This was a superb conference delivered by Jeremy Prince for championing the collection and use of data collected by the people best placed to provide such data - the fishermen who actually do the job full time.
Research vessels with on-board scientists collecting data according to long term projects have their place but the very best data is that collected during everyday fishing by the industry itself - this conference sought to discuss ways in which this huge bank of knowledge can be validated and used to inform scientific research and strategic fisheries planning for the future.
Following the talk questions were taken from the floor - many extremely relevant to both inshore and offshore fishing sectors in the UK.
Thursday 20 March 2014
HAVE YOUR HAKE AND EAT IT!
Is Hake UK’s Current Most Sustainable Fish?
#eatmorefish
Leading Chef and UK Fishing Industry Unite To Champion Hake as UK’s Current Most Sustainable Fish
The voice of the UK fishing industry and one of the country’s leading seafood chefs have joined forces to encourage British restaurants and retailers to put hake on the menu after finding it to currently be the ‘UK’s most sustainable fish’.
The campaign comes after new research* revealed that half of us (52 per cent) eat fish at least once a week and one in five (19 per cent) eat it around three times a week – yet the majority of people rarely stray from the ‘seafood staples’ of cod, haddock and salmon.
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO), which represents fishermen in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, has joined forces with leading seafood chef, food writer and restaurateur Mitch Tonks to launch a series of free recipe cards encouraging the British public to consider hake in their diet, after crowning it the ‘UK’s most sustainable fish’.
Hake was named as the UK’s current sustainability champion fish after the NFFO conducted an evaluation of stock and catch data against a criteria of 10 industry sustainability markers. Hake, against very stiff competition from other species, currently meets more of the standards than any other species.
The Food Standards Agency recommends eating at least two portions of fish a week1. Hake, a species closely related to cod and haddock, is commonly eaten in Europe, with the Spanish annually consuming 6kg per person – equating to around half of all hake eaten across the continent. With scientific research showing burgeoning stock levels of hake in UK waters2, catch quota for the fish has been increased by 49 per cent in 2014. However, of the 12,000 tonnes of hake caught by British fishermen last year, just 1.5 per cent was consumed in the UK.
Despite the popularity of fish as a healthy food source, NFFO research* spanning 1,000 consumers revealed many fish eaters have never tried some of the UK’s most sustainable fish species. Around half of people surveyed had never tried hake (53 per cent) or pollock (47 per cent), whilst two thirds of people (62 per cent) had never tried coley.
The top reasons people cited for not trying alternative types of fish included the retail price (30 per cent), not liking the look of the fish / considering it ugly (24 per cent) and poor availability in supermarkets (11 per cent).
To identify the most sustainable fish, the federation identified those stocks fished at or above maximum sustainable yield (MSY) – considered the gold standard of sustainable fishing. This measures the maximum catch that can be removed from the sea without jeopardising its future. Hake also adheres to a number of other sustainability markers identified by the NFFO.
The NFFO’s chief executive, Barrie Deas, said: “In the last decade, the UK fishing industry has worked closely with scientists to improve the sustainability of commercial fishing, developing more selective gear and catching methods which reduce the ecological footprint of fishing. Over that time we have witnessed a dramatic reduction in fishing pressure across all of the main species groups and across the North East Atlantic fish stocks are building, some very rapidly.
“In the sustainability stakes I’m pleased to say hake faces stiff competition as many stocks, including plaice, haddock, herring and sole, ticked many of the boxes. In some stocks, including cod, mortality rates have been halved pushing them up the sustainability rankings. UK fishermen realise that their future is intimately linked to the way that they fish and now sustainability is at the heart of everything they do.
Mitch Tonks added: “Anything we can do to encourage people to try more fresh, sustainable fish whilst supporting UK fishermen can only be a good thing. Hake is always a popular option at my own restaurants and it’s readily available through fishmongers and retailers. It’s a white fish which is simple to adapt different recipes and flavours to and as such I hope more people give it a try.”
New research from the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations has found hake to currently be the UK’s most sustainable fish.
The NFFO conducted an evaluation of stock and catch data of the UK’s most commonly caught species against a criteria of 10 industry sustainability markers and hake, against very stiff competition from other species, currently meets more of the standards than any other species.
