Thai Deputy Prime Minister, General Prawit Wongsuwan, during a meeting with the Environmental Justice Foundation’s Executive Director, Steve Trent, committed to protect and build on recent fisheries reforms.
The reduction and prevention of deaths of fishermen along South Africa’s coastal area is among key priorities of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA). Now, efforts towards this goal are beginning to pay off, due to strategic partnerships domestically and abroad.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration released photos from a fire incident involving the Russian trawler ‘Bukhta Naezdnik’. The NCA was called to assist in the extinguishing work when a fire erupted on the Russian trawler, while at the quay in Tromsø, on 25 September.
A 6% of all fishing nets, 9% of all traps, and 29% of all lines are lost or discarded into the oceans each year, researchers said in a world’s first global estimate of commercial fishing gear losses into the oceans, according to data provided by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO.
A good Samaritan rescued three fishermen on September 18, after their boat capsized around 45 miles west of Egmont Key. They were later transported to Station St. Petersburg where they were released in good condition. A marine casualty investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the ship capsizing.
The US Coast Guard informed that it continues to respond to an incident aboard the commercial fishing vessel Miss Emma off Oahu. The vessel caught fire on September 17, and burned throughout the night, subsequently sinking.
In spite of a clear decline in certain fish populations, many fisheries subsidies still promote illegal fishing, overfishing and overcapacity, according to UNCTAD, adding that their removal is a priority. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 33% of the world’s fish resources are overfished, while around 60% are fished at maximum biologically sustainable levels.
The transshipment of catch, which enables fresh fish to get to market sooner, is a significant but largely hidden part of the global commercial fishing industry. Transshipment regards hundreds of refrigerated cargo vessels, or carrier vessels, roaming the oceans, taking in catch from thousands of fishing vessels and transporting it to shore for processing.
Ireland’s MCIB issued a report on a fatal sinking involving the fishing vessel ‘Beal Sruthan’ while off Craugh Island, Galway Bay, in May 2018. Although the cause cannot be determined, it is probable that the failure to properly blank off the redundant stern tube by failing to properly seal both ends led to the sinking.
Inmarsat working with the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, its Department of Fisheries, the UK Space Agency and other partners marked the successful closure of a three-year fisheries innovation project. Using solar-powered satellite technology on smaller fishing vessels, the project aimed to improve safety, efficiency, ship to shore contact and offer possible fish stock sustainability improvements.
