Facilitating a fair future for fishing

Maybe even a hardened anti-EU cynic like Mike Mahon would have come away from this meeting feeling more positive about the future of the fishing industry in a pan-European or even global context.

Back in November, an unprecedented meeting took place in Brussels. At first glance it might not seem like much of a big deal - a bunch of fishermen from across Europe getting together in the EU capital . But this was different.

The fishers (men and women) were from nine different countries, and represent the small-scale, low-impact sector of the fishing industry, whose interests are currently shut out of the decision making in Brussels, and all-too-often in their own countries too.

This congress was, as far as we know, the most extensive of its kind, to bring together the fishers Greenpeace has been working with across Europe. The congress was deliberately held on a weekend to try and allow the fishers to come together, without having to take too much time away from work. All too often, they simply can’t afford to take time off to represent themselves.

Belgian, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Polish, Spanish and British fishers came together in a unique opportunity to understand each other, and to pull together in presenting a loud, united voice straight to the heart of EU decision making. The UK was well represented with nine fishermen from the ‘under-10’ sector, including a few faces who are now famous from their starring roles in our film The Last Fishermen or our Be A Fisherman’s Friend campaign. Top inshore fisherman and handline specialist, Phil Lockley was one of the UK fishermen who made the journey - read Phil's road to Damascus trip report in full here.

Over a busy day, dozens of participants struggled through the unfamiliar world of simultaneous interpretation to share their views, their worries, and their ideas.

The overwhelming feeling was what we had suspected all along : that these fishers had much more in common with each other than they had to disagree on. They are underrepresented, and let down by the current systems in their own countries, and at an EU level.

The Greenpeace campaigners in the room, some of us pretty long in the tooth, felt genuinely honoured to have been able to facilitate this gathering. And we ended the day hopeful that this would lead to much better representation and a fairer deal for coastal communities, low-impact methods of fishing, and, ultimately, Europe’s seas.

Putting aside differing priorities, the assembled fishermen agreed on a common declaration, including demands that the present reform of Europe’s fish law must

1. Grant the right to fish to those who fish sustainably
2. Reduce fleet overcapacity where it exists, while preserving jobs in artisanal, low impact fisheries;
3. End harmful subsidies and unsustainable and destructive practices;
4. Restore the health of our seas in Europe and the rest of the world.

This declaration, on behalf of the small-scale fishermen across the EU will now be presented to Europe’s politicians and bureaucrats.

And there’s more. This weekend’s meeting also saw a commitment to take this idea forward and build on the strength of the small (fishing) guys working together. So hopefully there are bigger and better things to come.

Ultimately it’s up to us as countries and citizens to decide how we want our seas treated, and what sort of fishing industry we want. It’s a no-brainer to me that supporting low-impact fishing methods that also support local communities is a good thing to do. And the hopeful note from the fisher closing the conference spoke volumes: "We have to believe in a better future".

Perhaps we have started to glimpse that future.

This meeting took place in late 2012.

Article tagged as:+Artisanal Fishing, +CFP, +Small-Scale Fishing

Scottish Fisheries Federation in action

This short video recalls when the Scottish Fisheries Federation were featured in a BBC TV programme, Landward in 2010.

New 'Marine Reserve' Network Doesn't Protect The Ocean - by Dan Bacher

Over on the west coast of the USA MPAs are well advanced compared to the UK - read on to see how these have affected the fishing industry.

“We have completed the nation’s first statewide coastal system of marine protected areas,” claimed Cat Kuhlman, deputy secretary for oceans and coastal matters at the California Natural Resources Agency, in a release from the agency. “What this means for the future of California’s oceans and the coming generations that will enjoy them, is thrilling."

800_ncmpas_1.jpg

New 'Marine Reserve' Network Doesn’t Protect The Ocean

by Dan Bacher

A new network of controversial "marine protected areas" went into effect on the North Coast from Point Arena to the Oregon border on December 19, completing the statewide network from the Oregon to the Mexican border created under the privately funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative.

The completion of the network was accompanied by a flurry of press releases from the Department of Fish and Game (now Department of Fish and Wildlife), Natural Resources Agency and corporate environmental NGOs and “puff pieces” by the mainstream media regurgitating the agency news releases.

“We have completed the nation’s first statewide coastal system of marine protected areas,” claimed Cat Kuhlman, deputy secretary for oceans and coastal matters at the California Natural Resources Agency, in a release from the agency. “What this means for the future of California’s oceans and the coming generations that will enjoy them, is thrilling."

While many reporters and editors in the corporate media faithfully repeated agency propaganda without doing any actual research, an LA Times puff piece entitled, “California's marine reserve network now complete," outdid them all in its failure to cover the controversy behind the MLPA Initiative.

The article claims "California officials today completed the largest network of undersea parks in the continental United States — 848 square miles of protected waters that reach from the Oregon state line to the Mexican border." (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-undersea-parks-20121219,0,4717471.story)

However, this article, as previous ones in the Times and other media outlets, fails to address any of the real, substantial criticisms of the MLPA Initiative process by grassroots environmentalists, Indian Tribe members, commercial fishermen, recreational anglers and advocates of democracy and transparency in government.

