Although established indicators enable managers to monitor progress toward ending “overfishing” and “Illegal Unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing”, there is no globally agreed definition or indicator for “destructive fishing”. The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) recommends: “States should prohibit dynamiting, poisoning and other comparable destructive fishing practices” (art. 8.4.2)”. However, a review […]
The UK’s marine protected areas (MPAs) were exposed to over 33,000 hours of suspected bottom trawling in 2023, according to new analysis from Oceana UK. The environment group used analysis of satellite data from Global Fishing Watch to show that over 100,000 hours of apparent industrial fishing took place within the UK’s offshore MPAs in 2023 […]
New social research publication from the Scottish Government explores what influences the decision making of Scottish fishers. It presents findings from twelve interviews with fishers. The main findings are focused on the social, economic, governance, and environmental drivers in fishers’ decision making. The report titled “What factors influence the strategies and choices of Scottish fishers? […]
The French government has announced a temporary ban on almost all commercial fishing in the Bay of Biscay. The ban will begin on 22nd January and run until 20th February 2024. It will affect fishing grounds off the country’s Atlantic coast and has been introduced to protect dolphins. The campaigning group, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, has called on […]
Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has confirmed that more than 80% of under-12m inshore vessels participated in the I-VMS roll-out programme last year, resulting in £1.3m of European funding being awarded to fishers. New legislation, a statutory instrument (SI), is expected to come into force in April 2024 and will require all under-12m vessels fishing for […]
Home to one of the most diverse, sustainable fleets in Europe, Cornwall lands over fifty different species every year – a first sale value of £50 million. Fishing is one of the most significant industries in the county. But, what is the true economic importance of seafood to Cornwall? The Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation (CFPO) […]
The IMO, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) are boosting coordination to tackle IUU fishing. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a widespread challenge that covers a range of destructive fishing practices, occurring both in the high seas and within national territorial waters. It has been identified as […]
The EU’s most senior court has stopped short of applying overfishing rules across all EU fish stocks in a case taken by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) and environmental lawyers Client Earth. The EU’s Court of Justice has ruled that EU ministers will be breaking the law if they approve overfishing of target stocks, but […]