However, of the 12,000 tonnes of hake caught by British fishermen last year, just 1.5 per cent was consumed in the UK.
To encourage more of us to try Hake the NFFO has teamed up with leading seafood chef Mitch Tonks to create these downloadable hake recipes. Please click on the links below.
Newlyn and the affects of the storms on the One Show
Newlyn fishing industry featured on the One Show covering the plight of an industry brought to its knees during the most prolonged period of stormy in living memory.
Keith Dixon, skipper of the Mission in Newlyn talks emotionally about the huge support shown by the people of the UK who have enabled him and other Mission staff to distribute financial support to desperate fishing families who have been directly affected by the storms and seen their income cut to zero.
Wednesday 19 March 2014
Good news! - Storm Damage Gear Replacement Scheme
Axis 1: Measures for the adaptation of the community fishing fleet
Through the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) around £11 million is available to help fishermen in England to make improvements on their vessels.
Storm Damage Gear Replacement Scheme
Money is available towards the cost of replacing lost or damaged fishing gear, such as crab and lobster pots and other static gear, during the winter storms of 2013/2014. More information on support for fishermen affected by storms.
- General conditions that apply to all grants (PDF 75 KB)
- Application form (PDF 446 KB) and guidance notes (PDF 139 KB)
- Business case and declaration form (PDF 123 KB) and guidance notes (PDF 55 KB)
Claim forms and information – once application has been approved
- Claim form for Storm Damage Gear Replacement Scheme EFF grant (PDF 327 KB)
- Guidance notes for claimants (PDF 81 KB)
- Top 10 tips for claimants
- Details of suppliers and creditors form (AP201) (PDF 1.1 MB)
The EFF scheme was designed to help implement the latest reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. Money is available through the EFF for diversifying into other stocks, for example where quotas are larger and allow for a higher number of days at sea. People have also used EFF funding to afford a range of items which help them to be more productive, such as insulated bins, safety equipment and improvements to crew facilities.
Through the EFF scheme you may get around 40% funding (or more) towards projects costing a minimum of between £1,000 and £1,200. If your idea is smaller than this, you may want to consider combining it with an application for other equipment, or seeing whether your fishermen’s association can submit a joint application.
The following things might qualify for EFF funding:
- non-mandatory safety equipment, additional to what is required by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency
- improving conditions and facilities for crew
- equipment to help improve hygiene and help you deal with waste better
- fish handling and chilling equipment to maintain the quality of fish and help get a better price for your catch
- equipment to help you fish more sustainable stocks, and minimise the impact of fishing on the wider marine environment
- replacing your engine
- making your vessel more energy efficient and reducing the amount of fuel you use.
- Application form and guidance notes
- General conditions that apply to all grants (PDF 75 KB)
- Application for a grant for investments on board your fishing vessel
- Application form (EFF-AX1-VEM001) (PDF 446 KB)
- Eligibility guidance notes (PDF 139 KB)
Wednesday dawns
Sea Spray looking for pollack - with the monthly quota at just 12 tons many of the newlyn boats caught theirs in just three days - not difficult at this time of year when the pollack are in abundance - shame none of the boats were able to catch a single pollack in January and february because of the inclement weather...
just the one onshore trawler on the market tgis morning...
the market was cleared in minutes after a 6am start...
and left spotless soon enough...
new boxes now arrived for the Hosking fleet, Stelissa and Silver Dawn...
paint up and hull maintenance time for the William Stevenson...
the worms have been feeding well of late...
so new timber fenders have been ordered...
fly past on a dull morning...
waiting for boxes, the Hosking fleet at rest...
a South Devon tourist...
blue sterns...
as a little early morning light falls around the Mount.
Tuesday 18 March 2014
A plea from our African cousins - artisanal fishers demand a voice and action to preserve their way of life
In this World Women's Day on 8 March 2014 after two days of discussions,
We, representatives of the African Confederation of Organisations in Artisanal Fisheries - CAOPA-,
On behalf of our professional organizations Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Morocco, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Cape Verde and Côte d'Ivoire, welcomes us,
Particularly on behalf of women in these organizations, and communities that depend on fishing for their livelihood, Solemnly call on the Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture of all African countries, Which will meet from 14 to 18 March 2014 in Uganda at the second Conference of African Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture - the CAMFA-, To take into account our concerns and proposals when deciding the future of our industry by voting the Pan-African strategy to reform EU fisheries policy and aquaculture.
