International News

Italy: International symposium explores ways to increase sustainability of fi sheries

Th e world needs a new vision for fi sheries in the 21 st century, said Qu Dongyu, FAO Director General in his speech at the opening of the International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability. Th e projected increase in global population to 10bn by 2050 will call for greater aquatic food production, he said, but without jeopardising the health of oceans and rivers, and while improving the social conditions of those dependent on fi sheries, who are often the poorest in society. Although millions depend on fi sheries for food and livelihoods the state of the world’s oceans is one of grave concern from the impacts of plastic pollution, climate change, overfi shing and habitat degradation. Globally over one in ten people depend on fi sheries to make a living and to feed their families, while one in three marine fi sh stocks is overfi shed. Th ese challenges are not evenly distributed, however. In developed parts of the world stocks are being rebuilt, fi sheries are becoming more sustainable and the conditions of those employed in the sector are improving, but progress in developing regions is slower. We need to reverse this trend if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, urged Dr Qu, as he proposed solutions to make fi sheries more sustainable. Th ese include greater investments in marine and freshwater sustainability programmes such as the Blue Growth Initiative

The International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability organised by FAO considered ways of making fi sheries more sustainable through effi cient fi sheries management, new technologies, and better protection.

which unites economic, social, and environmental sustainability, and adequate protective measures combined with eff ective management of the world’s fi sheries.

Spain: ICCAT adopts measures to rebuild bigeye tuna stocks

ICCAT, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, the regional fi sheries management body responsible for the conservation of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic and adjacent seas, concluded negotiations at its 26 th regular session by adopting a 15-year rebuilding plan for bigeye tuna. Although an imperfect plan in the eyes of many, it’s adoption was signifi cant progress compared to the session last year, when the 52 contracting parties failed to agree on measures to protect the stock despite clear advice from the commission’s own scientists on the need to signifi cantly reduce catches. Th e adopted plan reduces the total allowable catch forcing countries to make signifi cant cuts to their current catches, a stricter limit on the number of fi sh aggregating devices (FAD) permitted per vessel, as well as an Atlantic-wide closure of FADs for two months in 2020 and three months in 2021. FAD closure was previously restricted to the Gulf of Guinea for two months. Other business conducted during the 8-day meeting included amending the 50-yearold ICCAT convention to provide the commission with a mandate to manage sharks and rays, which will help in the fi ght against IUU fi shing, and the adoption of a measure to implement rebuilding eff orts for Atlantic blue marlin and white marlin stocks.

Th e meeting also led to more stringent observer coverage of both purse seine and longline fl eets. In the case of the former, coverage will increase to 100, year-round, on purse seine vessels targeting tropical tunas as opposed to only during the time/ area two-month FAD moratorium.

Observer coverage on longliners increases from 5 to 10 in 2022. However, while delegates to the meeting took several steps in the right direction, no progress was made in reforming transshipment at sea, long demanded by NGOs, nor in protecting endangered and

threatened sea turtles that are incidentally caught in longlines, nor in defending Atlantic shortfi n mako shark stocks that have been classifi ed as “Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are considered highly depleted in the north Atlantic.

France: Bad oysters force international recalls

In France a total of 1,033 people became ill and 21 needed hospital treatment in what seems to be a norovirus contamination of live oysters, according to Food Safety News. Sweden, Italy, and the Netherlands have all also reported outbreaks which can be traced back to France. Additionally, products have been recalled in Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Mats Lindblad, a communicable disease coordinator at the National Food Agency of Sweden states 31 people are sick linking the origin back to the French oysters through interviews. “Symptoms and incubation time indicate norovirus. We have not issued any advice against eating oysters. We will, however, inform consumers about the unusually high number of food poisonings related to oysters in Sweden and other countries this winter,” he stated. Th e number of incidents linked to consumption of raw shellfi sh in 2019 is higher than previous years and French authorities are tracing back contaminated items to production areas and testing the sites concerned. To date, a total of 23 shellfi sh growing zones in seven regions of France have been closed with more than 400 companies aff ected, according to the agency.

Uncooked shellfi sh though delicious can occasionally also be hazardous.

Netherlands: Improved starter feeds

An improved range of starter feeds for trout has been created following extensive research that provide key nutrients while improving water quality. Alltech Coppens TOP fry feed has an optimised ratio between digestible protein and digestible energy. This results in better performance with higher protein utilisation and lower ammonia excretion, leading to improved feed efficiency and better water quality. Dr Philip Lyons, Global Aquaculture Research Manager at Alltech Coppens says the feed not only improves performance during a critical phase but does so sustainably.

Trials conducted at the company’s testing facility have shown that by reducing the digestible protein and digestible energy ratio in every feed size in the TOP line, the protein utilisation by juvenile trout was markedly improved. In addition, the feed makes the bacteria in biofi lters more effi cient, as they convert less ammonia per kilogram of feed, which is especially benefi - cial for RAS systems.

An improved trout feed shows TOP results.

