Hake at the Cornish Hotel & Spa

Sunday lunch at the Cornwall Hotel & Spa...

Chicken liver parfait for starters,,,

And some handsome Newlyn hake for a main tough he dish was hardly inspiring! - hake and roast spuds?

Fishermen Develop New Business Models to Save Their Communities

Theresa Peterson has been an Alaska fisherman for three decades.

During summer break one year in college she went to Homer, Alaska, to work in a cannery. She lived in a tent with friends. But after four days of being cooped up in the factory she decided she wanted to get a job on a fishing boat.

Peterson told Ocean Views that she spent a week “hanging around the docks,” before she finally talked her way onto a shrimp trawler. “They said they’d take me out, but not pay me, if I would cook and help ice down the shrimp,” said Peterson.

She was also asked to pick through the bycatch (unwanted fish and other organisms) and toss them back. Someone suggested she save the herring. She put some in a cooler, and then sold them to sportfishermen for bait when she got back to the dock.

“I made $800 that day, that was my getting started in fishing,” she said. “I saw this incredible opportunity to work hard and make money.”

Over the years, Peterson worked her way up in the physically demanding, traditionally male-dominated profession. She eventually bought her own boat with her future husband. She said they benefited from provisions in Alaskan fishing laws that incentivize owner-operators.

A Better Future for Fishing

Peterson was in Washington, D.C., this week with her 23-year-old son, Charlie, who also fishes. In between checking his text messages, Charlie said that he “can’t be away from the ocean for long.” Dressed in a sport jacket and ball cap, the younger Peterson added that he worries about the future of fishing.

Part of the problem, Peterson said, is that it now costs a lot of money to get the necessary permits or quotas to be legally able to bring in a decent-sized catch. “We have to keep opportunities for working fishermen,” she said.

One way Peterson is working on that issue is through her recent grant through the Fisheries Innovation Fund, a public-private partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). With the funds, Peterson is working to organize Alaskan jig fishermen.

“The jig fishery uses vertical lines with individual hooks. Each fish is hand handled,” said Peterson. “It’s a low-impact, low-volume fishery with a low bar for entry, since the gear is affordable.” She said a basic rig can be had for as low as $500, and a permit costs only $75. “I’ve seen people do it from skiffs,” she added.

The problem is that the low volume makes it hard for jig fishermen to make a living, especially when rockfish is going for 25 cents a pound at the dock, or cod 28 cents a pound, said Peterson. However, she hopes that by organizing these small-scale fishers, they can start to do better.  She is working on a website and quality and conservation guidelines and is helping the jig fishermen develop better systems for icing their catches.

“We need to find these tablecloth buyers that will appreciate fish handled in a different way,” she added. Her community’s fish will be processed in the U.S. and frozen only once, while most conventional seafood is now processed in China and frozen at least twice.

Peterson was one of several fishermen and advocates gathered at National Geographic headquarters for a conversation called “Advancing Sustainability Through Innovation and Entrepreneurship.” Convened by NFWF and NOAA, and largely featuring Fisheries Innovation Fund grantees, the evening took place during the NOAA-led conference Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries III in Washington. The town hall-style debate took place as guests munched fresh scallops, clams, crab, and rockfish provided by various grantees.

From Maine to San Diego

Carla Guenther from Penobscot East Resource Center, another Fisheries Innovation Fund grantee, pointed out that Maine has a very long waiting list for the storied lobster fishery. She said her state has a “license crisis,” and pointed out that her group is working to reduce barriers and red tape for locals and owner-operators, including at the statehouse level.

Ben Martens of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association said he has been working with the Nature Conservancy to map groundfish catches in the Gulf of Maine, “so fishermen can share info and stay out longer.”

Paul Parker of the Cape Cod Fisheries Trust outlined his group’s efforts to buy fishing quotas and hold them in a trust, to be shared by the local community.

Tj Tate of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance said her group is using the grant award to arm seven of their vessels with electronic monitoring for bycatch. “We had longliners getting shut down because of turtle interactions,” she said. “We are now working on tagging every snapper and grouper caught. We want to be fully traceable.”

A lobster fisherman works on Cape Cod. Christopher LeClaire, My Shot

Ken Franke, president of the Sportfisher’s Association of California, said his group is testing acoustic receivers off San Diego, to see if descending devices are working. After an angler hauls up a protected species, he or she can return it to depths by using a descending device, which inventors hope reduces the mortality that comes from pressure shock.

“In California sportfishing is a $2.2 billion business, and we hope to restore our access to the ocean,” said Franke, who noted that angler bycatch has resulted in restrictions.

