Marport Has Excellent Results At World Fishing Exhibition
The World Fishing Exhibition, held September 16 – 19 in Vigo, Spain solidified its position as the world’s greatest commercial fisheries exhibition.
The success of WFE Vigo 2009 is due to the dedication of the conference’s planning committee and many volunteers. The results of their hard work were reflected in the quality of the exhibitors, the number of attendees who came, and the overall organization of the World Fishing Exhibition. Despite the status of the economy, the exhibition was crowded with attendees showing a continued interest in everything from sea to plate.
Marport presented our latest technical advances and cost-effective solutions for catch control and gear monitoring.
We thank all of our present and future customers who stopped by our booth during the show.
No Change Expected in Norwegian Fishing Policy
Norway is expected to continue with its tough no-nonsense fishing policy following the re-election of its centre left governing party earlier this week.
The result handed a narrow win to Premier Jen Stoltenberg who has managed to steer Norway through a difficult recession with the lowest unemployment rate in Europe at only three per cent.
Mr. Stoltenberg has indicated that it will be business as usual on all fronts including fishing and fish farming which are still important to Norway’s economy despite massive oil and gas reserves. The only question is whether Helga Pedersen, Norway’s highly successful fisheries minister will remain in her job or be moved to another government post.
Although Norway is not in the EU, Pedersen has effectively campaigned against Europe’s controversial policy of fish discards to the extent that major change is now on the cards in European waters. With more than 20 million tonnes of fish thrown back into the sea she described the practice as a terrible waste of a valuable food resource in a hungry world. Ms. Pedersen has also been successful in helping to reduce the overfishing of cod in the Barents Sea.
Over the past few decades Norwegian fishing has moved from a largely unrestricted industry into one that is highly regulated with quotas and licensing arrangements. The Norwegians are very protective of their grounds even though some European and UK (mainly Scottish trawlers) do have limited access. Norwegian fisheries has also won several plaudits from the Marine Stewardship Council for its stock management.
Iceland May Not Have To Surrender Fishing Rights For EU Membership
It is beginning to emerge that Iceland may not after all have to surrender her fishing grounds or fish stocks to foreign predators as an exchange for European Union membership. Joining both the EU and the euro currency was suggested recently as offering the only ‘durable solution’ to Iceland’s economic problems, and a major hurdle was overcome recently when the government agreed to compensate the British and Dutch for the four billion euros lost after the collapse of its banks.
Iceland’s foreign minister, Ossur Skarphedinsson recently told Brussels that under no circumstances will the country’s territorial waters be completely opened up to foreign fishermen – and this seems to have been broadly accepted.
Negotiations will get under way next year and there will be pressure, probably from the Spanish, Portuguese and French for Iceland to relax its strong opposition to a foreign trawlers fishing in its waters.
Reykjavik is expected to impose strict and conditions a wholesale surrender of fishing rights is not on the cards. Such a move would be almost certainly rejected in a referendum if it was ever seriously proposed.
There is also general recognition that the current Common Fisheries Policy, which is about to undergo a fundamental review, has been a total failure. By 2013 the current quota and discards policy is almost certain to be replaced by days at sea restrictions.
Fishing Study Highlights Economic Pressures
A new study on the impact of the economic downturn and conservation measures on the fishing industry was published yesterday. The study was commissioned by the Scottish government earlier this year to demonstrate to the European Commission the financial difficulties facing fishermen.
Carried out by economists at industry authority Seafish, it looked at the current and future impacts on fleets of fuel and fish prices, quota reductions and restrictions on days at sea.
The study found that this year fuel and fish prices are the key factors affecting the profits of the nephrops (prawn/langoustine) sector. Additional restrictions proposed by Europe for 2010 are estimated to have a further impact but, even without these, the sector is likely to remain financially fragile.
For the demersal (cod, haddock and whiting) sector, the report indicates that days at sea restrictions have a critical impact and additional restrictions proposed by Europe for 2010 would result in some fishing operations making a net loss.
Commenting on the study, Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said: ‘Fishing is a tough way of life at the best of times but this year the combined effect of the economic climate and the tough restrictions imposed by Europe has made life particularly difficult for our fishermen.
We have stressed this point a number of times in our dealings with the European Commission and commissioned this study to provide robust evidence. It shows just how economically fragile our fleets are.
‘We are about to enter the annual round of autumn negotiations in Europe, when crucial decisions are taken on quotas and days at sea. This study will help inform our negotiating position and, as a first step, we will be discussing it with Commission officials later this month.’
The report is entitled Economic Impact Assessment of the Cod Recovery Plan and can be downloaded from here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Fisheries/Sea-Fisheries/ScottishFisheriesCounci/CodRecvoeryPlanFull
United States Arctic Fishing Policy Latest in Can-Am Dispute
Scientists examine ice conditions in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska in this January 2009 file photo. A U.S. moratorium on new fisheries in the Beaufort Sea has highlighted a long-simmering boundary dispute with Canada in the Arctic waters north of Yukon and Alaska. Photograph by: Handout, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
A U.S. moratorium on new fisheries in the Beaufort Sea has highlighted a long-simmering boundary dispute with Canada in the Arctic waters north of Yukon and Alaska.
