News Round-up
Angry Chile
The government’s refusal to bow to the demands of the artisanal fleet in Chile and hike the jack mackerel quota has provoked violent protests among 2,000 or so fishers from Mar de Lo Rojas in Coronel, reports FIS.com. According to the fishermen, about 80 vessels remain moored because the authorities won’t permit the catch of 60,000 tonnes of jack mackerel over a six-month period.
The Federation of Artisanal Fishermen’s Organizations (Ferepa) is calling for a solid policy, as there are social and unemployment problems affecting thousands of people.
Artisanal fishermen are also angry because they see factory vessels operating off the coast while they’re denied the right to fish. The artisanal sector is dissatisfied with modifications to the Fishing Law negotiations for free-trade agreements with Europe.
Shoo away!
No more licences for the 20-odd foreign vessels that target tuna in the Maldives, says the country’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board. The measure is a bid to protect the local industry and safeguard stocks. Maldives’ tuna-rich waters provide the country with much-needed foreign revenue. The industry grew by about seven per cent a year in the past decade, thanks to government aid for infrastructure, boatbuilding and canning factories. Maldives is now able to catch and process much more of the tuna itself. The traditional fishing vessel is a dhoni, less than 15 ft long, of which there are about 1,700 operating. Since they were motorized, catches of skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) and yellowfin tuna (Thunus albacaraes) have risen dramatically.
Maldive fishermen say their tuna industry is probably the most environmentally friendly and sustainable one in the world. They use pole-and-line fishing methods with live bait and do not snare dolphins.
The booming industry reports exports by private parties of more than US$61 mn a year, mainly to Sri Lanka, and other Asian and European countries.
Citing fish
The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has announced the receipt from member governments of 54 proposals to amend the lists of species subject to trade controls or prohibitions.
The CITES lists, or Appendices, are revised every two-and-a-half years. Appendix I prohibits all commercial trade in some 900 species that are threatened with extinction. Appendix II regulates trade in 4,000 animal and over 22,000 plant species through a system of permits. The Convention’s 158 Parties will meet in Santiago, Chile from 3 to 15 November to decide whether to accept, reject or modify the proposals.
Of particular interest will be the debate over the proposed listing in Appendix II of two species of toothfish, or Chilean sea bass. The toothfish proposals raise the issue of CITES’ role regarding valuable and heavily traded fish stocks and its relationship to regional fisheries agreements, the Food and Agriculture Organization and other international regimes. Other species proposed for inclusion in Appendix II include bigleaf mahogany, seahorses and 26 species of freshwater turtles.
Trawl crawl
Indonesia has agreed to extend the period of fishing concessions for Thai trawlers from six months to one year, reports The Bangkok Post.
The concessions are for Thai vessels with registered capacity of 60-150 gross tonnes to fish in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
Other issues discussed between the two countries concerned types of fishing equipment allowed, licence fees, areas permitted and the number of Thai vessels allowed to fish in Indonesian waters.
It was initially agreed to set the licence fee at US$155 per gross tonne per year, but that has still to be approved by Indonesia’s finance ministry.
For years, Indonesia had restricted the number of Thai trawlers in its waters to 500. The quota became redundant when Indonesia banned all foreign fishing vessels in December 1999.
Despite the ban, fishermen from several countries, including Thailand, continued to operate in Indonesian waters illegally, using boats flying the Indonesian flag.
Around 3,000 Thai vessels are said to be interested in obtaining fishing concessions from Indonesia.
UN atlas
The UN Atlas of the Oceans (www.oceansatlas. com) is an Internet portal providing information relevant to the sustainable development of the oceans. It is designed for policymakers who need to become familiar with ocean issues and for scientists, students and resource managers who need access to databases and approaches to sustainability. The UN Atlas can also provide the ocean industry and stakeholders with pertinent information on ocean matters.
Material contained in the UN Atlas is copyrighted, but can be freely used for any personal and non-commercial purpose provided that the UN Atlas of the Oceans is cited.
The UN Atlas supports Chapter 17 of Agenda 21, the blueprint for the sustainable development of oceans adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Fishers tent
The Artisanal Fishers Association of the Republic of South Africa will be hosting a fishers tent on 24 August in Johannesburg at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. At the tent, international guests will debate the effect of globalization on fisheries, fishers’ access rights, building alliances and networking, and using international activism for change.
Before that, a train taking the fishers to the summit will travel from Cape Town to Johannesberg.
Indian Ocean
The Department of Ocean Development, Government of India has just released Vision Perspective Plan 2015, aimed to help the Indian government improve the understanding of the Indian Ocean by conceiving and implementing long-term observational programmes and incubating cutting-edge marine technology.
The plan hopes to assess living and non-living resources of the seas and how they can be sustainably utilized; contribute to climate forecasts; and spread awareness of the concept of one ocean among Indian Ocean neighbours. The document also sets as goals promoting ocean science, mapping ocean resources and developing safe and reliable deep-sea technology for better human comprehension of the depths of the ocean.
Fish festival
The South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) will hold a Fisherfolk Festival’ at Trivandrum, Kerala, India from 14-16 September 2002 to celebrate the remarkable knowledge, skills, and unique culture of the traditional fisherfolk of south India.
Apart from an exhibition of fishing technology, the event will feature a cultural programme of fishers’ song, dance and martial arts, and a public meeting to highlight issues relating to the fisheries and fisherfolk of the four southern States of India.
