Fishermen and Chefs Unify Over Sustainable Fishing

Meanwhile, across the pond.......

More than one hundred fishermen, chefs and seafood distributors from around the country are traveling to the nation’s capital today to ask members of Congress to give them the tools they need – namely to give fishermen the ability to catch fish sustainably through a fishery management tool called catch shares.

Teams of fishermen and chefs will meet with their members of Congress and ask them to fully fund catch share programs. Catch shares help eliminate overfishing and restore fish stocks by dividing the total scientifically approved allowable catch among the fishermen and ending short seasons and derbies. Catch shares have been proven to recover fish populations, increase compliance with catch limits, reduce waste, stabilize revenue and increase business efficiency.

More than 65% of all fish landed in United States federal waters are landed under a catch share fishing program providing a healthy ecosystem, fishing jobs, and a consistent supply of sustainable seafood.

Recently, catch shares have been under fire by some in Congress and special interests who have sought to take the authority to implement the tool out of the hands of local fishery managers.

The group of chefs is being led by Chef Rick Moonen, who is delivering a letter supporting catch shares management signed by notable chefs from around the country. Moonen has been a tireless advocate for sustainable fishing.

“Embracing the idea of serving my customers sustainable seafood has been a primary focus over the past 25 years of my professional career as a chef,” said Rick Moonen, chef/owner of rm seafood in Las Vegas. "Catch share programs naturally create an incentive for environmental preservation and species stewardship by the fishermen who rely on their health to succeed. Restaurants will then get to experience a more consistent supply of properly handled fish, more stable prices, longer seasons and more species diversity. Most importantly we need to provide the fishermen with the tools they need, like fully funded catch share programs.”

Currently, more than 87 percent of the world’s fisheries are overfished, and much of the fish consumed in the United States – roughly 90 percent – is imported. A recent survey by the National Restaurant Association found that fresh, local seafood is becoming increasingly important to consumers.

In their letter, the chefs say that catch shares have a proven track record of restoring fisheries and creating valuable sources of locally-caught sustainable seafood in the United States.

“Catch shares allow us to better utilize the fishery. We can fish year-round, earn higher prices for what we catch and provide consumers with a quality product,” said John Schmidt, a commercial fisherman from Palm Harbor, Florida. “Congress needs to know that many fishermen strongly support catch share management. And the reason we do so is because catch shares work. Congress needs to keep catch shares on the table and leave management decision to regional fishery management councils.”

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is committed to ending overfishing and is currently working with fishermen and fishery managers around the United States and the world to implement catch shares. “EDF believes that catch shares offer a solution that not only ensures the long-term sustainability of our oceans’ fisheries, but can help to preserve the business and sport of fishing for future generations,” said Matt Rand, Senior Campaigns Director for EDF’s Oceans Program.

Fishermen and chefs will meet all day Wednesday on Capitol Hill and then gather to recognize Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s First Congressional District as “Fishing Families Champions” for their service in pursuit of responsible management of our nation’s fisheries and their tireless advocacy for fishermen.

Contact: For Environmental Defense Fund: Matt Smelser, msmelser@edf.org, 512.731.3023 For Chef Rick Moonen: Ken Langdon, ken@langdonflynn.com, 773.234.2865

NFFO URGES GREENPEACE TO 'FOCUS ON THE FISHERMAN'

NFFO URGES GREENPEACE TO 'FOCUS ON THE FISHERMAN' UK 

Federation Offers Greenpeace A Way To Start Delivering 'Real and Tangible' Support to Small Boat Fisherman

The National Federation of Fisherman's Organisations (NFFO), the body representing fishermen's groups, individual fishermen and producer organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is offering to broker a meeting with Greenpeace to identify more 'real and tangible ways' the environmental campaigning body can contribute to the sustainable and commercial goals of the UK fishing industry.

The offer comes after the NFFO described a recent report by the environmental giant as containing 'flawed research' which risked dividing and damaging the very livelihoods, industry and food supply the environmental group purports to support.

