NOAA today released a national policy encouraging the consideration and use of catch shares. “Catch share programs have proven to be powerful tools to transform fisheries, making them prosperous, stable and sustainable parts of our nation’s strategy for healthy and resilient ocean ecosystems,” said Jane Lubchenco,  NOAA administrator. “NOAA’s policy encourages fishery management councils and stakeholders to explore the design possibilities of catch shares to tailor programs to best meet local needs.”  NOAA asserts that catch shares are helping eliminate overfishing and achieve annual catch limits, improve fishermen’s safety and profits, and reduce the negative biological and economic effects of the race for fish that develops with some traditional fishery management. More here

To read the NOAA policy and profiles of catch share programs, go to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/catchshares

TAGS: USA, NOAA Fisheries, catch shares, Jane Lubchenco, sustainable, fishing, fisheries

Fisheries in the South Pacific face collapse in the next 25 years. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community, which represents 26 nations, says that overfishing, population growth and climate change threaten one of the region's main economic resources.  The Secretariat  says that fisheries in the region face devastation unless immediate action is taken to preserve and manage stocks. Fisheries in the South Pacific are worth about $2 billion a year and the region is home to a quarter of global tuna supplies. The secretariat says the lucrative fishing industry has been poorly managed, with a lack of coordination between the various island nations in South Pacific. Its report calls for a more thoughtful approach to administering a vital natural resource to ensure the oceans are harvested in a sustainable manner. More here

TAGS: South Pacific fisheries, Pacific Community, overfishing, sustainable, fish, fishing, fisheries

It is well known by now that the 2010 sockeye salmon return to the Fraser River defied all expectations and was the highest in a century. This came on the heels of very low returns in previios years. The government had established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate those poor returns. It was just getting started when the extraordinary 2010 return occurred.

Noted oceanographer Dr. Timothy Parsons is pushing a novel explanation for the superabundant 2010 returns. He claims that it was probably caused by a volcanic eruption in Alaska, in 2008. He speculates that the eruption of the Kasatochi volcano fertilized the sea, and stimulated the growth of the salmon, leading to higher survival rates. More here and here

TAGS: sockeye salmon, volcanic eruption, Alaska, Fraser River, Cohen Commission, Dr. Timothy Parsons, sustainable, fisheries, fishing, sustainability, oceanography

The EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki has called for a significant cut in catches of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic.  WWF is calling for substantial reductions  to form a fundamental part of the EU's position at the meeting of ICCAT members on 17-27 November 2010 in Paris. A recent scientific assessment of East Atlantic bluefin tuna by ICCAT scientists has shown that stock size is only one third of sustainable levels, and that only a total fishing quota of less than 6,000 tonnes per year might allow the tuna stock to rebuild by 2020. More here

TAGS: EU, bluefin tuna, Mediterrranean, Northeast Atlantic, ICCAT, overfishing, quota reduction, sustainable, fishing, fisheries, sustainability