World’s second largest super-trawler enters Irish waters - AIS from VesselTracker keeping an eye on her whereabouts

Follow the vessel's movements by VesselTracker here

IRISH fishermen have expressed alarm at the arrival of the world’s second largest super-trawler in Irish waters for the annual blue whiting campaign. 

The ‘MFV Margiris’ drags a net bigger than a football field and, if stood on its end, would be almost twice as high as Ireland’s tallest building. The super-trawler ceased operations off Australian after bitter protests by Government, fishing industry and conservation groups. The vessel even changed its name to the ‘Abel Tasman’ in a bid to side-step protests off Australia and New Zealand. But it ultimately quit Australian waters after being repeatedly targeted for protests by Greenpeace who feared its operations could devastate regional fish stocks.

The vessel – which is 143m long (429ft) and displaces 9,500 tonnes – is the second biggest trawler/factory shop afloat and her processing capacity is enormous. Irish fishing industry and conservation groups warned about the potential impact of such vast fishing potential in vulnerable Atlantic areas. They claimed the giant vessel shouldn’t have sufficient quota to justify operations in Irish waters.

Industry groups, led by ‘The Skipper’ editor Niall Duffy, have now demanded clarification of the super-trawler’s purpose off Ireland. They have also demanded clarification by the EU as to how a super-trawler that was removed and reflagged in Australia could suddenly be registered back in the Lithuanian fleet.

The Sea Fish Protection Authority (SFPA) and the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) have both been asked to check on the super-trawler’s fishing entitlements. The Naval Service is also monitoring the situation. The super-trawler is owned by a Dutch consortium but is registered in Lithuania. Under complex EU Common Fisheries agreements, the vessel can fish both inside and outside the 200 mile limit once quotas are in place. Its crew of 50 normally conducts round-the-clock fishing operations in a region for six to eight weeks before landing its processed catch.

“This is a matter of concern for all Irish fishing industry groups given the difficult operating conditions currently facing Irish vessels,” Mr Duffy warned.

Story courtesy of the Independent.ie

Fisheries Dependant Information conference in Rome, Italy this week - What's it all about?

The conference will explore the role of fishers in collecting data, the incorporation of fisher-collected data and knowledge in science, management and policy-making, and the broader role of stakeholders in this process.

•  Data Requirements - data required for evolving policy and management frameworks, such as the ecosystems approach to fisheries (EAF), results-based management, and risk management; requirements for self-evaluation of fisheries governance 



•  Data Collection – observer programs; cooperative research with industry; innovative data collection strategies such as self sampling and reference fleets; Electronic Monitoring systems; ancillary data collection during fishing operations in support of the EAF 



•  Data Integration – integration of multiple and/or increasing sources of data; open-source data repositories and metadata catalogues to support fishery dependent analyses 



•  Data Analysis – evaluation of fishery dependent data, including impacts of fishing on target and bycatch species, on fish communities and habitats, and as indicators for stock condition and distribution; impacts of uncertainty and bias on stock assessments and inclusion of this uncertainty in policy development; selection of appropriate metrics to define fishing effort; evaluation of the effectiveness and impact of increased (or full) catch retention requirements - are essential to the achievement of affordable and sustainable fishing practices”

EU Fisheries management - simple

An attempt at putting in simple diagram form how fisheries are managed in the EU - simple! 

Courtesy of the SWFPA in attendance at this year's Fisheries Dependant Information conference.

Fisheries Dependent Information conference 2014 - so far!

"You should utilize fishermen to collect data and collect biological samples......The fishermen need to own the data and have more confidence in the data that flows from that

And so say all of us!

Follow #FDI2014 on Twitter for updates from the biggest 

gathering of fishermen and scientists in the world

#EATMOREFISH

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE CONFERENCE AND WHO IS THERE FROM THE WEB SITE

Cod Box - the closed season for cod in the Bristol Channel and off Ireland from February 1st to April 1st

From February the 1st to April the 1st

The shaded boxes are closed to all boats fishing for cod - let's hope the map reading skills of cod are up to the task - the eastern-most box is around 3200 square miles of ocean closed off to cod - do they get updates from the MMO?

Common Fisheries Policy: managing fish stocks - a debate

Highlighting environmental science, law and policy.

Price:	This is a free event.
Start date:	04-03-2014
Start time:	08.30am registration. 09.00 - 10.30 speaker presentations
CPD hours:	1.5
Event type:	CPD
Location:	Athenaeum Club*, Pall Mall SW1Y 5ER
Region:	Greater London United Kingdom *Please note that the dress code is smart (ties for gentlemen) and no jeans.

Background

The purpose of the debates is to provide objective and factual clarification of selected current environmental issues. To this end, a panel of three experts addresses the applicable science, law and policy. Each speaker has 15 minutes to present and then the floor is open for a question-and-answer session from which a summary of the Debate is produced. Chaired by Pamela Castle OBE, they are held approximately on a monthly basis from October 2013 to June 2014 at various locations across London in association with Sykes Environmental and sponsored by Legal Sector Alliance and the ENDS Report.

About the event

Since its creation in (1970), the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has failed in its objective of protecting EU fish stocks through the imposition of national fishing quotas. Fish stocks have crashed due to overfishing and imports now account for more than 50% of fish consumed in the EU.

This was addressed in a proposal for reform by the European Commission in 2011 aimed at restoring fish stocks by 2020. In February 2013 the European Parliament voted to support reforms including measures to protect endangered species and ending the practice of meeting quotas by discarding edible fish.

The new CFP is due to come into effect from 2014 but discussions with EU governments are ongoing. In May 2013 these discussions led to an agreement to rectify the situation which if approved by Ministers and MEPs will be phased in over the coming years.

Speakers*:

Science: Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation, University of York.

Law:       James Thornton, Founder and CEO at ClientEarth

Policy:    David Baldock, Executive Director, Institute for European Environmental Policy.

Organised by Pamela Castle in conjunction with Sykes Environmental

Thanks to Castle debates