Science Panel Urges Complete EU Ban On North Sea Cod Fishing - BBC

[hatrack]

Yeah, and I'm sure they'll act on that recommendation right away!

A complete ban on North Sea cod fishing in 2007 is the main recommendation to European governments from their scientific advisors on fisheries. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) says stocks of cod, sandeel and anchovy remain below sustainable limits.

ICES has made the same recommendation on cod for the last four years, but ministers have gone against it. The full report is released on Friday, with quotas decided in December.

It contains better news on some other species. Norwegian spring spawning herring is recovering, and Ices is recommending an increase of about 75% in its quota. Smaller quota increases are recommended for mackerel and hake, while small reductions are urged for plaice, blue whiting and sole.

Martin Pastoors, chair of the ICES committee which reviewed the scientific data, said: "Unfortunately we have not seen clear signals of recovery for the depleted cod stocks. "These stocks have a high growth potential, but the continued catches from these stocks in combination with very low recruitment (development of adult fish) have prevented a recovery." European Fisheries commissioner Joe Borg welcomed "positive elements" in the report, but industry figures maintain a ban on cod fishing is unrealistic.

EDIT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6062014.stm

[MADem]

1. Oldie but goodie--prizewinning series on the issue from 97

http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1997/public-service/works/8-1/

Delacroix fisherman Thomas Gonzales knows it. He’s watched the marshes disappear. So does Thai reef fisher Pinsom Nimsuwan, his livelihood devastated by overfishing. And Jim Hart of Newfoundland, on the public dole after the cod collapsed. They know that their old fishing ways are dying. But there is hope. After tough times, Maryland’s Mike Garvilla is doing better, pulling clams from the Atlantic Ocean. So is Fumio Terasawa, a gill netter in Shichigahama, Japan. They are part of bold efforts in cooperation and innovation that may offer the last, best hope for the fishing way of life.

Old fishing ways going under

By John McQuaid,
Staff writer

About dawn most mornings, Delacroix fisherman Thomas Gonzales crosses the road from his house to the slip on Bayou Terre Aux Boeufs, where his outboard boat is tied up, and runs the 200 crab traps he and his son, Tommy, have scattered around the marsh. Gonzales, 58, steers the boat while Tommy, 26, stands in the bow and does the lifting. It takes him 30 seconds to hoist a trap, dump the contents into the boat, then take a piece of mullet and shove it into the bait compartment before dropping the trap back overboard. His father grips the crabs, measures them to make sure they meet the size minimum, and tosses them into plywood boxes.

Some people might consider the endless repetition of pulling, dumping, baiting and dropping traps a burden. But Gonzales considers the sameness a virtue; changes in season, weather, tide and mood make it different every time. Its simplicity and continuity link the present and the past. His father, Gonzales said, spoke only Spanish and favored the seine-type nets of his Spanish ancestors.

The rhythms of life in the Louisiana marsh echo those of small-scale fishers everywhere. Many have family roots that stretch back centuries and across oceans. Some just took to the business back when anyone could go fish. They all share intimate knowledge of the water and depend on its bounty to support themselves — sometimes to stay alive.

"It looks like in about 10 years, there will be no more fishermen here. I like being on the water. Working 9 to 5 is not something I want to do." Fumio Terasawa Japanese fisherman

But those rhythms are being destroyed by the other thing that fishers around the world share: the global fishing crisis....