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December 23, 2004
Fishing deal means no deal for cod
The Fisheries Council decision in Brussels yesterday leaves the cod stock stalled in limbo
The Fisheries Council decision in Brussels yesterday to reject closed areas
at sea for cod fishing leaves the cod stock stalled in limbo, with no
short-term prospect of the recovery that would help restore the fortunes of
the fishing industry.
With widespread Member State support for the UK-led opposition to the
closures, the Commission backed down and dropped its proposals to close
depleted cod fishing grounds in the North Sea, West of Scotland, and Irish
Sea.
The UK argued that the closures were unscientific but they were already a
Commission compromise on the zero cod catch recommended by ICES
(International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) scientists in
October. This is the third year running in which ICES advice to close cod
fishing grounds has been rejected by the Council.
Even the Scottish Executive concedes that the agreed measures, a trade-off
between days at sea and the use of a larger mesh size, means that the 'net
effect should be neutral for most of the Scottish whitefish fleet.'
Dr Euan Dunn, the RSPB's head of marine policy, said: "The lack of ambition
by Member States to support the closures adds up to business as usual for
the fleet, which rings even louder alarm bells for cod already teetering on
the brink of extinction.
"The key problem is that since 1980 we've seen a drop in half of the number
of cod surviving to breed and I'm not sure that cod will recover, even with
no fishing. So the cod recovery plan is skating on thin ice and desperately
needs the bolstering that closed areas would have given it."
1. As long ago as 1992, ICES advice was that 'recovery of the cod stock
would require at a minimum a marked and sustained reduction in fishing
effort or even a closure of the fishery.
2. ICES recommended zero catch of cod (ie.. total closure of the
fishery) in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
3. The current cod spawning stock is around 40,000-50,000 tonnes, only
a third of what is needed to guarantee the sustainability of the stock. It
is twenty years since the stock was last at 150,000 t.
4. There is good evidence that rising sea temperatures are killing
larval cod, so it becomes even more essential that the fishery for cod be
scaled down to avoid aggravating an already adverse set of conditions for
cod recovery.
5. As long ago as 1992, ICES advice was that 'recovery of the cod stock
would require at a minimum a marked and sustained reduction in fishing
effort or even a closure of the fishery.
6. ICES recommended zero catch of cod (ie.. total closure of the
fishery) in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
7. The current cod spawning stock is around 40,000-50,000 tonnes, only
a third of what is needed to guarantee the sustainability of the stock. It
is twenty years since the stock was last at 150,000 t.
8. There is good evidence that rising sea temperatures are killing
larval cod, so it becomes even more essential that the fishery for cod be
scaled down to avoid aggravating an already adverse set of conditions for
cod recovery.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
* The Lodge * Sandy * Beds SG19 2DL
Press office telephone 01767 681577
Website:www.rspb.org.uk
Registered charity no 207076
Grahame Madge
Media Officer, Conservation PR
RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Beds SG19 2DL
Telephone: +44 (0) 1767 681577
Fax: +44 (0) 1767 681284
Mobile and out of hours contact: 07702 196902
Pager: 07654 344078
grahame.madge@rspb.org.uk
www.rspb.org.uk
The RSPB is a UK charity working to secure a healthy environment for birds
and wildlife, helping create a better world for us all.
Posted by Surfbirds at 06:21 PM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2004
Fishing Gear a Death Trap for Sea Turtles
Data Shows Hawaiian Tuna Longliners Kill Every Olive Ridley Turtle Caught
New fishery observer data has shown that every endangered olive ridley sea
turtle caught by the Hawaiian longline tuna fleet was killed. Additionally,
because the fishery has exceeded its annual legal allowable catch and kill
limits of threatened olive ridley sea turtles, environmentalists are urging
the closure of the fishery and a more comprehensive solution to protect
marine life which includes a United Nations Pacific-wide moratorium on
industrial longline fishing.
In 1999, a U.S. federal court required a time-area closure for the longline
tuna fishery in order to protect the critically endangered leatherback sea
turtle. Leatherbacks were being caught at exceptionally high numbers by the
fishery. However, even with this protective measure for the leatherbacks,
every single IUCN Redlisted endangered olive ridley sea turtles that was
caught by the tuna longliners was killed. In the first three quarters of
2004, the longline tuna fishery killed all 10 olive ridley sea turtles
snagged on longlines.
