Wednesday 13 March 2013

What's the difference between MPAs and MCZs?

In short, one is relatively benign - MPAs,

However, MCZs are a different kettle of fish. Unlike farming where the land is worked on a rotation system - which would be akin to closing an area for one or two years, MCZs seek to permanently deprive the fishing industry of certain areas.

Off Land's End, one such area provides a sizable percentage of the ground worked every year by the local crabbing fleet - to deprive them of the ground on a permanent basis would be hugely damaging to their business.

This is where dialogue betwen the industry, other marine users and the government need to be realistic and pragmatic based on sound evidence that these areas can be managed to the benefit of all.

What is an MPA?

A Marine Protected Area (MPA) is often defined as any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlaying water and associated fauna, flora, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment (Kelleher and Kenchington, 1992). However, other definitions of MPAs exist.
Kelleher, G.G., and R.A. Kenchington. 1992. Guidelines for Establishing Marine Protected Areas. A Marine Conservation and Development Report. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, vii + 79 pp.

What is an MCZ?

The Marine and Coastal Access Act was approved by the House of Lords on November 11th and received Royal Assent on November 12th, 2009. It contains provisions for the creation of a new type of Marine Protected Area (MPA) in England, called a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ). MCZs will protect nationally important marine wildlife, habitats, geology and geomorphology and can be designated anywhere in English inshore and UK offshore waters. In English inshore and English, Welsh and Northern Irish offshore waters, MCZs will be identified through the Marine Conservation Zone Project. In Welsh inshore waters there will be a small number of MCZs afforded a high level of protection. Sites will be selected to protect not just the rare and threatened, but the range of marine wildlife.

Are there different types of MPA?

The type of Marine Protected Area (MPA) depends on the legislative measure in place to provide protection to the marine species and habitats that occur in them. Sites may be protected as part of European or national legislation. MPAs designated as part of the European Natura 2000 network and referred to collectively as European Marine Sites (EMS) are Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs). SACs, in addition to SPAs and Marine Nature Reserves (MNRs) are protected by statutory obligations. The UK also has voluntary MPAs such as Voluntary Marine Conservation Areas (VMCAs) and Voluntary Marine Nature Reserves (VMNRs). In addition, there are areas closed to fishing using bottom trawling and static gear to protect deep-water corals, such as the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) closed areas at Hatton and Rockall Banks.

What was the first MPA?

Lundy, situated in the Bristol Channel was Britain’s first Marine Protected Area (MPA). A voluntary marine nature reserve was established around the island in 1971.

Why do we need MPAs?

Many human activities are damaging or cause disturbance to marine habitats, species and ecosystem processes. This damage can affect the supply of ecosystem goods and services that marine biodiversity provides us with. These include regulating the earth's climate, cycling nutrients, recreation, and providing raw materials such as oil and gas, aggregates and food. Therefore it is very important to protect and conserve the marine environment and thereby safeguard our natural heritage for future generations to enjoy. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) provide a practical and significant contribution to the recovery and conservation of marine species and habitats. The best available scientific information tells us that we must establish MPA networks across 20 to 30 percent of our seas and oceans. Networks must be representative in terms of different ecosystems, habitats and communities and may have different uses and levels of protection within them, but all should include reserves or no take zones (NTZs). When MPAs are designed as a network and supported by wider environment management measures, they promote the recovery and conservation of ecosystem structure and function.

How many MPAs are there?

A range of legislative measures are already in place to provide protection to important marine species and habitats. We currently have 207 marine protected areas in UK waters, which include:

107 Special Protections Areas (SPAs) with marine habitats for birds,
94 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) with marine habitats or species,(83 inshore, 9 offshore,2 inshore and offshore). This includes 18 SACs currently in 'candidate' stage.
3 statutory Marine Nature Reserves (MNRs) : Lundy MNR, Skomer MNR and Strangford Lough MNR.
2 no take zones : Lamlash Bay on the east coast of Arran, and around Lundy in Devon.
1 Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) around Lundy in Devon.
In England there are also 28 SSSIs that are not part of SACs but have marine features

How much of the UK Seas are protected?

In total , the area coverage of all UK Marine Protected Areas (Including designated and candidate SACs, SPAs, MCZs, NTZs and MNRs) is roughly 4.1 million hectares, or around 4.0 % of UK waters.

MEP Julie Girling's fishing forum in Newlyn Friday 8th March 2013

L-R:Larry Hartwell (ex-skipper/Through the Gaps) - David Stephens (skipper/boat owner) MEP Julie Girling - Nick Howell (ex-Fish Merchant) - Dave Muirhead (Solicitor/ SWHL Secretary)

A handful of Newlyn's fishing community met with MEP Julie Girling at The Centre last Friday. The open agenda included discussion on quotas, discards and protected areas. Given Julie's position on the Eurpoean Fishereies Committe this represented a very real opportunity to engage with the fishing community in the area. Like it or lump it, the UK IS in the EU and IS directly affected by decisions drafted and made in Brussels - this meeting was a rare opportunity to speak directly with an MEP who sits on the Fisheries Committee.

