Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Fisheries Ministers: not enough progress, yet again.
On 17 December, after a difficult negotiation session ending at around 3:00am, the Fisheries Ministers of the European Council decided on the fishing possibilities for 2012 for EU stocks in the North Sea and the Atlantic. Despite assurances expressed by Commissioner Maria Damanaki, that ‘we have a happy end’ after the quota haggling, not enough progress has been made to ensure MSY is reached by 2015 for all stocks.
The results of the negotiations were neither consistent with following scientific advice nor with ensuring long-term sustainability of EU fisheries. According to CFP Reform Watch, the Council increased the total allowable catches (TACs) in 79% of the EU water stocks when compared to the Commission Proposals, which have been set in line with scientific advice for most stocks. Seas at Risk reports, the Council followed the Commission proposal for only 14 EU fish stocks out of 75. It has already been determined that MSY can be reached by 2015 (more specifically, the fishing mortality target, Fmsy), yet true commitment has yet to emerge for making reductions in catch levels in line with scientific advice.
It should be highlighted that prior to the Fisheries Council meeting, the Commission and Norway has agreed that the TAC for North Sea herring should be increased by more than 100% thereby abandoning the rule stipulated by the long-term management plan for the stock, where only a maximum of 15% increase in TAC should be allowed.
In the end however, the Fisheries Ministers went along with this proposal, in effect breaking the rules of the long-term management plan. This has set a very dangerous precedent for other stocks covered by long-term management plans (i.e.: cod). At a press conference Commissioner Damanaki said that Fisheries Ministers were ‘successful in keeping the long term management plans’ and agreed to ‘implement (them) in good cooperation’. Clearly this has not been the case for the North Sea herring.
Striking a balance between the need of the fisheries sector and the conservation of stocks, were deemed the most important issues at this Fisheries Council session according to the Polish Undersecretary of State of Agriculture, Tadeusz Nalewajk. Ironically, decisions relating to our limited fisheries resources are being made frivolously by setting fishing limits at unsustainable levels to guarantee jobs for fishermen. With such short-sighted perspective for most stocks today, the prognoses for ensuring fishermen have something to fish out, and consumers have fish to eat, does not look promising.
“Ministers remain under the illusion that overfishing will somehow save jobs. This disregard for scientific advice and for international commitments will undermine the future of the fishing industry and does not bode well for the ongoing reform of the Common Fisheries Policy”, said Dr. Monica Verbeek, Executive Director of Seas At Risk (SAR), in a press release.
While Maria Damanaki claims a ‘very good compromise’ has been reached, and that ‘there is a better climate referring to good cooperation, control and compliance’ (press conference), more ambitious decisions need to be taken by the Council next year, which are in line with scientific advice and ensure long-term sustainability of our fish stocks.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
IUU regulation reviewed by IEEP
On December 2, the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) published an independent review of the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing regulation, which was adopted in the European Union (EU) in September 2008, and came into force more than one year later. Although it continues to be heavily debated —inside and outside the EU— an official review of the legislation has not yet been produced by the European Commission.
Funded by the Oak Foundation, the IEEP independent analysis on the implementation of the IUU regulation specifically addresses:
• The review of the implementation process in the first year
• The identification of implementation challenges faced by Member States and third-countries; and
• Recommendations for changes that may improve the system
The goal of the IUU Regulation (EC) 1005/2008 is to combat illegal fishing by ensuring that none of its illegally caught fish and fish products end up on the Community market. It is worth noting that the regulation is indeed very significant since the European Union is the largest market for fishery products in the world— at 40% of the global market— according to IEEP report. According to the European Commission in 2009, it is estimated that IUU fishing accounts for almost 20 percent of all marine catches in the world, with a value of approximately 10 billion Euros every year. This makes IUU fishing the second largest source of fishery products in the world. EU imports of IUU catches, according to ‘conservative’ estimates in the IEEP report, have been valued at 1.1 billion Euros in 2005 alone.
The regulation also focuses on control of all landings and transshipment of third-country fishing vessels in Community ports, and all trade of marine fishery products to and from the European Union.
The importance of the IUU regulation cannot be underestimated due to the large EU market share, “if the Regulation is successful, it could have a considerable influence on global IUU fishing”, IEEP reports.
The IEEP analysis of the IUU regulation identified the following gaps:
1) Deficiencies in the catch certification scheme— the paper certificates are vulnerable to fraud (massive amounts of products requiring certification and validation) and this cannot sufficiently prevent illegal imports into the EU market. The report mentions that the DNA sampling methodology for traceability, control and enforcement, could be explored for implementation in the EU, as it has proven effective elsewhere; in addition it is very important to identify which species ‘are vulnerable to fraudulent trading’ in order to understand the ‘lucrative illegal trade flows… and closing up the loopholes’.
2) Over-dependence on the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), which are known to be ‘slow, cumbersome, and political’, when adding vessels to the Community Black List. IEEP recommends that the Commission manages the vessel lists itself, updating the list not annually as is currently the case, but on a more frequent basis.
3) Lack of action on publication of the Community Alert System and the Non-Cooperating Third Country List. It is recommended that a timeframe is provided for establishing the Non-Cooperating Third Country List, or progress on establishing such list should be communicated by the Commission. This would be helpful in identifying the effectiveness of trade restrictions or sanctions on non-cooperating third countries.
4) Lack of transparency on Commission’s actions and implementation of the regulation. The report suggests that the Commission should improve ‘its communication on the implementation process on all aspects’, including the publication of non-cooperating states, which at the moment is confidential.
The report findings were compiled using a comprehensive methodological process which included the completion of three parts. The first part included a desktop review of the available documents on IUU fishing and existing legislation. The second part included the identification of challenges experienced by Member States in the first year of implementation of the IUU regulation. This part was completed using two sets of questionnaires: first questionnaire designed for DG Mare; and, another one was distributed to 20 of the 27 Member States and included follow-up interviews. The third and last phase of the process included the analysis of EU fisheries imports to determine the effectiveness of the catch certification scheme, which if effective, it was hypothesized, should have changed EU import trends.
Despite the identification of the gaps listed above, a more comprehensive assessment on the implementation and effectiveness of the regulation is still required. So far, no official review date of the IUU Regulation has been set by the European Commission; however, according to Article 55 of the Regulation, the EC must undertake this task by 29 October 2013.
For detailed information contained in the report please check the links below:
EU fisheries subsidies evaluation shows that they contribute to overcapacity
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) today strongly criticised the use of subsidies in sustaining overcapacity when publishing its investigation entitled “have EU measures contributed to adapting the capacity of the fishing fleets to available fishing opportunities?” The court investigated spending in seven member states (Denmark, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the UK) and found that four had set inadequate targets for reducing their fleet, leading to overcapacity, which the court identify as one of the main reasons behind the “failure of the CFP”.
These findings were welcomed by Commissioner Damanaki, who agreed with their comments regarding overcapacity and stated that a system of TFCs with adequate safeguards to prevent quota concentration would help to solve this endemic problem. She also argued that the proposed EMFF should stop financing the scrapping of vessels while providing funds for projects that will adapt capacity toward more sustainable ends.
Decommissioning programmes were condemned in the ECA report as a waste of resources given that the alignment between fishing capacity and fishing opportunities has been so poorly matched. Despite vast sums being used to remove vessels from the fleet, vessel modernisation being also subsidised has in fact meant that taxpayers’ have paid to both remove some modernise other vessels. This has left the European fleet bloated, uncompetitive and subsidy dependent.
Moreover, the ECA report highlights the outdated methods of defining fishing capacity that member states have applied, namely kW and GT. These no longer reflect the ability of fishing vessels to catch fish and run contrary to the Commission guidelines on how to measure fishing capacity and also feature in the annual report from the Commission to the European Parliament. Better evaluation standards which gauge the efficiency of vessels would better enable fishing opportunities to be matched by catching capacity.
The entrenched failure to deal with overcapacity has been one of the hallmarks of the CFP. However, recent proposals by the Commission on EMFF funding, which contain provisions for modernisation but neglect to include mandatory capacity ceilings are unlikely to solve the problem.
