It's hard to know who the villains are in the continuing feud over appropriate sharing of the allowable catch for Northeast Atlantic mackerel. Last year anger erupted when Iceland and the Faroe Islands established unilateral quotas that gave them significantly increased shares of the mackerel catch.  Historically the highly migratory mackerel stock was harvested primarily by vessels from the EU and Norway who agreed on the Total Allowable Catch. These two major players gave token quotas to the other two players, crumbs from the table, so to speak. Changes in ocean temperatures have resulted in the mackerel moving further north than usual and hence rendered them more accessible to fishermen from Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Recent talks aimed at ending the dispute were unproductive and tempers flared again this week when the Faroe Islands established a quota for this year of 150,000 tonnes, thereby upping the ante. The Scottish Fisheries Minister termed it "an outrageous mackerel grab by the Faroes." Meanwhile an Icelandic fishing chief has said he does not expect a deal on mackerel this year,  while the Norwegians have accused the Faroe Islands of behaving like pirates.

TAGS: Northeast Atlantic mackerel, Faroe islands, Iceland, Norway, unilateral quotas, sustainable, fisheries, fishing, overfishing

Observers of the NL fishery are perplexed by the provincial govt's apparent reaction to the recent study headed by MUN business professor Clift. The Clift report called for massive cuts in harvesting and processing sectors that would affect all those directly involved in the fishery. The harvesters and the processors agreed with the report. First, the provincial govt sat on the report and then after repeated demands they made it public. The Minister, Clyde Jackman, made it clear that the NL govt did not accept the report's recommendations. He subsequently met with union and processor reps and tossed the hot potato back into their laps, which is where the the thing started a couple of years ago. If the govt does not accept the package of recommendations, then it is incumbent upon the Minister and the Premier to bring forth an alternative restructuring plan.

TAGS: NL fishery, Premier Dunderdale, Minister Clyde Jackman, fisheries restructuring, Clift report,sustainable,. fisheries, overcapacity, overfishing, capacity reduction

Costa Rica has greatly expanded a marine protected area surrounding Cocos Island National Park, safeguarding a total of 2,900 nautical square miles (one million hectares) still rich with endangered sharks and sea turtles. The Seamounts Marine Management Area, or Area Marina de Manejo Montes Submarinos, is intended to conserve an entire marine ecosystem and protect a group of underwater mountains southwest of Cocos Island. President Laura Chinchilla Miranda formalized the protected area in an Executive Decree on Thursday. More here

TAGS: Costa Rica, Seamounts Marine Management Area, sharks, sea turtlesyg, sustainable, fisheries

ENGOS are welcoming a new treaty that prohibits any new bottom trawling unless its impacts on features such as seamounts, corals, and deep sea fish are considered and controlled in international waters of the North Pacific Ocean. The U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, China, Korea and Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) have been working toward this treaty since 2006.  The treaty also creates a revised North Pacific Fisheries Commission to implement and enforce the new rules. But ENGOs argue that  the treaty has weak requirements for assessing, monitoring and controlling impacts, leaves an enormous potential loophole in the form of "scientific" or "experimental" fishing," and leaves several very large areas in the southern portion of the North Pacific where bottom trawling will remain completely unregulated. More here

TAGS: North Pacific fisheries, bottom trawling, new treaty, seamounts, sustainable, fisheries, ENGOs, North Pacific Fisheries Commission