During the meeting of North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), the EU and other participants decided on some specific conservation and management measures for 2020, while also agreed on measures to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Even though the waters off Scotland’s west coast, home to some of the richest marine habitats around any of the more than 5,000 British Isles are under strict protection, the staggering biodiversity of Scotland’s west coast still remains at risk. In fact, Wester Ross, a place called Scotland’s answer to the Great Barrier Reef and a powerhouse of biodiversity, an algae forest sheltering millions and millions of baby fish and protects them from predators is still under threat due to illegal industrial fishing.
Women’s power plays an intense role in the fishing industry, but their contribution is usually ignored. A side event on Women in Fisheries located at the Torremolinos Ministerial Conference (21-23 October), brought together key stakeholders from fisheries sector to debate the role of women in this field.
48 states signed a public declaration to indicate their determination to ratify the 2012 Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety at a Ministerial Conference held in Torremolinos, Spain. This is a significant regime to create much-needed safety standards for fishing vessels.
During a world leaders meeting in Oslo, Panama revealed its vessel tracking data through the Global Fishing Watch (GFW), highlighting the importance of vessel monitoring in the fishing sector, boosting transparency on enhancing fisheries management.
The Cook Islands and Sao Tome and Principles are the latest states to join the Cape Town Agreement in efforts to bring mandatory safety measures for fishing vessels of 24 m in length and over. The states support the implementation of safety measures for the fishing sector in efforts to better protect those working in the industry.
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.
A trawler has been arrested in Ghanaian waters after having been caught on illegally fishing at least 13.9 tonnes of small pelagic fish in a single day, using illegal nets, and has been ordered to pay a fine of $1 million by the Ghanaian authorities.
A Japanese Fisheries Agency patrol ship collided with a North Korean fishing vessel on the morning of Monday, October 7, which led to the sinking of the fishing vessel. A search for survivors has been established and as announced by the agency that all of the sixty individuals that were on board at the time have been safely rescued.
The Government of the Gambia collaborated with the Sea Shepherd arresting a fourth trawler, fishing vessel ‘Niam Niokho’ for fishing within The Gambia’s nine-nautical mile Special Management Area reserved for artisanal fishermen in less than a month.
