Writing in the UK Guardian, David Cronin acccuses  the Brussels bureaucracy of actively encouraging European vessels to act unlawfully in the waters off Western Sahara. A 2005 fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco states that European fishermen may operate in Western Sahara, which Morocco has occupied since 1974, provided that their activities benefit the indigenous Sahrawi people. 100 of the 119 European vessels granted access to Western Sahara's waters through the agreement are registered in Spain, the territory's former colonial overlord. The EU is blatantly ignoring a statement issued by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (officially recognised as the representatives of the Sahrawi people by some 75 countries) in January last year. On that occasion, the SADR asserted its people's exclusive rights to exploit the natural resources in a 200-nautical-mile zone surrounding the territory. The EU's behaviour is despicable.

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TAGS: EU, Western Sahara, rape and pillage, EU-Morocco fisheries agreement, illegal fishing, Spain, sustainable, fisheries

The New Zealand Fisheries Ministry is considering a  risky increase in the Hoki Catch Limit. The move has been labelled "phenomenally risky" by a conservation group, Forest & Bird. If implemented, this would be the second increase in two years, after eight years of cuts.

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TAGS: New Zealand fisheries, hoki fishery, catch limit increase, risky move, Forest & Bird, sustainable, fishing, fisheries

B.C. sockeye salmon fisheries in the Skeena, Nass and Barkley Sound were certified last week by the Marine Stewardship Council for sustainable fishing practices , but the Fraser River sockeye fishery was not certified. Various conservation groups argue that the Fraser River fishery does not meet the MSC's criteria. Watershed Watch Salmon Society ecologist Aaron Hill alleges the three fisheries routinely over-harvest threatened and endangered salmon stocks.He says:“Eco-certification.....becomes meaningless when you set the bar too low, and certify unsustainable and mismanaged fisheries. It becomes fraud.”

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TAGS: Fraser River sockeye salmon, Marine Stewardship Council, MSC, certification, fails certification, sustainable, fishing, fisheries, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Aaron Hill

Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki in speeches to the European Parliament has set out the Commission’s views on the possible directions for CFP reform. One is that tradeable fishing rights would provide fishers who wish to retire from the fishery with a means to build alternative livelihoods. Tradeable rights scheme are likely to be based on rights which a) are tradable only within a Member State; b) are only user rights (not property rights in perpetuity) and will fall back to the Member States after a period and; c) have limits in terms of their concentration of ownership. It also appears that the Commission will propose dropping subsidies for decommissioning of vessels, a program which has failed to reduce capacity. Mixed fisheries would likely be managed by effort limitation rather than catch quotas (effort limitation has been discredited as a viable management method for the New England groundfish fishery). Finally, the move toward devolution of fisheries management decision making to Regional Advisory Councils will continue.

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TAGS: EU, CFP, fisheries reform, tradeable fishing rights, dropping subsidies, effort limitation, New England, groundfish, Regional Advisory Councils