Source: Herald Scotland
Author: Rob Edwards
The fishing and oil industries have been warned to keep away from the deep ocean waters north-west of Scotland where scientists have discovered new sea creatures. Environmental groups say the waters around the tiny island of Rockall, far out in the north Atlantic, should be off limits for exploitation so its strange species and features can be investigated.
Continue reading Fish and oil industries told to stay away after new species found
Source: BBC News
Four animals previously unknown to science have been discovered in deep water off Scotland, the Scottish government has said.
Continue reading Deep sea creatures found off Rockall ‘new to science’
Fishing industry lobbyists recently circulated a document in which they made 10 points (“10 Facts on Deep Sea Fishing – all you need to know…”), each of them designed to persuade MEPs that deep sea bottom trawling is a benign and productive activity. However, the document is full of misrepresentations which together present a highly distorted view of the industry and its impacts. Here we present an objective appraisal of the scientific basis for the ‘facts’ in this document. Far from being ‘facts’, most are simply claims that fall apart on closer scrutiny. We summarise the ten points below, and append a more detailed response later in this document.
Continue reading The Inconvenient Truth: Sustainable Deep Sea Fishing is Possible
Declaration of support: protect the deep sea from destructive fishing.
We, the undersigned, represent the concerned public and include artisanal fishers, development and environmental organisations, and other stakeholders. We share a common interest in restoring Europe’s deep-sea fish populations and ensuring the long-term conservation of deep-sea ecosystems. To that end, we support the prevention of adverse impacts on deep-sea ecosystems, which can be accomplished in large part by phasing out destructive fishing practices and requiring impact assessments for all deep-sea fisheries.
LONDON (Nov. 15, 2013) – At its annual meeting this week, the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, or NEAFC, has failed to close seven areas to deep-sea bottom fishing to protect vulnerable deep-sea species and ecosystems. These seven areas were recommended to be closed by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, the scientific advisory organization mandated to provide advice to NEAFC on managing fisheries in the northeast Atlantic. Furthermore, after two years of negotiations NEAFC also failed to adopt revisions to its basic regulations for the protection of deep sea habitats and the conservation of deep-sea fish stocks to ensure consistency with United Nations General Assembly resolutions.
A proposal for a new European Union regulation to protect the deep sea from overfishing and destructive fishing practices in the north-east Atlantic survived the long awaited vote in the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee today as the 25 members of the committee voted on a series of amendments, resulting in both potential gains and losses for the ocean.
Source: The Guardian
Author: Richard Branson
The fates of some of our oldest and most mysterious natural treasures will hang in the balance tomorrow as members of the European Parliament’s committee on fisheries vote on a future deep-sea fishing regulation for the northeast Atlantic. It is a game-changing moment for the deep ocean. The EU has the world’s biggest deep-sea fishing fleet. If it adopts a strong new deep-sea access regime that protects vulnerable marine creatures and habitats, and stops the horrendous by-catch of more than 100 of non-target species, it will be a turning point in the fight for sustainable fishing and ocean conservation.
Continue reading Deep-sea fishing regulations and a crucial European vote
Source: New York Times
Authors: Les Watling & Gilles Bouef
A historical moment for the life of the oceans is at hand as the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament wrangles with proposed legislation to phase out the use of deep-sea-bottom trawls and other destructive fishing gear in the Northeast Atlantic. And yet this crucial legislation could well be killed in coming days, not least because some of the committee’s 25 members represent districts with powerful interests in deep-sea fishing.
Source: NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Authors: Kelley Elliott and Brian Kennedy (Expedition Coordinators)
From July to August 2013, a team of scientists and technicians both at-sea and on shore will conduct exploratory investigations on the diversity and distribution of deep-sea habitats and marine life along the Northeast U.S. Canyons and at Mytilus Seamount, located within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The 36-day expedition is composed of two cruise ‘legs.’
Continue reading Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition 2013: Mission Introduction
Source: National Geographic
Author: Rhian Waller
As debate rages in the European Union on how to regulate, and eventually phase out and ban deep-sea trawling, I am reminded of my many deep-sea cruises. Looking for cold-water corals in the depths of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Antarctic, often thousands of meters below the oceans surface, there is almost always a reminder that human influences run deep.
Continue reading Clear Cutting the Seafloor: Deep-Sea Trawling