The reporter, Kenneth R. Weiss, portrays a false conflict of "fishermen versus environmentalists" over the MLPA Initiative when the real conflict is one of public policy between those that favor greenwashing and the privatization of conservation and those who oppose greenwashing and the privatization of conservation. The reporter fails to mention any of the "inconvenient truths" about the MLPA Initiative.

First, the Times falsely portrays the new closed zones as "undersea parks" when they are anything but. In violation of the letter and spirit of the landmark Marine Life Protection Act of 1999, these so-called "marine protected areas” do not protect the ocean from oil spills and drilling, military testing, corporate aquaculture, wind and wave energy projects and all other impacts on the ocean other than fishing and gathering.

“Marine protected areas can in some instances be beneficial for specific areas, species or ecosystems,” said Zeke Grader, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “However, the problem we have here is that these ‘marine protected areas’ are in essence no fishing zones and they don’t protect for water quality and other types of development or insults to the environment from activities such as seismic testing.”

Second, the Times fails to mention that the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Forces that oversaw the implementation of these "marine protected areas" included a big oil lobbyist, marina developer, real estate executive and other individuals with numerous conflicts of interest.

Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the president of the Western States Petroleum Association, chaired the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force that developed the MPAs that went into effect in Southern California on January 1, 2012. Reheis-Boyd, a relentless advocate for offshore oil drilling, hydraulic fracturing (fracking), the Keystone XL Pipeline and the weakening of environmental laws, also served on the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Forces for the Central Coast, North Central Coast and North Coast.

Reheis-Boyd on December 10 claimed that "hydraulic fracturing is safe for California" in her letter to the editor in the Sacramento Bee, in spite a multitude of evidence documented in the film Gasland and in numerous reports documenting the hazards of fracking (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/10/5040406/hydraulic-fracturing.html)
"Hydraulic fracturing has been employed in California for 60 years and there has never been evidence that it has caused harm to water supplies or the environment," she said.

Many grassroots environmentalists and fishermen believe that Reheis-Boyd was appointed to the task force to make sure that the oil industry's interests were protected and to ensure that recreational and commercial fishermen and seaweed harvesters, the most vocal opponents of offshore oil drilling and fracking, are removed from many areas on the ocean to clear a path for ocean industrialization.

David Gurney, independent journalist and co-chair of the Ocean Protection Coalition, blasted Reheis-Boyd's role in pushing for increased fracking in California. (http://noyonews.net/?p=8215)

"Last week, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced new lease-sales for Bureau of Land Management lands in California for 'fracking' development," said Gurney. "Offshore areas are showing up on maps: reservoirs of underwater natural gas deposits, that lie under the ocean off Santa Barbara and Southern California."

"It's clear that government and petroleum officials want to 'frack' in the very same areas Reheis-Boyd was appointed to oversee as a 'guardian' of marine habitat protection for the MLPA 'Initiative,'" emphasized Gurney.

Third, the Times claims that "Michael Mantell, a Sacramento lawyer who coordinates philanthropy and conservation, organized the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Marisla Foundation and two others to pick up the state's costs, including paying for panels of local leaders to take testimony and make recommendations. So far, the foundations have spent more than $23 million."

However, the reporter doesn’t mention that this money was funneled through the shadowy Resources Legacy Fund Foundation. This is an inherent conflict of interest, since this foundation also funds many of the "environmental" NGOs who lobbied for the creation of marine reserves with the least possible protection from all other human impacts on the ocean other than fishing.

The Resources Legacy Fund Foundation also funds, along with the Stephen Bechtel Jr. Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) studies advocating the construction of a peripheral canal or tunnel.

Fourth, the Times failed to mention that the Northern California Tribal Chairman's Association, including the Chairs of the Elk Valley Rancheria, Hoopa Valley Tribe, Karuk Tribe, Smith River Rancheria, Trinidad Rancheria, and Yurok Tribe, believes the science behind the MLPA Initiative developed by Schwarzenegger's Science Advisory Team is "incomplete and terminally flawed." (http://yubanet.com/california/Dan-Bacher-MLPA-Initiative-based-on-incomplete-and-terminally-flawed-science.php)

The Yurok Tribe said it has attempted on numerous occasions to address the scientific inadequacies with the MLPA science developed under the Schwarzenegger administration by adding "more robust protocols" into the equation, but was denied every time.

For example, the MLPA Science Advisory Team in August 2010 turned down a request by the Yurok Tribe to make a presentation to the panel. Among other data, the Tribe was going to present data of test results from other marine reserves regarding mussels.

To make matters even worse, the Del Norte County District Attorney arrested Ron LeValley, Co-Chair of the MLPA Science Advisory Team, in February 2012 for conspiracy with two others, Roland Raymond and Sean McAlllister, to embezzle nearly $1 million from the Yurok Tribe.