These turtles aren't even given a fighting chance. Not only has the fishery
exceeded its legal take limit but it killed every turtle it caught. This is
further evidence that this incredibly destructive fisheryis a continuing
threat to endangered ocean wildlife, said Robert Ovetz, PhD, Save the
Leatherback Campaign Coordinator with the Sea Turtle Restoration Project.
The legal take limit for 2004 for olive ridleys is set at 37 caught of which
only 35 can be killed. However, because only 25.3 percent of the vessels had
observers onboard at the time the data was collected, it can be estimated
that the take for olive ridleys is about 40 caught and all 40 killed in just
the first three quarters of 2004.
A short-term fix that protects one turtle but kills another in its place is
just a sleight of hand, explained Todd Steiner, Executive Director of the
Sea Turtle Restoration Project. Steiner concluded that we need a
comprehensive solution, like international marine protected areas, that will
protect all species, not just shift the burden.
Last month, the Sea Turtle Restoration Project released a report showing
that, based on NOAA Fisheries own data, an estimated 4.4 million sea
turtles, sharks, billfish, seabirds and marine mammals are caught and killed
by longlines each year in the Pacific.
The Sea Turtle Restoration Project is calling upon the United Nations to
implement a moratorium on high seas longline fishing. To date, 744
international scientists from 84 countries, including Dr. Sylvia Earle and
biologist E.O. Wilson, and representatives of 269 NGOs from 43 countries
have signed a petition supporting the moratorium.
SEA TURTLE RESTORATION PROJECT
POB 400/40 Montezuma Avenue Forest Knolls, CA 94933 USA
Ph. +1 415 488 0370 ext. 106=80 Fax +1 415 488 0372
robert@seaturtles.org www.seaturtles.org
NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations
Posted by Surfbirds at 06:24 PM | Comments (0)
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
New black and white category
Call of the wild: from the deepest ocean to the tallest mountain, the
search for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2005 has begun.
An imaginative eye, a love for the natural world and a camera are all
it takes to enter the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, the
world's longest-running and most prestigious wildlife photographic
competition. Open to both amateurs and professionals of all ages and
nationalities, the competition last year attracted over 18,500 entries
from more than 50 countries, including Poland, South Africa, Canada, New
Zealand, Finland and Brazil. All entries must be submitted by 4 April
2005 to have a chance to win a share of the prize pool.
Doug Perrine from the USA won the overall title Wildlife Photographer
of the Year 2004 for his dramatic image of bronze whalers charging a
baitball, and Gabby Salazar, also from the USA, became the Young
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2004 with her image of a green anole
lizard. Any category winner has the chance to carry off the grand title,
with categories ranging from Animal Behaviour and Wild Places to the
Underwater World and Urban and Garden Wildlife, and three age categories
for photographers 17 and under.
Winning photographers not only receive a share of the prize fund, they
also see their images featured in a special supplement with BBC Wildlife
Magazine. The winning images those considered the most outstanding and
memorable together with at least 50 commended ones, will go on display at
the Natural History Museum, London, from October 2005 before touring the
UK and worldwide. They will also be published in a hardback commemorative
portfolio book by the BBC.
Photographers have until 4 April 2005 to submit their entries. Entry
forms are available in the February issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine, from
the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition office (020 7942 5015)
and on the competition's website: www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto
Posted by Surfbirds at 06:23 PM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2004
Ascension Island seabirds in the Ascendancy
One of the world's most important seabird colonies now has a brighter future
Ascension Island, a small, remote, volcanic island in the South Atlantic is rich in unique flora and fauna. At the time of its colonisation by Europeans in 1815, it was thought to host 20 million individual seabirds, including the Ascension Frigatebird, a globally threatened species found nowhere else in the world. Following a 98 per cent crash in numbers, the island seabird population is now only around 400,000 individuals, mostly confined to offshore stacks and inaccessible cliffs. The seabird population on the tropical UK Overseas Territory had been devastated by feral cats which were introduced onto the island in the early 19th Century to control introduced rats and mice.
So far, the Ascension Seabird Restoration Project has encouraged 203 pairs of five species of seabird, including brown noddies, masked boobies and red-billed tropicbirds, to return and nest on mainland Ascension Island. This early success has prompted the Marsh Conservation Trust to present Tara
George, conservation officer of the Ascension Island Government Conservation Department, with this year's Marsh Award for International Bird Conservation. The annual award is presented to those unsung heroes or heroines who have made an exceptional contribution to conservation.