Multi-Species Plan for the Baltic Sea
At the end of November, the Expert Working Group of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), an advisory body to the European Commission on fisheries management, met in Edinburgh to establish an initial work plan for an impact assessment for the Multi-Species plan for the Baltic Sea. The plan is suggested to include the Baltic sprat, herring and cod.
Impact assessments for the long-term cod management plans for the Kattegat, North Sea, Irish Sea and the sea West of Scotland, were also discussed.
A multi-species plan for the Baltic Sea is a collaborative effort and has been in development for a while now. Already in 2009, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) evaluated the possibilities for a joint management of the Baltic herring and sprat stocks. Due to the recent recovery of the Eastern Baltic cod stock under the multiannual cod management plan, the European Commission (EC) requested that a multi-species management plan should be developed for the Baltic Sea, particularly addressing ecosystem effects on the pelagic fish assembly.
The STECF meeting imparted scientific knowledge on the state of the Baltic Sea herring, sprat and cod stocks, as well as the nature and economic reality of the Baltic fishing fleet targeting those species. The aspiration of the European Commission (EC) is that all the Baltic stocks managed under catch quotas, including the Kattegat stocks, should be covered under the long-term management plans, albeit not necessarily by multi-species or multi-fisheries plans.
The initial discussions, therefore, focused on which stocks should be included in the initial multi-species plan. It was proposed to include herring, sprat and cod from the Baltic Sea east of Bornholm since satisfactory scientific data is available for those species in this Baltic Sea region. There are some data gaps however, particularly relating to the cod diet, which are needed to ensure reliable modelling. Western Baltic Sea cod and spring spawning herring, were proposed to be included in the plan with technical measures only, since not much data is available on their biological interactions with other stocks.
The final version of the multi-species management plan is likely to be a combination of a multi-species plan and a multi-fisheries plan. The possibility to include technical measures concerning other fish was also discussed, with main reference to salmon, in addition to flounder and turbot, which are commonly caught as by-catch in the demersal cod fishery.
The Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council (BSRAC) was also present at the meeting. The one-third group of the BSRAC is formed by environmental NGOs, who proposed the following action points for the initial multi-species management plan for the Baltic Sea:
- The inclusion of as many stocks and species as possible, although the scientific knowledge of biological interactions between stocks should be of main concern
- The inclusion of all commercial fisheries as well as recreational fisheries
- The direct and indirect ecological effects on species not included in the plan (e.g. coastal fishes and sticklebacks) should be further highlighted
- The technical measures for reducing by-catch, especially flatfish and salmon, should be included from the starting point of implementation
- The incorporation of the historical geographical and size distribution of cod in the evaluations, due to the fact that different sizes of cod have different ecological impacts
- Finally, the reservation of more fishing opportunities for fisheries utilising selective fishing techniques, which are less damaging to habitats and have lower carbon footprint
It is noteworthy that ICES has also commenced work towards developing the multi-species management plan for the Baltic Sea. Both STECF and ICES work collaboratively on the matter, and division of tasks was identified to avoid duplication of work.
The next STECF meeting is planned for March 2012, and the first draft of the impact assessment has to be delivered to the Commission in June 2013, at the latest.
EU-Morocco fisheries deal rejected by the European Parliament
At a plenary today, members of the EP rejected the fisheries partnership agreement (FPA) with Morocco by 326 votes to 296.
The agreement had been strongly criticised by the fisheries committee rapporteur Carl Haglund, and both the budget and development committees voted against the extension. However, the fisheries committee, which hasseveral MEPs noted for representing vested interests from the large-scale industrial fishing fleet, had supported the extension by 12 votes to 8.
Several MEPs had written an op-ed in the European Voice prior to the vote, calling for this rejection on financial, environmental and legal grounds. Moreover, an independent evaluation of the agreement concluded that the agreement has been a failure and benefits the EU less than any other FPA.
After the plenary rejected the deal, Christofer Fjellner, a Swedish MEP from the EPP group, said he voted against the deal to “stop the tax-subsidised overfishing and… against the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara”. Asa Westlund, a Swedish MEP from S&D stated that this was a triumph for international law and the people of Western Sahara.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
TFCs discussed at hearing in Brussels
At a meeting in which Danish and Norwegian experiences of ITQ systems were presented, the consensus from four MEPs was that such a system of quota allocation should not be mandatory but may be a useful tool to reduce capacity if stringent safeguards are implemented.
Ole Christensen, a Danish social democrat MEP who is a substitute on the Fisheries Committee (PECH), organised the hearing as part of a series of meetings focusing on specific parts of the CFP reform as part of his work with the Fish For the Future (FFF) group.
The FFF group are a cross-party coalition of MEPs committed to reforming the Common Fisheries Policy. This group may have an important role to play in coordinating and informing MEPs from all parties now that the European Parliament has co-decision powers on fisheries legislation as a result of the Lisbon Treaty.
Ulrike Rodust, a German social democrat MEP who is the rapporteur for the CFP basic regulation, began her presentation by linking TFCs to overcapacity. She argued that the current overcapacity in the EU fleet leads to three significant problems; underused vessels having the potential to engage in illegal fishing, control and monitoring of fishing activities are more difficult, and that overcapacity puts pressure on the Council to increase TACs.
Rodust felt that TFCs would help fishermen to better plan their work and quota would concentrate in the hands of successful fishing companies. Moreover, those who wish to leave the industry would receive a payout by selling out their share of fishing concessions. She argues that an increased sense of responsibility would emerge in fishermen as the status of fish stocks would have a direct economic impact on them.
However, several of the presumptions Rodust made during her presentation were challenged by Thomas Hojrup of the University of Copenhagen in his analysis of the consequences of the Danish ITQ system. His research has shown that TFCs do not contribute to a decrease in illegal fishing, rather highgrading becomes more prevalent as fishers attempt to maximise the value of their limited catch. This has also been borne out in the privatised Pacific halibut fishery.
Moreover, the claim that having fishing rights concentrated in the hands of fewer vessels will reduce the pressure on Ministers to increase TACs at Council meetings fails to hold up to scrutiny. Hojrup explained that most quota transactions in Denmark have been funded by bank loans, with existing quota being used as security against the loans. A hypothetical situation in which interest rates were to rise sharply would mean that unless TACs were raised by Ministers, fishermen could go bankrupt, thus creating significant pressure on the Council to ignore scientific recommendations.
Isabella Lovin, a Green MEP from Sweden, posited that access criteria would be a superior method of quota allocation to TFCs, in terms of reducing capacity while redirecting incentives in the European fleet toward those vessels that are most sustainable. However, were TFCs to be utilised then obligations should be attached to these concessions so that Member States can direct their fleet toward long-term objectives of stock recovery. As a warning of what may happen were the EU to embrace the TFC system, the experience of Iceland whose Parliament has rejected their existing ITQ system and has now implemented a buyback scheme to restore quota ownership from their banking sector back to the State was raised.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
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Commission proposals on new fisheries fund launched
Today, the European Commission published its proposals for the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The subsidy package will run from 2014–2020 and is valued at €6.5 billion, a slight increase on the previous fund.
Subsidies will be aimed at achieving the objectives of the reformed CFP, as Commissioner Damanaki hinted at during her visit to Stockholm last week. She gave the example of subsidies being made available for more shifting to more selective gears in order to pave the way/support the proposed discard ban .
Damanaki stated that the EMFF “will help fishermen in the transition towards sustainable fishing, as well as coastal communities in the diversification of their economies,” while also warning that “no more money will be spent to build big vessels”. No mention was made regarding subsidies for the modernisation of such vessels.
Aquaculture will also be a big beneficiary of the new subsidy package. The Commission press release states that “the fund will strive to boost this industry in a sustainable manner”. This at least signals a shift in the Commission’s language from July when the proposals for the CFP reform were launched, and no mention of sustainability was made.
Damanaki is aware that the CFP has led to the overexploitation of fish stocks, sometimes supported by a generous subsidy scheme that often favoured the most unsustainable and environmentally damaging vessels. She hopes that putting funds in place to assist the transition to fishing methods that are more selective and targeted will rebuild fish stocks to their previous levels.
