BANS final event – Brussels 26 March 2018
Two-year EU-funded project supporting small-scale fishers across the
Baltic and North Sea celebrates its closure with well attended gathering in Brussels
Nyheder
News from the Deck – February 2018
NEWS FROM THE DECK
The monthly newsletter of the Low Impact Fishers of Europe
The newsletter of February 2018 includes:
- Small-scale fishers gain increasing influence in the Baltic Sea Advisory Council as FSK from Denmark is the fourth LIFE member organisation to join the General Assembly
- Mediterranean small-scale fisheries: time for a state of the art of decision-making process
- Other news from around the EU
- News from our members
- New members on board
- Press review
Follow this link to download News From The Deck – February 2018
LIFE writes to Danish Minister Karen Ellemann
Time for Baltic Member States to support small-scale fisheries
Article 17 and illegal discarding in the Baltic Sea: LIFE writes to Danish Minister Karen Ellemann and urges immediate action!
Access the official letter here
Access the official reply of the Ministry here
News from the Deck – December 2017 & January 2018
NEWS FROM THE DECK
The monthly newsletter of the Low Impact Fishers of Europe
The newsletter of December 2017 & January 2018 includes:
- Large-scale project for the Mediterranean to be led by LIFE for three years with the support of the MAVA Foundation
- Massive support to LIFE for the vote on pulse fishing
- Other news from around the EU
- News from our members
- Press review
Follow this link to download News From The Deck – December 2018 & January 2018
Follow this link to access the press review on pulse fishing
Workshop in Thorupstrand – 2018
“Survive and Thrive: Adding Value to Fisheries Policy
and Production for Small Scale Fishers”
Click here to access the official PR
Update – Fishy Business in EN/DA/DE/NL/PL/FR/ES
Press Release – for immediate release
Fishy Business: Fish POs in the EU
How the failure to properly recognise and regulate the EU’s fish producer organisations [POs] is failing the Common Fisheries Policy and smaller-scale fishermen and what should be done to resolve it.
There is increasing interest amongst the small scale coastal fishers (SSCF) of Europe [80% by number of the overall EU fleet] in the possible benefits to them of creating small scale fisher specific producer organisations.
This would be good news for all parties interested in achieving the CFP’s objectives as the regulations acknowledge that POs are “the key” to achieving those objectives” and Europe’s small scale coastal fishers represent a large majority of all Europe’s fishers.
LIFE commissioned this report to determine whether the regulations and structure that Europe’s SSCF would be signing up to are fit for purpose, open, fair and equitable.
The report makes clear the need for the Commission and the Member States to take action to ensure that the conditions for recognition of producer organisations and inter-branch organisations laid down in Articles 14 and 16 of the Common Organisation of the Markets Regulation respectively are complied with.
Their continued failure to do so is a direct threat to the key objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Organisation of the Markets.
We urge the Commission to carry out an urgent review of its Member States’ POs’ compliance and to consider our recommendations, which are intended to constructively propose ways to address the current regulatory system’s failure.
Note for Editors: The Low Impact Fishers of Europe platform [LIFE] is an organisation of organisations of small scale commercial fishermen across Europe, run by fishermen, for fishermen. Its mission is to achieve conditions in which fishing is performed in a sustainable manner and small scale low impact fishermen and women in Europe can maximise their social and economic viability.
ACCESS THE OFFICIAL REPORT IN ENGLISH HERE
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For further information contact Claudia Orlandini, Communications Officer in LIFE’s Brussels office on 0032 2741 2433 or for UK based inquiries; 0044 1437 751242
Polish fishers lead the way on ghost nets
147 tons of marine litter fished from the Baltic:
Polish small-scale fishers show leadership in dealing with ghost nets
Warsaw, 16th of January 2018
Marcin Ruciński
Fishing gears lost at sea and their impact on the marine environment are subject to numerous research and actions globally. One of the most successful projects in this respect , “Clean Baltic”, is being finalized along Poland’s coastal waters including the Lagoons, with the involvement of over 500 small-scale fishers.
3 LIFE Polish Member Organizations got involved in this large-scale project. The latter was developed thanks to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund monies made available to Poland as part of the “Fisheries and the Sea 2014-2020” Operational Programme. We are glad to see that EU subsidies have been used for a universally positive purpose – improve the state of the marine environment where Polish small-scale fishers operate, while also benefitting other sea users.
The fishers retrieved a total of just under 147 tons of waste. Most retrieved fishing gears were gillnets, but trawls, trap nets, lines and pots were also fished out. The retrieved nets contained fish and other marine organisms, such as birds and mussels and even one dead grey seal. The project was not confined to fishing gears only and fishers took out many other objects, such as buoys, Styrofoam, boxes, lines, tires, remains of steel elements, as well as smaller waste such as gloves and plastic bags.
LIFE is proud to be part of the project, and we take the opportunity to thank all those involved – the fishers and their organizations, the MARE foundation (http://fundacjamare.pl) and administration bodies. But most importantly, we are pleased to witness the strong involvement of the fishers in the project activities, and their feeling of co-responsibility for the state of marine environment, including fish stocks, on which their livelihoods depend.
See the fishermen in action below !
Pulse fishing: a European scandal
Pulse fishing: a European scandal
LIFE members & Management team up with a number of organisations across Europe to stop the attempt
to pave the way to a legal and widespread use of this harmful gear.
Brussels, 8 January 2018
Pulse fishing is widely recognized as destructive and has already been banned in most fishing nations worldwide, but in past years in the European Union a part of the fishing industry disguised its use for commercial interests under the label of research and innovation.
On the 16th of January the European Parliament will vote on whether to allow pulse fishing to expand.
This will certainly lead to long-term and large-scale disastrous consequences for marine ecosystems and small-scale fishing communities.
It is time to stop the process now: join LIFE members and call on the Members of the European Parliament to withdraw electric fishing from the January 16 vote.
News from the Deck – November 2017
NEWS FROM THE DECK
The monthly newsletter of the Low Impact Fishers of Europe
The newsletter of November 2017 includes:
- ICCAT 2017: historically high bluefin tuna quota – but what about small-scale fishers?
- Fundacja MARE and LIFE at the forefront for a cleaner Baltic Sea
- Other news from around the EU
- News from our members
- Welcome on board
- Press review
Follow this link to download News From The Deck – November 2017