediterranean (Advanced Course)

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Information:
english | français | español

GFCM - Workshop on the Selection of Indicators for the Sustainable Development of Aquaculture in the Mediterranean

fabio.massa@fao.org — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0100

Registration form | Agenda

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - Coordination Meeting of the Sub-Committees (CMSC)

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Invitation | Agenda

Report

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - Sub-Committee on Stock Assessment (SCSA) - 10th session

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Registration | Invitation

Agenda | Schedule

Report | Meeting documents

GFCM - SAC - Sub-Committee on Economic and Social Sciences (SCESS) - 9th Session

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Registration| Invitation

Agenda | Schedule

Report | Meeting documents

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - Sub-Committee on Statistics and Information (SCSI) - 9th Session

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Registration| Invitation

Agenda | Schedule

Report | Meeting documents

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - SCESS/SCSA Working Group on Recreational Fisheries (back to back to the SCESS session)

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Invitation

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - Sub-Committee on Marine Environment and Ecosystems (SCMEE) - 9th Session

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Report

Information | Registration| Invitation

Agenda

Schedule | Standard format | Fisheries Restricted Areas (FRA) - New Proposal for SCMEE

Meeting documents

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - SCSI/SCESS/SCSA Workshop to refine the fleet segmentation (back to back with the SCSI)

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Invitation

Whale deal falls at last minute

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
A unique consensus between environment groups and whaling nations at the World Conservation Congress was derailed by a last-minute Australian intervention.
Japan and Norway had agreed to back a motion saying there was not enough data to support the claim that culling whales could raise fisheries yields.

GFCM - Committee on Compliance (CoC) - Ad-Hoc Working Group on VMS as a MSC tool

alain.bonzon@fao.org — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Prospectus | Registration

Guidance to the revised draft recommendation concerning minimum standards for the establishment of a Vessel Monitoring System in the GFCM Area

Revised Draft Recommendation concerning minimum standards for the establishment of a Vessel Monitoring System in the GFCM Area

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - Sub-Committee on Stock Assessment (SCSA) - Working Group on Small Pelagic Species, including joint Stocks Assessments

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Tue, 2 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Agenda | Invitation | Registration form

Information for the practical session joint stock assessmenet

A rising tide

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: Economist.com
Scientists find proof that privatising fishing stocks can avert a disaster
For three years, from an office overlooking the Atlantic in Nova Scotia, Boris Worm, a marine scientist, studied what could prevent a fishery from collapsing. By 2006 Dr Worm and his team had worked out that although biodiversity might slow down an erosion of fish stocks, it could not prevent it. Their gloomy prediction was that by 2048 all the world’s commercial fisheries would have collapsed.

Ownership key to saving fisheries

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Giving fishermen long-term rights to catch fish is key to keeping stocks healthy, scientists conclude.
A global survey found that fisheries managed using individual transferable quotas (ITQs) were half as likely to collapse as others.
Long-term quotas give fishermen a stake in conserving fish stocks.

Superfood or Monster From the Deep?

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: New York Times
OFF the coast of Peru swim billions of sardines and anchovies: oily, smelly little fish, rich in nutritious omega-3 fatty acids. Their spot on the food chain is low; many will be caught, ground up, and fed as fishmeal to bigger animals.
But a few have a more exalted destiny: to be transported, purified and served at North American breakfast tables in the form of Tropicana Healthy Heart orange juice and Wonder Headstart bread. These new products promise to deliver the health benefits of fish oil without the smell and the taste — without, in fact, the fish.

EU to overhaul fisheries policy

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
The European Commission has announced a full review of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy, saying the current regime fails to protect fish stocks.
The commission says that fishermen who obey the fishing rules are being penalised by the irresponsible behaviour of others who flout them.

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - SCMEE meeting of ByCBAMS project (jointly with ACCOBAMS)

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Report

First announcement | Agenda

Draft Protocol For data collection on bycatch and depredation in the ACCOBAMS Region

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - SCMEE/SCSA transversal Working Group on by catch/incidental catches (in collaboration with ACCOBAMS)

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Invitation | Information| Registration form

Agenda

Questionnaire

Report

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - SCSA Working Group on Demersal Species, including joint Stocks Assessments

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Mon, 1 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Agenda | Invitation | Registration form

Practical session for the assessment of hake and associated species
XSA | SURBA | LCA

Greenland seeks whaling breakaway

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Greenland is attempting to remove its whale hunt from the jurisdiction of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), BBC News has learned.
Its whalers are angry that the IWC has twice declined to permit the addition of humpback whales to its annual quota.

Young girls the new bait for fishermen in Kenya

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
Dunga Beach, along the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya's western city of Kisumu, erupts into activity when the boats bring in their catch. Female fishmongers scramble along the beach to buy fish, shouting themselves hoarse to get the attention of the fishermen and middlemen, who control whether or not the women will have anything to sell that day.
Mingling with the jostling fishmongers is 19-year-old Lillian Onoka; stylishly dressed and with neatly plaited hair, she is easily noticed. "I do not sell fish but my aunt does, and she brings me along with her. I just help her get the fish without her having to scramble," Onoka told IRIN/PlusNews. Her aunt brings her as an inducement to the fishermen to hand over the best of their catch. Onoka says she is not tied to one fisherman, but will sleep with whoever offers the best deal on any given day.

Talkback: Getting to the bottom of the fish crisis

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: CNN.com
It seemed like a bolt from the blue. At the beginning of September the Hong Kong government announced it was considering banning all bottom trawling activities in its waters, effectively putting around 600 local trawler operations out of business.
The government says it wants to tackle the pressing issue of rapidly declining fish populations so that it can rejuvenate the local fishing industry and make it sustainable.

AFP Experts call for halt to bluefin tuna fishing in Mediterranean

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: Yahoo! News
The continued overfishing of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean is a "disgrace" and all fishing of the species in the region must be suspended immediately, a panel said Thursday.
A newly-published report from an independent panel reviewing the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) said countries are not respecting the fishing regulations they agreed to.

More freshwater fish in peril, study says

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: msnbc.com
About four out of 10 freshwater fish species in North America are in peril, according to a major study by U.S., Canadian and Mexican scientists.
And the number of subspecies of fish populations in trouble has nearly doubled since 1989, the new report says.

Wild Salmon Center makes front page news!

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: Wild Salmon Center
The Oregonian highlighted Wild Salmon Center’s unique approach to salmon conservation. The article featured the North American Salmon Stronghold Partnership, describing our partner-based strategy to conserving the last, best wild salmon ecosystems in North America.

Web site on the Civil Society Preparatory Workshop, 11-13 October, 2008, Bangkok (prior to the FAO conference on small-scale fisheries)

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 9 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

This website provides information on the preparatory workshop being organized by civil society prior to the FAO conference on small-scale fisheries.

The preparatory workshop is organized by World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP), The Sustainable Development Foundation (SDF), Southern Fisherfolk Federation (SFF), The International NGO/CSO Planning Committee (IPC) and the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF).

Civil society preparatory workshop to be held prior to FAO World Conference on Small-scale Fisheries

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 8 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
A preparatory workshop is being organized by civil society groups at Bangkok during 11-13 October, 2008, prior to the World Conference on Small-scale Fisheries to be conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 13 - 17 October at Bangkok.
The preparatory workshop is being organized by the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP), The Sustainable Development Foundation (SDF), Southern Fisherfolk Federation (SFF), The International NGO/CSO Planning Committee (IPC) and the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF).

Fish to Eat, Fish to Avoid: Seafish in Praise

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 8 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
Philip MacMullen, Seafish Head of Environmental Responsibility, said that he broadly welcomes the MCS “Fish to Eat and Fish to Avoid List”,
According to Mr MacMullen, consumers need clear guidance to help them make responsible choices when buying seafood.
Good, clear labelling will become a very important part of this process in the future but traceability is still far from perfect as far as consumers are concerned. In the meantime, it is genuinely difficult to be sure of all the details of any given fish supply line. "To this extent advice given via lists such as this one must match the reality of the available information. We should not be raising unrealistic expectations."

Study delivers good news about cod, haddock stocks

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 8 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: Gloucestertimes.com
A pivotal scientific study of groundfish stocks off New England, introduced and discussed publicly for the first time yesterday, shattered some assumptions about the winners and losers in the quarter-century effort to rebuild fishing stocks since the federal government stepped in.
According to the report by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, successes were fewer than failures, but cod and haddock surprisingly were among the stocks that seem to have launched successful comebacks.

