Workshop in Thorupstrand – 2018
“Survive and Thrive: Adding Value to Fisheries Policy
and Production for Small Scale Fishers”
Press Release – for immediate release
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
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 !
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.
The newsletter of November 2017 includes:
Follow this link to download News From The Deck – November 2017
Warsaw, 11th December 2017
Marcin Ruciński
LIFE noted that the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (HaV) has now allocated extra 150 tons of Western cod quota to trawlers (on top of 120 tons allocated in October). This happened when the utilization rate in the passive gear (i.e. mostly small-scale) segment is now at 96%, and the utilization rate in the trawl segment is a meagre 16% (official data).
It is clear from the ICES advice and discussions within the Baltic Sea Advisory Council and elsewhere, that selectivity of currently used trawls is very far from OK, leading to i.a. increased illegal cod discards. We thus fear that allowing extra trawls’ fishing effort will result in twice as many dead fish in the water, including lots of juveniles. We very much hope that the HaV, through intensive at-sea inspections, will make sure this will not happen. If they do not, the very much hoped-for recovery of Western Baltic cod stock might be put at risk.
This quota should thus have been left where it was originally allocated – with the small-scale, low impact cod fishery segment in Sweden, using passive gears in the most sustainable way. Our fleet segment has been heavily weakened by low quota allocations in the past, difficult markets and the high impact of increasing grey seal population. Still, it shows resilience and strength by using the allocation at their disposal. HaV, alongside other interested authorities and organizations in Sweden, must strengthen the passive gear segments to help their small-scale, low impact fishers survive and develop, thus supporting the coastal communities they work in. At LIFE, we simply fail to understand why the opposite is happening.
Having heard from a high-level HaV representative at the Simrishamn conference last month that the spectre of introducing ITQs in cod fishery segment is not an immediate prospect, we trust that this decision is not yet another example of “track record pumping” in the run-up to the crucially important initial ITQs allocation exercise, putting one fleet segment against the other. In any case, this unfortunate decision must not have any impact whatsoever on any future quota sharing between the segments of passive gears and trawlers.
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Press Release – for immediate release
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.
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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
Warsaw, 23 November 2017 – Abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), also known as ghost nets, are a well-known global problem in ocean governance. Fishing nets of all kinds, when left in the water, continue catching fish as well as marine birds, mammals and other organisms. If lost on wrecks, they can also be a danger to amateur and professional divers. They contribute to pollution of the oceans with plastics – some 10% of plastics in the ocean come from ALDFG, which as sometimes referred to as “tumbleweed of the oceans” as it bundles up on the seabed and under certain conditions may accumulate in tangled piles, suffocating corals and other benthic marine life.
This is why five organizations of Polish fishers, including three LIFE Members – Darłowska Group of Fish Producers and Fishing Boat Owners, Wolin Fishermen Association and Mierzeja Boat Fishermen Association – have embarked on a large-scale project promoted by Fundacja Mare to deal with this acute problem. The retrieval actions are pursued by 533 small boats in the 12-mile zone, coordinated by the fishers’ organizations themselves and are not confined to ALDFG alone – they also include any marine litter that the fishers find during the action. They use retrieval methods having a minimal impact on the environment, particularly the seabed. Until now, a total of 140 tons of ghost nets and other marine litter has been retrieved.
“Over the last years, the level of societal consciousness on the marine litter problem, including ghost nets, has significantly increased. There are many activities undertaken all over Europe to reduce the negative impact of ghost nets on the environment. We are particularly happy to see the engagement of fishermen in caring for the environment on which they depend. Their own initiatives, such as the “Clean Baltic” project implemented by five fishers’ organizations across the Polish coast, are particularly valuable” – states Marcin Rucinski, LIFE’s Baltic and North Sea Coordinator
Eager to learn more?
The Bluefin tuna industry received a windfall in Marrakech, with proposed TAC increases over the period 2018 to 2020, culminating in the highest TAC ever set. There is a hike on the 2018 TAC of 4,500 tonnes, up to 28,200 tonnes from 23,655 in 2017, with a projected increase to 36,000 tonnes for 2020. This is despite uncertainties over the extent of the recovery of the resource, uncertainty which meant ICCAT was unable to move from a recovery plan to a management plan.
Despite this windfall, the Spanish industry was disappointed by the outcome. It accused the EU of not knowing how to negotiate, given the acceptance by the EU of a small reduction in its TAC allocation key. Others accused ICCAT of placing short term profit ahead of longer term conservation, and the TAC hikes a disgrace.
With such relatively large increases in TACs over the next 3 years, it is well within the powers of Member States to step up and allocate a quota to the small-scale fishery sectors, which have been on the sharp end of conservation measures since 2006.
Interestingly ICCAT highlighted that the needs of artisanal fisheries in coastal developing contracting party countries (CPCs) could receive part of the unallocated reserves from ICCAT in 2019 and 2020. This could pave the way for a dedicated artisanal fishery Bluefin tuna quota at ICCAT level, given political will to do so.
In this sea of plenty, LIFE urges the EU and Member States to do the right thing, and allocate a fair share tuna quota to small scale hook and line fishers, as we have been urging for years.
Letter of LIFE to decision-makers in English
Lettre de LIFE aux décideurs en français
Carta de LIFE a los tomadores de decisiones en español
LIFE’s documentary “Blue Hope Tuna”