The Federation has said it is strongly urging Greenpeace to consider its ongoing course of action which is divisive and destructive to an industry where both small and large boat fishermen work closely together to achieve a sustainable future and food source.

According to the NFFO, Greenpeace's 'Wolf in Shrimp's Clothing' report contains claims which misrepresent and discredit the many independent, inshore, small boat fishermen who take an active role lobbying for better livelihoods as part of the NFFO.

Ned Clark, inshore fisherman and Chair of the North East Committee of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) said: "Greenpeace campaigns for a living – we are campaigning to make a living. It is mildly amusing that in its press releases, Greenpeace refers to the NFFO as a 'Fishing Giant'. This is flattering but hardly an accurate description of an organisation with two frontline staff.

"If the NFFO is influential, it is because it is energetic and advances credible policies but mainly because it is supported by the voluntary work of dozens of real fishermen – not campaigners - including many owning small boat vessels. So which organisation can truly claim to represent and be represented by real fishermen?

"We have already publically addressed many of the inaccuracies contained in Greenpeace's report, but they still seem set on continuing a public spat which holds no benefit to fisherman they purport to support. As such we would like to meet with them not only to be transparent in how we work, but to offer the opportunity for Greenpeace to be involved in the range of real initiatives we have underway that are focused on improving both the sustainability and livelihoods of the small boat fisherman."

Mr Clark added: "Much of Greenpeace's activity has been set on painting the NFFO as a body whose influence is dominated by the interests of large over-seas trawlers. We have already demonstrated publically this isn't the case. Each NFFO producer organisation and regional committee nominates two representatives each to sit on our Executive Committee, irrespective of how much subscription it pays. Policy decisions are the result of consensus, taking into account all the views around the table. This is how we ensure the interests of the entire UK fleet are at the heart of our decision making.

"There are data protection issues we have to address in terms of publishing full membership data on our website but are contacting our members about doing so."

The core of the Greenpeace claims centre around the assertion the NFFO does nothing to support the inshore fleets. The Federation says much of its work throughout the year is of direct benefit to the whole of the fishing industry, including the small-scale fleet. This includes working with scientists to address data deficiencies and raise TACs, working on fishing vessel safety and addressing the impact of marine protected areas.

There have also been a host of specific initiatives in which the NFFO has championed the interest of the small boat fisherman. In the last few months alone it has:

• Opposed a TAC for bass through discussions with DEFRA and through the regional advisory councils; this is of direct and overwhelming importance to many small-scale fishermen 

• Proposed and worked with government on a range of positive ideas for addressing quota pinch points for the under-10s; the NFFO alone has put forward credible and balanced alternatives 

• Strenuously resisted the reallocation of handline mackerel quota to the large pelagic vessels; and brokered an understanding with the Scottish Fishermen's Pelagic Association; this protects the hand-line fishery but equally important safeguards swap currency to be used for the benefit of the under-10m fleet 

• Successfully opposed the extension of days at sea restrictions to the under-10m fleet 

• Vigorously defended the small-scale fishery for salmon in the North East of England Highlighted the failure of fisheries management in the Thames estuary; 

• Advanced policy ideas to address the latent capacity threat in the crab and lobster fisheries, whilst safeguarding necessary flexibilities for the small scale fleets 

• Worked within the MPA Fishing Coalition to defend important inshore fishing grounds from disappearing into No Take Zones as part of European Marine Sites and UK marine conservation zones 

• Defended small-scale fisheries from the displacement effects of offshore wind-farms and marine protected areas 

• Pressed DEFRA for equity of treatment between under-10m, over-10m vessels in producer organisations and non-PO (Non-sector)vessels in the facility to lease quota 

• Fought for an exemption from EU electronic logbook and VMS requirements for day boats which fish entirely within UK waters 

• Sought to broker a deal that would end the Judicial Review brought by UKAFPO against DEFRA's quota redistribution proposals 

• Advanced ideas for increased flow of quota to the small scale fleets though closer cooperation and communication between producer organisations and the small scale fleets 

• Proposed fisheries science projects of benefit to small scale fisheries including one on undulate ray 

• Ensured that the small scale fleets had a representative as part of the NFFO team at the December Council

Ban ring netting! - lets just choose to ignore the science!