UN announces guidelines to protect fragile sea species

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 8 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
After two years of consultations with concerned countries, the United Nations announced new international guidelines to limit the impact of fishing on fragile sea species.
The guidelines details steps for improving information on the location and status of vulnerable marine ecosystems and deep sea fisheries. Few countries have so far developed policies and plans specifically related to managing deep sea fishing, even in their own waters, according to U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

New Guidelines to Protect Deep-sea Fish

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 8 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
Countries agree on guidelines for protecting deep-sea species and habitats.
After two years of preparation and negotiation, FAO Members have adopted international guidelines aimed at limiting the impact of fishing on fragile deep sea fish species and habitats.
The guidelines provide a framework that fishing nations should use when operating in high-seas areas outside of national jurisdictions, where many deep sea fisheries (DSF) are located.

Wolves prefer fishing to hunting

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 4 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Wolves in western Canada prefer to fish for salmon when it is in season rather than hunt deer or other wild game, researchers have found.
Scientists studied the eating habits of wolf packs in British Columbia.

GFCM - Committee on Aquaculture - Second Coordinating Meeting of the Working Groups (CMWG) of the GFCM

fabio.massa@fao.org — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Report | Agenda

Local knowledge helps Fiji protect marine resources

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 8 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
Protecting and improving Fiji's marine resources is an issue often neglected except by conservationists who are eager to make a change. It's this change that has made it possible for Fiji to protect nearly half of its inshore fisheries which about 50 per cent of the population depend on.
Fiji is lucky to have a handful of organisations who work hard so that Fiji could one day become a model for other countries on the state of its marine resources. While some countries in the world are looking for ways to protect their ocean and food security, Fiji seems to be doing well because it is already halfway there through its marine protected areas.

New giant clam species discovered

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 1 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
A new species of giant clam has been discovered in the Red Sea.
Fossils suggest that, about 125,000 years ago, the species Tridacna costata accounted for more than 80% of the area's giant clams.
The species may now be critically endangered, researchers report in Current Biology journal.

Vote in Alaska Puts Question: Gold or Fish?

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: New York Times
By WILLIAM YARDLEY
Published: August 22, 2008
DILLINGHAM, Alaska - Just up the fish-rich rivers that surround this tiny bush town on Bristol Bay is a discovery of copper and gold so vast and valuable that no one seems able to measure it all. Then again, no one really knows the value of the rivers, either. They are the priceless headwaters of one of the world’s last great runs of Pacific salmon. The latest global assessment of cetaceans shows that the marine mammals throughout the world's oceans have experienced mixed fortunes.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reveals that some large species, like humpbacks, have seen numbers increase.

Bush eyes creating largest protected area ever

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: MSNBC
CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush on Monday said he was considering creating two protected areas in the Pacific Ocean, including one that would be the world's largest - four-and-a-half-times larger than all the national parks and nearly the size of Alaska.

Wanted: Home for 6 million dead carp

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: MSNBC
PROVO, Utah - Psst. Hey buddy, wanna buy 6 million carp? You'd be doing Utah a big favor. Ditto for a rare, funny-looking fish called the June sucker that's trying to mount a comeback in the state's largest natural freshwater lake.

Fish Tale Has DNA Hook: Students Find Bad Labels

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 1 Sep 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The News York Times
Many New York sushi restaurants and seafood markets are playing a game of bait and switch, say two high school students turned high-tech sleuths.
In a tale of teenagers, sushi and science, Kate Stoeckle and Louisa Strauss, who graduated this year from the Trinity School in Manhattan, took on a freelance science project in which they checked 60 samples of seafood using a simplified genetic fingerprinting technique to see whether the fish New Yorkers buy is what they think they are getting.

Mixed fortunes for world's whales

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
The latest global assessment of cetaceans shows that the marine mammals throughout the world's oceans have experienced mixed fortunes.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reveals that some large species, like humpbacks, have seen numbers increase.

Overfishing in west Africa linked to food crisis, migration, says report

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
According to a recent report by the nongovernmental organisation ActionAid, West African seas are being devastated by legal and illegal overfishing, while local fishing industries decline. Moreover, the economic partnership agreements in their currently proposed form only exacerbate this problem.
The overfishing of West African coastal waters, often by large European trawlers and sometimes by ‘‘fishing pirates’’ who trawl without any authorisation, has largely depleted local fish stocks. This has a direct impact on the rising rate of unemployment and on the ever-increasing flow of West Africans who embark on perilous journeys to Europe, in search of a better life.

Trawl-fishing threat to seabirds

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 8 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: AOL News
Thousands of birds could be dying from trawl fishing each year in one seabird hotspot, according to a study which highlights the danger the industry poses to threatened species such as albatrosses.
Research published in the journal Animal Conservation looked at the effect on birds of fishing with nets by 14 different vessels in the Benguela Current, off South Africa.

Aquaculture Production to Double by 2015

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 4 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
The Australian aquaculture industry's output could double by 2015, according to the chairman of the National Aquaculture Council Craig Foster.
Speaking ahead of the forum on Asia Pacific aquaculture in Brisbane this week, Mr Foster said that the doubling of production follows a decade of investment in ensuring teat aquaculture also sustains the environment.

Appearance of Rare Fish Linked to Global Warming

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 4 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
Giant blue-fin tuna and other semitropical fish are increasingly being caught in South Korean waters it is believed because of global warming.
At a fish market in Busan this week, three blue-fin tuna between 2.32-2.43 metres long and weighing between 250-300 kg were put up for auction.

Brazil Creates Ministry of Fisheries

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has signed a bill to create a Ministry of Fisheries and the government has announced it will invest $1 billion in the sector up to 2011.
The signing took place during the launch of the National Fishery and Aquaculture Development Plan, converting the Special Secretariat of Aquaculture and Fishery (Seap) into a ministry.

Mozambique fishing industry near collapse

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 4 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
Mozambique's fishing industry is on the verge of collapse due to constant rises in global fuel costs, a top official said. The National Director of Fisheries Administration, Ivone Lichucha, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that about 51 engine boats of the 59 registered are no longer fishing due to their owners' inability to buy fuel.
"The (fishing) industry is heading to a near collapse, many fishermen can no longer make it to the sea. Constant increase in fuel prices is having a heavy impact while most of their boats are obsolete," Lichucha said.

PNG Fisheries, Police In Partnership To Combat Illegal Fishing

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: Pacific Magazine
Papua New Guinea’s National Fisheries Authority (NFA) has gone into partnership with the Royal Constabulary of Papua New Guinea (RCPNG) to step up major surveillance on illegal fishing activities in its territorial waters.
This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) today between the two state institutions to collaborate in combating illegal fishing activities.

Millions could face untold disaster as fish stocks decline in Uganda

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 4 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
Up to 1.5 million people in Uganda who live off fishing as an economic activity face a real threat to their livelihoods as fish stocks continue to plummet to dangerous levels. Despite being the number two export-earning commodity for Uganda after coffee, fish stocks according to recent reports are projected to drop in value to $80 million this year from its peak of $148 million in 2005.

As Price of Grain Rises, Catfish Farms Dry Up

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
Catfish farmers across the South, unable to cope with the soaring cost of corn and soybean feed, are draining their ponds.
“It’s a dead business,” said John Dillard, who pioneered the commercial farming of catfish in the late 1960s. Last year Dillard & Company raised 11 million fish. Next year it will raise none. People can eat imported fish, Mr. Dillard said, just as they use imported oil.

EU adopts emergency aid package for fishing sector

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Soure: AFP
EU fisheries ministers adopted late Tuesday an emergency aid package worth up to two billion euros to help fishermen cope with soaring fuel prices, the EU's French presidency said.
"Political agreement was reached by a qualified majority on urgent measures for the fishing sector," the presidency said, as the ministers met into the evening in Brussels.

Japanese Fishermen Go on Strike Over Fuel Prices

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
Fishermen across Japan went on a massive one-day strike Tuesday to protest skyrocketing fuel prices, the latest blow to the country's foundering fishing industry.
The strike was the largest ever for the industry, involving 200,000 boats and 400,000 workers, organizers said. More than 3,000 fishermen from across the country gathered in central Tokyo and marched around the fisheries ministry in protest.

Kenya loses 10,000 tonnes of fish annually

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The Standard
Submarine criminals from European and Asian countries are stealing more than 10,000 metric tonnes of fish worth Sh300 million per year from the Kenyan side of the Indian Ocean.
In the process, they are fleecing the country of millions of shillings, Fisheries Minister Paul Otuoma has said.