However, it remains to be seen whether the small adjustments proposed in the EMFF budget will help to reduce fleet overcapacity, which has for so long been the scourge of sustainable fisheries management in EU waters. While the proposals include funds to further a social agenda in fishing communities through economic diversification, it remains to be seen whether this will lead to a reduction in fishing pressure.
Rather, the Commission proposals overall, including the EMFF, seem to embed overcapacity still further by removing the scrapping fund, failing to enforce capacity ceilings in Member States and most importantly by neglecting to include any measures to halt the increased catching capacity of existing vessels through technological creep.
Fishsubsidy.org is an organisation that has followed subsidies in EU fisheries closely over the years. They have raised persistent concerns over the lack of transparency with which subsidies are allocated and the lack of sanctions applied to vessels that receive public funds but have been convicted of illegal fishing activities. However, they welcomed the proposals that compel Member States to publish their data in specific data formats; however, concerns with transparency persist over national co-financing and European subsidies still not being separated and end recipients of subsidies, such as vessels, not being named. This practice has been criticised by the OCEAN2012 coalition as “blind spending”.
Scandinavian countries say ‘YES’ to a discard ban: first step to a complete ban in the EU?
On November 23, Ministers of Fisheries in Sweden, Denmark and Norway signed a joint declaration to end the discarding of dead fish in the Skagerrack. The agreement will come into force on 1 January 2013 at the latest.
The agreement was presented just before a meeting on the ‘Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy: Ban of discards and minimising by-catch’ in Stockholm, Sweden, attended by Commissioner Maria Damanaki. According to the Swedish Fisheries Minister, Eskil Erlandsson, it is hoped it will be the first step to a complete discard ban in the EU.
The event, organised by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry (KSLA), was dedicated to the rather controversial topic of fish discarding and bycatch, and attracted about 100 participants. This meeting was of significant importance because in July of this year, the European Commission proposed a gradual discard ban for a few commercial fish species, but not all bycatch, as part of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The approach proposed by the Commission, however, fails to address the widespread discarding of non-commercial species, thereby reducing the incentive to prevent these unwanted catches in the first place.
The focus on the wasteful practice of discarding was tabled by the European Commission already under the previous Commissioner for Maritime Affairs & Fisheries, Joe Borg. Since then the issue has been influenced by the Fish Fight campaign, which has helped the current Commissioner, Maria Damanaki, highlight the problem of discarding among the general public across Europe. So far close to 800 000 people in the European Union and beyond actively support the cause, and politicians are paying attention.
The Scandinavian countries are now ahead of the game in relation to the CFP reform process. In response to a question last Wednesday, Commissioner Damanaki claimed that a discard ban, including non-commercial bycatch, may be implemented in the future.
Discarding of unwanted catches (or bycatch) leaves 1.3 million tonnes of perfectly good fish thrown back to the sea each year – often dead or badly damaged. Bycatch is defined as fish (commercial or non-commerical species) caught unintentionally while trying to catch other fish. Bycatch includes untargeted catch, which means catching undersized/ juvenile individuals or protected species.
The two key reasons for discarding are highgrading, which is improving quality of landings by throwing out lower value catch before entering port, and the dumping of unwanted catches, which are often unprofitable, or over the allotted quotas thus illegal. Maritime Affairs & Fisheries Commissioner, Maria Damanaki, was very clear that it is not acceptable, nor ethical, to throw hundreds of thousands of tonnes of perfectly good fish overboard.
During her speech, Damanaki emphasized that it is not fair to only blame the fishing industry for discarding, as she claims the fishermen are locked into the policy ‘box’. “Discarding is not something invented by the fishermen” said Damanaki, “policy makers are as much to blame”. Despite Damanaki’s claims however, the incentives fishermen have to discard through highgrading, and simply the desire for maximising profits will continue to exist. Clearly, this practice will need to be targeted and will require control and enforcement as tools to counteract the continuation of such behaviour. Change is required on the policy side and the industry side alike.
In the view of the European Commission, the discard ban should be mandatory for all fishermen catching the selected stocks included in the current discard ban proposal, in order to ensure a level-playing field for all, to change consumer perception through retailers of fish and fish products, and to enable consumers to buy fish from sustainable markets.
The implementation of the ban for the selected commercial pelagic species in 2014 will not be easy. The issue of landing undersized fish is particularly sensitive politically. It is also very complex and has been debated on many fronts for many years. There seems to be a push for renewed discussions on the landing sizes and the catch composition. For years now, Denmark has been advocating a lower landing size of cod, and it is widely known that the processing sector preference is for ‘plate sized’ fish. This proposal has been vigorously opposed by many environmental groups who claim that such decision will bend the rules to enable juvenile fish ending up on the market. The new Danish Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, Mette Gjerskov, believes that proposing changes to minimum landing sizes will need to be introduced because of the problems in solving the market for juveniles. Commissioner Damanaki suggested that juveniles could be processed into fishmeal. This issue clearly needs some streamlining and further discussion before consensus is reached.
The implementation of the proposed discard ban requires collaboration of both Member State governments and the fishing industry. The industry will need to believe that the discard ban is a good way to do business and the way forward, as there will always be ways around regulations. Damanaki emphasised that money under the new European Maritime & Fisheries Fund (EMFF) will fund innovation, including innovation in selective gear types. The EMFF will also support trials to reduce discards and fund storage mechanisms for producer organisations.
The topic of reducing discards was taken up by a panel discussion at the end of the meeting, which included seven Swedish MPs and a representative from the fishing industry. Some of the panellists thought it would be sensible, while others did not, that those vessels that already comply with a discard ban and are examples of best practice in terms of responsible fishing and impact positively on marine ecosystems, should be rewarded with a larger share of the quota – as opposed to just non-compliant vessels being paid to participate in trials and having more selective gear provided to them. This item ties well to the OCEAN2012 notion of access criteria, which advocates that those who fish sustainably (i.e.: those who use highly selective gear) should get priority access to the fisheries, thus in the long run, reducing the amount of vessels with unsustainable fishing practices.
The meeting featured many high profile Swedish politicians, Norwegian and Danish Fisheries Ministers, civil servants, and stakeholders such as commercial fishermen, small-scale fishermen, non-governmental organisations, and representatives from the food industry supporting sustainable fisheries.
For more information you can refer to the items below.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Seminar on Low Impact Fisheries – considerations for the new CFP
In 2009, Seas at Risk (SAR) compiled a comprehensive document on how to move to Low Impact Fisheries (LIF) in Europe, defined as more selective fishing techniques which are less damaging to habitats and have lower carbon footprints. Also, existing hurdles preventing such developments were discussed.
As a continuation SAR is soon launching a report on how to include LIF in the new Common Fishery Policy (CFP) and how policy measures could support developments towards more sustainable fishing techniques.
To highlight the coming report and to discuss the most important conclusions of their study, SAR organised a seminar at the European Parliament in Brussels on November 22. The meeting was well attended, and there was broad support from MEPs, Permanent Representatives, NGOs and industry, and also from Commissioner Maria Damanaki to include policy measures encouraging LIF in the new CFP. The seminar was attended by MEPs Anna Rosbach, Isabella Lovin and Christofer Fjellner.
Crick Carleton, from Nautilus Consultants, presented the most important messages of the soon to be published report: In the current proposal for the new CFP, there is much focus on matching fleets to fishing opportunities, in the management of stocks to reach MSY, but the question of how to minimise fishing-induced negative impacts on the environment and to protect biodiversity are neglected.
Carleton’s main message was that only small changes of the current wording are needed to induce large changes to include LIF in the revised CFP. For example, there should be explicit reference to LIF as an objective in the CFP and it is important to link this objective to existing Directives, especially to the Marie Strategy Framework Directive. Fishing regulations could thereby become flexible, so that for instance in threatened marine areas only LIF vessels could be permitted to fish. Furthermore, Carleton pointed out that a failing within the Commission’s CFP proposals is that high and low impact fisheries are not distinguished.
