News, Events, Briefings and More…

Roundup

News, events, briefings and more…

CHILE

“Back artisanal fishing, ban trawling

This is not something happening in isolation. On the contrary, the underlying causes of the crisis arise directly from the system of fisheries administration, following a global pattern of ever greater concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, privatization of the sea’s resources, granting economic interests priority over the development and sustainability of fishing communities, and allowing industrial fleets to use destructive fishing techniques, such as trawling, provoking declines in resources, which are unlikely to recover, and affecting as much as a hundred associated species.

Nonetheless, Chile’s artisanal fishermen still hope that the fisheries administration and government authorities have the political will to implement appropriate measures to restrict the destructive ways in which the industrial sector uses trawling in all its forms. Palliative measures are not acceptable; neither is re-conversion, as these don’t solve the basic problem, they feel.

Given the above, the Chilean National Confederation of Artisanal Fishermen, CONAPACH, together with the Artisanal Fishermen of the Vth Region’s United Federation, Nuevo Amanecer, have called for a campaign to ban trawling. A series of public actions and alliances with different sectors related to the artisanal fishery have stressed the need for solidarity and participation of society at large to tackle the unprecedented crisis that affects the food security of a large section of Chile’s population and the dignity of thousands of artisnal fishermen.

The first stage of the campaign ended on 15 March 2008 with a large-scale meeting in Caleta Portales, one of the caletas in the city of Valparaiso, attended by grassroot organizations of artisanal fishermen from the Vth Region and fishermen from the Xth Region.

CONAPACH urges you to sign up to support their campaign “Back Artisanal Fishing, Ban Trawling! For Our Seas, Our Fish and Our Bread

For more information (in Spanish): www.eliminemoselarrastre.bligoo.com

O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L  P R O F I L E

CONAPACH

CONAPACH, the national federation of fishworker organizations in Chile, was formed in 1990. It was established to defend the rights of fishworkers and to protect fish resources. There are around 400 organizations that are permanent members of CONAPACH.

Through them, CONAPACH reaches out to 60,000 fishworkers.

Around 20 per cent of them are women. CONAPACH is also part of many international networks.

CONAPACH aims to:

• strengthen member fishworker organizations
• work towards coastal community development
• defend the rights of coastal communities
• fight for the sustainability of fishery resources

CONAPACH undertakes many activities at local, national and international levels.

Locally, it conducts training, and gives technical support and legal advice to fishers.

Nationally, it tries to influence legislation and fisheries policies, gathers public support for fishers, and campaigns for subsidies and credit for them.

Internationally, it participates in seminars and meetings like the International NGO/CSO Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC).

I N D I A

Mangrove tour

India’s eastern West Bengal State is preparing a detailed plan to develop the coastal Sundarbans area, the world’s largest mangrove forest, as a global tourist destination, according to news reports.

The Sundarbans lies on the delta of Hooghly, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, partly in India’s West Bengal and part in neighbouring Bangladesh. Recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site, the mangrove forests are home to the royal Bengal tiger, the estuarine crocodile, a variety of snakes, including the Indian python, and over 260 species of birds.

The forests, with the breathing roots of mangrove trees along innumerable distributaries of the rivers, is ecologically fragile, and environmentalists have expressed reservations over developing it as a major tourism site.

India’s federal Planning Commission and Tourism Ministry had cleared a proposal to conduct a further detailed study with the support of UNDP.

The Sundarbans project was likely to draw global investment once it secured environmental clearance. The West Bengal government would facilitate the project by providing infrastructure including roads, water and power.

G H A N A

BIG CATCH

Ghana is toying with a private venture to export tuna to the Netherlands. Ghana’s export of raw tuna and other fishing products shot up from 55,000 tonnes to 70,000 tonnes last year, said the Ghanaian Minister of Fisheries. She said Ghana will, from mid-2008, harvest and process tuna in large quantities for export to European markets under the “Phenegan Project.

The Netherlands government had given a Euro 1 mn grant to start this project, which involves fish traders from Urk and Scheveningen (two Dutch fishery villages) together with exporters from Ghana (including a Spanish fish factory, West Africa Fishery, which will act as the centre for the air transport to the Netherlands), fishermen’s associations and a local NGO, plus a Filipino partner to train the Ghanaian fishermen in sustainable fishing methods. Fishermen will use hooks-and-line instead of nets, as tuna caught with hooks-and-line can be stored and marketed freshly, generating much more revenue than canned tuna. Local fishermen will use fibreglass canoes to catch the tuna. A mother ship with onboard refrigeration will transport these canoes beyond coastal waters.

The programme also entails measuring and monitoring the economic effects. The results will feed into a broader study concerning the possibility of developing and supporting sustainable fishery in the entire west African region.

Compiled from:

ATUNA, 03 March 08 www.atuned.biz/public/ViewArticle.asp?ID=5269

Dutch Royal Tropical Institute
www.kit.nl/smartsite.shtml?id=3829

Ghana Government website
www.ghana.gov.gh/ghana/ghana_process_tuna_large_quantities_minister.jsp

P O E M

Net strings

In this net it’s not just the strings that count but also the air that escapes through the meshes.

a Zen koan

verbatim

“My early years travelling around in the fish business amounted to a survey of its transition from an artisanal occupation to an industrial enterprise intended to be competitive on a global scale.

PAUL MOLYNEAUX IN ‘THE DORYMAN’S REFLECTION: A FISHERMAN’S LIFE’

Inland capture fisheries

World total inland capture fisheries production reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reached 8.7 mn tonnes in 2001, down slightly from 8.8 mn tonnes in 2000. It is important to note, at the outset, that actual catches overall may be at least twice the quantities reported to FAO, and for some countries under-reporting could be even greater.

