Allowances for deep-sea bottom fishing proposed today by the European Commission will lead to continued depletion and destruction of Northeast Atlantic fish stocks and should be abandoned, according to an international alliance of more than 60 organizations.
Continue reading Commission Proposal for North Atlantic Fisheries Condemned
Last week, from March 16-19 at UN headquarter in New York, the meeting of the eighth round of Informal Consultations of States Parties to the Fish Stocks Agreement (FSA) took place. At the meeting, there were over 200 representatives from governments as well as participation on behalf of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Greenpeace. In particular, the meeting focused on wider participation by governments as signatories to the FSA, as well as planning and structure for the upcoming resumption of the Fish Stocks Review Conference, which was agreed to take place from 24-28 May 2010; the next States Parties meeting will take place 15-19 March 2010.
The IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) attended by Governments and NGOs has concluded in Barcelona with strong support for high seas conservation.
Continue reading STATES AND NGOs SUPPORT STRONG HIGH SEAS MEASURES
The meeting (27th Session) of the UN FAO Committee on Fisheries took place 5-9 March 2007 at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. COFI meets every two years, bringing together senior government officials from some 100 countries with an interest in fisheries.
The 7th UN Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and Law of the Sea met in New York from 12-16 June to discuss the ecosystem approach to managing human activities in the oceans.
Continue reading Time to deal definitively with the problem of high seas bottom trawling
At the United Nations meeting taking place this week in New York to discuss ecosystem approaches and oceans, Palau has presented a new proposal for a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling. In the approach to the meeting, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Brazil confirmed their support for a UN moratorium, as science continues to unravel the mysteries and vulnerabilty of deep-sea species and habitats.
Deep-water sharks join the ranks of species facing extinction, together with polar bears and the hippopotamus, listed on the World Conservation Union’s 2006 Red List of Threatened Species. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List, released on 2 May 2006 in Switzerland, is the world’s most authoritative inventory of the conservation status of animals and plants.
Continue reading Deep-water sharks, polar bears and hippopotamus face extinction
Curtiba, Brazil – Although extinctions are proceeding at an unprecedented rate, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) failed to do more than reiterate the call for immediate action to protect vulnerable deep-sea corals and underwater mountains from high seas bottom trawling, shifting the responsibility to the United Nations. “The decisions on high seas reflect that governments now recognize the grave threats to the unique high seas biodiversity and the need for urgent actions.
Continue reading CBD passes the buck for action on high seas bottom trawling
Last week, from March 20-24, governments met in New York for the preparatory meeting for the Fish Stocks Agreement (FSA) Review Conference to be held from May 22-26. Although Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines indicated their intention to join the FSA, and some improvements were made to the criteria to assess the FSA, process and procedure largely dominated the
Continue reading Process not substance dominates preparatory meeting for FSA review
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition has congratulated Achim Steiner on his imminent appointment as Executive Director of UNEP. In his current post as Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Mr. Steiner has called deep sea bottom trawling an act of insanity and said “We must protect the high seas before it’s too late”.
Continue reading Protect the high seas from an act of insanity