For Carleton, the introduction of Transferable Fishing Concessions (TFCs) should not be mandatory as suggested by the Commission for the CFP. Since fishing-induced environmental impact is often correlated with vessel size (small scale fisheries in general have less negative impact) there is a risk that TFCs will cause increased marine degradation by larger vessels, as quota is likely to concentrate in their hands. However, if implemented, Member States (MS) should make use of a range of management tools to restrict or counter the negative consequences through low impact fisheries. Clear guidance on appropriate tools were recommended to be included in the Basic Regulation and preference in the allocation of TFCs to those vessels deploying low impact fishing gear and practices should be one of those tools.
Regarding discarding, there is also a need to broaden the focus from “landing what you catch” to “not catching what you do not want”, which implies improved selectivity in of gears and fishing techniques.
It was also proposed that the possibility for Member States to reserve up to 5% of national fishing opportunities for allocation according to eligibility criteria, as proposed in the new CFP, should be expanded gradually to a mandatory reserve of at least 25% of national fishing opportunities. Guidance on allocation criteria should be agreed at EU level to ensure this 25% reserve serves to promote low impact fisheries.
At the meeting, Commissioner Damanaki stressed that we have already reached the “red line area” and that fishing cannot continue in the current way. She stated that funds available for the development of European fisheries should remain at the current level and assured that these funds would be used more progressively in the future, as part of the shift to more sustainable fisheries. “We will generously finance the selectivity of the gears”, she stated. She also stressed that the same rules should apply in European waters as well as for EU vessels fishing in foreign waters.
MEP Isabella Lovin summed up the meeting and in her closing remarks she expressed the need for not only rewarding Low Impact Fisheries but actively prohibiting fisheries that have significant negative impacts on the environment. She also advocated that Environmental Impact Assessments of all fisheries should be mandatory. Moreover, she concluded that socio-economic considerations must be included to safeguard especially small-scale, and often coastal, fisheries.
Marine Strategy Framework Directive: Commission files a case against Poland
Yesterday, the European Commission filed a case against Poland for failure to introduce a strategy for the protection of the Baltic Sea, as part of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The complaint case was filed to the court of Justice of the European Union, and the Commission requested an imposition of a daily fine of nearly EUR 60 000, counted from the court sentencing date, unless legislation strategy is presented before that time.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) came into force on 15 July 2008, and is a legislative instrument, which aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) in the European seas by 2020.
The strategy for Baltic Sea protection was supposed to be available from July 15, 2010, which means Poland missed the deadline by more than one year. Also at this time, the criteria and methodological standards for the interpretation of each descriptor of Good Environmental Status (GES) must have been agreed to, according to information from Seas at Risk, an organization involved in negotiating the MSFD legislation, and now working with its implementation.
Good Environmental Status is the basis of MSFD and contains eleven descriptors with which Member States need to comply. Some of the criteria for GES of marine waters in the EU focus on a myriad of aspects within the marine ecosystems framework, and include aspects such as fish stocks, biological diversity, eutrophication, contaminants, and more.
Lack of action by the Polish government on this issue puts the protection of fish stocks in the Baltic Sea at risk as well, which does not work in symbiosis with the push towards sustainable fisheries under the future Common Fisheries Policy, which is currently being reformed.
In addition to the above, Poland will also receive a so called ‘reasoned opinion’ from the European Commission regarding inappropriate action on programs concerning areas vulnerable to nitrate pollution, specifically nitrites found in agricultural fertilizers. According to Gospodarka Morska, a Polish Maritime & Fisheries news portal, the Commission believes that “Poland has not yet identified all the areas vulnerable to nitrate pollution. If Poland fails to do so within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the EU Court of Justice”.
For more information on this issue see the links below.
EU-Morocco Agreement gets a ‘go ahead’ from the Fisheries Committee
Despite earlier recommendations by the Budget and Development Committees in the European Parliament to reject the extension of the EU- Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement, the vote in the Fisheries Committee (PECH) today approved the extension.
As reported on CFP Reform Watch, the result of the vote in PECH was not as close as initially expected: 12 members voted in favour of the agreement, 8 voted against, and 1 member abstained.
The decisive vote in the European Parliament (EP) plenary will take place in December, 2011. The EP, however, has a limited ability to affect the deal as there will be less than three months remaining on the partnership after their final vote. The Council renewed the agreement on 28 February 2011, and it will run until 27 February 2012. The EP vote should not be underestimated however, as it may have a bearing on subsequent renewals.
The Agreement has previously been criticised in an external consultant review for providing the lowest cost-benefit financial returns to the EU of all ongoing bilateral agreements, in addition to documented human rights violations relating to fishing activities in the waters of Western Sahara.
Carl Haglund, the rapporteur in the Fisheries Committee, was very critical about the extension in his report as well, stating that the European Parliament (EP) should reject an extension on the basis that it is ecologically and environmentally unsustainable and that it has no significant macro-economic effect on either the EU or Morocco. However, an amendment was introduced, which effectively reversed the conclusions of his report and led to PECH’s approval of the EU- Morocco agreement, according to CFP Reform Watch.
Fraud by Galician shipowner amplifies the need to clean-up subsidies
Shipowner, Manuel Antonio Vidal Pego of Ribeira, Spain, was condemned by the Provincial Court of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria for fraud as a result of illegal fisheries within the convention area for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and concealing this fact—for economic benefit—during a significant trade transaction with a representative of Coast Line Marine Services LTD. The illegal fishing activity has been spotted by the Australian authorities.
Vidal Pego already has a history of illegal fisheries dating back to 2003, a time during which he was internationally condemned for IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing activities onboard ship ‘Viarsa’. The company he’s affiliated with has also been linked to receiving substantial EU- based public aid funding.
It has been reported that Spanish fishermen involved in illegal catches are receiving multi-million euro payouts from the EU fisheries subsidy system within the European Fisheries Fund (EFF). It is alleged that the Galician government specifically, provides subsidies to companies ‘closely linked’ to IUU fishing which further confounds the problem.
It is now widely known that the lack of transparency in the EU fisheries subsidy allocation in the European Union means that guesswork is required to know how much money has been spent and who has received funds. Spain is a huge benefactor of the EU subsidies, pocketing about 40% of all the payments. This situation is unacceptable and the Commission needs to reform the system under the proposed new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund—which will replace the current EFF—so that public funds are given out with accountability.
For the transgression, the sentence legislated by the Provincial court of Las Palmas required the incarceration of Vidal Pego for one year and eight months; in addition, for eight months of that sentence, the shipowner is required to pay a daily fine of 15 EUR (which totals about 3800 EUR). Coast Line Marine LTD, shall be compensated for loss and damages in the amount of USD 2.74 million, and 10% of that amount in lost profits.
For more information please see the links below.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
MSC certified fisheries show positive environmental impacts
Published yesterday, the report carried out by three expert marine science consultancies, Researching the Environmental Impacts of the MSC Certification Programme, concludes that those fisheries which are engaged in Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification process show progress in minimizing negative environmental impacts.
The analysis focused on eight key outcome performance indicators, which MSC utilises in their process of assessments: stock status, population reference points, stock recovery, retained species, bycatch species, endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species, habitats and ecosystems.
For more information please download the report Executive Summary, or the full Report.
We want green fish, EU consumers say
An overwhelming majority of European consumers – in southern Europe more than 90 percent – want to see more sustainably caught products in the fish counters, a recent WWF poll shows.
Still, the survey in 14 countries performed by an independent research institute showed that few consumers felt they were provided sufficient information about where and how the fish on sale were caught – so they had a chance to make sure that the product did not come from overfished stocks or was fished with unsustainable methods.
Eighty-eight percent of the respondents said that they think it is indeed important that fish products on sale within the European Union come from non-overfished stocks. Perhaps most surprising was the overwhelming support in southern European countries with dominating fishing sectors in the Union:
In Portugal (92 percent), France (93 percent), Spain (91 percent), Italy (95 percent) and Belgium (91 percent) more than nine out of ten consumers asked said it is important that fish on sale comes from non-overfished sustainable stocks.
“Europeans are clearly fed up with the disastrous management of our fisheries. They want the EU to turn the trend of overfishing around and the reform of the CFP offers exactly that opportunity to Members of the European Parliament and to EU Governments.” said Louize Hill, Head of Fisheries and Marine at WWF’s European Policy Office.