We believe:
• That there are limits to order regulatory developments in the legal arsenal of fisheries in our country, including with regard to artisanal fisheries in order to ensure sustainable management of our fisheries for the benefit of coastal communities and populations;
• That we must find ways to limit fishing capacity in fisheries where access is free;
• That there is good reason to suspect that illegal fishing is growing in many African countries and the difficulties to combat, both in ways that policy will remain immense.
• That the African artisanal fishing shows more capacity, if it is supported appropriately, to be an engine of social, economic and environmental development.
• Let the professionals working in the artisanal fishing, and women in particular, are not sufficiently informed (s) consulted (s) involved and (e) s in the process of decision-making that directly affect , whether national, regional or pan-African level.
We are concerned:
• The increasing vulnerability of women in artisanal fishing communities, which does not allow them to fully play their role in contributing to food security, through the processing and marketing of fishery products, and fulfill their responsibilities for the well-being of families and children's education.
- If women and our communities are vulnerable is that fish become scarcer and more expensive and the cost of fishing operations is increasing;
- One of the main reasons for this is the trend in recent decades to the intensification of fishing in many African countries by foreign flag vessels or foreign re-pavillonnés, charter, or fishing illegally, and increasing export of fish away from our continent, while the needs of African countries in protein and nutrients from the fish are growing, given the increase in our population.
- If any part of these foreign vessels fishing under formal agreements, a large number of fishing vessels appear in opaque conditions without respecting the laws in force in African waters - including legislation to protect the area artisanal fishing - using very little selective and destructive methods.
• Foreign vessels are not the only cause of the pressure on fish stocks in African waters, it also assists the uncontrolled growth of artisanal fisheries in many African countries.
• As soon as the fish become less abundant due to overexploitation, the tendency of local fishermen in some countries is to use desperate measures to maintain the level of catches, such as the use of very small stitches, or worse dynamite . We call our Ministers for Fisheries and Aquaculture in the context of the reform strategy in African fisheries
To improve governance for a more transparent and participatory fisheries management
• promoting with their respective states, the signing of the Aarhus Convention on public access to environmental information;
• committing to make regular information on fishing licenses granted and contracts and agreements,
• by establishing commissions licensing work seamlessly and independent actors including representatives of artisanal fisheries;
• by conducting independent audits of the effectiveness of fisheries administrations;
• considering the organizations representing democratically professionals artisanal fishing activity as their interlocutors;
• developing with them a dynamic partnership, including permanent consultation mechanisms with the women and men of artisanal and civil society, based on:
- the recognition of capabilities, knowledge and knowledge communities artisanal fisheries initiatives to build management and conservation of resources
- the ability of the state to share its power and responsibilities for management and conservation, to define a policy framework for fisheries management , to provide an effective legislation; to ensure its effective implementation, to provide various types of assistance to communities (means of implementation, scientific, control, awareness, etc..)
o in particular, the establishment transparent participatory monitoring devices in each country, as part of the dynamics of co-management should be supported (legal recognition of stakeholders, premium incentives, provision of means of communication, exchange visits, training committees management)
• giving, in these approaches, special attention for women communities are equally represented (50%) in the consultation for decision making and in the planning and implementation of those decisions;
• empowering artisanal fishing communities in the integrated management of their land adjacent marine ecosystems, through a negotiated agreement between the users (through their organization), and responsible for fisheries, which defines the objectives of management authority, the rights and obligations of both parties, duly approved by the competent local authorities;
• encouraging active groups of the civil society and the media to denounce some do not comply with regulatory practices and ethics in this context, freedom of the press must be complete;
• when criminal activities are identified, with penalties and sanctions that are of sufficient severity and receive wide dissemination in the media.