'Alarming' plight of coral reefs

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
A third of the world's reef-building coral species are facing extinction.
That is the stark conclusion from the first global study to assess the extinction risks of corals.
Writing in the journal Science, researchers say climate change, coastal development, overfishing, and pollution are the major threats.

FAO statistics don't take into account small scale fisheries catches

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

July 9th. A new study estimates that for more than 50 years the FAO statistics have failed to show the huge volumes of fish being caught by small-scale fisheries. For example, the official catch reported by the Mozambique government to FAO suggests that each citizen is eating about 3kg of fish per year. However, when the scientists looked at the catches being made by subsistence fishing, that consumption rate rose to 9kg per capita per year. Despite this, the Mozambique government was using its reported catch to justify selling off fishing permits to European boats coming into Mozambique waters to fish for high-value shrimp, which often leads to substantial bycatch that is thrown overboard as waste fish – further depleting stocks for the local community. One of the study authors calls the situation a reverse Robin Hood story. "Instead of stealing from the rich to give to the poor, it's stealing from the poor to give to the rich." The underreporting also means that estimates of how long fish stocks can support a given country's populations may also be deeply flawed. The authors are calling on the FAO to take immediate steps to begin gathering more complete statistics. "It is far better to support small-scale fisheries to survive and protect local reefs because that brings real economic development where it is needed", said the lead author. Moreover, "Small-scale fishers are more fuel efficient and can be sustainable if reefs are protected" he concluded.
Sources
Scientific article, Nature, July 9
http://www.nature.com:80/news/2008/080709/full/news.2008.942.html?s=news_rss

Press articles

The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk:80/environment/nature/massive-underreporting-of-fish-catches-leads-to-declining-stocks-862973.html

IPS news
http://www.ipsnews.net:80/news.asp?idnews=43118

The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/09/fishing.food1?gusrc=rss&feed=uknews

Corals, Already in Danger, Are Facing New Threat From Farmed Algae

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 9 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
BUTARITARI, Kiribati — Off the palm-fringed white beach of this remote Pacific atoll, the view underwater is downright scary.
Corals are being covered and smothered to death by a bushy seaweed that is so tough even algae-grazing fish avoid it. It settles in the reef’s crevices that fish once called home, driving them away.

US fishermen oppose lifting offshore oil drilling moratorium

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 9 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
The largest commercial fishermen’s organization in the United States' West Coast took aim on the Bush Administration proposal to lift the 28-year old moratorium on offshore oil drilling, saying it will put the nation’s seafood resources at risk for a small amount of oil that won’t be available for a decade.
“New offshore drilling, such as the President proposes, won’t make a dent in the price at the pump, but it sure as hell could damage our fisheries,” said Zeke Grader, Executive Director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA). “Our members have experienced first hand drilling in the Santa Barbara Channel and this is not something we want expanded into pristine ocean waters and some of our nation’s best fishing grounds.”

Cod Farming Advantages?

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 3 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
Cod farming is in demand like never before. Production is growing and prices are good. But will they succeed or will cod farming follow a host of other unsuccessful attempts to farm new species?
Cod farmers want long-term contracts to supply supermarket chains year-round.
"The extent to which cod farmers succeed will to a large degree depend on their ability to utilise their most important advantage in competitive markets, namely good control of quality and freshness and the possibility of supplying what the customer wants," says Senior Scientist Geir Sogn-Grundvåg.

Fisherman survives tiger attack

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source; BBC News
An Indian fisherman whose father was killed by a tiger 20 years ago has dramatically survived a similar attack in the state of West Bengal.
The Bengal tiger struck on Tuesday as Fatik Halder was crab fishing in the Sunderbans mangrove forest.

Pirate fishing boats target Africa

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 3 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
There is a kind of theft that happens every day in a majority of the world's poor countries - and in many of the richer ones too.
It usually happens out of sight, and most perpetrators get away with it.
The monetary value of this theft is about $15bn per year; the ecological cost can only be guessed at.

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - SCMEE/SCSA/SCESS Transversal Working Group on Selectivity

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Information | Invitation | Registration form
Map of Sète
Agenda

Report

Can compromise save the whale?

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
So it's official - both sides want peace. Or do they? As the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting came to a close, not everyone was convinced by the rhetoric of reason and good faith.
Heard in the corridor: "We've been down this road before", "They're not serious", "It's just a ploy to eat up time".
IWC history is bloody with betrayal. It will take more than an agreement to link arms and waltz off into the sunset to convince seasoned observers on both sides that anything more than a crock of frustration and heartache lies at the end of the path.

Whale meet ends with peace agenda

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
The annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has ended with member governments agreeing to try and resolve their differences.
The next year will see intensive dialogue between pro- and anti-whaling countries, and could lead to a package deal next year.
But there is still significant water between the camps on key issues.

The 'value' of protecting whales

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
As opponents of whaling agree to seek an arrangement with countries who still hunt, Richard Black at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Chile reflects on our relationship with whales and with nature in general.

Greenland denied on whale catch

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
The first vote at this year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting has resulted in defeat for Greenland's request to expand its hunt.
Many countries were unconvinced that Greenlanders need the extra meat that catching 10 humpbacks would provide, and believe the hunt is too commercial.

Landmark Florida Everglades deal

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
US conservationists are hailing a landmark agreement under which the state of Florida will buy a huge tract of land from a major sugar company.
The US Sugar Corp has tentatively agreed to close down and sell the 800sq km of land it owns in the Everglades to Florida for $1.75bn (£890m).

East Africa: Saving the 'Fish Basket' From Drying Up

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: all.Africa.com
While Lake Victoria remains the most productive fishery in Africa, with annual fishery yields fluctuating around 600,000 tonnes, valued at $350 - 400m, catches of Nile perch are steadily declining. In 2001, boats caught an average 160 kilos of Nile perch each trip, today they catch less than 20. At the same time, catches of lower valued species, such as the silver-coloured mukene are steady, if not increasing.
According to fishermen and fishery managers alike, the causes of the Nile perch fishery crisis are complex and there will be no single silver bullet solution. Additionally, the future unknown and variable impacts of climate change require that the basin is strong enough to cope with future change.

Anger at calm in whaling waters

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
The annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has opened in Santiago without the usual war of words between pro- and anti-whaling nations.
Some campaigners in Chile's capital complain dissent is being suppressed.
But Japan says anti-whaling countries will be able to pursue conservation goals more effectively if they accept that whaling can be sustainable.

Whaling body agrees path to peace

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
The global body responsible for whales and whaling has opened the door to the eventual partial lifting of the commercial whaling ban.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) adopted a reform path aimed at finding compromise between pro- and anti-hunting countries.
Delegates at the Commission's annual meeting in Chile agreed the current impasse should not continue.

New Kenyan law targets foreign vessels

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
Foreign vessels fishing within 200 nautical miles of Kenyan waters will from September be required to declare their catch and pay tax to the Kenya Revenue Authority.
Fisheries minister Paul Otuoma announced in Malindi at the end of his four-day tour of Coast Province that a law to compel all foreign ships to call in at Kenyan ports for verification of the quantity, quality and types of fish was being crafted. He said that for a long time, the country's marine Exclusive Economic Zone had been a reaping ground for foreigners who make "billions of shillings" each year at the expense of the country's economy.

SalmonAid Festival Puts Spotlight on Urgent Need for Fish Restoration

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: truthout
A unique coalition of recreational anglers, commercial fisherman, members of Indian Tribes and conservationists came together from throughout California and the West Coast to sponsor the SalmonAid Festival on May 31 and June 1 in Jack London Square in Oakland.
The event aimed to draw attention to the ongoing salmon fisheries disaster on the Klamath, Sacramento, Columbia and other West Coast rivers. This year, due to record low numbers of salmon expected to return to the Central Valley Rivers because of increases in California Delta water exports and other factors, all commercial and recreational ocean fishing is banned off California and most of Oregon.

Peace pledges as whale meet opens

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Countries on both sides of the whaling divide are pledging a new spirit of co-operation as the International Whaling Commission (IWC) convenes.
There is general agreement that the global body charged with conserving whales and regulating whaling does neither task very effectively.

