Food security
Beatrice Gorez
New report from Changing Markets Foundation ...

The research presents evidence that this production for use of global aquaculture supply chains is precipitating the collapse of stocks and compromising food security

New report from Changing Markets Foundation highlights the catastrophe provoked by fishmeal factories in The Gambia

The EU is paying Morocco to fish in occupied Western Sahara

The current Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Morocco has been running since the 28th February 2007. The latest protocol annexed to the agreement ended on the 27th February 2011. This partnership has brought to Morocco a financial contribution of 36.1 million euros per year, including 13.5 million in support of the Moroccan fisheries policy "in order to promote the sustainable exploitation of its fish resources". Thanks to this agreement and to this protocol, Morocco has issued fishing licenses to vessels from eleven EU member States.

On the 25th February 2011, the parties to the protocol agreed to extend it for another year (28.2.2011-27.2.2012), but this decision is still pending for ratification. However, an issue has been raised by several European MEPs: the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement is both politically controversial and in violation of international law. The international ’Fish Elsewhere!’ campaign demands the EU to cancel its highly unethical operations, and go fishing somewhere else. No fishing in Western Sahara should take place until the conflict is solved.

More information:

,

Industrial fisheries destroy livelihood of northern and southern fishermen

,

At the fisheries conference of northern German states in Kiel last week, the development associations Protestant Development Service (EED) and Fair Oceans demanded from German ministers to press the EU to ensure sustainable fishing of European fishermen outside of European waters. “It is not acceptable that the recent proposals for a European fisheries reform lack solutions for the improvement of the situation for local fishermen,” says Andrea Müller-Frank from EED.

“More and more foreign trawlers are active in Senegalese waters. Licenses are attributed without consideration for environmental and social consequences. Many industrial trawlers illegally enter the zones reserved for small fisheries. This is how we small fishermen are deprived of our livelihood,” says Gaoussou Gueyse, secretary general of the West African Fisheries Federation. “Future EU fisheries agreements have to promote the development of our fisheries sector and not only deplete our fish stocks,” adds Gueye.

Since nowadays more than half of all European fisheries imports come from developing countries, Germany’s responsibility for the fisheries sector in target countries is growing. “The ministries assembled in Kiel have to push for an EU fisheries reform that reduces European dependency on imports and reestablishes fish stocks in the North Sea and Baltic Sea in an environmentally sustainable way,” says Fair Oceans’ Kai Kaschinski.

Source: 

www.eed.de

Spanish processers don’t mind importing PNG tuna loins

Under the interim EU-Pacific EPA signed by PNG, a derogation to the rules of origin (RoO) allows tuna caught by boats from any country to be landed and processed in PNG canneries before being exported to the EU market. Since the entry into force of the new rules (initialization in 2007), the EU tuna industry has raised concerns on the ground that the derogation could open the door for massive imports into the EU of products from doubtful origin as regards SPS and IUU standards.

In January 2011, the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament highlighted that this global-sourcing derogation “has made this country into a genuine hub for the processing of huge quantities of tuna from a variety of countries, (…) has caused considerable disruption to the canned-tuna market and constitutes totally unfair competition for a European processing sector that is already at an economic disadvantage owing to much higher labor costs and much tighter environmental and health and hygiene constraints”.

Spanish interests, as mentioned in a recent article in The Courier, have been especially upfront in challenging this derogation: “Although the European Parliament ratified PNG’s EPA there are still periodic vocal protests from a limited number of MEPs about PNG’s access to the EU market, notably from Spain which also has a canning industry”.

Following a request based on access to information regulation, CFFA received a copy of a recent 2010 study commissioned by DG mare on preferential rules of origin for fisheries and aquaculture products, which tends to show that this reluctance by European importers towards PNG products only concerns canned tuna. Indeed, over the same period, 2007-2009, the study shows that imports of tuna loins from PNG by European canneries have almost tripled. European canneries are highly dependent on such tuna raw material from third countries for supplying the EU market (70-80% of tuna consumption in the EU is based on imports) and for exporting tuna products.

As regards Spain, the FAO Globefish Tuna Market Report for the 1st quarter of 2011 observed a better performance of Spanish canned tuna exports, “reflected in its imports of pre-cooked tuna loins raw material, which increased by 31.8% against the previous year”. It is worth noting that over the same period (1st quarter of 2011) PNG had a setback in terms of canned tuna exports to the EU, which was countered by Spanish imports of PNG tuna loins.

The following legitimate question arises: why is the Spanish industry not concerned with PNG SPS and IUU issues when it comes to importing tuna loins for its own processing plants under the new RoO?