Inland capture fisheries accounted for 6.1 per cent of the total (capture fisheries and culture) global production. This compares with 59.8 per cent (85 mn tonnes) from marine capture fisheries, of which about 31 mn tonnes were used for reduction to meal and other non-food purposes, and 34.1 per cent (48.4 mn tonnes) from aquaculture, including plants and animals. Long-term trends, from 1950 to the present, show increases for all three categories; however, production from marine capture fisheries has leveled off in recent years, while aquaculture has rapidly increased. In contrast, production from inland capture fisheries has exhibited a modest, but steady increase.

Two hundred and twenty five countries reported fish production in 2001, of which, 150 reported inland capture fisheries production. This compares with 187 countries reporting marine capture fisheries production, and 164 countries reporting aquaculture production.

Among the 150 countries reporting inland capture fisheries statistics, there were seven in which inland fisheries provided the only source of fish, and 20 additional countries in which inland capture fisheries could be considered extremely important, accounting for 81 to 99 per cent of total fish production from all sources within the country. There were four additional countries in which inland capture fisheries could be said to be very important, accounting for 61 to 80 per cent of total aquatic production. These 31 countries together produced 1.8 mn tonnes of inland fish equivalent to 20 per cent of total inland capture fisheries production.

Asia dominates production both from capture fisheries and culture viewpoints. Inland capture fisheries production from Asia was 5.8 mn tonnes; Africa ranked second, with 2.1 mn tonnes. Inland capture fisheries production from Europe and South America was 0.3 mn tonnes, each, and in North America, 0.2 mn tonnes. Inland capture fisheries from Oceania produced 22,000 tonnes in 2001.

Source: FAO Fisheries Circular No. 942, Rev. 1 Review of the State of World Fishery Resources: Inland Fisheries FAO, Rome, 2003, www.fao.org/DOCREP/006/J0703E/j0703e02.htm#bm2.2

B O O K S H E L F

MPA ATLAS

atlas of community-based marine protected areas in the philippines. Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources, Quezon City and Pamana Ka Sa Pilipinas, Cebu City, Philippines. 533 p. 2005 ISBN 971 93188 6 4

This book is about marine protected areas (MPAs) identified by various names such as marine reserves, fish sanctuaries, marine sanctuaries, etc., located in various parts of the Philippines and managed or co-managed primarily by fisher communities and peoples’ organizations. The book deals with the social component of coastal and marine resources management, including mode of local community management of MPAs, their historical development, and their physical and biological features.

This book is presented in both English and Filipino languages and comes with full-colour photos and maps for easy reference.

website

MEAM

Marine Ecosystems and Management (MEAM) is a quarterly information service on marine ecosystem-based management.

MEAM serves the global resource management community with news, views, analysis, and tips gathered from experts around the world.

MEAM and this website are published by Marine Affairs Research and Education (MARE), a not-for-profit corporation, in association with the University of Washington School of Marine Affairs, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Financial support for MEAM comes from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, among other sources.

MEAM can be accessed at depts.washington.edu/meam/

Announcements

Conference

4th Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands
7-11 April 2008, Hanoi, Vietnam
The conference will focus on ecosystem management and integrated coastal and ocean management. The aim is to bring carefully crafted analyses, high-level perspectives, and perspectives from all ocean sectors.

www.globaloceans.org/globalconferences/2008/index.html

Publications

APFIC Series

The Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) announces three of its publications:

RAP Publication 2007/26: APFIC Regional Consultative Workshop, Certification schemes for capture fisheries and aquaculture

RAP Publication 2007/25: A qualitative assessment of standards and certification schemes applicable to aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region

RAP Publication 2007/24: Potential costs and benefits of fisheries certification for countries in the Asia-Pacific region

Also available for free download at: www.apfic.org/modules/xfsection/article.php?articleid=47

Conference

IIFET 2008: Achieving a Sustainable Future: Managing Aquaculture, Fishing, Trade and Development, 22-25 July 2008, Nha Trang, Vietnam

The 14th biennial conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade (IIFET) will examine fishery management, aquaculture development, and seafood trade.

oregonstate.edu/dept/IIFET/iifet2008.html

FLASHBACK

Small-scale Fisheries

The 25th Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) was held from 24 to 28 February 2003 at Rome. Notably, one of the agenda items was on ‘Strategies for Increasing the Sustainable Contribution of Small-scale Fisheries to Food Security and Poverty Alleviation’. The last time small-scale fisheries was on the agenda of COFI was 20 years ago, in 1983, in the lead-up to the FAO World Conference on Fisheries Management and Development in 1984.

The inclusion of this agenda item was particularly appropriate, given the recently organized World Food Summit and the World Summit on Sustainable Development, both of which focused on the importance of eradicating hunger and poverty. It was also appropriate in view of the process being initiated by the FAO to develop “voluntary guidelines to achieve the progressive realization of the right to adequate food, as a follow-up to the World Food Summit.

The inclusion of this agenda item once again reaffirmed the important role small-scale fisheries plays, especially in the developing world, in providing income, employment and in contributing to food security.

What was needed, however, was a much stronger endorsement that the small-scale model of fisheries development is inherently more suitable, even on grounds of environmental sustainability, a key issue of concern today.

A clear recognition of the inherent superiority of the small-scale model of fisheries development and a reallocation of resources in favour of small-scale fisheries, is the need of the hour. Given that it is State policies that have supported industrial fisheries, often at the expense of both small-scale fisheries and environmental sustainability, and even in areas where small-scale fleets are capable of operating effectively, a reorientation of these policies is urgent.

from “Small scale, large agenda, Comment in SAMUDRA Report No. 34, March 2003