The Philippines denounced the crew of a Chinese fishing boat that collided with a Philippine ship and then left 22 Filipino fishermen abandoned in the South China Sea. According to the Filipino defense ministry, the collision occurred on June 9, near the Reed Bank.
As IMO announced, France is the 29th State to sign up to the IMO treaty on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F). According to the announcement, the Convention sets the certification and minimum training requirements for crews of seagoing fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and above.
The European Commission has adopted a Communication, taking into consideration the implementation of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. It also launched a consultation on the fishing opportunities for 2020. With this Communication, the European Commission wants to reaffirm its commitment to promote fisheries that are both environmentally sustainable and economically viable.
A new report by the Environmental Justice Foundation describes cases of slavery, debt bondage, insufficient food and water, filthy living conditions, physical and sexual assault and even murder on board fishing ships from 13 countries operating across three oceans.
The UK MAIB issued an investigation report on the capsize and sinking of the prawn trawler ‘Nancy Glen’ off Scotland in January 2018, which resulted in two fatalities. With respect to this incident, MAIB highlighted the necessity of fishing vessels to have sufficient stability to meet their operating profile.
Responding to scientific advice that several important Baltic fish populations cannot be fished sustainably, four non-governmental organisations have demanded a halt to fishing for overfishing in the Baltic. Coalition Clean Baltic, Oceana, Our Fish and WWF urged the European Commission to not exceed the scientific advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) when setting all fishing limits in the Baltic Sea.
The DSCC welcomed the call for a moratorium on deep-sea mining in international waters by the Long Distance Fleet Advisory Council of the European Union. LDAC highlighted concerns by scientists, the fishing industry and environmental organisations regarding the possible affects on fisheries, fish and other species in the oceans and loss of marine biodiversity due to deep-sea mining.
The reefer trawler Ostrov Sakhalin caught fire while it was undergoing repairs at Preobrazheniye Ship Repair Yard, in the afternoon of Sunday, May 26. The shipyard deployed seven fire engines in order to extinguish the fire.
On May 3 the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) voted measures into effect in order to reduce the incidence of tourist ships striking whales around the Antarctic Peninsula. These measures will apply from July 1, before the start of the 2019-20 Antarctic travel season, which starts in October.
Marks & Spencer and Waitrose & Partners have signed the Environmental Justice Foundation’s Charter for Transparency. They now join the Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Tesco in making a pledge to make sure their seafood supply chains are free from illegal fishing and human rights abuse. According to EJF, this is a significant step forward, as together these five companies represent the vast majority of grocery sales in the UK.
