The FAO organised a workshop in Accra (Ghana) from 5 to 7 December on the theme: "Optimising food and nutritional security and the benefits of small pelagic species production in sub-Saharan Africa". In a joint presentation, CAOPA and CFFA warned of the impact of the decline in sardinella in West Africa on fishers, women fish processors and consumers.
The discussion on Olvea’s role in the exploitation of West Africa small pelagics for fishoil comes as the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct have recently been updated and strengthened, to ensure responsible business conduct regarding their impacts across areas such as climate change, biodiversity and supply chain due diligence
From 8 different African countries, representatives of coastal fishing communities participated to a seminar on the external dimension of the CFP hosted by the EU Long Distance Fisheries Advisory Council (LDAC) in Sweden and then travelled to Brussels where they exchanged with decision-makers from the Commission and the European Parliament.
An episode of ARTE's investigative magazine Sources, entitled “Salmon: a story of smoke and mirrors,” traces the journey of fishmeal and fish oil produced in Mauritania coming to Europe.
The European Parliament's Fisheries Committee has highlighted the impact of the fishmeal industry in Mauritania on the food security of West African populations and called on Mauritania, the EU and neighbouring countries to support and "initiate an international dialogue" for the creation of an RFMO for shared stocks.
The report by MEP Clara Aguilera cautions that this extension should not make negotiations for the new protocol drag, and includes key demands from the Mauritanian small-scale fisheries sector, such as progress on transparency and the use of sectoral support for the sustainable development of the local sector.
As the proposal is being presented at the European Parliament PECH committee and to the Senegalese National Assembly, APRAPAM and CAOPA ask the government to publish all access agreements, demand more transparency on the use of sectoral support funds and express concern on the access to some fish stocks.
The European Union is warning eight nations from around the world to improve their fight against illegal fishing or risk sanctions. EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said that naming Belize, Cambodia, Fiji, Guinea, Panama, Sri Lanka, Togo and Vanuatu did not mean they were put on a black list, but rather they were given a warning without measures attached to it at the moment. If the nations concerned do not cooperate they could face trade and other sanctions in the fisheries sector.
Sources:
EU warns 8 nations about illegal fishing, Business week, 15 November 2012
Questions and answers on IUU fishing, European Commission, 15 November 2012
A Mauritanian civil society Round table discussion was held in Nouakchott on October 14-15 2012, organised by Pêchecops and the FNP, on the following topic: “The proposed protocol to the EU-Mauritania fisheries agreement: towards sustainable fisheries?”. The 43 participants agreed on several recommendations.
These recommendations include:
The proposed protocol must be adopted as it is without new negotiations;
The access to octopus should be exclusively reserved for national operators, in particular artisanal;
The local landing of all products resulting from the fishing operations in the Mauritanian EEZ should be mandatory;
The principle of non-discrimination of treatment between all foreign fleets should be applied;
The involvement of all the stakeholders should be guaranteed at all stages of negotiations and implementation of the protocol, in particular through the setting up of an efficient advisory council;
Transparency should be achieved concerning the conditions for access to resources by foreign companies, both in the context of the EU FPA, and in the case of others agreements signed by Mauritania;
Priorities of the partnership should include support for the development of a local purse seiners fleet, fishing sardinellas for local and regional human consumption; support for women in fisheries entrepreneurs; support for basic infrastructure (landing sites, etc)
In a press release, WWF indicates that 13 Chinese vessels, as well as a fleet with unknown flag, were present in the bluefin tuna fishing zone in the Mediterranean - none of these fishing vessels were on the lists of authorised vessels. The Chinese fleet, says WWF, crossed the Mediterranean from Suez to Gibraltar, before leaving the area on 26 May. Answering requests for information on those vessels, the Chinese authorities informed that the fleet was on its way to Mauritania. ’Despite obvious signs of illegal fishing, and numerous alerts sent to the competent authorities (...), as far as we know, no inspection at sea took place’, indicated Sergi Tudela, in charge of the marine programme at WWF Mediterranean.
Source:
REJOPRAO, quoting AFP, 31 May 2012, http://rejoprao.blog4ever.com/blog/...
