BirdLife speaks out on New Zealand seabird by-catch September 2011. BirdLife International has joined forces with its New Zealand Partner, Forest & Bird, to remind their government there of its responsibilities towards reducing the toll of seabirds in the country's fisheries.
New Zealand's Ministry of Fisheries recently released a draft seabird by-catch policy to replace a National Plan of Action for Seabirds. The draft policy offers no concrete steps to reduce the by-catch of seabirds, which in a risk assessment report done for the ministry is estimated at between 22,200 and 40,900 annually within New Zealand's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The risk assessment estimates 21 of the 64 seabird species examined are at risk from the level of incidental by-catch.
BirdLife International and Forest & Bird made a joint submission to the ministry on the draft policy. BirdLife International's Global Seabird Programme head Dr Ben Sullivan said:
"New Zealand has an international responsibility to develop a National Plan of Action to reduce seabird by-catch in its fisheries".
Parkinson's petrel most at risk
The most at risk species is the endemic Parkinson's Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni - classified as Vulnerable by BirdLife on behalf of the IUCN Red List - with the average number of potential annual fishing-related fatalities estimated to be nearly ten times higher than the level that can be sustained without risking extinction.
Although some gains have been made in deep sea fishing through mandatory mitigation measures, inshore fisheries do not require mandatory mitigation, observer coverage is low and potentially large numbers of albatrosses, petrels, king shags and spotted shags may be killed.
Sea lions
Squid trawling near the Sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands not only directly kills New Zealand sea lions but also competes for their food and this is believed to have contributed to the halving of the number of pups since 1998.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/nz-bycatch.html
Showing posts with label commercial fishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commercial fishing. Show all posts
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Kenya's fisheries management promotes species that grow larger and live longer
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| A comparative study of Kenya’s coastal reef fisheries by the Wildlife Conservation Society and James Cook University found that sites with fishing regulations and effective enforcement had a greater diversity of predatory fish species than unregulated sites. Photo: J. Cinner |
Study finds seine net elimination an important step to the recovery of robust fish communities
Marine conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society working in Kenya have found that better fisheries management that includes restricting fishing gear is producing more predatory and longer-lived species and is improving fishing even in adjacent areas where no management is taking place.
During a 10-year study, conservationists recording fish catches found that the implementation of fishing regulations—and particularly the banning of small-mesh seine nets that indiscriminately capture all fish—allowed practically all fish species to recover, especially those species that took longer to reproduce. Fish communities in regulated sites also had a greater diversity of predatory fish species and those with longer life spans. Even in unregulated areas there were small improvements to the fish community.
The study appears in the February print version of Fisheries Management and Ecology. The authors of the study include Dr. Tim McClanahan of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Christina Hicks of James Cook University in Australia.
The study examined the effects of increasing fisheries management and fishing gear restrictions in 11 coral reef sites along the 75-kilometer stretch of Kenyan coast around the city of Mombasa for a 10-year period.
The wholesale removal of fine-mesh seine nets was implemented in six sites to the south of Mombasa, all of which were more than 30 kilometers away from areas closed to fishing. Kenyatta Beach—a landing site and popular tourist destination near Mombasa Marine National Park—served as the study's most intensively regulated site. The northernmost sites, where fishermen continued to use seine nets in spite of restrictions, were within five kilometers of the fisheries closure zones. In addition to seine nets, other types of gear examined in the study were traps, lines, regular nets, and spears.
"The study shows that regulating coastal fisheries allows fish populations to recover in a number of predictable ways that correspond with knowledge of the biology and ecological characteristics of individual species, but also that the recovery was faster then predicted for some species," said Dr. Tim McClanahan, WCS Senior Conservationist and head of the society's coral reef research and conservation program.
From February 1998 to August 2007, researchers identified and measured individual fish from 152 species caught at each of the 11 sites—with 15 species representing approximately 90 percent of the data pool—as well as recording the gear used. On average, all fish species from regulated sites over the course of the study increased in body length over time, with two species—the rabbitfish (averaging a short lifespan of 5.9 years) and seagrass parrotfish (averaging a intermediate lifespan of 7.7 years)—exhibiting the most significant size increases following fishing regulations. The unregulated northern sites were dominated by short-lived herbivorous species and the very few species that were able to escape the gaps of small-meshed nets.
Predictably, the largest and longest lived fish were landed at the most regulated site (Kenyatta), and the smallest in the least regulated. Further, spears and gill nets caught the largest fish in the study, whereas the smallest were caught in seines and lines. Also, fish body lengths in the sites where seine net bans were implemented and enforced during the study were growing to the same lengths as fish from the most regulated site by the end of the study.