Sam Rauch, the acting assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, added that “regulation is only half of the issue. How can we work with our partners to innovate?” he asked. (See how National Geographic’s Ocean Initiative is working to empower ocean innovations.)

Mark Holliday, the director of the office of policy for NOAA Fisheries, said, “[the Fisheries Innovation Fund] is a very modest investment of money in the overall scale of the federal government, but we couldn’t have gotten the kind of return if we tried to do this on our own.” He said one in ten fishing communities in the U.S. has been touched by the program in some way. “It’s putting money at the grassroots level, where it does the most good.”

Holliday added that the fund helps inject a sense of problem solving into the fisheries debate. He said we also should recognize the “social, cultural, and historical benefits that fishing has had for our nation.”

Peterson said, “A great thing to come out of this [discussion] is the encouragement. And the sense that policy makers really care about our community.”

Posted by Brian Clark Howard of National Geographic News in Ocean Views on May 9, 2013

Brian Clark Howard is an Environment Writer and Editor at National Geographic News. He previously served as an editor for TheDailyGreen.com and E/The Environmental Magazine, and has written for TheAtlantic.com, FastCompany.com, PopularMechanics.com, Yahoo!, MSN, Miller-McCune and elsewhere. He is the co-author of six books, including Geothermal HVAC, Green Lighting and Build Your Own Small Wind Power System.

Oil - the rush to the deep!

Offshore Oil and Gas Europe: rush of the deep

(C) WestCorktimes.com
Platform Barryroe, Celtic Sea

The first map BLUE LOBBY offshore petroleum activities in European waters is instructive. It shows us how the future development of the oil industry in this area will depend on the deep areas. Three countries are now heavily involved in the European development: the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. inventory This refers to two other issues blue lobby: (1) the superposition of new oil areas and areas frequented by fishing European fleets and (2) the technical conditions for the peaceful coexistence of the two activities or other activities.

Map

• Recent trends (2012) for offshore oil & gas exploitation in Europe
• Industrial technology deepwater is ready
• The European fishing areas: Channel, the Atlantic, North Sea
• The compatibility of uses between fishing industry and deep offshore oil & gas
• Read and see

This and more on the Blue Lobby scene in European waters can be seen here on the Blue Lobby Transparency web site.

Slow food Fish in Genoa!

Genoa, May 9-12, 2013
Porto Antico, Piazza Caricamento

Opening Times
Thursday May 9 to Saturday May 11: 11 am – 11 pm, Sunday May 12: 11 am – 7 pm

Entry to Slow Fish is free of charge!

Bookings

Limited places are available for the bookable events so booking is essential.

Bookings can be made online up to May 5, 2013. A confirmation will be sent as proof of booking. Bookings and cancellations cannot be made on the phone. Cancellations will receive a 30% refund, and must be made by email to prenotazioni@slowfood.it before April 21.

Any remaining places can be booked directly during the event at the event information desk.

Note: Slow Food members are eligible for a 15% discount on Dinner Dates, a € 2 discount on Fish ‘n’ Chef events.

Take a look through the program and book your events!

For Sale - "Orion" SS 273

Use the  link below for full details.

For Sale "Orion" SS 273

Judicial Review - Quota distribution rules

At the close of the In advance of the start on 1st May of Judicial Review proceedings in the Royal Courts of Justice, Jim Portus, Chairman of the UK Association of Fish Producer Organisations (UKAFPO), made the following statement:  

"I reiterate that this Judicial Review action is about the decision of Defra Minister, Richard Benyon, to step outside the UK fish quotas distribution rules methodology that haves been established, used and understood by and with the consent of the whole industry since 1999.  Since that year, Fixed Quota Allocation units (FQAs) have been attached to fishing licences, traded and subjected to taxation as business assets." 

"Indeed, since 1983 the UK fishing industry has not made one investment decision that was not guided by government and its obligations under the common fisheries policy. That is why we must have the same certainty and stability of opportunity within the UK management system as is required by the CFP and is enjoyed by fishermen in other Member States.“  

The case was not about withholding fishing quotas from inshore fishermen, nor was it about who owns the quotas, although some observers made that erroneous assumption.


We look forward to engaging promptly with officials at MMO as we are keen to re-establish the meetings and consultations so necessary to achieve efficient and effective use of all opportunities of quota and non-quota resources. 

"I am pleased to report that only a few days before the case, the English Producer Organisations met with under 10m fishermen thanks to the work of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO). We made good progress and we all agreed that co-operation can enable those under 10s who need quota to obtain it promptly and affordably."