The Ascension Seabird Restoration Project, assisted by the RSPB with £500,000 funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has since 2001 removed feral cats from Ascension Island. Since February this year, no feral cats have been seen on the island, encouraging the prompt return of the
seabirds. [note]. The island continues to be monitored intensively to ensure that feral cats don't become re-established.
Tara George said: "Many species on the UK Overseas Territories are threatened by non-native species. The project marks a landmark in conservation, as Ascension is the largest, inhabited island where feral cat removal has been attempted. "I'm delighted to receive this award. It
recognises the efforts that have been made on Ascension island and might provide encouragement to other conservationists battling to overcome seemingly insurmountable problems." Speaking today, Foreign Office Minister Douglas Alexander, MP said: "In 2001, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provided the RSPB with funding for an important seabird restoration project on one of our Overseas Territories, Ascension Island.
"The project has been a great success and will make a crucial contribution to the conservation of the world's breeding seabird populations and the natural history of the island. The British Government recognises the value of biodiversity and the part it plays in sustaining human life. We are committed to the target set at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. And we continue to work in partnership with the Governments of the UK's Overseas Territories to conserve and sustain their rich natural environments and their globally important biodiversity resources."
Graham Wynne, the RSPB's chief executive, said: "The 14 UK Overseas Territories, including Ascension, are astoundingly rich in wildlife, including many species found nowhere else on earth.
"Put together they hold 34 species of globally-endangered birds, more than, Madagascar or PapuaNew Guinea. But, the impact on native wildlife from introduced species, particularly rats and cats, has been devastating. "The RSPB has made a firm commitment to protect wildlife in the UK Overseas
Territories and the success of the Ascension Seabird Restoration Project is proof that well designed and funded projects can provide new hope for threatened species. It will also support the development of Ascension's emerging economy as the seabirds are a major attraction to tourists." Tara George will receive the Marsh Award for International Bird Conservation from Mr Brian Marsh, of the Marsh Christian Trust, on Tuesday 14 December at 5.45pm in the Map Room at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London. ends
Editor's notes:
1) The cats on Ascension island were introduced in 1815 to control the
populations of introduced rats and mice. Roaming wild, these cats quickly
decimated populations of seabirds on the mainland, forcing most of the
seabirds, except the colonially-nesting sooty tern, to nest on offshore
stacks, principally Boatswainbird Island. The project needed to remove the
cats from the island. The project gained the active support and co-operation
of the islanders and the Ascension Island Society for the Protection of
Cruelty Against Animals. The feral cats were destroyed in accordance with
animal welfare guidelines.
2) The project has worked with the local community to identify, register,
microchip and, where necessary, sterilise pet cats, resulting in greater
care of pets. Legislation was introduced through the project to prevent the
reintroduction of cats to the island.
3) The Marsh Christian Trust was established in 1981 with the aim of
providing long-term core funding to selected charities. The Marsh Award
Scheme has emanated from the Trust's desire to acknowledge individuals and
sometimes groups of people for their dedicated commitment in their chosen
field. The Scheme was formed in 1987. There are now 14 Marsh Awards, run in
association with many partner charities.
4) The ascension frigatebird is a globally-threatened seabird, which is
totally confined to Ascension Island. It is one of 11 species of seabird
which regularly nests on the island.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
* The Lodge * Sandy * Beds SG19 2DL
Press office telephone 01767 681577
Website:www.rspb.org.uk
Registered charity no 207076
Posted by Surfbirds at 06:24 PM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2004
EU says Malta has worst hunting abuse record
The increased and dedicated efforts of individual conservationists and protest groups over the past 4 years appears to be bearing fruit. It DOES help to support a protest campaign!
From the Times of Malta 8. December 2004:
The European Commission will be sending an inspection team to Malta in March amid claims that the island is the worst per capita abuser of hunting regulations in the EU.
The Commission has been inundated by letters of complaints from Maltese residents, tourists, MEPs and NGOs and it was high time for the EU to carry out a detailed inspection of the hunting situation in Malta, Anne Teller, administrator on hunting issues at DG Environment, told The Times.
The six-man delegation will be made up of individuals from the DG Environment's Nature and Biodiversity Unit and the Legal Unit. The team was originally meant to visit Malta by the end of this year but decided to postpone its trip to March to coincide with a period notorious for illegal hunting.
Ms Teller said a total of 95 per cent of complaint letters from Malta sent to the DG Environment's Unit for Nature and Biodiversity revolve around hunting.
"We receive letters about hunting in Malta every week, ranging from the fact that birds are being trapped and that migratory birds are being shot down during the close season," she said.