133 Through the Gaps readers kindly completed the short survey question posted at the top of the blog after the MSC downgraded mackerel in the light of the EU and Iceland to agree to operate to quota limits.

129 voted they would continue to buy line caught mackerel, 4 objected!

This survey should give some hope for local hand line fishermen who were outraged - rightly so as they were being dragged into a fight that had no relevance to them and their method of fishing for mackerel. Eventually, the MMO and MSC came out in support of the hand line fishers here in the south west along with fish chefs like Nathan Outlaw saying he would continue to keep mackerel o the menu as it was caught locally by hand line.

Though the Cornishman newspaper managed to find one unhappy reader sufficiently incensed to pen a letter of protest about the ring net fleet operating out of Newlyn - read on:

This letter appeared in the local Cornishman newspaper last week.

Hopefully, most of the readers of the Cornishman are better informed and have a wider understanding of the ring net method of fishing than D Howard of Newlyn.

Below, are extracts from the well documented assessment procedure and accreditation process from the MSC - the body that manages every certified stock in the world.

It took over five years of hard work and research to establish the fishery with PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status in 2009 - Cornish Sardines - there is a web site dedicated to the Cornish Sardine Management Association where information on the method and fish can be found.

The fishery was subsequently accredited with MSC status -  as a sustainable fishery in 2010. Cornwall’s iconic sardine fishery has passed its Marine Stewardship Council assessment and been certified as a sustainable and well-managed fishery. The fishery – which recently gained European geographic designation as ‘Cornish Sardines’ can now add the MSC ecolabel to its products.

The Cornish sardine fleet currently consists of 6 vessels using ring nets and a further 10 vessels catching sardines with drift nets. Boats sail mainly from Newlyn and Mevagissey and stay in inshore waters – within six miles of land. The sardines they catch are significantly larger than the minimum size allowed and are proving popular with restaurants and retailers.

Jon Harman, Development Director for Seafish says: “Seafish helped fund the development of a tool to help assess the stock status of the data-deficient Cornish sardine fishery. We recognised the need to trial a tool, to an international standard, for fisheries facing challenges in the amount of data available. This was an important stepping stone to MSC certification and we are pleased that Cornish sardines have now been approved to MSC standard after being reviewed by this new process.”

Catch levels of pilchards into Newlyn and Mevagissey from Defra records have been less than 100 tonnes between 1999 and 2003, while latest figures indicate catches of around 870 tonnes between January and September 2009 (MFA Monthly returns of sea fisheries statistics for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, September 2009). A rough estimate of the maximum fishing mortality would therefore be less than 0.15, i.e. less than 50% of natural mortality estimates (0.33, as used by ICES). It is therefore highly likely that fishing mortality is below FMSY (reference point from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)). The ICES stock evaluation in 2008 mirror the results of the PELGAS surveys, highlighting a decline in biomass due to bad recruitments in 2004 and 2005, but good recruitments in 2006 and 2007 which should subsequently increase biomass levels. The opinion of an underexploited stock is also supported by the ICES working group report, which shows that the demographic structure of sardine is not truncated, with all age groups represented in the population

The Performance of the Cornish Sardine fishery in relation to MSC Principles 1, 2 and 3 is summarised below:

MSC Principle Fishery Performance Principle 1: Sustainability of Exploited Stock Overall: 80.0 Principle 2: Maintenance of Ecosystem Overall: 84.3 Principle 3: Effective Management System Overall: 83.9
The fishery attained a score of 80 or more against each of the MSC Principles. The MRAG Americas Assessment Team, therefore, recommends that the Cornish Sardine Ring Net and Drift Net Fishery pass certification according to the Marine Stewardship Council Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Fisheries.