Dr. McClanahan said the improvements even in the unregulated areas suggest that strong management can improve conditions in adjacent areas where management is weak.
"This can lead to either free loading on the nearby stronger management or increased interests in participating in the improved management, depending on the interests, incentives, and organization of the fishing and management community," McClanahan said.
The study builds on a previous WCS study from the same sites on the costs and revenues of local fisheries along the coast of Kenya, which was published last year in Conservation Biology and demonstrated that effective fisheries management actually yields more profits for fishermen. In terms of income, fishermen working in Kenyatta experienced a 60 percent increase in revenue (from 224 up to 374 Kenya shillings, or $3 up to $5) following the beach seine ban in 2001. By contrast, daily income in the northern sites averaged $2 per person between 2002-2007. Overall, fishing revenue in the southern landing sites (all of which banned beach seines during the study period) was 41 percent higher than northern coast sites with the beach seines; Kenyatta's fishing revenue climbed to 135 percent higher than northern sites after seine elimination.
Dr. Caleb McClennen, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Marine Program, said: "This important comparison of various fisheries management systems over time demonstrates the critical need to move past unregulated open-access fishing in resource poor countries around the world. This empirical evidence demonstrates how both fishers and their supporting ecosystems can and do benefit from restrictions and improved management."
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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-02/wcs-kfm021011.php
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Conservationists welcome Chagos fishing ban in world’s largest no-take marine protected area
Chagos Archipelago becomes a no fishing zone
November 2010. Commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago has now ended making it the largest no-take marine protected area (MPA) in the world.
The remaining fishing licenses have expired, following the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) decision to create the MPA. This landmark comes on the same day that conservationists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) highlight in a new paper the damaging effects of over-exploitative commercial fishing in the area.
60,000 sharks
It is estimated that around 60,000 sharks, an equivalent number of rays, and potentially countless other species have been legally caught as by-catch from commercial fisheries over the past five years in Chagos.
Tuna
The paper also draws together evidence that large-scale MPAs can have a positive effect on migratory species such as tuna. Until now, tuna was the main target of commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago.
Conservationists now hope this scientifically important MPA, which has the world's cleanest sea water, can be used as a comparative site to ailing reefs affected by human impact, climate change and rising sea temperatures.
Dr Heather Koldewey, who manages ZSL's international marine and freshwater conservation programme, says: "The implementation of a no-take marine reserve in the Chagos will provide a highly unique scientific reference site of global importance for studies on both pelagic and benthic marine ecosystems and the effects of climate change on them.
"Governments across the world have the power to stop over-exploitation in marine protected areas. We need more ocean reserves like the Chagos Archipelago if we are ever to sustain the world's oceanic ecosystems."
Tiny % of the oceans are protected
Currently it is estimated that 1.17 per cent of the world's ocean is under some form of marine protection, with only 0.08 per cent of these protected areas classified as no-take zones. Scientists are urging governments to establish more MPAs if they are ever to meet the agreed target of 10 per cent by 2012, agreed at the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Alistair Gammell, director of the Pew Environment Group's Chagos campaign, said: "We are thrilled that the protection of the Chagos announced by the British Government has come into effect. This end to commercial fishing in the Chagos will help its marine wildlife to recover and thrive."
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/chagos-mpa.html
November 2010. Commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago has now ended making it the largest no-take marine protected area (MPA) in the world.
The remaining fishing licenses have expired, following the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) decision to create the MPA. This landmark comes on the same day that conservationists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) highlight in a new paper the damaging effects of over-exploitative commercial fishing in the area.
60,000 sharks
It is estimated that around 60,000 sharks, an equivalent number of rays, and potentially countless other species have been legally caught as by-catch from commercial fisheries over the past five years in Chagos.
Tuna
The paper also draws together evidence that large-scale MPAs can have a positive effect on migratory species such as tuna. Until now, tuna was the main target of commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago.
Conservationists now hope this scientifically important MPA, which has the world's cleanest sea water, can be used as a comparative site to ailing reefs affected by human impact, climate change and rising sea temperatures.
Dr Heather Koldewey, who manages ZSL's international marine and freshwater conservation programme, says: "The implementation of a no-take marine reserve in the Chagos will provide a highly unique scientific reference site of global importance for studies on both pelagic and benthic marine ecosystems and the effects of climate change on them.