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - SCSA Training courses on methodologies for Stock Assessment

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Information for Participants | Invitation | Registration

Training programme | Data needed for VPA |
Data needs and models for presentation of information for production models

Report

Norwegian saithe fisheries celebrate sustainability

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: FISHupdate
TWO of Europe's largest fisheries were today certified as sustainable.
The Norwegian North Sea saithe and Norwegian North East Arctic saithe fisheries were the first Norwegian fisheries to enter the MSC assessment process.
Subject to MSC Chain of Custody certification, saithe from the fisheries is now eligible to carry the MSC eco-label on fish and products marking it out as fish from a sustainable and well-managed source.

Greenland whale hunt 'commercial'

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Animal welfare campaigners say Greenland's whaling, held under rules permitting subsistence hunting, has become too commercial in character.
The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) found that a quarter of last year's catch was traded for profit through a private food company.

Farmed Fish Breathe New Life into Lake

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
A Siberian lake that had been hit by overfishing has been rescued through fish farming.
It was thought Lake Chagatay in Siberia would never recover from the overfishing that almost stripped every living thing from its waters. But fish farming has come to the rescue, promising to return the lake to its former glory.

Food Summit Calls Out for Food Investment

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
The Summit on soaring food prices, convened by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has concluded with the adoption by acclamation of a declaration calling on the international community to increase assistance for developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and those that are most negatively affected by high food prices.
“There is an urgent need to help developing countries and countries in transition expand agriculture and food production, and to increase investment in agriculture, agribusiness and rural development, from both public and private sources,” according to the declaration.

Sardines With Your Bagel?

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
THE first chinook salmon from Alaska’s Copper River arrived in Seattle last month, for shipment to fish counters throughout the country. With the commercial chinook season in California and most of Oregon canceled for the first time in 160 years, Alaska chinook were going for record prices: $40 a pound for fillet.

Researchers scramble to deal with dying oysters

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: OregonLive.com
An invisible microbe that thrives in warm ocean water has undermined the Northwest's prized oyster supply, killing billions of young larvae that mature into the succulent shellfish known across the world.
The bacterium, Vibrio tubiashii, is related to another species that can sicken people who eat raw shellfish. This one doesn't bother people -- it kills shellfish in their larval stage, before they latch onto rocks to grow.

Rogue River dams to come down

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The Oregonian
One of Oregon's iconic rivers is on the cusp of a major makeover.
What's happening on the Rogue River isn't so much transformation as reversion. Dams built during the previous century will come down. Reservoirs will return to running water.

Fishermen clash with police at EU

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 6 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Police have clashed with hundreds of fishermen protesting against the high cost of fuel outside the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels.
Several windows in EU buildings were broken and at least one car was overturned during the demonstration.

High food prices may add pressure for more fishing along coasts, says UN study

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
High food prices may add pressure for more fishing along coasts where the environment faces threats from pollution and climate change, a United Nations University report said on Wednesday. It said 40 percent of all people lived within 50 km (30 miles) of coasts and that governments needed to work out better policies to safeguard resources.
"The decline is terminal, unless we introduce much more effective management immediately," said the study by the university's International Network on Water, Environment and Health (INWEH). "This is one more voice added to the chorus about how bad the situation for the world's coasts is," Peter Sale, INWEH assistant director, told Reuters. Fixing the problems "do not mean spending more money but spending it more wisely".

Whalemeat traders 'defying ban'

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 6 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Icelandic and Norwegian companies have begun exporting whalemeat to Japan.
About 60 tonnes of meat from fin whales caught in the 2006 Icelandic hunt was reportedly sent with a much smaller amount of minke meat from Norway.
Industry sources told the BBC that the meat had already arrived in Japan, although a Japanese official said no request to import it had been received.

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - SCSA 2nd Working Group on Stock Assessment Methodologies, on basic methods and protocols to undertake assessments with direct methods

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Registration form | Invitation | Information

Agenda | Inventory form

Report

Nature loss 'to hurt global poor'

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Damage to forests, rivers, marine life and other aspects of nature could halve living standards for the world's poor, a major report is to conclude.
Current rates of natural decline might reduce global GDP by about 7% by 2050.

Australia links organized crime to illegal fishing

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 26 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: International Herald Tribune
Organized crime groups and even motorcycle gangs around the world are becoming involved in illegal fishing, lured mainly by demand from China for prized fish species, a study by Australian crime experts said.
Groups from China, Australia, Russia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Japan have all been linked to illegal fishing, with fish stocks either sold illegally or used as a means of laundering money, the Australian Institute of Criminology said.

Japan to suspend some tuna fishing on fuel prices

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
Surging fuel prices will likely force Japanese fishermen to suspend some tuna fishing expeditions to the Pacific and Indian oceans, officials from the main nationwide tuna fishing union said on Tuesday. The tuna fishing cooperative union is considering stopping about 80 fishing boats from going to the Pacific and the India Ocean for three months or more to catch bigeye tuna and yellowfin tuna, two common and reasonably priced fish at sushi bars, union officials said.

US and Canada Come Together to Save Salmon

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 26 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
The US and Canada have decided to cooperate in order to abate the situation looming around the Pacific Coast salmon fishery.
Cuts in harvest and improvements in habitat are part of a proposed revision to the Pacific Salmon Treaty, which should quickly be approved by both governments. The new treaty would reduce the catch off southeast Alaska by 15 percent and Canada would cut its take off the West Coast by 30 percent. The changes would send an estimated one million more chinook to Puget Sound and the Columbia River. Chinook are the target, but the 10-year agreement also covers coho, chum, pink and sockeye salmon, reports the Seattle Times.

More than 80% of World’s Fisheries In Danger From Overfishing

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: Environmental News Network
A new report released by Oceana today concludes that more than 80 percent of the world's fisheries cannot withstand increased fishing activity and only 17 percent of the world's fisheries should be considered capable of any growth in catch at all. Too Few Fish: A Regional Assessment of the World's Fisheries shows there is very little room for further expansion of global fishing efforts.

Call to settle ocean care dispute

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Governments are being urged to agree measures for protecting open ocean and sea floor habitats at a major United Nations conservation meeting in Bonn.
Argentina and Brazil are among the countries objecting to proposals put forward at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting.

Sharks swim closer to extinction

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
More than half of the world's ocean-going sharks are at risk of extinction, a new analysis concludes.
Specialists with IUCN (formerly the World Conservation Union) found that 11 species are on the high-risk list, with five more showing signs of decline.

Promueven fortalecimiento de pesca artesanal

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Fuente: El Nuevo Diario
Los altos costos de producción y la sobreexplotación de especies que gozan de gran demanda en el mercado internacional, como el camarón y la langosta, han provocado un declive de la pesca industrial, por lo que diversos estudios indican que una alternativa viable sería la promoción de la pesca artesanal.
Actualmente se calcula que en Nicaragua existen 13 mil 500 pescadores artesanales distribuidos en 112 comunidades. El 52 por ciento de ellos se localiza en la Costa Caribe de nuestro país.
Con el auspicio de la FAO (Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación), el gobierno de la República, a través del Instituto Nicaragüense de Pesca (Inpesca), prepara la Estrategia para el Desarrollo Sostenible de la Pesca Artesanal, la Seguridad Alimentaria y la Reducción de la Pobreza en las familias vinculadas a este rubro económico.

Fast flying fish glides by ferry

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Some remarkable footage of a flying fish has been captured by a TV crew filming off the southern tip of Japan.
It is claimed to be one of the longest recorded flights of this acrobatic animal.
The fish was completely airborne for 45 seconds. This beats one previous, impressive report from an American researcher in the 1920s of 42 seconds.

US fisheries service to honour national leaders in sustainable fisheries

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
The Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States announced today that it will honor seven people and two organizations for their efforts to enhance the understanding, protection, and sustainable use of U.S. ocean resources. This recognition is part of the agency’s third annual Sustainable Fisheries Leadership Awards program.
NOAA’s leaders will present the awards at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on June 2. “The health and sustainability of the planet’s ocean resources is of paramount importance for the world’s environmental, economic, and human wellbeing,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The contributions of our honorees inspire others and enhance NOAA’s work to conserve and manage our nation’s marine resources.”

Go-ahead for Iceland's whale hunt

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Iceland's commercial whale hunt is set to begin, after the government granted a small minke quota on Monday.
Whalers had been seeking a quota of about 100, but ministers settled on 40, which they say is commercially viable.

Big ball of Columbia River sturgeon baffles experts

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: OregonLive.com
When sonar surveys spotted a vast pile of rubble in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam late last winter, officials suddenly worried that part of the dam structure was eroding into the river.
"Everybody said, 'Oh my gosh, we need to get divers out there right away,' " recalled Dennis Schwartz, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the dam.
What they found below the spillways in February was not a giant pile of rock at all, but a humongous pile of thousands upon thousands of sturgeon -- some of them 14 feet long or longer -- lounging together in frigid water at the bottom of the river.

