Fishermen back sanctions against Iceland over mackerel catch

Caroline Davies in the Guardian (UK): Evoking memories of the "cod wars" of the 1970s, fishermen are backing a threat of sanctions against Icelandic vessels in a move that could wreak havoc on Britain's fish-processing industry and put jobs at risk. Incensed at Iceland's decision to massively increase its mackerel quotas, the European Union is considering sanctions which could include a ban on Icelandic fishing boats landing any catch at EU ports.

The sanction threat is being supported by Scottish skippers who fear the amount of mackerel they can catch could be slashed if Iceland, and also the Faroe Islands, continue to award themselves huge quotas. Mackerel is Scotland's most valuable fish, with £164m worth landed in 2011 out of a total UK landed catch of £205m.

However, Grimsby, the UK's major fish-processing centre, and the Humber area rely heavily on Icelandic seafood, particularly cod.

So-called "mackerel wars" have raged since 2008 when Iceland, which previously caught little of the fish, unilaterally increased its quota after the numbers in its waters increased dramatically – believed to be as a result of warmer waters due to climate change.

Now, the EU is under pressure from fishermen in Scotland and Norway to bring in trade restrictions after some 12 rounds of talks have failed to reach any agreement, or make any progress....

Shot by Jessica, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

Climate change and disaster risk management at centre of Caribbean fisheries talks

The Bahamas Weekly: he hurricane season just ended, and particularly the trail of death and destruction carved out by Hurricane Sandy in October, has left many with a reminder of just how devastating natural disasters can be. Climate change is a compounding factor that regional fisheries managers cannot ignore.

This is why for the next three days, more than 90 collaborators from across the region will be focusing on these issues, as they convene the Workshop on Formulation of a Strategy, Action Plan and Programme Proposal on Disaster Risk Management (DRM), Climate Change Adaptation in Fisheries and Aquaculture in the CARICOM Region at the Knutsford Court Hotel, in New Kingston, Jamaica, from Monday, December 10 to Wednesday, December 12.

“The Caribbean is said to be one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world based on the frequency and severity of hazard impacts, as well as the significant damage, destruction and social and economic losses experienced. We are very mindful of the potential devastating impact of both man-made and natural hazards such as tropical storms, hurricanes, floods, droughts, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes and tsunamis. Over the past 2-3 decades, these hazards have had devastating impacts on the people, their property and livelihoods, and on the social and economic development of our countries,” said Executive Director of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), Milton Haughton.

Haughton noted that fishers, fish farmers and fishing communities, particularly those in coastal areas, are vulnerable. “It is not surprising, therefore, that the subject of climate change and disaster risk management has been recognised as a fundamental development challenge in the Caribbean requiring special attention by policy makers,” he added....

Harbour of Petite Rivière de Nippes, Haiti. Submitted by user Aimee Gaines to world66 (original location), which is licenced under Creative Commons 1.0

Pacific islanders face major losses from climate change

Megan Rowling in AlertNet: The livelihoods of some 10 million people in Pacific island communities are increasingly vulnerable to climate change, which poses "unprecedented challenges" to the region's economies and environment, a U.N.-backed report said on Friday.

Incomes - in many cases already low - are at risk from sea-level rise, tropical cyclones, floods and drought, as well as pressures linked to over-fishing and coastal development, said the report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.

Low-lying islands in the Pacific Ocean could face projected losses of up to 18 percent of gross domestic product due to climate change, UNEP added. “This report presents concrete evidence that food, freshwater and the livelihoods of Pacific islanders are under threat," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a statement.

Other challenges include population increases, a reliance on imported food and commodities, a growing waste problem and invasive species - pressures that are being exacerbated by climate change and more frequent extreme weather events, said the report....

Enderbury Island, in Kiribati, shot by NASA

Seal cull will not revive Canada's cod stocks, say scientists

Stephen Leahy in the Guardian (UK): Canada's multimillion dollar proposal to cull grey seals will not bring back the ravaged stocks of Atlantic cod it is intended to help, scientists have said. In October, the Canadian Senate approved a controversial plan to kill 70,000 grey seals in the Gulf of St Lawrence under a bounty system next year, ostensibly to revive the cod stocks that the seals were eating.

But a group of marine scientists at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, have said in a recent open letter: "There is no credible scientific evidence to suggest a cull of grey seals in Atlantic Canada would help depleted fish stocks recover.

"Seals are being used as a scapegoat, just like whales were once blamed for fishery declines," said Hal Whitehead, marine biologist at Dalhousie, told the Guardian. He called the proposed cull an abuse of the science. "I don't like the idea of slaughtering all these animals for no reason."

Canada's Atlantic cod stocks, once estimated at 1.5-2.5 billion fish of reproductive age, collapsed in the early 1990s from overfishing. Despite a nearly total ban on cod fishing for the past 20 years, stocks have not recovered.

That's not the case for grey seals. Similarly depleted by hunting, numbers stood at just a few thousand in the 1970s. Following the collapse of markets for seal fur, mainly due to bans by European countries, their numbers increased dramatically. Grey seals are now estimated at 300,000 to 400,000....

A grey seal photographed by Andreas Trepte, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license

Greenpeace says Philippine seas is facing an unprecedented crisis

Samar News (Philippines): Climate change, ocean pollution, and overfishing threaten the Philippines’ stature as the leader in global marine biodiversity, and are already affecting communities that rely on rich marine ecosystems for food.

At a community conference held at the Municipal Hall of Donsol, Sorsogon, Greenpeace today expressed alarm over the unprecedented destruction of the Philippine marine ecosystem that foreshadows serious health, social and economic impacts.

“We are an archipelagic nation. Soon, we will become the epicenter of global marine adversity if our government agencies refuse to acknowledge and address the crisis at sea,” said Vince Cinches, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

“Our seas are already under threat from massive overfishing and decades of unsustainable fishing practices that have resulted in today’s dwindling fish catch. With ocean acidification and rising sea temperatures, fish won’t be able to spawn and propagate. That now leaves 30 million Filipinos with even less fish to eat,” he added.

There is also the problem of illegal commercial fishing. Monsignor Angel Dy of the Sorsogon Social Action Foundation Inc. said that fisherfolk around Burias-Ticao Pass cannot compete with large commercial fishing vessels that encroach on municipal waters. “We know that illegal and unregulated fishing is rampant in our waters, and yet no one seems to be doing anything about it. This is the reason why last year some bishops went to President Aquino to request that his office ban commercial vessels from the waters around Burias, Ticao, and Ragay Gulf,” said the Monsignor....

Traditional boatbuilding in the Phlippines, shot by Paul Shaffner, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr,  under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license