In the latest development in this scandal, District Attorney Jon Alexander said the state case was dismissed without prejudice against Roland Raymond, 50, to "allow the case to move forward through the U.S. Attorney's Office," according to the Eureka Times-Standard. (http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_22338240/state-charges-raymond-levalley-mcallister-dismissed-1m-embezzlement)

Wouldn't it have been prudent for the Natural Resources Agency and Department of Fish and Wildlife to postpone the implementation of the alleged North Coast "marine protected areas," considering the charges impending against LeValley - and when the legitimacy of the "science" of the MLPA Initiative was already facing severe criticism from respected scientists?

The LA Times, by failing to do any research into the conflicts of interest and multitude of public policy problems that plagued the MLPA Initiative, performs a great disservice to its readers and effectively greenwashes this privately funded, rigged process. 

Courtesy of the IndyBay web site.

A euro-sceptic fisherman is converted

Phil Lockley is a small-scale, artisanal fisherman from Cornwall. He works from one of the most beautiful ‘rivers’ of Cornwall, the Helford River, as part of a small fleet of 18 vessels, each measuring under 10m in length.

Rarely do I need an alarm clock. My winter day begins without prompting at 05.00hrs GMT; a routine shared by countless other European artisanal fishermen who prepare for their day of work.

I willingly and lovingly hunt for fish and shellfish. It’s not just a job. To many it is a way of life.

Nature offers two main hurdles to small-boat fishermen – bad weather and bad luck. Yet the political uncertainty now wrapped around the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) delivers a third hurdle, far more damaging than the others. Here in Cornwall the future of artisanal small-boat fishermen is not “in the balance”, but is steadily heading toward extinction, because of the smothering effect of the CFP and the UK government’s slavish adherence to it. Across the EU, the naivety that politicians have toward such small fishing businesses that have survived for thousands of years – and are the mainstay in the infrastructure of outlying communities – is frightening.

You can run from bad weather, and bad luck doesn’t last forever, but unless the CFP reform addresses the future of such coastal communities it may spell the financial end to fishermen like myself.

With that in mind I recently joined several other UK small-boat fishermen to meet artisanal fishermen and woemn from eight other EU countries at a one-day congress held in Brussels.

Prompted by the UKs small-boat group – the New Under Ten Fishermen’s Association (NUTFA) – and facilitated by Greenpeace, the common declaration agreed by the Congress will hopefully pave the way for such industries to again thrive.

Together with several other small-boat fishermen, I walked into the Congress as a proud Eurosceptic. Yet after meeting so many fishermen who are in a similar situation to us, that experience became humbling.

Here in the UK big boats own 96% of the British quota yet small boats add up to over three quarters of the UK fleet.

I heard how Greek fishermen at present have no quota restrictions,yet they are still going broke. The coastline of Greece is awash with illegal fishing operations, unlicensed operators selling many of their 104 species of commercial fish through a black market and using grossly unsustainable gear and methods. In the UK we have non-licensed part timers and poachers too, but so few in comparison.

Dimitris Zannes, artisanal fisherman from Greece said: "Just imagine the damage to the marine environment all of that is bringing. Around our islands we have one of the most fragile marine environments in the world, but we have no measures to manage that."

When Breton bass line fisherman, Gwenael Pennarun took to the stage, my ears pricked-up. They have a bass tagging scheme, a method whereby any merchant and/or consumer can easily spot a bass caught using sustainable methods from one taken by the large French trawlers, where dead dolphins as a by-catch are commonplace.

In an equally emotive response, Luis Rodriguez, a small-boat fisherman from Galicia (North Spain) told how their hake line-fishermen, small-scale netters and others face ruin from the big boats, “they are just 20% of the fleet in tonnage but the owners have cornered over 90% of the quotas”, he explained.

“Our type of fishing and what goes with it is very important for coastal communities and it represents a great many jobs,” he added. “And we do not damage the marine environment, but we do not have either time or money to press our case within the EU, so we have been forgotten."

Each speaker gave in-depth details of their fishermen’s plight, and by midday it was clear how everyone was ‘singing from the same hymn sheet’.

After an exhausting ten hours, hearing so many cases of how the CFP is at present loaded toward big boats, I applauded the speaker, Jerry Percy, after he read out the Joint Declaration of European Artisanal Fishermen.

The following morning I stepped back onto the Eurostar to leave Brussels. My Eurosceptic feelings had gone; I had no idea that so many thousands of coastal fishermen face the same plight as we do. Politicians fail by using blinkered vision; hopefully our efforts through the Congress and the Declaration will lift the veil of their ignorance.

Article tagged as:Artisanal Fishing, CFP, Small Scale Fishing

A Challenge to Conservationists

Excerpted from the November/December 2004 WORLDWATCH magazine

First in a sereies of related posts on 'blue grabbing' in the name of conservation

 See the original post on the blog back in November of last year here:

How To Dance Like A Piece Of Sushi

You will need unitards, sweatbands, leg warmers, and a strong sense of imagination.

These ads from the Norwegian Seafood Council are part of a campaign to make people eat more fish. They feature performances from The Human Sushi — a performance group who acts out sushi recipes with dance.

Expect to see variations on the Swanlake themed dance in the Swordfish over the coming weeks, especially on landing days.