Greenpeace accuses Philippine ships of illegally transferring tuna at high seas

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
The international environmental organization Greenpeace Saturday said it spotted Philippines' fishing ships engaged in illegal transfer of tuna at the high seas in the Pacific near Papua New Guinea.
The Greenpeace Southeast Asia office said in a news statement that its ship, the Esperanza, exposed an illegal tuna purse seiner, Philippine-flagged Queen Evelyn 168, in a pocket of international waters between Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia, on Friday. The purse seiner was at the site of a transfer of tuna between her sister vessel and a refrigerated mothership, both also registered to the Philippines.

Indonesian tropical prawns obtain certification

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: FISHupdate.com
FRIEND of the Sea has today announced certification of the first prawn fishery in Indonesia and its products sold by company Seacold Seafoods and Panca Mitra Multi Perdana.
The Indonesian artisanal trammel net fishery for Penaeus indicus and other Penaeus species, reported as not overexploited by FAO, has been found compliant with Friend of the Sea certification criteria. The fishery operates from West Borneo, in the Sukadan Gulf and Maya Island and is composed of 138 small boats.

GFCM - Scientific Advisory Committee - SCSI Ad Hoc Workshop on Regional Fleet Register

abdellah.srour@fao.org — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Registration

Report | Meeting documents

How the world's oceans are running out of fish

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The Observer
The future of our seas has never been more precarious. Ninety years of industrial-scale overfishing has brought us to the brink of an ecological catastrophe and deprived millions of their livelihoods. As scientific guidelines are ignored and catches become ever bigger, Alex Renton tells why the international community has failed to act.

Salmon Gone, Fishermen Try to Adapt on a Changing Coast

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
So long, salmon. Steve Wilson is refitting his 51-foot troller to fish for the future. No longer will he cast for the conflicted symbol of Northwest abundance and bitterness. No more fishing for a myth.
Steve Wilson is converting his salmon boat to fish for prawns, which will be sold to high-end restaurants. Tourism is growing along the Oregon coast.

Cod fall may speed 'toxic tide'

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 8 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC NEWS
Declining fish stocks could be partly responsible for algal blooms in the oceans, researchers have found.
Scientists found that the fall in cod stocks in the Baltic Sea in recent decades increased numbers of the tiny marine plants that produce the blooms.

The feds' latest plan to restore Columbia salmon leaves dam operations largely intact

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 8 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: OregonLive.com
The third try for a blueprint on restoring fish runs will go before a federal judge who has threatened severe limits
After two rejections in court, the U.S. government released its third plan Monday for pulling threatened Columbia River basin salmon from the brink of extinction -- again without dramatically altering hydropower generation from the system's dams.

Leaders agree plan to save Niger

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 5 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC NEWS
Nine West African countries have agreed an $8bn, 20-year plan to save Africa's third-largest river, the Niger.
The programme, which aims to prevent the river silting up completely, was approved at a meeting in Niamey, Niger.

Sea lions apparently shot in Columbia River traps

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 5 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: OregonLive.com
Columbia River - Six animals are discovered dead near Bonneville Dam, halting a program to capture the protected animals
A controversial sea-lion trapping program along the Columbia River was suspended Sunday after authorities discovered six federally protected animals in floating traps dead, apparently from gunshot wounds.

Seattle fish-egg auctions lure hundreds of millions in bids

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 5 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: OregonLive.com
Bidders walk deliberately among trays of small, lung-shaped sacs of fish eggs. The room is white from floor to ceiling, setting off the bright red roe sacs. Constantly humming air filters keep fishy odors at bay.
Scanning each tray, Akiro Miura picked up a pair of sacs, studied their color and gently squeezed them to check their firmness. Hundreds of millions of dollars trade hands during the brief pollock roe auctions here, and Miura was accordingly judicious.

GFCM/ICCAT - Joint meeting on Small Tunas Fisheries in the Mediterranean

abdellah.srour@fao.org,pilar.pallares@iccat.int — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Local host details:
David Macia (david.macias@ma.ieo.es) and Jorge Baro (jorgebaro@ma.ieo.es)
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, C.O. de Málaga
Apartado 285 - Puerto Pesquero s/n; 29640 Fuengirola, Málaga, Spain
Tel:+34 952 476 955, Fax: +34 952 463 808

Website

Report

First announce | Agenda | Registration Form

Buffett rebuffs Klamath dam protesters

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 5 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: OregonLive.com
American Indians and salmon fishermen who had hoped to earn a private audience with billionaire Warren Buffett failed to win much support Saturday for removing four dams along the Klamath River.
Buffett again told the protesters that his company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., won't decide the fate of the dams its PacifiCorp utility owns. Instead, Berkshire will defer to regulators in California and Oregon, where the Klamath runs, and to federal officials.

Next decade 'may see no warming'

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 5 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC NEWS
The Earth's temperature may stay roughly the same for a decade, as natural climate cycles enter a cooling phase, scientists have predicted.
A new computer model developed by German researchers, reported in the journal Nature, suggests the cooling will counter greenhouse warming.

Tullow Oil loses Congolese permit

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 5 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC NEWS
The Congolese government has given an oil permit claimed by Tullow Oil to a rival consortium.
Tullow, Heritage Oil and Cohydro signed an agreement for two permits on Lake Albert, which borders Uganda, in 2006.

Coalition says it knows real reason for massive salmon collapse

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: t r u t h o u t
Salmon fishing is closed in ocean waters off California's shore for the first time in state history, regulators are poised to extend the ban to Sacramento-area rivers and the region's fishing industry - which includes everything from commercial fishing fleets to mom-and-pop bait shops - is scrambling to deal with the loss.
While state and federal regulators openly suspect poor ocean conditions as causing the dramatic and "mysterious" drop-off in the salmon population in California and Oregon waters, a coalition of recreational and commercial fishermen, Indian tribes, environmental groups and some prominent scientists don't see the collapse as a mystery at all. And they point to a different culprit: other state and federal regulators.

Abuse a Mainstay of Asia's Seafood Industry

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
Workers in Southeast Asia's expanding shrimp industry suffer tremendous abuse and sometimes live virtual slavery, says a report released this week.
Sexual and physical abuse, debt bondage, child labour and dangerous working conditions are common place and western consumers must realise what they are supporting, says the report fro human rights campaigner the Solidarity Center.

Toothfish Farming Starts in Chile

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
La Araucana Education Corporation and four private Chilean companies have begun a Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) farming project.
Officially launched this week, the aim of the project is to develop farming technologies for Patagonian toothfish from wild breeding fish that have adapted to captive systems. The four-year project is expected to produce a first batch of juveniles -weighing 5 grams each- from incubated ovas in controlled systems.

Self-Policing - Best Way to Protect Wild Salmon

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
"The answer is a production system that regulates itself," says John Volpe, a University of Victoria biologist.
In an article for Ontario's Business Edge, he says that third-party policing strategies do not work. And, although the BC government recently issued an indefinite moratorium on applications and licences for open-net salmon farms in northern coastal waters, Volpe says it will not make a difference to the plight of wild salmon in more southern waters, nor benefit consumers.

Taking a Lead in Setting Standards

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
New Zealand is helping contribute to the development of international standards surrounding shellfish farming, says Minister of primary industries Jim Anderton. It is in negotiation with WWF to help it develop an international commitment to specific production criteria.

U.S. grocer restricts Chilean salmon

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: iht.com
Safeway, among the largest supermarket chains in the United States, has restricted some purchases of farm-raised Chilean salmon over concerns about a virus that is killing millions of fish there.
The supermarket chain decided late last month to stop buying from its supplier of Chilean salmon, Marine Harvest, because the virus for infectious salmon anemia, or ISA, was "impacting the quality of the product," Brian Dowling, a Safeway spokesman, said this week. Dowling said the virus, which does not pose a risk to humans, was nevertheless affecting the size of the salmon, "which impacts the quality and the taste."

Malta reiterates commitment to sustainable fishing

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: MaltaMedia News
Malta has reiterated its commitment to fight against the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU) activities. This was stated by the Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs, George Pullicino during of a seminar which discussed the theme ‘Preventing, Deterring and Eliminating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU)’.
The European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Dr Joe Borg also attended and addressed the seminar.