Those present (including Andy Manza/Stevensons) were very positive in their opinion of Julie whom they felt gave honest and open answers to the points and issues raised. In the light of the poor attendance which in itself might suggest a disenfranchisement from EU representation by the very people Julie has been elected to serve the office team will be looking at ways to better inform, involve and elicit help and useful communications with the fishing community. Given that almost every fisherman now carries a mobile and most are connected to the internet it seems these services might be better employed to stay in touch.

Below is the Jukie Girling manifesto taking from the web site:

Our manifesto commitments for Fisheries. We will:

Fight for wholesale reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to make it more efficient, and address the failings of the current policy.

Encourage sustainable practices so that they benefit both the environment and those whose livelihood depends upon the industry.

Give communities a greater say over the future of their fishing industries, enabling those with specific knowledge of the local fisheries sector to provide input into fisheries policy and take charge of their own local resources.

Bring an end to the scandal of fish discards.

Take forward the marine and Coastal access act and ensure that its conservation measures are implemented effectively, including the creation of marine conservation zones.

Catch shares help corporations more than fish populations

Catch shares help corporations more than fish populations By Susie Cagle

A new animation out from the Centre for Investigative Reporting makes sense of the wonky and wacky world of individualised transferable quotas, or catch shares, which were ostensibly meant as a solution to overfishing. “If a small group of people owned the fish, they might take better care of them,” explains the animated grandpa in the video.

It’s not totally clear whether the catch-share system, implemented across the U.S. in 2011, has helped fish populations rebound. But it has helped large corporate fishing operations at the expense of small fisher-people, according to an investigation by CIR.

Fishing quotas, which are based on past fishing levels, can be sold on the open market, making it easier for fat-cat corporations to scoop up as many as they can afford. The system initially only allowed fishing with trawlers in certain areas — a type of fishing that has caused heavy environmental destruction.

From CIR: Thousands of jobs have been lost in regions across the United States where catch-share management plans have been implemented, researchers have noted.

There are 15 catch-share systems in the United States, stretching from the North Pacific’s frigid gray waters along the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands down to the Gulf of Mexico.

More than 3,700 vessels are no longer active in the 10 defined fishing areas that have operated under catch shares since before 2010. That could account for as many as 18,000 lost jobs, according to estimates from researchers who track the fishing industry.

In its investigation, CIR turned up fishy claims made by the Environmental Defense Fund about the advanced state of ocean life degradation due to overfishing (since debunked), and a lot of concern about the concentration of deep blue wealth and power.

Most researchers and managers acknowledge that the system will shrink the fishing fleet, hitting independent, small-scale fishermen the hardest, while protecting big corporate fleets.

“No matter what you do, there is a dynamic that is going to unfold in predictable ways, toward the concentration of wealth and away from public participation,” said Bonnie McCay, an anthropologist at Rutgers University who was a member of a National Research Council panel assembled by Congress in the late 1990s to assess catch shares.

And as for catch shares actually replenishing the oceans? The facts don’t appear to back up quota-promoters.

Nearly half of the 128 fish populations that have been subject to overfishing since 2003 now are thriving, having been fully rebuilt over the past decade, according to government records. Five of those populations have been rebuilt under catch-shares management – the St. Matthew Island blue king crab, snow crab, Pacific coast widow rockfish, Gulf of Mexico red snapper and Atlantic windowpane flounder, according to Connie Barclay, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Barclay said it would be hard to attribute rebuilding to catch shares in any of those cases. [Lee] Crockett, director of federal fisheries policy for the Pew Environment Group, agrees and credits the rebuilding to strict catch limits, which the government began to institute in 2006.

The difference between catch limits and catch shares “is a distinction I think that is often deliberately conflated” by the government and groups advocating for the new system, Crockett said.

The full investigation is important, but the video is the best part, especially if you aren’t familiar with the catch-share scene. CIR’s ultimate take on whether catch shares have helped put a damper on overfishing, delivered by cartoon grandpa: “The thing is, we’re not sure.” Grandpa, you’re so diplomatic.

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Time is running out guys!! - Marine Conservation Zones: Consultation on proposals for designation in 2013

Time is running out guys!! -

Consultation starts: 13 December 2012

Consultation ends: 31 March 2013

Summary

This consultation seeks views on proposals for the designation of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in English inshore and English and Welsh offshore waters.

This consultation seeks to engage with everyone who has an interest in the marine environment and coastal communities. It’s the primary opportunity for people to have their say and influence the decisions on how many MCZs are designated, where they are designated and for what features.

Information and comments submitted will be used to inform the decision on which sites will be designated in the first tranche in 2013. Information gathered at this stage will also be used as part of the decision-making process for designation of sites in later tranches.