The allocation of controversial licences put at risk Senegal’s approval to export to EU market

An EU delegation met with Senegal Fisheries Ministry and with representatives of the fisheries sector to inform them that EU was investigating the conditions under which foreign trawlers are fishing small pelagics in waters under Senegal’s jurisdiction, in the context of the EU regulation against IUU fishing. The EU delegation warned about the risk for Senegal to have its approval to export fish products on the EU market withdrawn, and to be designated as non cooperating state in regard of the IUU regulation, notably because fishing authorisations allocated to these vessels were not in conformity with the Senegalese law.

Senegalese fishing professionals reiterate that the European market is their main export market, in particular for artisanal fishing which supplies 70% of exports, and remind that they warned the authorities, since the beginning, about the risks, for the strategic small pelagics resources and for the fishing sector, to illegally give these licences to foreign trawlers.

Source:

Information sent by Gaoussou Gueye, vice président of CONIPAS (Conseil national interprofessionnel de la pêche artisanale du Sénégal).

Second Mbour Fisheries Forum

About 300 small-scale fishing professionals are due to meet on July 4th at the David Boila Centre in Mbour, for the forum on "Who owns the fish?", according to a press release of the APS.

Gathered into the Artisanal Fishing Professionals’ Coalition of Mbour (CPPAM), these actors will discuss two topics: "Food security in fisheries, in particular in the case of small pelagics" and "Participative surveillance".

Participants will come from Mbour and from various Senegalese fishing communities, including Kayar, Ngaparou, Joal, Foundiougne, Djiffer, Yène, Ndayane, Lompoul, Fass Boye, Saint-Louis, etc.

This meeting will be the second forum organized by the CPPAM, after the one of July 2010, focussed on the themes of good governance, financing issues in artisanal fisheries, and value addition of catches.

Read more:

Welcome words by Gaoussou Gueye, vice-president of CONIPAS (in French only)

Protest against IUU fishing in Liberia

Over two hundred and fifty local fishermen and women from various fishing communities in Liberia recently gathered at the Ministry of Agriculture to protest against illegal fishing activities within Liberian waters. Local fishermen said the protest was prompted by brutality allegedly inflicted on one of their colleagues by the occupants of an unlicensed Korean vessel within the Liberian territorial waters. In a statement, the protesters called on the Government of Liberia to take urgent action in enforcing the issuance of new fishery regulations and the moratorium on industrial fishing licenses. According to local fishermen of the LAFA, the Inshore Exclusive Zone (IEZ) of six nautical miles which is supposed to be reserved for them is being routinely exploited day and night by illegal fishing vessels.

Mauritania: Civil society and fishing professionals take position on fisheries agreements with the EU and with China

These last days, Mauritanian civil society and the professionals from the fishing sector took position the on-going negotiations between the European Union and Mauritania concerning the future fisheries partnership, as well as on the convention of investment in the fisheries sector just signed by Mauritania with a Chinese company, Poly-Hondone Pelagic Fishery. About thirty representatives of the civil society and fishing sector professionals met on June 12th in Nouakchott, at the invitation of the Mauritanian NGO Pêchecops, with the support of CFFA, to discuss issues arising from these agreements.

The participants first greeted the resolution taken, in May 2011, by the European Parliament, who, they emphasized, was a positive development for the North-South relations. The recommendations from the meeting echoed this resolution, demanding the reduction of the fishing effort in Mauritanian waters (in particular by limiting the exploitation of certain species like the cephalopods, to the local fleets), the effective implication of the Mauritanian civil society and the fishing sector professionals in the whole negotiation process and in the implementation of these agreements, the reinforcement of the dialogue and the co-operation between the European and Mauritanian stakeholders, etc.

The recent convention of establishment between Mauritania and the Chinese company Poly-Hondone Pelagic Fishery was also discussed, and the participants voiced their opposition to this convention. The representatives of the National Fishing Federation stated that this convention will worsen the already precarious economic situation of the national sector. The allocation, through this convention, of tens of fishing licences (trawlers, potters, longliners, gillnetters and various experimental fisheries - see agreement protocol here after) will dangerously increase the pressure on the fish resources and will put in danger the Mauritanian sector. They stressed that it is for this reason that the European Parliament asked that negotiations for the renewal of the fisheries partnership agreement with the EU relate to only cover surplus stocks which cannot be caught by the local fleets.

Sources 

Mauritania-POLY HONDONE PELAGIC FISHERY CO. agreement: press release of the FNP

Mauritania professional fishermen, after having acknowledged the establishment contract signed between the Minister of Economic Affairs and Development and the company POLY HONDONE PELAGIC FISHERY CO., would like to call attention to the fact that this Convention is worsening the already precarious economic situation of national operators from the industrial and artisanal fisheries sector.