Auckland Takes First Steps With Regulated Aquaculture

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) has taken an initial precautionary position on the future management of aquaculture (marine farming) in the region’s coastal marine area.
The ARC, which will consult on this matter, will use the new legislative tools provided by the 2005 Aquaculture Law Reforms (Invited Private Plan Changes and Excluded Areas) to best determine where new Aquaculture Management Areas may be established and where they are inappropriate.

Venezuela Outlaws Trawl Fishing

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: OneWorld U.S.
Trawl fishing is on its way out in Venezuela, amid demonstrations by artisanal fisherfolk who support the new law as amended by President Hugo Chavez.
"Trawling is killing off fish species. In our case, we fish with hooks, catch a pargo (sea bream), try again, catch a mero (grouper), and clean them as we go. We used to fill the boats in a single night, but for years now that hasn't happened, and sometimes we come back empty-handed," Manuel Gonzalez told IPS.

Regional Workshop on the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in the Central Asian Region: a Call to Action.

david.doulman@fao.org — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Report

Workshop on Climate Change Implications for Fisheries and Aquaculture

kevern.cochrane@fao.org,cassandra.deyoung@fao.org — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Meeting location:
FAO - Queen Juliana Meeting Room (B324 3rd floor)
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome, Italy

Innovative Project Making way for Sustainable Haddock

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 4 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
Sustainably farmed haddock could soon be on the plates of UK consumers thanks to an award-winning project by Viking Fish Farms.
The project to develop a suitable feed for farmed haddock using cereal proteins has been recognised by the Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) Enterprise Awards, which encourage innovation with UK grain.

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) and FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 4 Apr 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: FishCode News
The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), the official marketing organization for the State of Alaska, has notified us that the questionnaire approach has been used to assess CCRF compliance for Alaskan fisheries. ASMI, in the face of the proliferation of numerous certification schemes and eco-labels, has decided to focus on the FAO Code, with the aim to establish a “common denominator” that will facilitate understanding, and allow the seafood marketplace to procure and market responsible seafood.

Tuna talks look to cut down on overfishing

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: Yahoo! Asia News
Leading tuna consumers and producers met Wednesday to look at how to stop countries breaching quotas as a global fad for Japanese food drives tuna stocks to dangerously low levels.
Amid environmentalists' warnings that tuna would eventually go extinct at current fishing rates, a 2006 deal agreed to cut the annual catch of bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic Ocean by one-fifth to 25,500 tonnes by 2010.

Salmon Virus Indicts Chile’s Fishing Methods

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
Looking out over the low green mountains jutting through miles of placid waterways here in southern Chile, it is hard to imagine that anything could be amiss. But beneath the rows of neatly laid netting around the fish farms just off the shore, the salmon are dying.
A virus called infectious salmon anemia, or I.S.A., is killing millions of salmon destined for export to Japan, Europe and the United States. The spreading plague has sent shivers through Chile’s third-largest export industry, which has left local people embittered by laying off more than 1,000 workers.

Findings Support Fish Consumption During Pregnancy

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: seafoodCURRENTS
A study scheduled for April publication in the American Journal of Epidemiology finds that women who ate the most fish (more than 2 weekly servings) during the second trimester of their pregnancies delivered children with the highest scores on two cognitive tests when they reached 3 years of age.

British seas turning green, says watchdog

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The Guardian
Britain's fishing industry is in line to become one of the greenest in the world, with a record number of fleets to be awarded coveted "eco-labels" for their catches of haddock, dover sole, herring and prawns.
The Marine Stewardship Council, which oversees the best-known environmental scheme for fisheries, said several of the UK's largest fleets were on course to join its labelling scheme, proving their environmental credentials.

An ocean's ripple effects

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The Boston Globe
HOME TO thriving coral reefs, some 500 species of fish, and bird breeding grounds, the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) sits in the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Hawaii and Australia. It is a living example of how marine resources can be preserved without harming the economies that depend on them.
The size of California, PIPA is a place that Greg Stone calls "one of the last wilderness areas." The vice president of marine programs at the New England Aquarium, Stone has spent years working with the government of Kiribati, a nation of equatorial islands, to create the marine sanctuary.

Why fish prices are skyrocketing

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: New Vision Online
Increased demand for fish, abusive exploitation of the lake and eutrofication have caused scarcity, making the prices skyrocket.
Eutrofication is excessive mineral enrichment of rivers, lakes and their surroundings primarily with sewage, nitrates and phosphates from fertilisers used in agriculture.

Chinook Salmon Vanish Without a Trace

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The News York Times
The Chinook salmon that swim upstream to spawn in the fall, the most robust run in the Sacramento River, have disappeared. The almost complete collapse of the richest and most dependable source of Chinook salmon south of Alaska left gloomy fisheries experts struggling for reliable explanations — and coming up dry.
Whatever the cause, there was widespread agreement among those attending a five-day meeting of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council here last week that the regional $150 million fishery, which usually opens for the four-month season on May 1, is almost certain to remain closed this year from northern Oregon to the Mexican border. A final decision on salmon fishing in the area is expected next month.

UGANDA: Fishing for self-reliance in the north

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: IRIN News
Lilly Ogwang tucked in her long skirt and stepped into the water to join the other women from her village in northern Uganda’s Lira District harvesting fish from their jointly owned pond.
Dragging their net from one end of the pond to the other, the women of Obanga Tek Itecere village soon emerged from the muddy water with a huge catch.

Iceland whaling go-ahead 'likely'

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Iceland is likely to approve the commercial hunting of whales for this summer, the BBC has learned.
Its whaling industry is asking for a quota of about 100 minke whales and a number of fin whales too.

European Parliament approves new fisheries accord with Guinea-Bissau

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
The European Parliament approved on Tuesday a new fishing accord with Guinea-Bissau that was negotiated last month in Brussels by the Bissau government.

Satellite guidance enabling Sri Lankan fishermen to net larger catch

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
Fishermen in Sri Lanka will be able to harvest ocean resources without wasting their time and fuel. The National Aquatic Resources Agency (NARA) is fully equipped to provide information on locations of large fish populations. This has been made possible through satellite technology for the benefit of the fishing community, NARA Chairman K. Saputhanthri said.

Symposium "Science and challenge of managing small pelagics fisheries on shared stocks in Northwest Africa"

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Symposium Website

Alaska Predicts Largest Salmon Harvest for 58 Years

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released its statewide forecast of 2008's Alaskan commercial salmon harvest. It is projected to be approximately 137 million for all salmon species, making the 2008 harvest the 18th largest harvest since 1960.
The total harvest is expected to be comprised of an estimated contribution of 672,000 Chinook salmon, 47.1 million sockeye salmon, 4.4 million coho salmon, 66 million pink salmon, and 18.7 million chum salmon.

Oceans at Risk

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
There is no shortage of scientific studies documenting the degradation of the world’s oceans, the decline of marine ecosystems and the collapse of important fish species. Several have appeared in the last month. What is in short supply is a sustained effort by world governments and other institutions to do something about it.
Last month, a team of American, British and Canadian researchers concluded that not a single square foot of ocean had been left untouched by modern society, and that humans had fouled 41 percent of the seas with polluted runoff, overfishing and other abuses.

Tentative steps to whaling peace

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Talks between pro- and anti-whaling countries on how to resolve their differences have ended with agreement to look for dialogue and common ground.
Japan pledged not to seek commercial whaling quotas in the immediate future, and offered to discuss its current scientific hunt in the Antarctic.

Online bibliography on women in fisheries launched

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 6 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) has announced the publication of an online annotated bibliography on issues that deal with women in fisheries.
ICSF is an international non-governmental organization that works towards the establishment of equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector.

Whaling body seeks path to peace

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 6 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is due to open a meeting in London which aims to find common ground between pro- and anti-whaling nations.
Some anti-whaling countries are keen to explore compromise with Japan, though others remain implacably opposed to any resumption of commercial hunting.

Clean Seas Claims Tuna Breeding Breakthrough

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 6 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: seafoodCURRENTS
Australian aquaculture company Clean Seas Tuna Ltd. announced yesterday a breakthrough in creating an artificial breeding program for southern bluefin tuna.
After collecting "significant quantities" of tuna sperm and eggs from captive fish at its land-based breeding facility in Arno Bay, Australia, the company plans to produce more than 10,000 metric tons of tuna annually within the next five years.

BRAZIL: Small Fishermen Trade in Nets for Oyster Farms

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: IPS
In a modest restaurant on a beach at the southern tip of the Brazilian island of Florianópolis, a couple celebrates, with champagne and oysters, "one more year of vacations and love."
The owner of the restaurant, former fisherman Antonio Amaral, has his own reasons to celebrate: nearly 20 years without economic upsets thanks to a successful development project carried out by the local university.