"Governments across the world have the power to stop over-exploitation in marine protected areas. We need more ocean reserves like the Chagos Archipelago if we are ever to sustain the world's oceanic ecosystems."
Tiny % of the oceans are protected
Currently it is estimated that 1.17 per cent of the world's ocean is under some form of marine protection, with only 0.08 per cent of these protected areas classified as no-take zones. Scientists are urging governments to establish more MPAs if they are ever to meet the agreed target of 10 per cent by 2012, agreed at the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Alistair Gammell, director of the Pew Environment Group's Chagos campaign, said: "We are thrilled that the protection of the Chagos announced by the British Government has come into effect. This end to commercial fishing in the Chagos will help its marine wildlife to recover and thrive."
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/chagos-mpa.html
Conservationists welcome Chagos fishing ban in world’s largest no-take marine protected area
Chagos Archipelago becomes a no fishing zone
November 2010. Commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago has now ended making it the largest no-take marine protected area (MPA) in the world.
The remaining fishing licenses have expired, following the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) decision to create the MPA. This landmark comes on the same day that conservationists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) highlight in a new paper the damaging effects of over-exploitative commercial fishing in the area.
60,000 sharks
It is estimated that around 60,000 sharks, an equivalent number of rays, and potentially countless other species have been legally caught as by-catch from commercial fisheries over the past five years in Chagos.
Tuna
The paper also draws together evidence that large-scale MPAs can have a positive effect on migratory species such as tuna. Until now, tuna was the main target of commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago.
Conservationists now hope this scientifically important MPA, which has the world's cleanest sea water, can be used as a comparative site to ailing reefs affected by human impact, climate change and rising sea temperatures.
Dr Heather Koldewey, who manages ZSL's international marine and freshwater conservation programme, says: "The implementation of a no-take marine reserve in the Chagos will provide a highly unique scientific reference site of global importance for studies on both pelagic and benthic marine ecosystems and the effects of climate change on them.
"Governments across the world have the power to stop over-exploitation in marine protected areas. We need more ocean reserves like the Chagos Archipelago if we are ever to sustain the world's oceanic ecosystems."
Tiny % of the oceans are protected
Currently it is estimated that 1.17 per cent of the world's ocean is under some form of marine protection, with only 0.08 per cent of these protected areas classified as no-take zones. Scientists are urging governments to establish more MPAs if they are ever to meet the agreed target of 10 per cent by 2012, agreed at the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Alistair Gammell, director of the Pew Environment Group's Chagos campaign, said: "We are thrilled that the protection of the Chagos announced by the British Government has come into effect. This end to commercial fishing in the Chagos will help its marine wildlife to recover and thrive."
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/chagos-mpa.html
November 2010. Commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago has now ended making it the largest no-take marine protected area (MPA) in the world.
The remaining fishing licenses have expired, following the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) decision to create the MPA. This landmark comes on the same day that conservationists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) highlight in a new paper the damaging effects of over-exploitative commercial fishing in the area.
60,000 sharks
It is estimated that around 60,000 sharks, an equivalent number of rays, and potentially countless other species have been legally caught as by-catch from commercial fisheries over the past five years in Chagos.
Tuna
The paper also draws together evidence that large-scale MPAs can have a positive effect on migratory species such as tuna. Until now, tuna was the main target of commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago.
Conservationists now hope this scientifically important MPA, which has the world's cleanest sea water, can be used as a comparative site to ailing reefs affected by human impact, climate change and rising sea temperatures.
Dr Heather Koldewey, who manages ZSL's international marine and freshwater conservation programme, says: "The implementation of a no-take marine reserve in the Chagos will provide a highly unique scientific reference site of global importance for studies on both pelagic and benthic marine ecosystems and the effects of climate change on them.
"Governments across the world have the power to stop over-exploitation in marine protected areas. We need more ocean reserves like the Chagos Archipelago if we are ever to sustain the world's oceanic ecosystems."
Tiny % of the oceans are protected
Currently it is estimated that 1.17 per cent of the world's ocean is under some form of marine protection, with only 0.08 per cent of these protected areas classified as no-take zones. Scientists are urging governments to establish more MPAs if they are ever to meet the agreed target of 10 per cent by 2012, agreed at the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Alistair Gammell, director of the Pew Environment Group's Chagos campaign, said: "We are thrilled that the protection of the Chagos announced by the British Government has come into effect. This end to commercial fishing in the Chagos will help its marine wildlife to recover and thrive."
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/chagos-mpa.html
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