Following this Recommendation of the assessment team, and review by stakeholders and peer-reviewers, a determination is hereby made by the MRAG Americas Certification Committee (MACC) to certify the fishery.

In either case the current state of this stock is good and therefore there is low risk for the assessment of status for the Cornish sardine.

Going back to the letter - which is obviously at odds with the data and stock research carried out by the MSC - there are also a number of other inaccurate observations. These are more heinous as they are both misleading and indeed totally inaccurate.

The ring net boats involved are the catamaran,

 Lyonesse...

the Asthore...

the Resolute...

the White Heather...

and the Little Pearl - the net she works is 203m long - some simple maths determines that when the net is 'shot' it encircles an area of 64m² (that's the diameter of 205 divided by pi or 22/7) 

It should be obvious, from the size of these boats, that they are incapable of working a net 'miles long' as is stated in the letter. 

The video below shows the fleet fishing close to Newlyn early one evening a few years ago...

If you look carefully you can see the full extent of the net being worked.

Pathway and Lunar Bow

These are among the biggest kind of 'ring net' type boat in the UK fleet - though the boats seldom work this kind of net (purse seine) today preferring mid-water trawls to catch pelagic fish like mackerel and herring. Even in their case....

"The fish are then pumped or brailed aboard the vessel. A large purse seine can be as long as 1 kilometre and 200 metres deep."

These boats are huge and even then the net is a fraction of a mile in length!

The staff at the local MMO office would also be most interested to know that there are "miles of gill nets" being used in the Bay. To the best of my knowledge no inshore fishermen has ever caught cormorants or any diving birds in their nets - where most of the boats work the Bay is too deep!

Lastly, this shot was taken near Battery Rocks not so long ago. Cormorants, a plenty!

European fisheries policy: some concerns, hope for others

The recent European Parliament vote in favor of the application of "zero discharge" at sea seafood untargeted continues to react professionals with passion. Some see it as an attack against the offshore fishery (trawl net).

First, there are professionals denounce the inability to manage the technical and social surplus they will catch back to port while their boats are not equipped to store this additional fishing unprofitable. Others see the new directions taken by Parliament in fisheries management are positive signs for a better consideration of inshore fishermen.

Environmentalist lobbying According to the association Lorient fishing and Collective Development, " this reform organizes the dismantling of the Breton fishing . " And according to the Collective is not a coincidence. He is convinced that European decisions are the result of repeated actions, and listened to Brussels, a powerful lobbying ecologist. " From the Reform vote by the European Parliament, two declarations analyzes have confirmed that we keep repeating since the launch of the project , "writes Alain Le Sann. " One of the leaders of Pew (nongovernmental organization) says that reform takes policy implementation in the United States. We know the results of this policy: mass privatization of fishing rights, wilderness setting under the supervision of ENGOs and oil companies, like California. "

Conspiracy theory The Collective fishing and developing line of sight " from Pew and various foundations of large U.S. multinationals, the most powerful, Walmart, well known for his outrageous social practices, have decided to promote this type of policy in Europe. Why they created a fake nose, Ocean 2012, a coalition of ENGOs and some fishermen, entirely under the control of Pew. "

Worse, according to Alain Le Sann, these ENGOs " have baited the world of small-scale with the support of Greenpeace and WWF to give a masking their social liberal and socially destructive project. "Le Collectif Lorient speaks clearly" to a shameless manipulation of the public and elected officials . "

According to him, " the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy comes even as the stock situation improves in the Atlantic and Mediterranean even for bluefin tuna. All fishermen say, the most endangered species is the fishermen burdened with a multitude of constraints more or less consistent. The defense of a small fishing necessary, but confined within 12 miles, can only serve to hide a liquidation of artisanal fisheries on the rest of the European Economic Area . '

