Thursday 28 March 2013
NFFO Slams Greenpeace For Failing To Act on Real Issues Affecting UK Fishermen
Fishing Industry Body Calls Latest Claims 'Unqualified, Assumption-Based Nonsense'
The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) has slammed claims by international environmental giant Greenpeace as 'unqualified, assumption-based nonsense' which are causing distraction from the industry's critical work on issues affecting the future livelihoods of UK fishermen.
The Federation, which represents fishermen's groups, individual fishermen and producer organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said that despite repeated, public invitations Greenpeace has failed to accept its offer to meet and discuss issues or qualify any of its claims, instead opting for a sensationalist media approach which does little to support the real interest of the industry.
Barrie Deas, Chief Executive of the NFFO, said: "Greenpeace are set on creating a sensationalist media storm fuelled by inaccuracies and gross generalisation. This is wasting valuable time and effort better spent dealing with some of the critical issues at hand, including the impact of the CFP reform, under-10s and long term management plans.
"The NFFO has now repeatedly exposed Greenpeace's generalisations and misrepresentations on how the industry works which ultimately only serves to undermine their reputation in the sector. They have yet to approach us direct with any of their assertions and our repeated efforts to meet with them to look at more credible and effective solutions for supporting our fishermen have been ignored. As such it calls into question their real motives."
"Once again we extend our offer to meet with Greenpeace to help put to bed any other inaccurate assumptions they decide to make about our membership."
Greenpeace's most recent attack on the industry body centres around allegations against Anglo-Spanish members of the Fleetwood Fish Producer's Organisation, who it claims are taking quota away from UK vessels. Greenpeace has omitted to point out that local fishermen invited the Anglo-Spanish vessels to join their organisation and that the UK quota under which the Anglo-Spanish vessels operate are based on historical records generated by the Anglo-Spanish vessels themselves, before the quota was allocated to the UK.
Last year the Fleetwood Fish Producer's Organisation contributed £600,000 worth of quota to meet its economic link obligations, which was in the main used for the benefit of under-10 meter fisheries. Also the Anglo Spanish vessels fish entirely different species in completely different areas and are therefore not in competition for quota with local fishermen.
Early in the month Greenpeace was exposed for making false claims around NFFO subscription fees being dominated by non-UK vessels. In previous statements, the NFFO has also criticised the environmental giant's false allegations against membership structure, making clear its membership reflects the diversity of the UK fleet. Just 8% of its member vessels are owned outside the UK.
As part of its commitment to ensuring the fair distribution of quotas, the NFFO shares the view of the Marine Management Organisation that the UK fishing industry is highly compliant with the rules under which it is obliged to operate. It has said any individual vessel operator, irrespective of home port, operating outside these rules it can expect to face the full legal penalties. It has also supported calls for the publication of a register of UK quota to help promote a fairer and more transparent quota system.
Additionally, in the interests of transparency, the Federation has released a breakdown of its membership base in response to Greenpeace's requests and has publically asked Greenpeace to meet to address any issues that they might with to raise on a number of occasions.
For more information about the NFFO or to read the Federation's official responses to Greenpeace's previous allegations visit www.nffo.org.uk
The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) has slammed claims by international environmental giant Greenpeace as 'unqualified, assumption-based nonsense' which are causing distraction from the industry's critical work on issues affecting the future livelihoods of UK fishermen.
The Federation, which represents fishermen's groups, individual fishermen and producer organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said that despite repeated, public invitations Greenpeace has failed to accept its offer to meet and discuss issues or qualify any of its claims, instead opting for a sensationalist media approach which does little to support the real interest of the industry.
Barrie Deas, Chief Executive of the NFFO, said: "Greenpeace are set on creating a sensationalist media storm fuelled by inaccuracies and gross generalisation. This is wasting valuable time and effort better spent dealing with some of the critical issues at hand, including the impact of the CFP reform, under-10s and long term management plans.
"The NFFO has now repeatedly exposed Greenpeace's generalisations and misrepresentations on how the industry works which ultimately only serves to undermine their reputation in the sector. They have yet to approach us direct with any of their assertions and our repeated efforts to meet with them to look at more credible and effective solutions for supporting our fishermen have been ignored. As such it calls into question their real motives."
"Once again we extend our offer to meet with Greenpeace to help put to bed any other inaccurate assumptions they decide to make about our membership."