• stimulating cooperation between different jurisdictions within the same state, and among African States to: - fight against illegal fishing - manage, collaboratively shared resources; - improving and harmonizing legal frameworks and regulations in a manner that recognizes the local co-management initiatives;
To give priority access to resources for sustainable artisanal fisheries
- Reserving exclusively for artisanal fishermen resources they have the ability to fish sustainably;
- Reserving the coastal zone and the continental shelf artisanal fisheries in the clearly defined in legislation, and protecting effectively against the incursions of trawlers;
- Recognizing the rights of access of artisanal fishing communities in legislation and management measures for fisheries resources;
- Refusing to privatize and organize a market for resource access rights, as suggested in the reform strategy, as these systems allow those who have the capital to capture fisheries resources artisanal fisheries depends to live, causing our misery and poverty communities;
- Adopting at the next Committee on Fisheries of the FAO in June, and implementing as soon as possible, the International Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Artisanal Fisheries of FAO, to preserve livelihoods local populations to ensure their food security, economic survival and the preservation of their cultures
- Implementing a "restorative" eco-management systems using devices of artificial reefs and marine protected areas;
- Promoting the use of new technologies throughout the value chain, better management and use of resources;
- Fighting against the complacency pavillonnement
To implement the right to food, and to ensure the contribution of fisheries to the realization of this right
- Encouraging their governments to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the result, in particular as regards the right to food in their constitutions and national legislation;
- putting in place a process that Pan citizens can use to compel governments to respect the right to food and the laws relating thereto - Concerning the promotion of aquaculture, which is an important element in the strategy proposed reform of fisheries policy Africa to increase fish production, we call for:
- Restrict the development of aquaculture in non-carnivorous species, which do not depend on the fish meal produced from our small pelagic need to book direct human consumption
- Encourage small-scale aquaculture, through the establishment of a national agency for aquaculture development;
- Encourage the agency through private investment in the sustainable aquaculture through programs for capacity building, awareness raising, with financial and technical support, while ensuring integrated coastal populations in this dynamic so that they benefit.
We hope that our voices will be heard by our Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and we wish them a fruitful discussion for the adoption of a strategy to reform the African fisheries that recognizes and protects the rights of our communities to develop a sustainable African fisheries.
We, representatives of the African Confederation of Organisations in Artisanal Fisheries - CAOPA-,
On behalf of our professional organizations Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Morocco, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Cape Verde and Côte d'Ivoire, welcomes us,
Particularly on behalf of women in these organizations, and communities that depend on fishing for their livelihood, Solemnly call on the Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture of all African countries, Which will meet from 14 to 18 March 2014 in Uganda at the second Conference of African Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture - the CAMFA-, To take into account our concerns and proposals when deciding the future of our industry by voting the Pan-African strategy to reform EU fisheries policy and aquaculture.
We believe:
• That there are limits to order regulatory developments in the legal arsenal of fisheries in our country, including with regard to artisanal fisheries in order to ensure sustainable management of our fisheries for the benefit of coastal communities and populations;
• That we must find ways to limit fishing capacity in fisheries where access is free;
• That there is good reason to suspect that illegal fishing is growing in many African countries and the difficulties to combat, both in ways that policy will remain immense.
• That the African artisanal fishing shows more capacity, if it is supported appropriately, to be an engine of social, economic and environmental development.
• Let the professionals working in the artisanal fishing, and women in particular, are not sufficiently informed (s) consulted (s) involved and (e) s in the process of decision-making that directly affect , whether national, regional or pan-African level.
We are concerned:
• The increasing vulnerability of women in artisanal fishing communities, which does not allow them to fully play their role in contributing to food security, through the processing and marketing of fishery products, and fulfill their responsibilities for the well-being of families and children's education.
- If women and our communities are vulnerable is that fish become scarcer and more expensive and the cost of fishing operations is increasing;
- One of the main reasons for this is the trend in recent decades to the intensification of fishing in many African countries by foreign flag vessels or foreign re-pavillonnés, charter, or fishing illegally, and increasing export of fish away from our continent, while the needs of African countries in protein and nutrients from the fish are growing, given the increase in our population.
- If any part of these foreign vessels fishing under formal agreements, a large number of fishing vessels appear in opaque conditions without respecting the laws in force in African waters - including legislation to protect the area artisanal fishing - using very little selective and destructive methods.
• Foreign vessels are not the only cause of the pressure on fish stocks in African waters, it also assists the uncontrolled growth of artisanal fisheries in many African countries.