Threat on minimum sizes A vision is not shared by the Platform of Small Scale Fishing French. It expresses a position less clear, " more nuanced "on the European Parliament vote. Representatives emphasized " that the socio-economic consequences of certain actions deserved to be better taken into account. "They also point collateral damage. " If the discard ban is not accompanied by technical measures to increase the selectivity of fishing gear, the consequences could have an adverse effect on the resource as including the loss of minimum catch sizes. "

As these jacks can not be rejected for human consumption deadweight for industrial oils and fishmeal could also accentuate this through. Fishermen " to 12 "enthusiastically welcomed the significant progress made ​​in the preservation and defense of Little Fishing segment, timely measures coming at a time when large ships, under the guise of fuel economy, redeploy their fishing effort in the coastal strip and threatened by the excesses of the means employed, the stocks subservient to these coastal areas.

The coastal satisfied Two provisions given special attention: 1) The European Parliament calls on States to consider exclusive or preferential access to small scale fishermen in the coastal strip, " emphasizing the selectivity and low environmental impact fishing techniques deployed . " 2) The fishing opportunities will now be allocated not only according to the prior art, but also on the basis of environmental and social criteria such as the impact of fishing practices on the environment or creating local economic benefits .

These new guidelines reflect an ambition to restore the unprecedented traditional fishing all their importance, and this text was adopted by an overwhelming majority of MEPs (502 against 137), marks a turning point for the future of our coastal communities.

Small fishing underrepresented " However, our French parliamentarians (with rare exceptions) are fairly mobilized on the issue of the importance given to small fishing segment. French authorities themselves, in their voting instructions sent to the French MEPs have completely evaded the question. "

This French cultural exception " does not fail to ask in a country where more than two thirds of fishing enterprises arming small-scale fisheries. The chronic under-representation of the segment in the national professional representation may explain in part the lack of interest. Proof if any were needed that there is a lot of work information and awareness commit to convince the small fishing has a great future. "

Story from the Ouest France - translation courtesy of Google.

EU Fishing Subsidies - where does the money go?

Aaron Mcloughlin has started a discussion: Fisheries Subsidies "Who Gets the Fishing Subsidies: 

The next major vote for CFP reform will be on fisheries subsidies. The draft text from Alain Cadec, French conservative member, is in support of status quo, and against the Commission's proposal. 

The debate so far on CFP reform has been limited on the subsidies element. Has anyone in the group got information about who in their national fleet gets subsidies and what our money is being spent on? I have the information on the distant water fleet and what they have spent our money on. It would make a bailed out banker blush. It nearly all goes to vessels in Spain and Brittany. STECF did a good analysis a few years ago. 

If any members of the group have more up to date information on what subsidies are being spent on please pass it on. 

Best from sunny Brussels
Aaron

Restaurants-urged-to-keep-line-caught-mackerel-on-the-menu

Local fish merchant Matthew Stevens says keep buying Cornish line caught mackerel and North Cornwall's Nathan Outlaw who heads up the UK's only Michelin two starred restaurant says he will!

Should the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) be primarily focussed upon environmental factors?

Should the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) be primarily focussed upon environmental factors? 

Click here to take cast your vote ahead of the official vote to be cast in June.

Policy ID number : A7-0008/2013 | EU Parliament date : 02.06.13

Today fishery is a sector in crisis. Since several years, European authorities note that the fishing stocks in the European seas are in bad conditions.\nThe reformed common fisheries policy, an agreement originated in 1983, has since undergone two big reforms. Now it needs to be reviewed to meet the workers’ demands better, but also the consumers’ needs. The European objectives are, according to the Irish minister of agriculture, to « maintain the sector, to enforce a better management of stocks whilst targeting jobs creation.\nVote at the EU parliament is due after the February, 5th debates at the commission. The final agreement is in turn scheduled for next june.\nIs the reformed common fisheries policy ready to take a drastic environmental shift?'

http://www.thebrusselsbusiness.eu/