Read the press release here 

CFFA signed up to the Open Letter addressed to the WWF-led Aquaculture Dialogues

Activists from more than 40 organizations, including CFFA, around the world released an Open Letter addressed to the committee members of the WWF-led Aquaculture Dialogues. Recently, at an event at the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels WWF’s new certification standards for tilapia, pangasius, abalone and bivalves were ceremonially given to the newly-formed Aquaculture Stewardship Council - another WWF-led body.

Calling the standards “a crude attempt (...) that perpetuated unsustainable production systems” they dismissed WWF’s claim that the standards were developed in consultation with local communities and indigenous peoples who are affected by aquaculture farms.They alleged that WWF’s plans to certify the export-oriented, industrial production of such species as shrimp, pangasius and salmon were developed specifically to promote the interests of the aquaculture industry. A petition is also available.

Historical resolution by the European Parliament on the future EU-Mauritania agreement

A resolution on the EU-Mauritania fisheries partnership agreement, jointly tabled by the five most important political groups of the European Parliament, has been adopted today in plenary, before the start of the negotiations for its renewal. This agreement is the most important agreement between the EU and an ACP country. The Parliament thus gives, for the first time since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, a strong signal on what its priorities are for the negotiations of an FPA.

The resolution considers that "cooperation must be based on mutual interest and take the form of initiatives and measures which, whether taken jointly or separately, are complementary and ensure consistent policies". The resolution highlights that "the FPA has contributed to the overexploitation of some stocks, particularly octopus, and has therefore reduced fishing opportunities for Mauritanian fishermen and given the EU industry a competitive advantage as a result of subsidised access fees for EU vessels". The resolution therefore insists that "any and all access negotiated for EU-flagged vessels to fish in Mauritanian waters must be based on the principle of surplus stocks ... should effort reductions be necessary, those third-country (EU and other) fleets causing the most environmental damage must be the first to make reductions", and also insists "on receiving reliable data on fishing opportunities and catches by third countries in Mauritanian waters so as to be able to identify any surplus resources; believes that, in the case of those stocks shared with other West African states, levels of fishing access in Mauritania must be negotiated with due regard to fishing levels in the other states".

The resolution urges also the Commission to ensure "that fishing activities under the FPA meet the same sustainability criteria as fishing activities in EU waters, including those relating to selectivity; calls on Commission to ensure compliance with the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, especially as regards the recommendation to grant local artisanal fishers preferential access to resources in Mauritanian waters", and insists "that fisheries agreements between the EU and third countries should be preceded by a wide-ranging debate in the countries concerned, allowing participation by the public, civil society organisations and national parliaments, thereby promoting greater democracy and transparency".

Concerning the financial compensation, the resolution "believes that the money paid as compensation for access to fish stocks in Mauritanian waters must be clearly uncoupled from financial support for the Mauritanian multiannual fisheries programme, in that any reduction in fishing opportunities must not lead to a reduction in EU payments under the multiannual programme... financial support for the Mauritanian multiannual fisheries programme must be in line with Mauritania’s needs for sustainable fisheries development, in particular management (research, control, stakeholder participation mechanisms, infrastructure and so on), as expressed in the EU-Mauritania cooperation and development framework". It further "believes that... the EU should support the fastest possible construction of adequate facilities for landing fish along Mauritania’s central and southern coastlines, including – but not limited to – Nouakchott, so that fish caught in Mauritanian waters can be landed at national ports rather than outside the country, as is often the case at present; believes that this will increase local fish consumption and support local employment; takes the view that these improvements, combined with the removal of wrecks and the modernisation of the major port of Nouadhibou, would enable the EU fleet to operate more effectively, facilitate investment flows and boost the FPA’s impact on the local economy".

Finally, the resolution underlines "the need for Parliament to be wholly involved in both the negotiating process and the long-term monitoring of the functioning of the new protocol, and recalls its conviction that Parliament should be represented at the Joint Committee meetings envisaged in fisheries agreements, and insists that civil society, including both EU and Mauritanian fisheries representatives, also participate in those meetings".

Source

JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the EU-Mauritania Fisheries Partnership Agreement, 10.5.2011

,

Senegal: civil society and fishing sector unite against 22 Russian trawlers licensing

,

In a press conference held on March 17 in Dakar, representatives of professional organizations from the Senegalese industrial and small-scale fishing sector, as well trade unions and consumer organisations, denounced the presence in the Senegalese waters of Russian fishing vessels targeting small pelagics: "These vessels whose licences have been formally refused, are able to quietly operate, by day and by night, without be arrested...", says a press release from GAIPES (grouping of the shipowners and industrial fishing in Senegal).

, ,

Echoes from COFI 29

, ,

The twenty-ninth session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI 29) was held in Rome, 31 January to 4 February 2011.