The DG Environment has asked the Maltese authorities for clarification about several instances of protected birds being shot in the past few months. Birds of prey, including short-toed eagles, flamingos and herons were shot down at the height of the hunting season in September and October.
Ms Teller said that several MEPs, especially British, Germans and Italians, have urged the EU to scrutinise Malta's hunting situation closely. France, Italy, Spain, Malta and Cyprus were the biggest offenders in the EU where bird hunting was concerned, Ms Teller said, though Malta was now the worst in terms of per capita flouting of hunting regulations.
Read the full article at - http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=172060 - which states that
Malta is now the worst per capita abuser of hunting regulations in the EU which gives those of us who have been involved regularly in anti-hunting campaigns new hope for the future. But we want to see concrete results.
David
__________________
David Conlin
Proact International
Posted by Surfbirds at 07:17 PM | Comments (0)
Cross country road divides St Vincent Parrot habitat
The globally threatened St Vincent Parrot, is under threat from the Taiwanese Government
The globally threatened St Vincent Parrot, national bird of St Vincent and the Grenadines, is under threat from a cross-country road funded by the Taiwanese Government. The road would irreversibly damage the remnants of primary rainforest on which the parrot depends, and open it up to further encroachment by illegal loggers and marijuana growers.
No Environmental Impact Assessment has been carried out, as is required under recognised international standards. An Environmental Investigation and Cataloguing study, prepared earlier this year, has not been made public, although a local environmental group opposed to the road has obtained a copy. It warns that the road threatens the parrot and other endemic biodiversity, puts the island's growing ecotourism industry in jeopardy, and will interfere with an important watershed.
The St Vincent Parrot (Amazona guildingii) has recovered slightly after the population declined to critically low levels. The Environmental Investigation and Cataloguing study, by Ivor Jackson and Associates, warned that the illegal trade in parrot eggs and chicks is still a threat to its survival, and that marijuana farming already severely threatens its habitat. "Our estimate is that the study area contains over 70 percent of the Parrot's population and is therefore critical to its sustainability," the study says.
"The exemplary record of the St Vincent government over the last 20 years, in saving their national bird, will be undone to devastating effect by this ill-sited cross country road," said David Wege, BirdLife International's Caribbean Programme Manager. "The globally threatened St Vincent Amazon is the most spectacular of all the Amazon Parrots, and this road threatens its very survival."
The Environmental Investigation also warned of increased risk of landslides, since the road would pass through areas of unconsolidated rock on precipitous ridges and sites of volcanic activity, exacerbated by fragile soils and high rainfall. In the last week of this November, torrential rain caused landslides and mudslides which blocked roads on the island, and trapped people in their homes.
The development is funded by the Taiwanese Overseas Engineering Construction Company (OECC), which was set up in Panama by the Taiwanese Overseas Investment and Development Organization, with the stated aim of providing infrastructure projects for "diplomatic partners" who support Taiwan's campaign for recognition by the United Nations and other international institutions. The Taiwanese Ambassador to St Vincent and the Grenadines recently presented Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves with a cheque for US$2.74 million to fund the first phase of the Cross Country Road.
St Vincent's opposition, the New Democratic Party, has come out strongly against the road, claiming that it is "an election gimmick" by the ruling Unity Labour Party, and accusing the government of putting "unnecessary levels of pressure" on the Taiwanese to fund this and other projects.
A pressure group, Friends of the Environment /St Vincent and the Grenadines (FOTE/SVG), was set up in September this year following the signing of an agreement between the Government and OECC to begin work on phase I of the road. "It is normal and expected procedure for any
government, development agency or funding agency to require an Environmental Impact Assessment," said FOTE/SVG coordinator Marlon Mills Browne. "A project of this magnitude also calls for a feasibility study to identify environment benefits, if any."
He added: "FOTE/SVG will challenge the construction of the Cross Country Road on the grounds that it will result in irreparable damage to the Forest reserve and vital natural resources, and will impact negatively on the quality of life for the Vincentian people, now and in the future.
Posted by Surfbirds at 07:02 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2004
Bird Smuggling - A Gruesome Find
A gruesome find: Customs officers discover suitcases full of song bird corpses in Munich – 2,100 Meadow Pipits confiscated.