• As soon as the fish become less abundant due to overexploitation, the tendency of local fishermen in some countries is to use desperate measures to maintain the level of catches, such as the use of very small stitches, or worse dynamite . We call our Ministers for Fisheries and Aquaculture in the context of the reform strategy in African fisheries
To improve governance for a more transparent and participatory fisheries management
• promoting with their respective states, the signing of the Aarhus Convention on public access to environmental information;
• committing to make regular information on fishing licenses granted and contracts and agreements,
• by establishing commissions licensing work seamlessly and independent actors including representatives of artisanal fisheries;
• by conducting independent audits of the effectiveness of fisheries administrations;
• considering the organizations representing democratically professionals artisanal fishing activity as their interlocutors;
• developing with them a dynamic partnership, including permanent consultation mechanisms with the women and men of artisanal and civil society, based on:
- the recognition of capabilities, knowledge and knowledge communities artisanal fisheries initiatives to build management and conservation of resources
- the ability of the state to share its power and responsibilities for management and conservation, to define a policy framework for fisheries management , to provide an effective legislation; to ensure its effective implementation, to provide various types of assistance to communities (means of implementation, scientific, control, awareness, etc..)
o in particular, the establishment transparent participatory monitoring devices in each country, as part of the dynamics of co-management should be supported (legal recognition of stakeholders, premium incentives, provision of means of communication, exchange visits, training committees management)
• giving, in these approaches, special attention for women communities are equally represented (50%) in the consultation for decision making and in the planning and implementation of those decisions;
• empowering artisanal fishing communities in the integrated management of their land adjacent marine ecosystems, through a negotiated agreement between the users (through their organization), and responsible for fisheries, which defines the objectives of management authority, the rights and obligations of both parties, duly approved by the competent local authorities;
• encouraging active groups of the civil society and the media to denounce some do not comply with regulatory practices and ethics in this context, freedom of the press must be complete;
• when criminal activities are identified, with penalties and sanctions that are of sufficient severity and receive wide dissemination in the media.
• stimulating cooperation between different jurisdictions within the same state, and among African States to: - fight against illegal fishing - manage, collaboratively shared resources; - improving and harmonizing legal frameworks and regulations in a manner that recognizes the local co-management initiatives;
To give priority access to resources for sustainable artisanal fisheries
- Reserving exclusively for artisanal fishermen resources they have the ability to fish sustainably;
- Reserving the coastal zone and the continental shelf artisanal fisheries in the clearly defined in legislation, and protecting effectively against the incursions of trawlers;
- Recognizing the rights of access of artisanal fishing communities in legislation and management measures for fisheries resources;
- Refusing to privatize and organize a market for resource access rights, as suggested in the reform strategy, as these systems allow those who have the capital to capture fisheries resources artisanal fisheries depends to live, causing our misery and poverty communities;
- Adopting at the next Committee on Fisheries of the FAO in June, and implementing as soon as possible, the International Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Artisanal Fisheries of FAO, to preserve livelihoods local populations to ensure their food security, economic survival and the preservation of their cultures
- Implementing a "restorative" eco-management systems using devices of artificial reefs and marine protected areas;
- Promoting the use of new technologies throughout the value chain, better management and use of resources;
- Fighting against the complacency pavillonnement
To implement the right to food, and to ensure the contribution of fisheries to the realization of this right
- Encouraging their governments to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the result, in particular as regards the right to food in their constitutions and national legislation;
- putting in place a process that Pan citizens can use to compel governments to respect the right to food and the laws relating thereto - Concerning the promotion of aquaculture, which is an important element in the strategy proposed reform of fisheries policy Africa to increase fish production, we call for:
- Restrict the development of aquaculture in non-carnivorous species, which do not depend on the fish meal produced from our small pelagic need to book direct human consumption
- Encourage small-scale aquaculture, through the establishment of a national agency for aquaculture development;
- Encourage the agency through private investment in the sustainable aquaculture through programs for capacity building, awareness raising, with financial and technical support, while ensuring integrated coastal populations in this dynamic so that they benefit.
We hope that our voices will be heard by our Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and we wish them a fruitful discussion for the adoption of a strategy to reform the African fisheries that recognizes and protects the rights of our communities to develop a sustainable African fisheries.
There's still Cod and Coley swimming in the North Sea! - from an ROV #eatmorefish #underfishing
Shoals of Coley seen on the Seabed near to Subsea Oil Structures in the Northern North Sea. Proof there are still fish in the North Sea!!! Shot in 2013.
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