CFFA and other support NGOs facilitated the attendance of many small-scale fisheries representatives from around the world in order to defend their interests and voice their concerns to national delegations officials and intergovernmental organizations, including on the item 10 of the session’s agenda on the creation of an international instrument for small-scale fisheries.

At this occasion, CFFA’s African partners, from which many are now members of the African Confederation of Small-scale Fisheries Professional Organizations (CAOPA) reiterated the principles and recommendations of the Banjul Civil Society Declaration drafted in September 2010 during the first Conference of African Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture. The AU (African Union) and NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) have recognized the importance of this declaration that will be taken into consideration in their work.

In view of the important role played by small-scale fisheries the Committee approved the development of a new international instrument on small-scale fisheries to complement the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), drawing on relevant existing instruments. The Committee agreed that the new instrument could take the form of an international guidelines, be voluntary in nature, address both inland and marine fisheries and focus on the needs of developing countries. The Committee recommended that all stakeholders be associated, as appropriate, with its development.

,

Experts: Denmark supports harmful EU fisheries in Africa

,

Reports conclude that the EU’s fisheries agreements with developing countries are socially, environmentally and economically harmful. By Michael Rothenborg, Politiken, 7 December 2010

“The EU gives us development aid with one hand, but takes away at least the same amount of money by over-fishing our oceans with the other “. Professor Ahmed Mahmoud Cherif is a former chief negotiator for Mauritania and has helped to conclude several fisheries agreements with the EU. Today he regrets having done so, and has therefore become president of the Mauritanian NGO, Pechecops.

A suffering population “Mauritania’s government is given millions to let Spanish and other European vessels fish for octopus, squid and other profitable species. But it is a short-sighted strategy and will not benefit the Mauritanian population. The people suffer because the overfishing of the European vessels leaves fewer fish for them to fish, and because the local fishing industry will lose jobs because of this, ” says Ahmed Mahmoud Cherif. He is in Denmark to participate in conference on the issue of overfishing. The conference that is to be held in the Danish parliament today has been organized by the Democracy in Europe (DEO) and the Danish Fishing Network. They point to reports from among others the UN and the World Bank, that indicate that fishing agreements with developing countries do more harm than good.

More information:

Second ACP Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers Council

Vassen Kauppaymuthoo, chairman of the Mauritian NGO Kalipso, participated in the second ACP Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers Council on behalf of CFFA, in Seychelles from 22 to 25 November 2010. That gave the occasion to make the Ministers and ACP officials aware of the point of view and proposals of the African civil society on the future of fisheries, voiced in September through the Banjul Declaration adopted by African civil society organizations in margin of the Conference of African Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture, in which Kalipso and CFFA participated.

The presence of CFFA as observer at the ACP Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers Council allowed artisanal fisheries to gain better visibility, showed their potential and raised the issues that need to be addressed by decision makers in order to ensure artisanal fisheries a sustainable future. However, Vassen Kauppaymuthoo deplores “the impression of some kind of duplication of efforts at the level of these various institutions, because too few bonds are made between these different ministerial meetings and what is actually discussed inside”.

Furthermore, he highlights that “aquaculture was mentioned several times during the Ministers Council, and presented as the panacea to face the collapse of wild fish stocks. But one should not forget that industrial aquaculture development in coastal areas leads to the privatization of the public maritime domain, sometimes jeopardizing the existence of coastal communities living there and provoking a lot of damages and pollutions to the coastal environment: the list of countries that have faced ecological disasters linked to industrial aquaculture is evergrowing. ACP countries cannot neglect these aspects and intensive aquaculture in sensitive tropical ecosystems like Maurice or Seychelles should be proscribed”.

More information:

CFP reform: WWF’s recommendations for the EU external fleet

Fishing outside EU waters by EU vessels should be firmly anchored in the 2012 revision of the Common Fisheries Policy. This is to ensure consistency and clarity on the standards of behaviour for EU vessels wherever they fish.

Check out WWF’s recommendations to improve the rules that apply to EU activities, to ensure sustainable fisheries abroad.

DEFRA’s baseline study on the CFP external dimension and global fisheries governance

The EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is currently undergoing a reform process with changes due in 2012. The consultation process for the reform began with the publication of a Green Paper in 2009 and invited a range of stakeholders to provide contributions. The Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) commissioned this study to consider the main issues for reform of the ‘external dimension’ of the CFP.

How Africa is feeding Europe: EU (over)fishing in West Africa

This Expedition Report provides a basic overview of the type of vessels encountered during the expedition, highlighting some of the problems of overfishing through specific examples. According to views expressed by local fishermen in Senegal and Mauritania, a consequence of foreign operations in West Africa, local fishing communities sees their own catch diminish and sees the destruction of local marine resources at the hands of foreign operators, while the communities themselves reap few if any of the benefits.

Sources:

Greenpeace Expedition report , September 30, 2010