Press Release by the Komitee gegen den Vogelmord (Committee against Bird Slaughter)
http://www.komitee.de
3. December 2004
Munich. In the course of a routine inspection of luggage with an x-ray machine at Munich Airport Customs officers found 4 suitcases stuffed to the brim with highly protected song birds. In the luggage of a 40 year old Italian, en route to North Italy from Romania, the officers discovered 2,101 dead Meadow Pipits, neatly laid out and packed in plastic bags. The Committee against Bird Slaughter has received information to the effect that the birds were intended for sale to gourmets in a Venetian restaurant. Despite strict laws and regulations, "Polenta ucelli" (Polenta with song bird) or "Spiedo ucelli" (song bird on a spit) are still considered delicacies which can be bought ‘under the counter’ at high prices.
According to the spokesperson of the Committee Axel Hirschfeld “the illegal sale of song birds in Italy is still a million Euro business”. Bird protection societies estimate that in North Italy alone 2 million thrushes, robins, finches and other song birds are eaten. The poaching and smuggling of these birds is professionally organised. “Not long ago an attempt was made to smuggle dead song birds in coffins from Romania” Hirschfeld says.
The Committee also stated that hundreds of thousands of migrating birds are shot or trapped on their roosts every year in Romania for the benefit of Italian gourmets. Meadow pipits belong to the family of pipits and wagtails Motacillidae and are on the Red List in Germany. Population figures have sunk drastically in the last few years; according to the Committee only 90,000 pairs still breed in Germany.
Press Release by the Komitee gegen den Vogelmord (Committee against Bird Slaughter)
http://www.komitee.de
3. December 2004
Further information, or pictures of plucked song birds, can be obtained from the Committee:
Telefon:+49 228-66 55 21 or Telefax: + 49 228-66 52 80
Alexander Heyd, Auf dem Dransdorfer Berg 98, 53121 Bonn
Translation and worldwide distribution David Conlin 2004
Posted by Surfbirds at 07:18 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2004
The Largest Wind Farm Project in Europe threatens Thousands of Birds
Earlier this year Proact and other organisations campaigned against the plan by Farm Energy Ltd to erect six wind turbines on Beinn Mholach inside the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area (SPA), Isle of Lewis, in close proximity to nesting Golden Eagle (site also designated under the RAMSAR Convention)
We warned that this would only be the ‘foot in the door’ for more ambitious projects – après moi le Deluge. Nevertheless the Western Isles Council Comhairle nan Eilean Siar approved the application.
The application by Amec http://www.amec.com/wind/2ndlevel.asp?pageid=8038 (those with more than a passing interest in the detail can follow the links from this page to find more about the proposed development) and British Energy http://www.british-energy.com/cgi-bin/public/frame/frame.pl?url=media/press/items/item80.html to build 234 wind turbines on the North Lewis Peatlands SPA in the Scottish Western Isles has now been submitted.
The developers proudly present the project as “Europe’s largest wind farm involving the construction of up to 300 wind turbines …. creating at least 600 MW of electrical power”. The Western Isles, which have one of the most beautiful wild landscapes in Britain, would become the ‘renewables capital of Europe’ with more industrialisation in the shape of a turbine and tower manufacturing plant at Arnish Point. What a prospect!
Individuals and conservation organisations believe this will be hugely damaging and that the chosen site is the wrong location for such a major industrial development.
The Environmental Statement (ES) commissioned by Amec states that, in the course of the development’s estimated 25-year lifetime, 50 Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos and 16 Red-throated Divers Gavia stellata are at risk of fatally colliding with the wind turbine blades.
The ES also concludes that:
• 352 Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria territories; and
• 314 Dunlin Calidris alpina territories could be displaced during the operation of the wind farm and hundreds more will be affected during construction.
• Merlin Falco columbarius, Greenshank Tringa nebularia, Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus, Greylag Goose Anser anser and Corncrake Crex crex may also be affected by displacement, disturbance or collision.
The RSPB, which is also objecting to the Scottish Executive about the proposal, has produced a BirdLife briefing which is also available online at
http://www.proact-campaigns.net/windfarmsandbirds/rspb.html
The Amec/british Energy application has been submitted to the Scottish Executive for their approval. The deadline for objecting to the proposal is December 13th. This will be not only Europe's, but at time of posting, the world’s largest wind farm. It is proposed for an area with international conservation designations and if this is approved, NOWHERE in Scotland will be out of bounds for development! Other countries will not be slow to follow.
You are encouraged to lodge an objection in support of the campaign against the siting of this wind farm in the Lewis SPA at:
http://www.proact-campaigns.net/windfarmsandbirds/amec_and_lewis.html
David Conlin
Proact International
Posted by Surfbirds at 07:19 PM | Comments (0)