The new U.S. policy, announced last week by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as a “precautionary” measure pending further study of the rapidly changing polar environment, covers a huge swath of the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska and running east to the U.S.-Canada maritime boundary — including a contentious, 11,500-sq.-km. expanse of water that both countries claim.
Crafted by the regional fishery management council in Alaska, the new Arctic Fishery Management Plan closes about 150,000 square nautical miles, an area larger than California and five times larger than all national parks combined.
There is currently no significant commercial fishing in the area, but fisheries managers expect it to become a target for commercial fishers chasing cod and snow crab as ice melts and fisheries shift north. Fishing fleets from around the globe are signalling an interest in moving into an area that hold stocks of crab, Arctic cod, and, increasingly, limited numbers of pollack and salmon as they migrate north. There are major fishing grounds south of the new protected area. Alaska’s Bering Sea is the United States’ “fish basket,” with about 60 percent of U.S. commercial landings, according to the state fishing industry.
A Canadian government spokesman told Canwest News Service this week that the U.S. fishing moratorium “does not alter Canada’s legal position with respect to the bilateral dispute regarding the maritime delimitation of part of the Beaufort Sea.”
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Alain Cacchione stated in an e-mail that “Canadian sovereignty over the lands, islands and waters of the Canadian Arctic is long-standing, well-established and based on historic title” — an oft-repeated message from the federal government when it comes to Arctic sovereignty issues.
While noting that Canada “shares concerns with the U.S. on proper management of living marine resources in the Arctic,” and that the Beaufort Sea boundary dispute is “well managed by both sides,” the government’s statement acknowledges the possibility that the two countries may ultimately pursue different conservation strategies in the region despite last week’s “unilateral” decision by the U.S.
“The U.S. has made some unilateral closures in their waters and in a disputed zone in the Arctic as their expression of ‘precaution’ in the absence of information,” the statement said. “However, closures are only one tool for addressing sustainability risks. Other tools, such as exploratory fisheries protocols, area closures, etc., are risk-based yet compatible with sustainable use.”
University of Calgary political scientist Rob Huebert, who argues that Canada is likely to face mounting jurisdictional challenges from the U.S. and Russia as Arctic shipping and fishing open up in the future, said the Canadian response to the U.S. moratorium appears to be “more assertive” than previous statements about the disputed Beaufort zone.
“I think it’s good, the way this response says they’re obviously not pleased with this,” Huebert told Canwest News Service from Iqaluit, where he’s observing a Canadian Forces sovereignty operation. “Usually it’s, ‘Don’t worry, be happy, this isn’t an issue.’ The fact that they’re noting the ‘unilateral’ moratorium is significant. This is obviously going to be aggravating the situation.”
Canada may well choose to follow the U.S. lead and impose a temporary ban on commercial fishing in the Canadian Beaufort, including the area of overlapping claims. Former fisheries scientist Burton Ayles, a federal appointee to the Inuvialuit region’s Fisheries Joint Management Committee, told Canwest News Service earlier this week that discussions about declaring a moratorium on industrial-scale commercial fisheries have already begun in Western Arctic communities.
The committee members, coastal communities and environmental groups are all cautious about exploiting potential new resources until more is known about the viability of fish populations migrating into warming Arctic waters and the long-term impact of climate change in the region.
Huebert said despite the wisdom of the precautionary approach being pursued by both countries when it comes to new Arctic fisheries, the U.S. officials drafting the terms of the moratorium pointedly failed to acknowledge that a sizable portion of the area affected by the policy is in disputed waters.
He argues that shows the U.S. is “taking a harder line” when it comes to asserting its own interests in the Arctic — a move he said is consistent with the tough tone in a January presidential directive on the Arctic issued in the final days of the Bush administration.
“They’ve moved away from the softer language of the disputed zone into what I would interpret as clearer position — and a more assertive position — on what they see as their slice of the Beaufort Sea.”
Export of Cod from Iceland to the United States Doubles
Twice the amount of cod and cod products was exported from Iceland to the United States in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2008, according to Statistics Iceland.
“With decreasing price in Britain, the interest of Icelandic producers in the US market has grown again. A lower price has also led to an increased sale in the US,” Elvar Einarsson, managing director of the purchase department of Icelandic USA, told Fiskifréttir, a fish industry supplement of a weekly business newspaper.
During the first six months of 2008, 1,106 tons of cod were exported to the US for ISK 783 million (USD 6.1 million, EUR 3.9 million).
In the first half of this year, the export of cod climbed to 2,159 tons, worth ISK 1.7 billion (USD 13.3 million, EUR 8.5 million).
“However, the market is suffering a depression because of the economic situation and restaurants have encountered difficulties,” Einarsson said, referring to the US market. “We are hoping that rock bottom has been reached but I cannot make any statements on that yet. I expect restaurants to keep pressuring us not to raise the price of cod products.”