The brand “Russian Fish” will be the face of quality seafood from Russia

Th e government and seafood industry are collaborating to create a brand, Russian Fish, under which fi sh and seafood from Russia will be marketed around the world. Th e idea is to promote Russia’s resources and boost the industry’s competitiveness in part by highlighting the sustainability of wild-caught fi sh. Th e campaign, which has been devised by Expo Solutions Group, the organiser of the Seafood Expo Russia event in St. Petersburg, will also promote the brand as an indicator of quality of fi sh products from Russia. Th e brand was presented at the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo at the end of October 2019 as China is the initial target market for seafood sold under the brand. Campaigns in European countries and the USA will follow.

Russian Fish will operate as an autonomous non-profi t organisation managed by a board of directors whose members will include major producers and traders from the fi shing industry as well as representatives from organisations under the Federal Agency for Fisheries. Expo Solutions Group will become the organisations’s operational core. Th e idea is for the new organisation to emulate other well-known seafood promoting bodies such as the

Norwegian Seafood Council or the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute promoting the quality, sustainability, and reliability of supply of Russian seafood.

Access to EU market decided by UK willingness to align

An estimated 33 of the European fi shing fl eet catches are fi shed in British waters. Th e UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists on Britain “maintaining control of these UK fi shing waters” after it leaves the EU, he said in his his fi rst meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who took offi ce in December. Th e two are discussing the negotiations after Brexit, on January 31, with Johnson wanting a trade deal with the EU completed by the end of 2020 without Britain aligning with EU rules. He said the UK wanted “a broad free-trade agreement covering goods and services and co-operation in other areas”. With regards to fi shing rights the two sides have committed to negotiating a new framework in place by 1 July although EU spokespersons believe that talks will go deep into the year due to its complexities. Ms von der Leyen later stressed the importance of a level playing fi eld for social and environmental standards in addition to taxation, adding that free movement for goods, capitals and services also means free movement for people.

“So it’s the choice of the UK how far they want to align or diverge. But this is decisive for how good the access to the single market will be or not. In short, You cannot have the cake and eat it at the same time.”

Senegal: Produced pots provide protection

Octopus is an important source of income for Senegalese fi shermen and women due to its high value on international markets like Europe and Japan. Last year 15,000 clay pots were submerged in Senegalese local waters to form artifi cial reefs protecting and sheltering octopuses. Th e artifi cial breeding beds provided by the clay pots have increased the production of octopus considerably. Th is generates signifi cant revenues at community level which benefi t the local woman making the clay pots, the artisanal fi shermen and fi sherwomen who have an abundant and high value octopus stock to fi sh from, and the local fi sh merchants selling the octopus. Th e octopus pots not only preserve and restore the ecosystem and increase the octopus biomass but they also support the local artisanal fi sheries by maintaining an economically viable activity. Th e idea of octopus pots originates from Japan and the experience was passed on to the Senegalese. However, the idea of using clay instead of plastic pots is a Senegalese modifi cation and allows for a non-polluting way of promoting an increase in octopus biomass and of managing the resource. Over time, the clay pots naturally dissolve and they have to be replaced annually. With the creation of a suitable habitat for octopus, other species such as squid, cuttlefi sh and their symbionts will also increase, which will have a positive eff ect on the entire Pots made by Senegalese women provide perfect breeding grounds for the valuable octopus.

ecosystem. Th e clay pots are produced by local women based on traditional knowledge passed on through generations. Th e work provides the women with a mean to support their families, while playing a central part in revitalizing the benefi cial octopus fi sheries and is funded by EU’s Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) in partnership with the Republic of Senegal.


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Lack of labour forces Croatian processors to move abroad

Th e Croatian fi sh processing industry has been facing a growing lack of skilled labour for its production, a problem which escalated in 2019. Th is has led to changes in business plans for the coming years. Th e high-intensity production with many workers is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Automation and robotics are mentioned more often within the industry even though, in some sectors like small pelagic fi sh, there is still high demand for skilled workers, since automation is not an effi cient enough substitute. Some processing companies are looking for workers outside Croatia, and some are getting ready to relocate processing facilities to neighbouring countries. Th e company Žuvela, has opened a processing plant in Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Olasagasti from Split has also recently opened a processing facility there. Another company that is looking at relocation due to lack of staff , is Conex Trade, one of Croatia’s largest fi sh processors, which is planning to build a facility in Pristina, Kosovo.

US: Fisheries management works

Of all the fish caught worldwide nearly half are from scientifically monitored stocks and, on average, these stocks are increasing. An international project led by the University of Washington has compiled and analysed data from fisheries around the world and effective management seems to be the main reason why these stocks are at sustainable levels or successfully rebuilding.

“Th ere is a narrative that fi sh stocks are declining around the world, that fi sheries management is failing and we need new solutions — and it’s totally wrong,” said Ray Hilborn, lead author and a professor in the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. “Fish stocks are not all declining around the world. Th ey are increasing in many places, and we already know how to solve problems through eff ective fi sheries management.”