LIBERIA: Reviving fisheries could boost economy and health

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 6 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: IRIN
Nine out of Liberia’s 15 counties lie along 570 km of the Atlantic Ocean and small scale fishing provides a major source of income and nutrition for coastal communities, but the sector has been neglected by the government and donors during and since the country’s ruinous civil war.
“Donor support to the fisheries sector of Liberia has been minimal”, Winfred Hammond, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Country Director in Liberia told IRIN.

Reviving fisheries could boost economy and health in Liberia

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
Nine out of Liberia’s 15 counties lie along 570 km of the Atlantic Ocean and small scale fishing provides a major source of income and nutrition for coastal communities, but the sector has been neglected by the government and donors during and since the country’s ruinous civil war.
“Donor support to the fisheries sector of Liberia has been minimal”, Winfred Hammond, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Country Director in Liberia told IRIN. “As a result the sector has been largely marginalised from most development and food security debates and is absent from national planning processes,” he said.

You Are What You Eat

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
When the diets of farmed fish are altered, the food we ingest also changes.
For his doctorate, Sverre Ludvig Seierstad investigated the biological consequences of exchanging the fish oils commonly used in fish feed with vegetable oils.
What consequences might this have on both fish and human health?
The research project "Fjord til bord (Fjord to table)" has been a collaboration between the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, the National institute for Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Nutreco ARC and Ullevål University Hospital.

FAO FishCode Review issue No. 21 has been published

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: FishCode
Using questionnaires based on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries as diagnostic tools in support of fisheries management
The publication sets out a series of questionnaires corresponding as closely as possible to clauses from Articles 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which may be useful to managers and other sector stakeholders for the evaluation of compliance of national or local fisheries with CCRF provisions. Other assessment approaches used for related purposes are reviewed as well.

Non-Native Fish a Benefit Not a Burden

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
A major study authored by a leading conservation ecologist from Bournemouth University has found that the majority of non-native fish introduced to freshwater habitats around the world actually do more good than harm.
Dr Rodolphe Gozlan from Bournemouth's Centre for Conservation Ecology and Environmental Change, believes that too much is made of the small risks associated with these introductions.

Human Shadows on the Seas

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
In 1980, after college, I joined the crew of a sailboat partway through a circumnavigation of the globe. Becalmed and roasting one day during a 21-day crossing of the western Indian Ocean, several of us dived over the side. Within a few swimming strokes, the bobbing hull seemed a toy over my shoulder as I glanced back through my diving mask. Below me, my shadow and the boat’s dwindled to the vanishing point in the two-mile-deep water. Human activity seemed nothing when set against the sea itself.
Just a few weeks later, on an uninhabited island in a remote part of the Red Sea, I was proved wrong. The shore above the tide line was covered with old light bulbs, apparently tossed from the endless parade of ships over the years.

Energy Efficiency Crucial for Industry - FAO

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department recently met with leading companies in the seafood industry to improve information exchange and dialogue between the UN agency and the private sector.
The focus of the meeting (12 February 2008) during a roundtable forum in Bremen, Germany was to assess the state of information on energy use in the fisheries sector throughout various stages of the value chain and learn what efforts are in play to improve the industry’s efficiency in light of growing concerns over carbon emissions and global warming.
In April FAO will be convening an expert meeting to look at a wider range of issues related to climate change and fisheries.

Coral Reefs and What Ruins Them

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
Researchers who studied a string of Pacific Ocean atolls are painting the first detailed picture of pristine coral reefs and how they can be disrupted by people — particularly, they said, by fishing.
The researchers, from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and elsewhere in the United States and abroad, surveyed every form of life last summer in the northern Line Islands, a chain south of Hawaii. Their survey encompassed everything from microbes to sharks and other big fish at the top of the food chain.

GLOBAL: Climate change affecting fish stocks

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: IRIN
Climate change is emerging as the latest threat to the world's fast declining fish stocks, which could affect millions of people who depend on the oceans for food and income, says a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The report, In Dead Water, says climate change may slow down the global flow of ocean currents, which flush and clean the continental shelves and are critical to maintaining water quality, nutrient cycling and the life-cycle patterns of fish and other marine life in more than 75 percent of the world's fishing grounds.

Climate change leading to shrinking fish stocks, UN says

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: UN News Centre
The supply of fish stocks will plummet as the world heats up, impacting millions of people in developing nations who depend on fishing for their livelihoods, according to a new report released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Rising greenhouse gas emissions threaten at least three quarters of key fishing grounds, and this could affect the 2.6 billion people who derive their protein from seafood worldwide, the study noted.

UN maritime agency endorses campaign for fair treatment of seafarers

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: UN News Centre
The head of the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) has given his backing to a new campaign to raise the awareness of seafarers of their rights to fair treatment in the case of accidents at sea.
The campaign is spearheaded by the International Shipping Federation (ISF), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) to promote guidelines on the issue developed by the IMO and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

How to Handle an Invasive Species? Eat It

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
LATE last year, a flotilla of fluorescent jellyfish covering 10 square miles of ocean was borne by the tide into a small bay on the Irish Sea. These mauve stingers, venomous glow-in-the-dark plankton native to the Mediterranean, slipped through the mesh of aquaculture nets, stinging the 120,000 fish in Northern Ireland’s only salmon farm to death.
Closer to home, the Asian carp, which has been working its way north from the Mississippi Delta since the 1990s, is now on the verge of reaching the Great Lakes. This voracious invader, which weighs up to 100 pounds and eats half its body weight in food in a day, has gained notoriety for vaulting over boats and breaking the arms and noses of recreational anglers. Having outcompeted all native species, it now represents 95 percent of the biomass of fish in the Illinois River and has been sighted within 25 miles of Lake Michigan. The only thing preventing this cold-water-loving species from infesting the Great Lakes, the largest body of fresh water in the world, is an electric barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Lessons from Cod Could Save Tuna

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
Continued mismanagement could force some tuna populations to quickly go the same way of cod, according to leading scientists.
During the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in Boston this week, a group of leading natural and social scientists analysed the lessons learned from cod and recommended urgent actions to prevent further declines in tuna populations.

Hammerhead in need of protection

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Over-fishing and demand for shark fins, an expensive delicacy, have pushed one of the world's iconic animals towards the brink of extinction, say experts. The scalloped hammerhead shark is to be added to the official endangered species list this year, under the heading "globally endangered".

The Doctors Are In. The Jury Is Out.

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
THREE articles in The Times last month raised an intriguing question: When does fairness demand that a newspaper walk down the middle in a scientific dispute, and when does responsibility demand that it take sides?
It is hardly a new question, and The Times, historically, has been slow to declare victors. In 1979, fully 15 years after a landmark federal report said that smoking was dangerous, articles in The Times still quoted Tobacco Institute spokesmen arguing that it had not been proved. By the end of the next year, when another government report called smoking the leading cause of preventable death, the newspaper made no effort to present “the other side.” The issue was settled.

Map shows toll on world's oceans

FAO Fisheries Department — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
Only about 4% of the world's oceans remain undamaged by human activity, according to the first detailed global map of human impacts on the seas.
A study in Science journal says climate change, fishing, pollution and other human factors have exacted a heavy toll on almost half of the marine waters.
Only remote icy areas near the poles are relatively pristine, but they face threats as ice sheets melt, it warns.
The authors say the data is a "wake-up call" to policymakers.

World's largest marine reserve declared

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: CONTRA COSTA TIMES
The tiny Pacific islands nation of Kiribati declared the world's largest marine protected area Thursday—a California-sized ocean wilderness that includes pristine reefs and eight coral atolls teeming with fish and birds.
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area, or PIPA, lies about halfway between Hawaii and Fiji and also includes undersea mountains. It will conserve one of the Earth's last intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems.

Illegal international fishing impoverishes Guinea's fishermen

FAO Fisheries Department — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
The livelihoods of fishermen in Guinea are increasingly threatened by the many industrial trawlers from Europe, China, Korea and Russia, which often operate illegally in Guinea's once-abundant waters.
"The exclusive zones that are reserved for local fishing should be recognised by the industrial boats and they should stay away from them because their presence is causing a lot of economic and social problems," Souba Camara, a government port official in Conakry told IRIN. He said it is illegal for industrial boats to fish in areas near the shore designated for local fisherman but the laws are largely ignored.