“The restaurants are facing a great struggle on turning their operations around and therefore put a lot of pressure on suppliers,” Einarsson explained. “Otherwise we have been fairly successful and we are content about our situation.”
Survey to gather seabed data off Canadian East Coast
Canadian fisheries ambassador Loyola Sullivan
An international seabed survey of some previously unexplored deep waters will be conducted off Canada’s East Coast, the federal government announced last week. Loyola Sullivan, Canada’s ambassador for fisheries conservation, said the survey will be conducted in the northwestern Atlantic over the next two years.
Canada has joined Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia in the study.
“Our objective through this project is to work collaboratively with our international partners to collect important new information from the sea floor,” Sullivan said in a statement. “Our findings will help us to better identify and protect sensitive areas, while allowing responsible fisheries to continue.”
The researchers, including Canadian scientists from the federal Fisheries Department, arrived in St. John’s on August 24th onboard the Miguel Oliver, a Spanish research vessel.
They have now concluded the first three-month leg of at-sea research, surveying over 24,000 square kilometres and collecting samples from around the Flemish Cap, the Flemish Pass and an area south of the Grand Banks.
Researchers also collected over 140 seabed and deepwater samples examining organisms living on the bottom of the sea, and 150 oceanographic samples examining water temperature and salinity conditions.
The study will include a total of six months of at-sea research supported by approximately 18 months of data analysis.
The study is primarily taking place onboard the Miguel Oliver, which is equipped with state-of-the-art marine research technology and can accommodate 22 researchers.
Complementary studies are also taking place onboard Spain’s Vizconde de Eza vessel and the Hudson, a Canadian Coast Guard ship.
Hugh Catches of Mackerel in Iceland
Iceland’s fishermen are finding mackerel in such huge quantities that they have sent a plea to their government to increase this year’s quota.
The abundance of mackerel remains something of a mystery, but it is causing a problem for the trawlers fleets because they cannot avoid picking it up as a by-catch.
This year’s self-imposed quota of 112,000 tones has virtually been used up. Now the National Federation of Fishing Vessel Owners has asked the Minister of Fisheries to issue a new quota with immediate effect, but as yet there has been no decision.
The HB Grandi pelagic fleet a few days ago reported that the mackerel “were in a feeding frenzy” off the Westmann Islands in Iceland.
A company spokesman said that the huge volumes of mackerel on are causing some major problems for their three pelagic vessels, which were fishing for herring, and according to HB Grandi’s pelagic division, their skippers have been forced off grounds further south due to the abundance of mackerel there. Some vessels had to stop fishing altogether.
There appear to be large volumes of mackerel all around Iceland. Mackerel have been observed off the south, west and north coasts and there have been occasions when mackerel has gone into harbours, such as in the Westmann Islands, Gardur and Akureyri. Off the east coast there is also plenty of mackerel to be found.
Salmon Swim Up Seine Once Again
Salmon are returning to the Seine after an absence of almost a century as water in the river that runs through Paris has become cleaner in recent years, French scientists said.
Once numerous in the river, Atlantic salmon disappeared from the Seine in the early 20th century, partly due to pollution from Paris sewers. But scientists celebrated an improvement in water quality in the Seine that has tempted the protected species back to Paris.
“There has been a turning point. The improvement in water quality has meant that salmon have returned to the Seine,” Charles Perrier of the National Institute for Agronomic Research told Reuters. The National Federation for French Fishing estimated that about 1,000 salmon are present in the Seine.
Mr. Perrier said some salmon returning from the sea to breeding grounds lose their way and are drawn by higher oxygen levels and decreased household waste in the Seine. In contrast with the Thames in Britain and the Rhine in Germany, salmon have returned to the Seine naturally, without efforts to reintroduce them into river waters.
Icelandic Fleet Experiencing Excellent Herring Catches
The Icelandic trawler fleet has recently reported that it is enjoying one of its best herring fishing periods for years, with record catches and fish of a very high quality.
HB Grandi, one of the country’s largest pelagic fishers, said the herring had been “exceptionally heavy” in recent days. The is particularly welcome after the Icelandic government’s decision to halt mackerel fishing. The company has at least three ships with a total of around 5,000 tons on board – and there should be a lot more to come in the next couple of weeks.
Company spokesman Arnthór Hjörleifsson, said boats have been fishing in an area where the proportion of mackerel in catches is lower. He said: “We had practically no mackerel at all towards the end of the trip. The herring suddenly started moving quickly eastwards, leaving the mackerel behind. The herring are excellent right now. The fish are fat, with practically no feed in them and just right for processing.
HB Grandi’s skippers have been saying that there has been very little feed in the herring for an unusually long time.
Trying to avoid catching too much mackerel can present skippers with a headache at times. The total proportion of mackerel cannot exceed 12 per cent until the middle of September.
There are also reports that the huge mackerel shoals are preying on capelin with the result that stocks are at a low point. It is feared this could have a serious impact on Iceland’s capelin fishery.