“We cannot afford to continue wasting our precious marine resources in times of economic crisis. The 2012 CFP reform has to be the one that delivers change.”
Asked whether they though they had adequate information on to which extent the fish on sale comes from well-managed, sustainable sources, 72 percent of those polled said no.
The survey included 14,635 adults in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
In other reports this spring, consumers in both Spain and the UK have expressed doubts about the labelling of seafood in their stores.
The new economics foundation (nef) report on “Value slipping through the net: managing fish stocks in the public interest” has been published
The report reveals the inefficiency of a European fisheries management system which rewards those who underperform in social, economic and environmental terms and punishes those that generate more societal benefits.
Over the period 2006-2008, the report compared two types of fishing – gillnets and trawlers – by the value created for society in terms of net revenues, employment, subsidies, discards, and greenhouse gas emissions. The results found that gillnets produced far higher value within the cod fishery and that trawlers were much more heavily subsidised through public funds.
Criticisms were also made of the way in which quota distribution methods in the EU have failed to provide societal benefits. Currently, the EU allocates fish resources on the basis of relative stability, and then each member state allocates their share of TACs to different sectors of the fleet based on histrorical records. However, this fails to prioritise fishing activities which deliver the most benefit to the public. The report recommends that as fish are a public resource, the implementation of access criteria as a means to provide priority access to those fishing in the most environmentally and socially sustainable way would provide greater benefits to the public while also being conducive to rebuilding the perilous state of fish resources.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Desert caviar a pricey first
Very far from its classic haunts in the Caspian Sea, sturgeon for exclusive caviar productions is now bred in – the Abu Dhabi desert.
The project – the world’s largest recirculating aquaculture system for sturgeons, and the first in the Middle East – is being run by the German firm United Food Technologies AG. The farm spans some 61,000 square metres, and at full capacity the plant will yield 32 yearly tonnes of caviar and 490 yearly tonnes of sturgeon, unprecedented quantities in the business.
To shorten the production process of 4-4.5 years and allow the company to put forth its first caviar by the end of this year, mature fish are initially shipped in for farming. Thus, 140 tonnes of live sturgeon, or 22 fish, were imported from Frankfurt by sea and air in early April to start the process.
Due to overfishing, water pollution and the increasing demand for oil in the Caspian Sea, where many of the fish roam, 85 per cent of sturgeon species are classified at risk of extinction. Farming them thus appears to be the best way to satisfy the world’s demand for the fish’s caviar, the German company believes.
Damanaki to address UK Parliament committee on CFP reform
On Thursday 27th October, Commissioner Damanaki will be exchanging views with the Members of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee of the UK Parliament on the Commission proposals for a reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The session will be webstreamed live.
This follows on from today’s committee hearing at which representatives from the fishing industry gave evidence, and last week’s hearing which featured scientists and NGOs. All of these proceedings can be viewed from the link below.
A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929
At a time when food is becoming increasingly scarce in many parts of the world and food prices are skyrocketing, no industry is more important than agriculture. Humans have been farming for thousands of years, and yet agriculture has undergone more fundamental changes in the past 80 years than in the previous several centuries. In 1900, 30 million American farmers tilled the soil or tended livestock; today there are fewer than 4.5 million farmers who feed a population four times larger than it was at the beginning of the century. Fifty years ago, the planet could not have sustained a population of 6.5 billion; now, commercial and industrial agriculture ensure that millions will not die from starvation. Farmers are able to feed an exponentially growing planet because the greatest industrial revolution in history has occurred in agriculture since 1929, with U.S. farmers leading the way. Productivity on American farms has increased tenfold, even as most small farmers and tenants have been forced to find other work. Today, only 300,000 farms produce approximately ninety percent of the total output, and overproduction, largely subsidized by government programs and policies, has become the hallmark of modern agriculture. A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929 charts the profound changes in farming that have occurred during author Paul K. Conkin's lifetime. His personal experiences growing up on a small Tennessee farm complement compelling statistical data as he explores America's vast agricultural transformation and considers its social, political, and economic consequences. He examines the history of American agriculture, showing how New Deal innovations evolved into convoluted commodity programs following World War II. Conkin assesses the skills, new technologies, and government policies that helped transform farming in America and suggests how new legislation might affect farming in decades to come. Although the increased production and mechanization of farming has been an economic success story for Americans, the costs are becoming increasingly apparent. Small farmers are put out of business when they cannot compete with giant, non-diversified corporate farms. Caged chickens and hogs in factory-like facilities or confined dairy cattle require massive amounts of chemicals and hormones ultimately ingested by consumers. Fertilizers, new organic chemicals, manure disposal, and genetically modified seeds have introduced environmental problems that are still being discovered. A Revolution Down on the Farm concludes with an evaluation of farming in the twenty-first century and a distinctive meditation on alternatives to our present large scale, mechanized, subsidized, and fossil fuel and chemically dependent system.
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CFP reform discussed during hearing in UK parliamentary committee
Today, the UK Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee sat to discuss the CFP reform. Professor Alex Rogers from the University of Oxford and the new economics foundation (nef) a founding member of OCEAN2012 were invited to give evidence.
A wide ranging discussion took place on the Commission’s proposals for the CFP reform, including TFCs, discards and regionalisation.
A webcast of the hearing can be found at the link below.
Agriculture Investment - A Must Read Article
Finding the best agriculture investment can be tricky for the inexperienced investor with little or no knowledge of the sector, but there are of course many different options available including agriculture investment funds, direct agricultural land investment, and purchasing equities in agricultural companies. In this article I will go some way to explaining the different options, the risks they present to investors, the mechanics of how each type of agriculture investment works, and the returns that are currently being achieved. You can also download?a complete agriculture investment guide at the link at the bottom of this article.
Firstly we will look at the relevance of agriculture investment for the current economic climate, and whether this particular sector shows us the signs of being able to generate growth and income.
The Current Economic Climate
The global economy is still in a state of turmoil, and the UK in particular is cutting back public spending to reduce an unmanageable national debt, the population is growing, and quantitative easing is likely to lead us into a period of extended inflation. Also, the lack of economic visibility means that it is very hard to value assets such as stocks, and interest rates being so low means that our cash deposits are not generating any tangible income to speak of.
So what does this mean for investors? It means that we need to buy assets that have a positive correlation with inflation i.e. they go up in value quicker than the rate of inflation, these assets must also generate an income to replace the income we have lost from cash, and finally any asset that we purchase must also have a strong and measurable track record.
It is very clear that agriculture investment, especially investing in agricultural land, displays the characteristics of growth, income, a positive correlation with inflation, is easy to value, and has a clear and evident track record to analyse, and as such agriculture investment ticks all of the relevant boxes to potentially become the ideal asset class for investors today.
Agriculture Investment Fundamentals
The fundamentals supporting agriculture investment are pretty easy to measure; as the global population grows we need more food, to produce more food we need more agricultural land as this is the resource that provides all of the grain and cereals that we eat, and all of the space to graze the livestock that end up on our plate. So we are dealing with a very basic question of supply and demand, if demand increases and supply can't keep up, the value of the underlying asset increases, so let's look at some of the key indicators of supply and demand for agriculture investment.
For seven of the last eight years we have consumed more grain than we have produced, bringing the global store down to critical levels.
Since 1961 the amount of agricultural land per person has dropped by 50% (0.42 hectares per person down to 0.21 hectares per person in 2007).
The global population is expected to grow by 9 billion by 2050.
Most think tanks and experts believe that we will need to increase the amount of agricultural land by 50% to support that growth, essentially a productive field the size of greater London need to be found every week.
In the last ten years virtually no more land has been bought into production as climate change, degradation and development and a host of other factors mean that there is little or no more new land we could use to farm.
The underlying asset that produces our food, the land, will become more valuable as more people demand food.
Agricultural land value rise when the food it produces can be sold for a higher price, making owning farmland more profitable, and food prices are at a 40 year low, leaving room for around 400% price inflation. In fact a bushel of wheat cost around $27 in the early seventies and now costs just $3.
