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
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Small scale fisheries take priority in the discussions on the CFP reform

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On the 22nd of November 2012, MEPs supported an initiative on small-scale and coastal fishing tabled by MEP João Ferreira, member of the PECH Committee. According to this resolution, small-scale fisheries are in a critical situation because the resource crisis has a greater impact on these small-sized businesses, which currently represent about three quarters of the EU fishing fleet (65 000 boats). A recent European Parliament study showed that small-scale fleets create about 55 % of all jobs on board fishing vessels, while producing just 27 % of the total value of the landings. Employment has declined by 10 to 30 % between 2000 and 2010. The Parliament asks for a fisheries policy that takes account of the specific characteristics of the small-scale fleets. This includes relative high job creation, and mostly fishing with passive gear. The few female workers in fisheries are generally employed in the small-scale segment. In its resolution the Parliaments asks for specific measures for preferential access to fish resources, fleet management, public aid, and market measures.

In its proposals for the CFP reform, the Commission confirms the importance of the small-scale fisheries in Europe. They are likely to benefit the most from a reformed fisheries policy based on a clear and time-bound obligation to manage stocks at MSY levels and to eliminate discards. The reform package contains an increased the number of measures that are specifically useful for small-scale fisheries, in particular access to funding under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Small-scale vessels can also expect a higher aid intensity (75 % instead of 50 %) under the EMFF. As for the financial allocation of funds to Member States, the share of small-scale fleets in the wider national fleet is an important parameter for increasing the financial allocation. The European Parliament’s resolution will further boost the profile of small-scale fisheries during the next debates on the CFP reform.

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Guinea, Togo, Fiji and more risk EU trade sanction for lack of cooperation on IUU fishing

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.

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African Women Fishworkers conference on fish and food security

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Around sixty women artisanal fishworkers from 16 African countries are expected in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, this Sunday 18 November, for a three day conference organised by the African Confederation of Artisanal Fishing Organisations, CAOPA, with the collaboration and support of its partners SSNC, EED, ICSF, REJOPRAO and CFFA. This Conference aims at gathering women’s views and putting forward their proposals on how to improve the contribution of fisheries to food security in Africa. The Conference will be introduced by a video message from Olivier de Schutter, the United Nations Special rapporteur on the Right to Food, addressed to the women participants. The participants proposals will feed into in a series of processes affecting the future of African small scale fishing communities, in particular the FAO process for developing international guidelines for securing sustainable small scale fisheries. The results of the conference will also be presented during the celebration of the World Fisheries day, in Abidjan, on November 21st 2012.

Participating countries: Tunisia, Mauritania, Sénégal, Cape verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Mali, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Congo, Gabon, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso

Mauritanian civil society demands the implementation of the FPA with the EU

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)

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EC will publish FPA evaluations

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In response to CFFA publication and letter on access to FPA evaluations, the EC announced that ’from now on, all reports should be non-classified and we should properly ensure their dissemination, including their publication on the Internet. At the same time, the Commission services will endeavour to ensure that evaluations reports are available before the adoption of negotiating mandates by the Council’.

This was a long standing demand from CFFA, and we welcome this step for more transparency!

However, we still regret that the EC is not open to a wide consultation of Civil Society organisations, as it underlines being ’cautious in initiating a process of open consultation as it would change the nature of the evaluation and lead to a large extent the process being "out of control".

Read the full response by the EC.

A Chinese fleet, un-authorised for bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean, on its way to Mauritania

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/...

As part of their fishing agreement, China offers compensation for ’the damages that Chinese trawlers inflict to Guinean artisanal fishermen’

Various articles published in the Guinean press in the last month indicate that, as part of a fishing agreement between Guinea and China, which allows for (at least) 30 chinese trawlers to fish in zones where artisanal fishermen are also fishing, some leaders from the National Union of Guinean artisanal fishermen have received compensation funds. A fisherman, representing young Guinean artisanal fishermen, highlights in an interview that, ’every six months, China offers 150.000 USdollars, as compensation for the damages that the chinese trawlers inflict to artisanal fishermen’. Last month, at the occasion of the launch of the ’Chinese hospital’ built in Kamsar, this amount was given publically by the Minister to a leader of the National Union of Guinean artisanal fishermen. That raised questions and anger from young fishermen, as they are not benefitting from these funds. Fishermen interviewed also denounced the intervention of the authorities in the nomination of the National Union of Guinean artisanal fishermen leaders. The press articles report that the fishermen leaders who received the compensation were later arrested in relation to the misappropriation of these funds, but rapidly freed under pressure from the authorities.

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Senegal: Government cancels 29 fishing authorisations for foreign trawlers targetting small pelagics

The Senegalese government just cancelled 29 fishing authorisations that were allocated to foreign trawlers targetting small pelagics. The vessels concerned had to leave Senegal’s EEZ by 30 April 2012.

The cancelled authorisations were allocated to ’foreign trawlers chartered by two Senegalese and one Moroccan boatowners. ’What has been cancelled represent the total of the authorisations allocated by Senegal’ explained to the press agency APS a technical advisor from the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Ministry.

In a release, the Ministry explained that it cancelled these authorisations ’after having gathered all the elements enabling them to appreciate the issue relating to protocols autorising foreign vessels to exploit migratory pelagic resources in waters under Senegalese jurisdiction’.... ’We have witnessed a strong mobilisation of the professionals from the sector so that these contracts, which do not respect the norms established to preserve our resources, are cancelled as soon as possible’

The new Président, Macky Sall, had already stated, in a speech delivered on 3d April, that he was ’determined the review the access conditions for fishing licences’ and to ’firmly fight against vessels pillaging our resources’. Source

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Fisheries agreements implementation to be financially supported by the future European Financial instrument

The EC proposal for a European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) for the period 2014-2020 has been launched. The EMFF proposal covers technical assistance for fishing agreements and RFMOs: Article 91 of the proposal states that: ’The EMFF may support, at the initiative of the Commission, subject to the ceiling of 1.1% of this fund: (b) the implementation of sustainable fisheries agreements and the Union participation in regional fisheries management organisations’. In addition to this, an envelope is foreseen to cover Sustainable Fisheries Agreements and EU membership in International Organisations and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, which have their own individual basic acts. The envelope for both actions amounts to EUR 968 million for the period 2014-2020. Annually, SFAs and RFMOs funding goes from 146 millions in 2014 to 136 millions in 2020.

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:

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Industrial fisheries destroy livelihood of northern and southern fishermen

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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.

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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.