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  WWF 19 May 06
Smarter management needed to stop ocean plunder, says WWF and TRAFFIC

BBC 19 May 06
Deep-sea fish stocks 'plundered'

PlanetArk 19 May 06
Governments Have Failed to Stop Overfishing - Study

GENEVA - Governments worldwide have failed to prevent overfishing in the oceans, where a proliferation of bottom-trawling threatens to wipe out deep sea species, conservation groups WWF and Traffic said on Friday.

The environmentalists said the existing system of regional fisheries regulation, meant to control the depletion of ocean life, had responded slowly to new threats and done little to enforce fishing quotas or rebuild vulnerable stocks.

Their report, released ahead of a New York meeting on the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, argued that controls needed to be reinforced to prevent further damage to marine ecosystems and future food supplies.

"Given the perilous overall state of marine fisheries resources and the continuing threats posed to the marine environment from over-fishing and damaging fishing activity, the need for action is immediate," said Simon Cripps, director of the World Wildlife Fund's global marine programme. Illegal fishing "by highly mobile fleets under the control of multinational companies" was cited in the report as one of the top threats to the sustainability of marine life.

Governments were also at fault for not respecting limits. "Vast over-capacity in authorised fleets, over-fishing of stocks ... the virtual absence of robust rebuilding strategies ... and a lack of precaution where information is lacking or uncertain are all characteristic of the management regimes currently in place," it said. Stocks of some deep sea species, such as the orange roughy, have collapsed in the last decade as regulators failed to respond to an expansion of bottom-trawling in deep waters.

Despite the failure of groups like the Northwest Fisheries Organisation to stop overfishing -- a practice that can destroy marine life, cut off food supplies and eliminate jobs -- WWF and Traffic said regional blocs could achieve conservation goals.

Their report urged more cooperation between regulators and stricter environmental rules to "prevent empty oceans, empty plates and lost livelihoods in the future."

WWF 19 May 06
Smarter management needed to stop ocean plunder, says WWF and TRAFFIC

Gland, Switzerland – Governments around the world are failing to prevent over-fishing on the high seas, with many increasing catches rather than enforcing better management, reveals a new report from WWF and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Many fish stocks have collapsed or are on the brink of commercial extinction despite efforts within some regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), which are the main mechanism developed by States to regulate fishing on the high seas — the areas of ocean beyond national laws.

In the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, for example, some dissatisfied members have ignored quotas and unilaterally set their own, while within the RFMO responsible for southern Bluefin tuna, some countries regularly exceed their quotas. Alarmingly, several States are still not joining up to RFMOs and are undermining the efforts of responsible countries.

“RFMOs are an established and critical mechanism for combating over-fishing,” said Dr Simon Cripps, Director of WWF’s Global Marine Programme. “RFMOs must immediately implement their conservation and management measures if they’re to prevent empty oceans, empty plates and lost livelihoods in the future.”

The new report — Follow the Leader: Learning from experience and best practice in regional fisheries management organizations — illustrates both effective and ineffective practices while also outlining how RFMOs can work smarter and better. Download the report (PDF 1.3MB)

Over the last decade the management of high seas stocks has been challenged by the expansion of bottom-trawling into deep water to target new stocks.

With most RFMOs slow to adopt management measures for these fisheries, many deep sea populations, such as orange roughy, have collapsed.

“Although past performance of most RFMOs has been poor, innovative solutions to common problems have been developed by a few organizations resulting in a more sustainable approach,” said Anna Willock, TRAFFIC’s Senior Fisheries Advisor and co-author of the report.

“What is now urgently needed is for these best practice approaches to be shared, improved upon and more broadly adopted to combat destructive over-fishing on the high seas.”

The report is designed to inform discussions in New York next week (May 22–26) when governments meet for the Review Conference on the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, the legal framework for the management of fish stocks on the high seas.

END NOTES:

• Governance of the world’s oceans is characterised by a patchwork of organizations tasked with the conservation and management of living marine resources. Formal cooperation between States through Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) dates back to at least the 1920s and there are now 16 RFMOs with a mandate to establish binding management measures for fisheries resources.

• TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a joint programme of WWF, the global conservation organization and IUCN - The World Conservation Union.

BBC 19 May 06
Deep-sea fish stocks 'plundered'

Fish stocks in international waters are being plundered to the point of extinction, a leading conservationist group has said. Illegal fishing and bottom-trawling in deep waters are to blame, according to a report from WWF.

It says the current system of regional fishing regulation is failing to tackle the problem, with not enough being done to enforce quotas or replenish stocks. It says species under severe threat include tuna and the orange roughy. The orange roughy is targeted by bottom-trawlers, which drag heavy rollers over the ocean floor, destroying coral and other ecosystems.

"Given the perilous overall state of marine fisheries resources and the continuing threats posed to the marine environment from over-fishing and damaging fishing activity, the need for action is immediate," Simon Cripps, director of WWF's global marine programme, said.

Illegal fishing "by highly mobile fleets under the control of multinational companies" was identified as one of the worst threats to marine life.

But the report also attacked governments for over fishing. "Vast over-capacity in authorised fleets, over-fishing of stocks... the virtual absence of robust rebuilding strategies... and a lack of precaution where information is lacking or uncertain are all characteristic of the management regimes currently in place," it said.

No enforcement

The report was released ahead of a New York meeting on the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, the legal framework for the management of fish stocks on the high seas, next week.

BBC science reporter Matt McGrath says that on the high seas - away from the protection of national quotas - fish stocks are at their most vulnerable.

The regulation of fishing in these international waters is the responsibility of regional fishing management organisations - made up of countries with a vested interest in the area.

According to WWF, most are failing to manage fish stocks in a sustainable way. Decision-making is poor, it says, and the regional organisations are powerless to control the activities of countries who ignore regulations.

This backs up the conclusions of an analysis last year from the conservation group BirdLife International, which concluded that a majority of the regional fisheries organisations are failing to take their responsibilities seriously.

The authors are calling on the United Nations to review fishing on the high seas and strengthen the resolve of regional authorities to deal with states that flout agreements.

"It's got to stop, we've got to do it quickly," Mr Cripps said. "There is hope, if we can get management put in place."
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