Farmland in the UK has risen in value by 20% from June 2009 to June 2010, and 13% in 2010 alone according to the Knight Frank Farmland Index.
So the fundamentals supporting agriculture investment are sound and very clearly demonstrate a good picture for potential investment. But can we absorb price inflation? Well there are a myriad of studies that tell us very clearly that as a population, we absorb increases in food prices almost 100%, and sacrifice spending in other areas, so yes, we can.
Methods of Agriculture Investment
Agriculture Investment Funds
There are many types of agriculture investment funds to choose from, most invest in farming businesses, other purely in arable land, and others by stock in agricultural services companies. Most agriculture investment funds are showing excellent growth, and the fact that they are buying has increased the level of demand in the market therefore their mere presence is contributing to capital growth. Rural agent Savills recently commented on the fact that they have access to ?7 billion in capital from fund to purchase farms, that is enough capital to purchase six times the amount of farmland that will be advertised in the UK this year, in fact, according to Knight Frank there has been 30% less farmland advertised this year from last, and buyer enquiries have increased by 9%.
To talk about risk for a moment, the risk involved with this fund based investment strategy is that you give over control to a fund manager who will spend your money for you and acquire assets that he or she believes are relevant. Also, if one fund performs badly, that usually has a knock on effect for other agriculture investment funds as confidence in this particular strategy takes a hot, you can therefore lose value through no fault of your own. You also have to pay a fund management fee, eating into your profits.
In terms of the returns one can expect from a fund, this varies wildly but most project annual returns of around 10%, although this will vary depending on a whole host of factors including the fund management, investment strategy, and general market conditions.
Buying Shares in Agricultural Companies?as an Agriculture Investment
Another option for chose considering cashing in on agriculture investment is to purchase shares in an agricultural business, be that a farming business, or a services business, the options to consider vary wildly and careful thought must be undertaken to pick a suitable market (LSE, NASDAQ etc), and then a suitable company in which to invest. The business of picking shares remains, in my opinion, a job best left to those with the time, experience and resources to carefully research the company, its management, and it product line, and only those company displaying sound fundamentals should be added to a portfolio.
The risk here is as with any equity based investment, a down-swing in the market can cause a good company to lose value and thus affect the wealth of the investor in a negative way. We have all seen recently how a bear market can bring down profitable companies and the whole premise of agriculture investment is to avoid financial markets and add an element of non-correlation to a portfolio, ensuring the investor owns an asset that is unaffected by volatile stock markets.
So does an agriculture investment in the form of shares fit the bill? Well not really, as we were looking for stability, non-correlation, a positive correlation with inflation and income, and this mode of agriculture investment ticks none of those boxes other than a nominal dividend.
Buying Farmland as an Agriculture Investment
In my opinion the most sensible strategy for investors is to acquire profitable farmland that has a track record of producing an income yield, and rent that land to a commercial farmer. This mode of agriculture investment allows the buyer to access an asset that displays all of the characteristics that we are looking for, non-correlation with stock markets, positive correlation with inflation, income and growth, as UK farmland continues to increase in value yet is still only half the price of agricultural land in Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands, leaving a huge margin for future growth.
There are of course a number of risks to consider here as well, sourcing good land for example, and of course sourcing and managing a farming tenant, these risks can all be managed effectively by partnering with a specialist agriculture investment consultancy that will handle the sourcing of both land and tenant and also handle all ongoing management too.
So to summarise, if one is to make an agriculture investment, the best option right at this moment is to buy agricultural land, giving the investor growth and income in a volatile market.
To download the complete Agriculture Investment Guide click here.
Download the Agriculture investment Guide at http://www.dgc-ai.com
David Garner in Managing Partner at DGC Business Consulting Ltd, a boutique advisory working with high net worth investors to provide access to managed agroculture investment, property investment, and distressed asset purchase strategies.
David has over a decade of experience in providing high end clients with solutions to meet their needs with real assets and is responsible for developing proprietary investment methods to allows investors to gain exposure to growth and income generating assets oin a low risk environment.
DGC Business Consulting Ltd source and manage farmland, residential property, and commercial property for investors, as well as provide research and due diligence for asset acquisitions across Europe.
Stalemate on subsidies in WTO talks
With only a few weeks remaining until a draft agreement is expected, the chair of the WTO negotiating group dealing with subsidies said he needed a period for “reflections”, while nations describing themselves as “friends of the fish” called for ambitious rules limiting fisheries subsidy payments.
The chair of the Negotiating Group on Rules, which covers anti-dumping, subsidies and countervailing measures – including fisheries subsidies – as well as regional trade agreements, said progress the latest weeks had been “incremental”.
The Doha Development Round, aiming for a new WTO agreement on rules for global trade, commenced in 2001, but is presently stalled after the latest round of negotiations broke down in 2008.
The process is till proceeding in working committees, however, and the groups have been asked to submit drafts by Easter this year.
The chair of the Negotiating Group on Rules, Ambassador Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago, now said that the ability to move forward on fisheries subsidies restraints depended greatly on progress in the overall Doha Round negotiations. Those talks have slowed down notably the closer to Easter they have been getting.
He added that he may still be asked to present a text by that deadline, and that he now needed time for reflection on possible ways to bridge the differences, meaning that there would be no new meetings in April.
Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of Argentina, Australia, Chile, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and the US, Ambassador David Walker of New Zealand said that the “friends of fish” nations expect ambitious rules limiting fisheries subsidy payments to be a key result of the rules negotiations.
“The WTO’s credibility on trade and environment issues is at stake here,” Walker said. “A weak outcome calls into question the future ability of the WTO to tackle other trade and environment issues of global importance.”
Pointing to the recently released “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2010” FAO report, which states that 85 percent of global fish stocks are either fully or overexploited, he stressed that members should not let lack of progress in other parts of the Round deter them from pushing ahead on this issue.
The group’s statement called for a strong prohibition and strong disciplines on fisheries subsidies, after weeks of attempts by countries such as China, Brazil, Korea, and Japan to introduce various exceptions.
The “Friends of fish” initiative was praised by environmental NGOs.
“Today’s call clearly demonstrates that there is strong commitment for fisheries subsidies rules that serve global interests and not only protect narrow self concerns,” said Courtney Sakai, senior campaign director for the Washington-based green group Oceana.
“The WTO has a real and tangible opportunity to reduce global overfishing. The question is if it will seize this chance.”
Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture (Our Sustainable Future)
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Friday, July 15, 2011
CFP reform: some steps in the right direction
The Commission’s first package on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) includes some significant improvements, but is not the radical proposal that was expected. Most of the positive changes relate to the conservation aspects of the policy.
The proposal for a new basic Regulation makes the internationally agreed targets for the recovery of fish stocks – reaching levels above and beyond MSY by 2015 – a legal obligation and could see the end of overfishing in EU waters, if it receives the support from the European Parliament and the EU Member States. However, the proposal fails to adequately recognize the need for a healthy marine ecosystem as a prerequisite for viable fisheries and does not commit decisions on fishing opportunities to follow scientific advice.
It is also encouraging to see the emphasis on higher selectivity and that the proposal partially addresses the wasteful practice of discarding. The move towards catch quotas instead of landing quotas is a very positive one, but a full discard ban would have been better than the piece-meal approach taken by the Commission, applying the ban to only a few species. This will not address the bycatch of non-commercial species, nor tackle discarding of some species in mixed fisheries.
The most radical element of the proposal is the mandatory requirement to use transferable fishing concessions (TFCs) to regulate access to resources. While this may help to reduce overcapacity in the EU fleet, it is a blanket application of a single tool. TFCs are not a conservation tool, and will not ensure sustainable fisheries without a number of other measures, including strict fishing limits and a high level of control and enforcement.
The proposal also fails to ensure that capacity reduction is addressed in a qualitative way, i.e. that the most unsustainable and damaging vessels are removed from the fleet, unless it is carefully implemented together with access criteria promoting environmentally and socially responsible fishing.