We were told to eat more fish... but now there may not be enough

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The Herald
Official advice about eating fish will be reviewed due to environmental concerns, the food watchdog said yesterday.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) will still encourage people to eat more fish, saying they should usually aim for at least two portions per week.
But it has launched a review of its advice in the light of growing concerns about the sustainability of some types of fish. The FSA will also consider the wider environmental impact of fishing and fish farming.

Network of marine protected areas in Channel Islands helping restore depleted ocean life, says new study

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ICSF
The network of marine protected areas (MPAs) established five years ago to preserve the natural legacy of California's Channel Islands are improving biodiversity and ocean health without significant effects on the fishing economy, according to conclusions from a five year study of these waters by biologists and economists. State, federal and university scientists presented the results of nearly two dozen research projects during a special session of the California Islands Symposium on February 7th and 8th.

Briefing on draft standards for responsible tilapia aquaculture

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source; FISHupdate.com
PROGRESS in drafting standards for certifying tilapia aquaculture products will be reported on at the next meeting of the Tilapia Aquaculture Dialogue, to be held February 27 in conjunction with the International Boston Seafood Show.

MOZAMBIQUE: Commercial overfishing threatens coastal livelihoods

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: REUTERS
Artisanal fishing provides a critical source of food and income to thousands of Mozambicans, but the ever-increasing local and international demand for fish, combined with rapidly depleting stocks, is putting increasing strain on this way of life.
The UN Food and Agriculture Programme (FAO) has estimated that small-scale fishermen, who caught 84,065 tonnes of fish for the domestic market in 2000, will need to catch 171,040 tonnes to help meet local demand by 2025.

The world's rubbish dump: a garbage tip that stretches from Hawaii to Japan

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The Independent
A "plastic soup" of waste floating in the Pacific Ocean is growing at an alarming rate and now covers an area twice the size of the continental United States, scientists have said.
The vast expanse of debris – in effect the world's largest rubbish dump – is held in place by swirling underwater currents. This drifting "soup" stretches from about 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan.

Fishermen 'greening' their catch

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: BBC News
About 400 vessels from six European nations catch brown shrimp in the North Sea's Crangon fishery, off the coast of Holland.
Because the rate of catches has been too high, the fishermen have been blamed for the demise of the area's shrimp stocks by retailers.
This has prompted the fishermen to look at becoming accredited under the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) eco-labelling scheme.

Making Sense Out of Mercury in Fish

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: NPR
Recent nationwide studies have raised new worries about the level of mercury in fish.
Government health officials say that there's no need for most consumers to worry. But they say the new findings reinforce earlier advice on limiting consumption of certain types of fish by pregnant women and young children.

More Testing of Seafood to Address Mercury Concerns

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: The New York Times
A NUMBER of restaurants and retailers in different parts of the country have started testing the fish they sell in response to concerns about the amount of mercury in seafood, and the Environmental Protection Agency is beginning to examine the mercury content in fish sold in the New York City region.
The regional office of the federal agency, which began the study because the city found high levels of mercury in the blood of New Yorkers last spring, will examine the 20 most commonly eaten fish in the region, including tuna.

Controversial Dolphin Hunters Face New Foe

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: CBS NEWS
Every autumn and winter, hunters from this craggy Japanese fishing village corral thousands of dolphins into a tiny, isolated cove and kill them for meat and fertilizer, turning the water red with their blood.
And every year, foreign animal rights protesters converge on the town, interfering with the slaughter, clashing with fishermen and broadcasting grisly photographs of the slayings around the world - all without stopping the hunt.

Corruption in fisheries – from bad to worse

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: IUCN News
Corruption in fisheries is increasing against a backdrop of declining fish stocks and increased consumer demand. It taints all aspects of the fishing industry, from the scientific evidence that quotas are based on, to the mislabelling of fish.
A series of briefings released ahead of a key meeting about corruption in fisheries shows that consumers are unwittingly sucked into the subterfuge as they do not realize exactly which species of fish they are buying. Not only may species be mislabelled, but some products are falsely marked “ecofish”, which undermines sustainable seafood campaigns.

On the mark

FAO Fisheries Department — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: Economist.com
ALTHOUGH society loses out when fishermen deplete a fishery, or loggers take more timber than nature replaces, it happens all the time. This is partly because there is no immediate accounting for an action’s future effects. Overfishing provides cheap fish, but that price does not take into account the cost of fewer fish to future generations. On land, the broader societal costs of losing a forest (muddying watercourses, the loss of bio-diversity and contributions to climate change) do not fall directly on the landowner, and therefore will not be priced into his actions.
Devising policies to deal with these negative externalities is difficult, but increasingly, product labelling and branding are proving an effective means of bringing the environmental costs of a product’s production into its marketplace price.

International report emphasizes need for urgent change in aquaculture industry

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: CNW Group
The global aquaculture, or fish farming, industry is not a solution to overfishing and must dramatically change in order to become sustainable, says a new Greenpeace report.
Challenging the Aquaculture Industry on Sustainability, which was presented to the 2008 Seafood Summit in Barcelona today, documents how fish farming is damaging marine and freshwater ecosystems by destroying coasts to make way for ponds, polluting water with fecal waste and depleting wild fish caught for feed and farm stock.
"Many of the most serious environmental impacts of aquaculture are happening here in Canadian waters, and it's time the Canadian government ensured the industry takes responsibility for the damage being caused," said Sarah King, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace Canada.
"With continued reports of lice from farmed fish infecting wild B.C. salmon, and pollution plaguing bays and inlets on our East Coast, it's clear we're nowhere near farming fish in a sustainable way."

Stakeholders Meet to Mitigate Negative Impact of Aquaculture

FAO Fisheries Department — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
A national gathering of fish farmers, fisheries researchers and policy makers from both the government and the private sector is to be held in Quezon City to form strategies to mitigate the negative impact of aquaculture and assure its sustainability.
The meeting is sponsored by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Department of Agriculture and PHILMINAQ, short for Mitigating Impact from Aquaculture in the Philippines and will be held on 31 January at the Imperial Palace Suites in Timog Avenue, Quezon City .

Better Handling Means Less Mucoso

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: TheFishSite Latest News
The stockfish industry can save millions if fish are handled correctly, resulting in less mucoso. After three years of research, fishermen and farmers are being warned to avoid storing gutted fish in seawater.
Mucoso is a condition where the fish meat dissolves and becomes gelatinous after rehydration, resulting in a considerably lower quality and therefore lower price. The industry itself estimates that mucoso causes annual loses of around NOK 40 million.
Nofima Fiskeriforskning has just completed a research project on mucoso in stockfish, which has revealed that relatively simple methods can limit the losses.

Tons of King Crab Released in Russian Crackdown

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: seafoodCURRENTS
Russian officials on Thursday announced the results of an extensive crackdown on illegal king crab fishing and exporting in its Far East region, the Vladivostock Times reports.
According to Mikhail Galochkin, rear admiral of the Russian coast guard, more than 2,370 control and checking measures were taken during the "Crab 2007" initiative from Sept. 15 to Dec. 17. A total of 59 fishing vessels were arrested, and 170 metric tons of live crabs were released.

NFI Condemns Times Over Mercury Story

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: seafoodCURRENTS
The National Fisheries Institute on Thursday called the New York Times' Wednesday report on mercury in sushi-grade tuna "erroneous" and "alarmist, activist-driven journalism at its worst [that] should be treated with extreme skepticism."
In the story, "High Mercury Levels Are Found in Tuna Sushi," Times reporter Marian Burros wrote about laboratory tests that showed that sushi-grade tuna purchased at 20 Manhattan stores and restaurants had mercury levels that surpassed the federal government's action level. What's more, five of the locations sold tuna with mercury levels so high that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could have taken legal action to remove the fish from the market. The FDA rarely takes such action.

South Africa: Ban May Push Abalone to Extinction

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: allAfrica.com
South Africa's decision to suspend commercial fishing of wild abalone, a large marine slug, from Feb. 1, could drive the species further towards extinction. Conservationists fear the ban will fuel poaching, currently the most criminalized wildlife trade in Africa.
Announcing the ban in November 2007, Martinis van Chalky, South Africa's minister of environmental affairs and tourism, said the steps were absolutely necessary.

Premier orders to set up govt commission for fisheries development

FAO Fisheries Department — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Source: ITAR-TASS
Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov ordered to set up a government commission for fisheries development. Zubkov said at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday that his deputy Sergei Naryshkin might head the commission.