The Executive Committee of the Baltic Sea Advisory Council met on 6 November to discuss cod and herring management and a wide variety of administrative issues. Earlier that day, at an Extraordinary General Assembly, Esben Sverdrup-Jensen, chief executive officer of the Danish Pelagic Producers Organisation, was elected the Executive Committee’s new chairperson. In response to the EU Council’s decisions regarding western cod, namely, to increase the TAC by 70% compared to 2018, which is within the range recommended by the BSAC, to lift the summer closure, and to set a bag limit at seven specimens, a number of concerns were raised by attendees. The impact of seasonal closures was debated with some voices saying they protect spawning stocks, while others felt they did not contribute substantially to sustainable exploitation. The eastern Baltic stock is not doing well and ways to assess it better will be discussed by ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) at a meeting in February 2019. Decisions by the EU Council to reduce the TAC by 15% and at the same time restrict the closed period to one month for vessels above 12 m were met with dismay. Some fishermens representatives felt that the stock cannot be improved by solely reducing the fishing pressure as there are environmental factors which have a negative impact on the stock. Others felt that the eastern cod should be managed by other means than solely a TAC decrease and that the decision to lift the closures was not right. A point was raised about the lack of impact the BSAC advice seemed to have on work by the Commission and the European Parliament, and that explanations were rarely forthcoming when these institutions chose not to follow the advice tendered by the BSAC. The speaker felt that If the BSAC could not show the effect of its work to its member organisations then perhaps its raison d’etre should be called into question. The time spent on procedural issues was also decried, but it was pointed out that steps to change this had already been taken with a decision by the general assembly to focus on substantive issues.
Archives
-
-
European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, and Mr Kim Young-Choon, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea have agreed to collaborate closely to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. The new alliance, in line with the objectives of the EU’s Ocean Governance strategy will; exchange information about suspected IUU-activities enhance global traceability of fishery products threatened by Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing, through a risk-based, electronic catch documentation and certification system join forces in supporting developing states in the fight against IUU fishing and the promotion of sustainable fishing through education and training strengthen cooperation in international fora, including regional fisheries management organisations.
-
-
On October 18, Spanish authorities with the help of EUROPOL, announced the arrest of nearly 80 men involved in an extensive operation of illegal bluefin tuna trading.…
-
On October the 24th, the commission outlined a proposal on the fishing opportunities in the Black Sea.…
-
For the first time ever, Latvia was present with a booth at the Busan International Seafood & Fisheries Expo 2018. Busan is the second largest city in the Republic of Korea and annually holds this expo. The expo is one of the leading professional fisheries fairs in Asia. 1075 booths, including 25 national stands representing all continents participated in this year’s event. The Latvian national stand was organized by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) and received support from the Embassy of Latvia in the Republic of Korea. During this event three companies displayed their products, PERUZA a manufacturer of seafood processing equipment, together with BANGA and FROZEN FOOD (the Amberfish brand) that are both fish processing companies.
-
During the month of October, Norwegian aquaculture companies exported 104 000 tonnes of salmon with a worth of 6 5 billion NOK (€680 million).…
-
The International Association of Fish Inspectors (IAFI) has announced that it will fund the attendance of a young fish technologist (under 30 years of age) to the IAFI World Seafood Congress 2019, which will be held in Penang, Malaysia on 9-11 September 2019. The funding, known as the 2019 Peter Howgate Award, will cover travel, accommodation and the Congress fee. The IAFI Peter Howgate Award is a tribute to Peter Howgate's work and career, and a recognition of his immense contribution to the field of fish technology and the people who work in it, both during his 35 years at the UK’s Torry Research Station, UK, and thereafter. The International Association of Fish Inspectors was established in 1999 to serve the world fish inspection community. IAFI exists to promote the exchange of ideas and information, foster interaction, understanding and professional collaboration among individuals, organisations, and governments, disseminate knowledge about seafood and associated products inspection, and promote advancement of the state-of-the-art fish inspection and fish quality and safety research and education. More information is available at http://www.iafi.net.
-
Two Danish companies, A/S Dybvad Stål Industri and Erlinord A/S, have merged to form a leader in plate freezing technology.…
-
Israel’s Defence Ministry announced in late October a re-extension of Gaza’s fishing zone, which had been tightened following border hostilities and Palestinian demonstrations of the Great Return March which began in March.…