Th e project builds on international fi sh stock estimates over the last 10 years from around the world. Th is information helps scientists and managers know where overfi shing is occurring, or where some areas could support additional fi shing. Currently the project includes data on nearly half of the world’s fi sh catch, up from about 20 represented in the last compilation in 2009. Although the data contain large gaps from unassessed stocks in India, Indonesia, and China, which represent between 30-40 of the world’s fi sh catch.

Th e researchers paired information about fi sh stocks with recently published data on fi sheries management activities in

Since the mid-1990s, catch has generally declined in proportion to decreases in fi shing pressure for the fi sh stocks assessed in the database. By 2005, average biomass of fi sh stocks had started to increase. Source: University of Washington

about 30 countries. Th is analysis found that more intense management led to healthy or improving fi sh stocks, while little to no management led to overfi shing and poor stock status. Th ese results show that fi sheries management works when applied, and the solution for sustaining fi sheries around the world is implementing eff ective fi sheries management.

Spain: Creating more secure marine fi sh farms

A new publication in Spanish, Acuicultura marina, Granjas marinas de peces, Diseño y operación (Marine aquaculture, Marine fi nfi sh farms, Design and operation), has been produced following a year’s work by the Spanish Association for Standardisation (UNE) and APROMAR, the Spanish Aquaculture Producers Association. Th e publication covers the design, construction, and proper maintenance of marine aquaculture farms to reduce possible technical and operational failures and to avoid the possibility of escapes caused by accidental impacts during daily operations or by unexpected events. It lists good practices that fi sh farmers can implement to make Spanish marine aquaculture more sustainable.

 
  



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Finland: Unique fl ora and fauna prompt Oceana to propose MPA in the Quark

A report by Oceana, an environmental NGO, documents a threeweek research expedition in the Quark, a narrow area in the northern part of the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden that separates the nearly
freshwater Bothnian Bay from the more saline Bothnian Sea. Th e report calls for Finland and Sweden to establish a transboundary marine protected area (MPA) in the Quark in view of the area’s importance for biodiversity and the threats facing marine life present there. According to the report, the area’s changing salinity, depth, and levels of exposure to light, contribute to variations in substrate, fl ora, and fauna so that it hosts a unique mix of marine, brackish and freshwater species. Of these 71 are threatened or listed under the EU Habitats Directive or Birds Directive. Th e survey was conducted to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the biodiversity in the area’s marine life and of its unique features and to thereby strengthen the case for establishing an MPA. Almost a third of the Quark’s area is already protected by diff erent MPAs, but many of these sites do not involve specifi c measures to conserve natural marine features. Th e threats facing the Quark include eutrophication, climate change, invasive species, overfi shing, and marine litter, and while creating an MPA

A three-week survey of the Quark in the northern Baltic Sea by Oceana documented the fl ora, fauna, and substrates that make this area so unusual. Pictured, a straight-nosed pipefi sh (Nerophis ophidion) in Vapplan, Sweden.

will not directly address some of these challenges, such as climate change, it will contribute to increasing the resilience of marine life and reducing its vulnerability to these pressures.

Malta’s International Ocean Institute holds its fi fteenth course on ocean governance

Speakers, class faculty, and participants in the International Ocean Institute’s course on ocean governance.

Th e International Ocean Institute in Malta is an institution dedicated to managing human relations with the ocean to protect, conserve, and sustainably exploit its resources. Among the ways it does this is by promoting ocean governance — policy for planning and managing oceans at national, regional, and global levels. To this end the institute provides training and education creating a reservoir of capacity and knowledge about ocean governance in countries around the world. Th e need for enlightened management of oceans has rarely been more urgent than it is today. Social and cultural issues overlap with political and economic interests and environmental challenges making it imperative to have eff ective governance frameworks if the ocean is to benefi t future generations.

A fi ve-week course organised by the institute at the end of 2019 focused on regional ocean governance in the Mediterranean, Black, Baltic and Caspian Seas. Course participants were introduced to the eff orts of agencies and organisations such as the International Maritime Organisation to reduce emissions and to control garbage from ships. Th ey also learned about regional eff orts like those of the EU to achieve Good Environmental Status for its seas by 2020 through the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Other topics with a bearing on oceans addressed by the programme included ABNJ’s (Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction), the SDG’s (Sustainability Development Goals), the Blue Economy, and Blue Growth. Th e course also informed participants about tools that enable the development and implementation of policy, for example, maritime spatial planning and integrated coastal zone management.

Coasts are a good example of the need for proper governance as they are used intensively — globally supplying 90 of wild catches of fi sh and seafood and about 40 and 30 of oil and gas, respectively. Wind energy is also increasingly being supplied from turbines in coastal areas and coasts are an important source of the sand and gravel used in construction. Add in pressure from human settlements including agricultural

runoff , sewage, industrial pollution, and plastic waste and it becomes clear how important it is to have a framework for governance that takes all these activities and impacts into account.

Th e 21 course participants came from 11 countries in Europe and North Africa and from China. Th e countries represented are at different stages of development and with varying capacities to develop and eff ectively implement the policies and solutions that address the particular challenges they face. Th is diversity of experiences and the resultant exchange of knowledge made the programme particularly rewarding for the participants. More information about the institute is available at https://www.ioinst.org/