Greenpeace's most recent attack on the industry body centres around allegations against Anglo-Spanish members of the Fleetwood Fish Producer's Organisation, who it claims are taking quota away from UK vessels. Greenpeace has omitted to point out that local fishermen invited the Anglo-Spanish vessels to join their organisation and that the UK quota under which the Anglo-Spanish vessels operate are based on historical records generated by the Anglo-Spanish vessels themselves, before the quota was allocated to the UK.
Last year the Fleetwood Fish Producer's Organisation contributed £600,000 worth of quota to meet its economic link obligations, which was in the main used for the benefit of under-10 meter fisheries. Also the Anglo Spanish vessels fish entirely different species in completely different areas and are therefore not in competition for quota with local fishermen.
Early in the month Greenpeace was exposed for making false claims around NFFO subscription fees being dominated by non-UK vessels. In previous statements, the NFFO has also criticised the environmental giant's false allegations against membership structure, making clear its membership reflects the diversity of the UK fleet. Just 8% of its member vessels are owned outside the UK.
As part of its commitment to ensuring the fair distribution of quotas, the NFFO shares the view of the Marine Management Organisation that the UK fishing industry is highly compliant with the rules under which it is obliged to operate. It has said any individual vessel operator, irrespective of home port, operating outside these rules it can expect to face the full legal penalties. It has also supported calls for the publication of a register of UK quota to help promote a fairer and more transparent quota system.
Additionally, in the interests of transparency, the Federation has released a breakdown of its membership base in response to Greenpeace's requests and has publically asked Greenpeace to meet to address any issues that they might with to raise on a number of occasions.
For more information about the NFFO or to read the Federation's official responses to Greenpeace's previous allegations visit www.nffo.org.uk
NGO: Transshipping facilitates ‘fish laundering’
Evidence has been uncovered revealing the transshipment of fish at sea and illegal fishing, which together bring illegally-caught products into the EU marketplace, said the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).
Ineffective monitoring means that consignments of transshipped fish regularly enter the EU marketplace, said the NGO
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The opportunity for fish ‘laundering’ to take place without detection means that fish stolen by pirate fishers from some of the poorest coastal communities in the world is being authorized by the EU to enter the European marketplace.
Global losses due to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing are estimated to be between $10 billion and $23.5 billion every year, it said.
West African waters are deemed to have the highest levels of IUU fishing in the world, representing up to 37% of the region’s catch. Along with the economic losses, pirate fishing in West Africa severely compromises food security and the livelihoods of coastal communities, the health of fish stocks and the marine environment, said EJF.
EJF says it has gathered evidence that the transshipment of fish from one vessel to another frequently facilitates the laundering of illegally-caught fish, due to the inability of coastal and flag state authorities to monitor how, by whom and where transferred fish was caught.
“The complications involved in monitoring large-scale transfers of fish at sea mean that any transshipment of fish from one vessel to another can currently obscure illegal activities,” said Steve Trent, executive director of EJF.
“Transshipment adds to the opacity in global fisheries that enables pirate fishers to operate in the shadows, far from supervision and regulation.”
“Fish is being caught illegally in the waters of West Africa, transshipped at sea and ‘laundered’ under a legal vessel’s paperwork to end up on our plates in Europe. Pirate fishing is devastating coastal communities in West Africa, where they have the highest levels of illegal fishing in the world. We simply cannot allow their food security to continue to be compromised whilst their fish enters the European marketplace.”
The NGO called for a ban of transshipment at sea, citing the difficulties in managing the activity as a key reason for illegally-caught fish being able to reach EU marketplaces.
EJF has released a briefing on transshipment at sea and why it ought to be banned, which can befound at its website.
Initiative to educate thousands of school pupils on benefits of seafood
Seafish to support British Nutrition Foundation's first-ever Healthy Eating Week with an engaging programme of activities for schools and nurseries
Seafish (the UK authority on seafood) is supporting the British Nutrition Foundation's (BNF) first-ever Healthy Eating Week (3 to 7 June 2013) to educate children and young people on the benefits of eating seafood and help address the lack of a formal framework for nutrition education within schools.
The initiative will help Seafish to reach hundreds of thousands of children and young people of all ages across the UK. Over 1,650 schools, representing some 770,000 children, have already registered to take part in the week and BNF expects this number to keep growing.