TFCs should only ever be implemented within a framework of proper criteria and safeguards, rewarding those who fish in the most sustainable manner. As it stands now, it will be up to Member States to consider these aspects, while the application and time frame of the concessions are set out at EU level.
Finally, in terms of aquaculture, the promotion and development suggested by the Commission may lead to the same problems of over-establishment, environmental effects and poor profitability as in the catching sector. The reformed CFP must ensure that aquaculture develops to be a net producer of fish protein, and does not rely on or lead to the overexploitation of feed fisheries, if it is to contribute to future food security.
The proposed legislation has now been forwarded to the European Parliament and to the Council of Ministers for further negotiation and amendments, following the ordinary legislative procedure. The final result is not expected before mid-2013.
As one of the founding members of OCEAN2012 – an alliance of organisations dedicated to transforming European fisheries policy to stop overfishing, end destructive fishing practices and deliver fair and equitable use of healthy fish stocks – FISH will continue to engage in the process leading up to the final decision on CFP reform, together with our partners in the Baltic Sea region.
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One fund for fish and maritime affairs
On 29 June, the European Commission published its long-term budget proposal – a Multi-annual financial framework for 2014–2020. A new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) will replace the current financial instruments, including all EU funding for fisheries except access arrangements with third countries.
The new financial instrument will be part of the wider reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the ambition set out is a fundamental re-orientation of the funding provided around four pillars: 1) smart, green fisheries, 2) smart, green aquaculture, 3) sustainable and inclusive territorial development and 4) integrated maritime policy.
In addition to the four pillars, the EMFF will include funding streams for data collection and scientific advice, control, governance, fisheries markets (including outermost regions), voluntary payments to Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and technical assistance.
It will be complemented by two international financial instruments: one for Fisheries Partnership Agreements (FPAs) and one for Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs).
According to the framework documents, there will be an increase in ”expenditure areas” under shared management, providing Member States with greater flexibility and a more long-term strategic perspective. Contrary to other budget areas, the overall funding available will not decrease.
Career Opportunities in Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
The Art of Agriculture is the first English edition of Obra de Agricultura by Gabriel Alonso de Herrera, an agriculture instruction manual originally written in Granada, Spain, in 1513 and published there in 1539. Herrera, widely considered the Father of Modern Spanish Agriculture, wrote this treatise nearly five centuries ago, thoughtfully recounting traditional farming techniques of the Moors before their expulsion from Spain, the Spanish colonizers in the early 1600s, and the rural Indo-Hispano bioregion spanning northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Today, farmers, gardeners, and ecological horticulturists are striving to work in harmony with nature, using traditional irrigation methods (involving acequias, sangras, and arroyos) to transform barren high-desert landscapes into fields supporting crop growth. This book speaks to today's farmers, no matter their size or output, in drought-ridden areas with land patterns characterized by natural ditches (acequias) and community water distribution systems (suertes). This type of agriculture exists not only in the American Southwest but from the Philippines to India to the Middle East. With global warming, water usage, and increased populations today, this book is more pertinent now than ever. Practical as well as philosophical, The Art of Agriculture will fascinate anyone interested in organic farming, sustainable agriculture, and permaculture worldwide.
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What I know of farming: a series of brief and plain expositions of practical agriculture as an art based upon science
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Price: $0.00
Setting new trends for Baltic fundraising
On 4 July, Zennstrom Philanthropies organised a seminar on the Baltic Sea environment in connection with the AF Offshore Race. It was followed by a fundraising event that may set new trends in Sweden.
For the second year, Zennstrom Philanthropies – set up by Niklas Zennstrom and his wife Catherine in order to fight for human rights and help protect the natural environment – organized a seminar on sustainability issues in theBaltic Sea in connection with a big Swedish sailboat race previously known as Gotland Runt (now AF Offshore Race). This year, the event was co-hosted by AF, Newsec and Stockholms Segelsallskap.
Niklas Zennstrom opened the seminar, speaking about his engagement for theBaltic Seaas a passionate sailor and someone with strong links to the Baltic coast and archipelago. Over the years, he has seen theBaltic Seachange for the worse. Through his work with Zennstrom Philanthropies, he expressed a strong desire to help tackle the environmental issues threatening the Baltic and a hope to inspire other business leaders to do the same.
After the seminar and a buffet dinner, a unusual – forSweden– way of raising funds for environmental work was introduced to the guests: an auction was held in support of organizations that Zennstrom Philanthropies work with, including FISH, Coalition Clean Baltic, Oceana and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. Fetching the highest price, was a seat on Zennstrom’s boat during part of the race. There was some hesitation in the crowd that evening, but maybe it will set a new trend for the future.
In the race, Zennstrom’s sailboat Ran was first to cross the finishing line, but second runner up in its class.
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One million Fish Fighters on July 13?
Tomorrow, July 13, Commissioner Damanaki will hold a press conference to announce the publication of the first package of proposals for the reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Although Hugh’s FISH FIGHT already has a large following, with an interactive counter indicating 693,798 Fish Fighters, it is hoped that it will exceed 1 million followers during the announcement of the proposals for the new Common Fisheries Policy, tomorrow at noon.
With a large media presence in Brussels tomorrow during this event, Hugh’s FISH FIGHT hopes to see the interactive counter turning fast to ‘dazzle the media’ and raise awareness about the wasteful practice of discarding currently supported by laws within the failed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
The FISH FIGHT Campaign is now active in countries beyond the United Kingdom, and includes: Germany, Spain, Denmark, France, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Italy and Portugal.
Join the campaign at www.fishfight.net, and contribute to the elimination of discards in the European waters!
New CFP sustainable, efficient and coherent, says Damanaki
At noon today, the Commission finally published its first proposal on reform of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy
– The current system is not working for sustainability, Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki began her press conference. She went on to say that with overfished stocks and low profitability in the sector, along with subsidy and import dependence “business as usual is not an option anymore”.
The proposals published today are an attempt from the Commission to break the vicious circle of the current CFP. According to Commissioner Damanaki, the modeling that has been done shows that without a substantial reform, only 8 of 136 EU fish stocks would be sustainably fished by 2022.
The Commissioner highlighted three key concepts in her speech: sustainability, efficiency and coherence.
In order to ensure sustainability of EU fish stocks, the Commission is proposing legally binding targets to fish stocks at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) by 2015, as well as a move to catch quotas rather than landing quotas. Perhaps more controversial, however, is a strong push to promote and develop aquaculture both in marine and inland waters. New funding will be made available for this in the upcoming financial instrument.
The perhaps most controversial part of the reform proposals – the mandatory transferable fishing concessions (TFCs) – is part of the efforts to increase efficiency, together with an attempt to decentralize the policy on a seabasin basis. Commissioner Damanaki stressed that “fish stocks are a public resource” and that safeguards would be put in place to prevent the concentration of fishing rights, but in the proposals all of these things are left to Member States to consider, while the allocation of TFCs will be mandatory for all vessels using active gear and all vessels larger than 12 metres for a period of at least 15 years. Even safeguards to prevent financial speculation will be left up to Member States.
Finally, on coherence, Commissioner Damanaki talked about creating a level playing field that would make the EU sector more competitive, including a strengthening of mandatory labeling requirements, as well as equal requirements for control and enforcement in non-EU waters. The same rules would apply everywhere in the future.
This first package on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) includes an overall communication (COM(2011)417), a proposal for a new basic Regulation (COM(2011)425), a proposal for a new Regulation on the common organization of the markets (COM(2011), a communication on the external dimension (COM(2011)424), as well as the obligatory report on conservation of the resources required under the current basic Regulation (EC 2371/2002) and impact assessments.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
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Ancient Agriculture: From Foraging to Farming (Ancient Technology)
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Risk Management for Agriculture
Risk Management for Agriculture addresses the issue of price risk as a management function versus a marketing function. Price risks impact not only the marketing of a product but the cash flow and the overall financial health of the business. Derivatives such as futures contracts, options contracts, and swaps need to be viewed as tools that can be used individually or in combinations to control price risk. Each of these derivatives and subsequent combinations are examined closely and comprehensively within the text. Price forecasting is addressed as well as fundamentals of futures hedging and options hedging. A complete glossary of terms at the end of the text to help reinforce the terms that are used throughout. Although price risk is the focus of the text, there is also a chapter devoted to the management of other agricultural risks. Students and professionals will benefit from this text that takes a comprehensive, management approach to price risk.Price: $105.95
Swedish SSNC will pay fishermen not to catch eels
As a desperate measure to protect the much threatened European eel, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) is now fund raising in order to buy up eel certificates from eel fishermen.