"We have been advised by our lawyers that we can expect to wait up to 6 weeks before the judgement is handed down."

Jim Portus. Chairman UKAFPO. Monday, 6th May 29 April 2013.

Conference calls for more economic evidence to influence fisheries' policy makers

The Director-General of DG Mare, European Commission has revealed economists within the EC are finally winning the argument that policy decisions affecting European fisheries need to be based as much on economic evidence as they are on biological concerns.

Lowri Evans said policy makers need to view the fishing industry as an area where many more jobs can be created and profitability improved. She said the economic and social benefits of having a thriving fishing industry should be given just as much consideration as the biology of European fisheries.

And she issued a rallying call to academics, scientists and economists to work with the European Commission to ensure they had the best possible data and analysis available to help them make positive policy reform to help the fishing industry grow.

Speaking at the 21st European Association of Fisheries Economists (EAFE) conference Ms Evans said: "We need to better understand the economics of the fishing sector.

"In the past we were traditionally focused on the biology of fisheries - but sticking to pure biology has its limitations as fishing is an economic activity. The fishing sector must be treated like all other sectors in policy terms, which we can particularly see in this period of economic recession. The context we are working in now is one of enhancing jobs and growth, just as in any other sector of the economy. We are pushing for more jobs and more growth in the fishing sector. But we cannot make policy in a vacuum."

"We need an enormous amount of collaboration with scientists and academia to make sure we have the best possible fact and evidence based analysis available to our policy makers. Each reform proposal we discuss should be accompanied by data on what impact it would have not just on stocks but also on jobs, income and the profitability of the sector as a whole. We want to improve what we are doing, and we need our scientists, economists and academia to provide that research."

Ms Evans told the conference, which was organised by Seafish and is being held at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, there were many areas where large amounts of economic research was needed to improve fishing related policy.

She said: "If you look at the issue of over-capacity - we have member states saying to us 'I haven't got over-capacity but there is general over-capacity, although it's my neighbour's problem'. We are at the beginning of breaking that down, but there is still a lot of fog around the issue of capacity management. We need people doing the relevant research to give us the fact based evidence in terms of what the policy should be for the future."

Ms Evans said she wanted to see research carried out on how fishing subsidies impact the fishing sector, and how fishing sustainability levels change the profitability of differing fish sectors.

She said she also wanted to see much greater research carried out on the subject of fishing quotas.

She said: "We are winning the political argument that the setting to TACs and quotas should be science based, and we are trying to make sure that the policy and the implementation of the policy is rooted in a wide base of both social and economic data and that it also relates to the jobs dimension.

"We need a lot more analysis in the areas of how members distribute their quota allocations, as even though this is member state business, it is a key economic and social variable. We want to know how they allocate to small scale fleets compared to large scale fleets? We want to know who benefits in terms of jobs; who gets these jobs and how well paid they are? We also need to know how quota allocation choices can affect incentives and fishing behaviours, for example, in terms of discards."

She added: "It is very important that we move away from having our focus purely on catch, but look also at areas including production and marketing. We want to improve the attractiveness of the sector to bring more young people in. And we will continue the focus on the sustainable development of fishery dependent areas."

Ms Evans said more had to be done to support micro projects, where small numbers of jobs were being created in fishing related communities through innovative business ventures.

She gave examples of a small project in Denmark where four new jobs had been created by the production of a new generation of food made from seaweed, and of a project in Galicia, Spain, where 27 shellfish gatherers had come together to develop new products based on their collection of goose barnacles.

She added: "Job promotion and job growth can come from lots of areas. We know the fishing industry can be suspicious of us, but we are not about to kill the industry. And I hope we can continue the collaboration we have had with EAFE with a view to collectively helping the fishing industry in Europe grow."

Hazel Curtis, Chief Economist at Seafish and President of EAFE, welcomed Ms Evans' keynote address at the conference - which had the theme 'Securing the future: Implementing reform in European Fisheries.

She said: "It is great to hear directly from the Commission exactly what their priorities are. It is good to know the importance they put on having an understanding of the economics of fishing. Getting good outcomes from fishing management means you have to understand the people running the businesses, and how they make their business decisions as fishing is an economic activity. You cannot just understand the fish - you have to understand the fishermen."

She added: "It is good to know that the analysis we are conducting is finding its way into political discussions, and to have clear statements about the policies that need more economic information.

"We are also delighted Ms Evans has said the Commission hopes to continue and to grow its association with EAFE."