Speaking about their involvement Karen Galloway, Head of Marketing at Seafish said: "The British Nutrition Foundation's Healthy Eating Week is a fantastic initiative which has already secured some impressive results, and we are proud to be involved.
"It is absolutely vital that children and young people understand the importance of seafood as part of a healthy balanced diet, and by supporting the week we will be helping hundreds of thousands of children across the UK to do just that."
"Research has shown that many people are not getting enough of some of the essential nutrients that seafood provides - this is one of the reasons why educating consumers to help them make informed seafood choices is a key priority for Seafish."
Roy Ballam, Education Programme Manager at BNF added: "We are delighted that Seafish is supporting Healthy Eating Week, helping to promote good messages about diet and health to children throughout the UK. The collaboration seeks to engage children of all ages with food and nutrition. For example, there will be opportunities to learn about the nutrients provided by fish, investigate where fish comes from and cook some delicious seafood dishes."
In addition to their support for Healthy Eating Week and the information, tips and recipes they publish via the FishistheDish website, Seafish is delivering a number of fun and engaging educational initiatives for family members of all ages. This includes the Healthy Happy Hearts programme, which highlights the importance of the Omega-3 fatty acids for good heart health.
Seafish have also been working with the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) to increase the seafood presence on their teaching website, Food a Fact of Life. As part of this activity, the BNF featured a seafood poster on their website and in their Education Bulletin for March - this reached over 7,000 teachers. It was also as a key part of their conference materials in 2013.
Schools can join Healthy Eating Week for free at: www.healthyeatingweek.org.uk
For the latest Seafish educational information for consumers visitwww.fishisthedish.co.uk
Wednesday 27 March 2013
Interesting reading - though likely to cure insomnia for some
In depth review of evidence supporting the recommended marine conservation zones - MB0116
This work was commissioned following the recommendation from the independent Science Advisory Panel that the evidence base for MCZs required a further in-depth review of data and information. The aim of the project is to deliver a comprehensive review of the MCZ evidence and identify any new evidence that can be used. The project only covers ecological features (as defined within the Ecological Network Guidance) and provides opinions on the level of confidence in the data. It will complement the advice provided by JNCC and Natural England on the MCZ evidence base. The outputs and conclusions of the projects will be considered as part of future MCZ evidence assessment and prior to MCZ designation in 2013.
Key Customer Purpose
The study will build on and extend the evidence base underpinning rMCZs, making an important contribution to the MCZ Project. The project will be led by ABPmer supported by the Marine Biological Association of the UK and Marine Planning Consultants. Defra, Natural England and JNCC have published statements on the report to clarify findings and set the context for how the report fits with wider MCZ work.
Summary:
COD - Ordinary legislative procedure (ex-codecision procedure)
Fishery resources: recovery of cod stocks, long-term plan; aligning the Regulation with
the TFEU (Commission delegated and implementing powers)
Amending Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 2008/0063(CNS)
Subject:
3.15.01 Fish stocks, conservation of fishery resources
3.15.04 Management of fisheries, fisheries, fishing grounds
3.15.05 Fish catches, import tariff quotas
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
The complete set of papers and reports can be found here.
The fleet is all at sea so not much fish on the market this morning
The beach at Newlyn Green is loaded yet again with kelp torn from the rocks during the recent bad weather, not even MPAs can prevent natural damage like this from occurring...
sun over the beam trawl...
as the light spreads across the Bay...
VesselTracker's handy little AIS app tracks the Rowse crabber Chris Tacha PL26 as she steams past Mousehole watched by Tom...
on the market a handful of boxes from a handful of boats...
but still the big cod keep coming...
and it won't be long before the red mullet begin to show in numbers...
nearly finished the planking job on the crabber...
boots in the black.
Monday 25 March 2013
Plenty of Newlyn boats involved in the Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme.
The Responsible Fishing Scheme - created by Seafish - has been developed to raise standards in the catching sector and to demonstrate responsible fishing practices to you and the supply chain. Based on quality standards of vessel, crew, catch and compliance, it is one way of ensuring that what reaches you on the plate has come from the highest standards of fishing management.
Here, we introduce the scheme and some of the skippers involved tell us about the care they put into their boats, their catch and the environment. Who better to tell us about the modern day fishing industry than the skippers themselves?
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