Consultation documents

Please note: Some of these files are very large and you should download them to your computer before opening them: right click on the links below and choose ‘Save As’.

Consultation letter (PDF 50KB)
Consultation document (PDF 680KB)
List of consultees (PDF 20KB)
Welsh, German and French translations of the executive summary (PDF 110KB)
Spanish translation of the executive summary (PDF 34 KB)
Annex A.1 – Sites proposed for designation in 2013:
- Part 1 - Balanced Seas (PDF 15MB)
- Part 2.1 - Finding Sanctuary (PDF 6.3MB)
- part 2.2 - Finding Sanctuary (PDF 29MB)
- Part 3 - Finding Sanctuary (PDF 15MB)
- Part 4 - Irish Sea Conservation Zones (PDF 6.2KB)
- Part 5 - Net Gain (PDF 2.7MB)
Annex A.2- Irish Sea Conservation Zones sites requiring further consideration (PDF 8.1MB)
Annex A.3 – Balanced Seas MCZs requiring further consideration (PDF 17MB)
Annex A.4 – Net Gain sites requiring further consideration (PDF 11MB)
Annex A.5 – Finding Sanctuary sites requiring further consideration (PDF 25MB)
Annex A.6 – Sites not suitable for designation (PDF 670KB)
Annex B – Consultation site summary explanatory note – explains the contents of the tables in the site summaries (PDF 180KB)
Annex C – Cost quartile distribution of sites – tables summarising the cost distribution of proposed MCZs (PDF 180KB)
Annex D – Marine Protected Areas – Summary tables for existing Marine Protected Areas in the UK (PDF 180KB)
Annex E – Sector Issues – the key sector issues and concerns relating to MCZs (PDF 180KB)
Annex F – commentary on SNCB Advice – How we have treated the formal advice and recommendations from SNCBs (PDF 180KB)
Annex G – Example Designation Order – An example designation order for a fictitious site to illustrate the format of a designation order (PDF 90KB)
Annex H – Consultation Response Form and Data Submission Form (Word format 45KB)
Annex I – Glossary (PDF 70KB)

Monday 11 March 2013

French scupper sea havens

From the Times:

A SCHEME to protect British fisheries and wildlife with a network of marine conservation zones could be scuppered after the French government announced it will use EU procedures to block them.

The zones are intended to act as “national parks of the sea”, with activities such as sea-bed trawling or drift-netting banned if they threaten features such as reefs. Environmental groups that have spent a decade campaigning for the zones are dismayed by the French decision, which follows last year’s decision to cut the 127 proposed zones to just 31.

Now France has given notice that it will lodge objections to at least four of the remaining zones, two in the English Channel and two southwest of the Isles of Scilly. Under the common fisheries policy this means the proposals will have to be referred to the EU, where they could be deadlocked for months, or even years.

The chances are of course that many fishermen working in range of these areas may well be supportive of such a move as the grounds are also fished by local vessels!

Scottish TV reports on the Real Fish Fight

Scottish TV reports on the Peterhead fishing vessel Budding Rose when she gets a massive 30 ton haul of cod in the North Sea on Friday 1st march 2013. The boat was actually fishing for haddock and was well away from cod ground - an illustration of just how difficult it is for boats to target single species in a mixed fishery.

Well done Peter Bruce on Bbc tv just now for showing the public what all fishermen in the North Sea are seeing,an abundance of cod everywhere,we have conserved cod for years and now we re seeing the results,lets hope the scientists get their act together and tell the government the truth

Plenty fish in sea, new Scottish fishermen's group says a group of Scottish fishermen have formed a pressure group to convince people that North Sea fish stocks are healthy.

The Real Fish Fight said boats have reported large catches of cod. Peterhead skipper Peter Bruce said conservationists wanted to turn the North Sea into an aquarium. WWF Scotland said it was possible the big catches were the result of boats passing over large groups of spawning cod. Mr Bruce said there was scaremongering over fish stocks. He recently hauled his largest ever catch of cod - 30 tonnes in a single net.

The fisherman said: "There is some of the green lobby that is actually trying to finish the fishing industry. "They are wanting the North Sea left as an aquarium and we just can't have that." He added: "We would like the scientists to come out with us and see what we are seeing on the grounds." WWF Scotland said at this time of year cod were grouping in large numbers to spawn. A spokeswoman said it could be that the large catch was made in one of these areas and that this could not be read as a sign that numbers of the fish had recovered

A Lot of Fishermen Will know This Area. It's the West of Scotland Windsock Closure. It's Been closed for Fishing with Demersal Towed Gear Since the 6th March 2001.

This is a Massive area almost 80miles long.

Hardly any Surveys done in the Windsock to Provide any Data of any Kind..The Windsock Was Closed under a EU Recovery Programme for Cod, Closing Prime Fishing Grounds Depriving fishermen of Making a Living The Decline in West Coast Fishing Fleet is a Complete Outrage and Should not Have Been allowed to Happen.