In the sometimes fractious exchanges within the fishing industry about quota shares, sight is sometimes lost of the big picture: the Total Allowable Catches.
Squabbling about the size of one’s share of the cake can distract attention from the size of the overall cake; and the size of the cake, in the form of TACs, may be of much greater significance than the domestic share out to the fishing opportunities available, and therefore the economic viability, of individual fishing vessels. There have been enormous changes in TACs over the last 20 years, both in downward and upward directions.
Although an increasing number of quotas are agreed within the framework of multi-annual management plans, the late-night decisions during the December Council of Ministers will still, this yea, determine the outlook for a number of important UK fisheries over the next 12 months.
The Government has secured another major step towards fundamental reform of the broken Common Fisheries Policy today following agreement on the future of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
Following a day and a night of lengthy negotiations in Luxembourg, UK Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon played a pivotal role in brokering a preliminary agreement, which will fund radical changes to the Common Fisheries Policy through the EMFF.
This agreement will allow funding to be used to support measures such as paying for more selective catching gear that will contribute to eliminating discards, or to fund innovative research projects to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of the fishing industry.
Scotland's fishermen and fishing communities will benefit from the new European Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
The EMFF will deliver help for both inshore and offshore fleets and the aquaculture sector to adapt to new circumstances, expand and create new jobs and promote fisheries conservation.
Following negotiations which went on until the early hours of this morning in Luxembourg, agreement was reached between the 27 Member States on the shape of the new scheme, which will replace the existing European Fisheries Fund (EFF).
Thai shrimp exporters will enjoy a windfall as Japan has found ethoxyquin contamination in imports from India.
"Shrimp exports from India have been banned because of the use of antibiotics, which Vietnam and China are also doing," said Somsak Praneetatyasai, president of the Thai Shrimp Association.
Japan has toughened inspections of shrimp from Vietnam and China for ethoxyquin residue levels exceeding its limits.
In the early hours of this morning, Fisheries Ministers reached an agreement on a partial general approach on the Commission's proposal for a new European maritime and fisheries fund (EMFF), replacing the existing European fisheries fund (EFF). This agreement allows subsidies for vessel modernisation (15 per cent of the funds Member States can access through the EMFF to be used for fleet restructuring until 2017), new engines and to cover losses incurred by fishermen as a result of temporary fishery closures.
WWF believes that overall Fisheries Ministers failed by accepting a compromise package which does not support the objectives of an ambitious reform, ensuring that indeed EU public funding contributes to overcapacity and overfishing. Only five Member States (Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the UK and the Netherlands) opposed aid for modernisation and supported more aid for data collection and control. A majority of other Member States were in favour of modernisation as well as keeping EU financial support for the temporary cessation of fishing activities.
On 8 September, 2012, David Itano and I met with 75 skippers in General Santos to talk about ways to reduce bycatch. The Philippine domestic tuna fishery is conducted exclusively on anchored FADs, also known as payaos. Its fleet is mainly made up of many small to medium sized purse seiners and the catch is primarily small sized tuna and tuna-like species. All tuna are utilized.
The skippers participating in the session noted that they rarely see sharks near their FADs, and that if they do, they will cut the net to let them escape. These skippers use skin divers, they call “boceros”, to estimate the size of the potential catch, rather than echo sounders – they said that the diver’s estimation was about very similar to the actual catch (i.e. 80 per cent or closer). In addition, they noted that the depth of a biomass can indicate the kind of fish present – a biomass from 5 to 10 fathoms is usually bait and bycatch, while a biomass of 10 to 15 fathoms is usually skipjack tuna. A biomass located at 60 to 80 fathoms is usually yellowfin or bigeye tuna.
In anticipation of the upcoming SupplySide West Show in early November, AkerBioMarine Antarctic is revealing recent data from SPINS showing that krill oil has grown 43 per cent in the natural products channel during the last year,significantly outpacing growth of other sources of omega-3s.
Aker BioMarine Antarctic, which supplies Superba(TM) brand krill ingredients, believes this growth is likely a result of the high interest in krill oil in the food, drug and mass channel, where krill supplements grew 70 per cent last year. At this rate, Aker believes krill supplement sales will soon become the second largest category of omega-3 supplements in FDM.
Cermaq ASA has signed a term sheet with Danske Bank, DNB, Handelsbanken and Nordea to refinance two of its credit facilities amounting to a total of NOK 1.500m.
Maturity of the credit facilities has been extended from 2013 to 2016, and the main terms and conditions reflect Cermaq's good credit standing and strong commitment from the Syndicate banks. Together with the recently announced bond issue, the total available long term credit commitments in Cermaq have been increased to NOK 4.600m with an average maturity of 39 months.
The final loan agreement is expected to be in place by the end of 2012, and the funds will be used for general corporate purposes, to support Cermaq's growth strategy.
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka Monday 22 Oct. sought Interpol's help to arrest 14 people involved in carrying out an attack on a fishing trawler carrying asylum seekers to Australia.
The police said it has alerted Interpol to seek the arrest of some 14 suspects wanted in connection with the attack. "Warrants have been issued on 14 suspects having reported the matter to the magistrate's court in Tangalle", police spokesman senior superintendent Prishantha Jayakodi said.
On 22 Oct, legislators voiced concerns about the sourcing and quality of crabs that are suspiciously cheaper than those legally imported from China, urging governmental officials to inspect the origin and quality of cheaper crabs.
Democratic Progressive Party legislators Tsai Huang-liang (???), Hsiao Bi-khim (???) and Chiu Yi-ying (???) held a press conference titled “Save Taiwan’s hairy crabs” at the legislature in Taipei, expressing concerns that the cheaper crabs may negatively impact the local aquaculture industry and that the quality of the crabs is still unverified.
MSC certification of Dutch trawl fleet partly suspended Netherlands
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announces that the certificates for sole, beam trawling and flyshoot and otter trawl fishing in the North Sea will be suspended with effect from April 25, 2024. In...
UNITED KINGDOM
EUROPEAN UNION
JAPAN
PHILIPPINES
NORWAY
SRI LANKA
TAIWAN