– The first priority area is the south coast of Sweden as the eels passing by there are the most valuable eels, on their way back to Sargasso to reproduce, says Ellen Bruno, Marine Policy Officer at SSNC.
People wanting to help the eel are asked to donate 100, 200 or 500 SEK in order to buy freedom for 1, 2 or 5 eels respectively. The fund will also help finance the SSNC’s policy work to address the problems preventing the migration of eels in inland waters, as well as work to tackle overfishing in general.
The number of eels has been drastically reduced in the last 50 years and reproduction is now less then 1% of the levels estimated in the 1970s. The decline is not caused solely by overfishing of glass eel (fry), yellow eels (adults) and silver eels (migratory state), but also by habitat destruction in inland waters and obstruction of migration routes.
– For the European eel to stand a chance, measures need to be taken to combat all these threats. Eel fisheries should be closed not only in Sweden but all across the EU. Water quality and migration routes also urgently need to be safeguarded, in alignment the Water Framework Directive, says Ellen Bruno at SSNC.
For more information about the fund raising campaign and for donations, visit the SSNC website (below).
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sea Energy Agriculture
Maynard Murray was a medical doctor who researched the crucial importance of minerals - especially trace elements - to plants and animals. Beginning in 1938 and continuing through the 1950s, Dr. Murray used sea solids - mineral salts remaining after water is evaporated from ocean water - as fertilizer on a variety of vegetables, fruits and grains. His extensive experiments demonstrated repeatedly and conclusively that plants fertilized with sea solids and animals fed sea-solid-fertilized feeds grow stronger and more resistant to disease. Sea Energy Agriculture recounts Murray's experiments and presents his astounding conclusions. The work of this eco-pioneer was largely ignored during his lifetime, and his book became a lost classic - out-of-print for more than 25 years. Now this rare volume is once again available, with a new foreward and afterword by the founder of Acres U.S.A., Charles Walters.
Price: $16.00
Sustainable Agriculture and Resistance
This is a story of resistance against all odds, of Cuba's remarkable recovery from a food crisis brought on by the collapse of trade relations with the former socialist bloc and the tightening of the U.S. embargo. Unable to import either food or the farm chemicals and machines needed to grow it via conventional agriculture, Cuba turned inward toward self-reliance. Sustainable agriculture, organic farming, urban gardens, smaller farms, animal traction and biological pest control are part of the successful paradigm shift underway in the Cuban countryside. In this book Cuban authors offer details-for the first time in English-of these remarkable achievements, which may serve as guideposts toward healthier, more environmentally friendly and self-reliant farming in countries both North and South.Price: $18.95
Will Poland deliver sustainability to the failed Common Fisheries Policy?
Today, July 1, Poland is taking over the European Union (EU) Presidency for the next six months. This is the first time Poland will lead the EU Council. As the official release of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) Reform package is quickly approaching (July 13), Poland’s Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development responsible for Fisheries, Kazimierz Florian Plocke, identified Poland’s priorities for a ‘comprehensive’ reform, written exclusively for CFP Reform Watch.
It’s not a secret that the CFP reform needs a significant face-lift to ensure an end to overfishing and destructive fishing practices, and to secure fair and equitable use of healthy fish stocks. In July, Poland will lead the preliminary Council debate on the reform of the CFP, and the long term need to balance the fisheries sector with marine resources.
Plocke outlined Poland’s final objectives for the reform, which include the creation of a sustainable fisheries sector, ensuring that fish stocks are not exploited at a rate above Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) levels, with a balanced and responsible fisheries management. Methods to deliver this, such as multispecies management and the ecosystem based approach, will be taken into account, according to CFP Reform Watch.
One of the strongholds of the Polish priorities for the reform of the CFP is the reduction of overcapacity. In a recent article in Gazeta Wyborcza, Plocke claims that this reform of the Common Fisheries Policy will be different than all others, especially within the Polish context. In the article Plocke hinted that difficult decisions will have to be made by Polish fishermen in terms continuing in the sector or not.
Since accession to the EU in 2004, the Polish fleet has been reduced by 40% using public funds. Poland wants to maintain the use of the European Fisheries Fund for modernization efforts although, it has been reported, Plocke himself is doubtful this will be possible. Poland believes that Member States should have greater flexibility in deciding on scrapping opportunities or development of some of the fleet segments, Gazeta Wyborcza reports.
Just as in the Polish Green Paper response to the CFP reform, Poland stresses the importance of maintaining the principle of relative stability, which relates to the historical rights and fishing opportunities among Member States. ‘Relative stability guarantees Member States their historical rights and the agreed distribution key of fishing opportunities’, said Plocke as reported by CFP Refrom Watch
Another important factor for Poland will be decentralization of the decision making process. Only then more effective involvement of the fishermen community and scientists in the decision making process within the sector will be possible, explains Plocke in Gazeta Wyborcza.
Other priorities support reduction or ‘gradual elimination’ of discards, proper management of the long-distance fleet under the CFP external dimension, strengthening the role of aquaculture under the common fisheries market legislation, and finally strengthening and improving the operation of producer organizations.
It’s been reported that Plocke stressed the importance of supporting small scale fisheries in Poland, to prevent its disappearance as a livelihood choice. In Poland small scale fisheries form a precious cultural element of local coastal societies.
For more information please see the links below.
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Monday, June 20, 2011
Burn Fat - Diets that Work
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Detox Diet Secrets
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Saturday, June 18, 2011
Climate Change and Food Security: Adapting Agriculture to a Warmer World (Advances in Global Change Research)
Roughly a billion people around the world continue to live in state of chronic hunger and food insecurity. Unfortunately, efforts to improve their livelihoods must now unfold in the context of a rapidly changing climate, in which warming temperatures and changing rainfall regimes could threaten the basic productivity of the agricultural systems on which most of the world’s poor directly depend. But whether climate change represents a minor impediment or an existential threat to development is an area of substantial controversy, with different conclusions wrought from different methodologies and based on different data.
This book aims to resolve some of the controversy by exploring and comparing the different methodologies and data that scientists use to understand climate’s effects on food security. In explains the nature of the climate threat, the ways in which crops and farmers might respond, and the potential role for public and private investment to help agriculture adapt to a warmer world. This broader understanding should prove useful to both scientists charged with quantifying climate threats, and policy-makers responsible for crucial decisions about how to respond. The book is especially suitable as a companion to an interdisciplinary undergraduate or graduate level class.
Price: $49.95
Thursday, June 16, 2011
A Fighters Diet
If you are a fighter who is looking to cut weight, increase your performance, feel healthier and stronger, or you're just an average joe who wants to get leaner, This diet is for you! This diet comes from years of working with combat athletes!
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Agriculture and Food in Crisis: Conflict, Resistance, and Renewal
The failures of “free-market” capitalism are perhaps nowhere more evident than in the production and distribution of food. Although modern human societies have attained unprecedented levels of wealth, a significant amount of the world's population continues to suffer from hunger or food insecurity on a daily basis. In Agriculture and Food in Crisis, Fred Magdoff and Brian Tokar have assembled an exceptional collection of scholars from around the world to explore this frightening long-term trend in food production. While approaching the issue from many angles, the contributors to this volume share a focus on investigating how agricultural production is shaped by a system that is oriented around the creation of profit above all else, with food as nothing but an afterthought.
As the authors make clear, it is technically possible to feed to world's people, but it is not possible to do so as long as capitalism exists. Toward that end, they examine what can be, and is being, done to create a human-centered and ecologically sound system of food production, from sustainable agriculture and organic farming on a large scale to movements for radical land reform and national food sovereignty. This book will serve as an indispensible guide to the years ahead, in which world politics will no doubt come to be increasingly understood as food politics.
Price: $18.95