Telegraph :

Food chain fears may end 'industrial' fishing in North Sea
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor
(Filed: 09/06/2005)

quote:

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Europe is expected to ban fishing for sand eels in the North Sea "within weeks" amid fears of ecological changes more radical than anything since the sea formed 10,000 years ago.

The sand eel, a small silvery fish that spends most of its life buried in the sand, is at the bottom of the marine food chain, and part of the diet of cod, mackerel, porpoises and birds such as arctic terns and kittiwakes in the breeding season.
Sand eel
Sand eels are a crucial part of the food chain

It has also been the basis of the "industrial" fishery in the North Sea which took about 750 million tons of sand eels each year and pulped them for oil and meal used in salmon farms. Surveys for the European Union and Norway show that sand eel numbers are half the 300 billion individual fish that the European Commission says are needed for the fishery to continue.

The commission's scientific advisers are recommending the immediate closure of the fishery this year to protect the spawning stock. A commission spokesman said: "A regulation is in place and it can be done very quickly."

Scientists say that climate change appears to be the cause of their decline. The national science academies of the G8 countries warned this week that the evidence was "clear and increasing".

They say it looks increasingly like a "regime shift" in the marine ecosystem which began in the late 1980s, with the zooplankton that sand eels and cod feed on appearing later in the year and being replaced by another species.

North Sea temperatures have risen by 1C in the past 25 years, a huge change for a marine ecosystem according to conservationists. Dr Euan Dunn of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said: "It looks like the regime has flipped. It could be the biggest change since the North Sea was formed 10,000 years ago.

"Climate change and the rise in North Sea temperatures may well be the major cause of the sand eel decline and, if so, it will take years to reverse. Because of that we need to make sure that other human action, notably fishing, doesn't make things worse for sand eels and sea birds in the short term."

Sea birds have delayed breeding. If they do hatch chicks, the parents may struggle to find enough sand eels to ensure their young survive.

Danish trawlers are said to have stopped fishing for sand eels because the cost of fuel outweighs the catch. Fishermen have expressed concern about the likely effect to blue whiting, another fish used in fish oil and meal. Norway says blue whiting stocks are 25 to 35 per cent down and has imposed a temporary ban.

Helge Korsager, the managing director of United Fish Products in Aberdeen, told Fishing News: "If we start to lose blue whiting then things become very difficult. People agree that we are fishing it too hard and we are very worried."

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:cool: "Climate change is to blame"!!! and they take 750,000,000 tons a year!! Overfishing couldn't have anything to do with it? Of course not, they wouldn't let that happen, would they!!! :mad:

[ 23. June 2005, 08:58 AM: Message edited by: Norm B ]

Norm, 750k is not a big year for the sandeels fishery; sometimes it hit over a million. Still never exceeded natural mortality levels though.

Have you seen ANY evidence that overfishing is the cause in this case? I've looked pretty hard and found nothing to suggest that.

Chris

jaffa,

I'm playing devils advocate here, but surely you will never find evidence that is not meant to be found...?

Well If fishing aint part of the equation why ban it?????????? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Surely if fishing has nothing to do with it, banning fishing will make no difference what so ever.

Quite right Summer.

Whilst it might not have exceeded the natural mortality assumed figure, it certainly added a bl**dy great chunk to it.

It really makes me laugh to see how these figures are bandied about without one hope in hell of proving them.

We can however calculate how much is caught and landed and based on recent court cases we could add a reasonable percentage to that figure for black fish.

They've also had to close the anchovy fishery in the Bay of Biscay for 3 months.

http://europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/news_c...inf05_27_en.htm

TL - leon

its easy to close fisheries when there is no profit left in it, like this and the sandeel fishery its already gone bust, no pats on the back from me im afraid, the same will eventually happen with cod when there is non left, all to late and nothing to do with lobbying or global warming me thinks.

I agree with you on this one Stavey, the main and probably only reason for the decline of the sand eel is going to be over fishing.

If it is proved that the commercial fishing methods have wiped out these fish stocks then the environmentalists would have reason to request a hault on those certain commercial methods, however the industry big-wigs won't let that happen.

In respect of this I feel that any other reason that arrises for this decline will have undoubtably come from the spin-doctors within the industry itself so to protect themselves and their methods in the future and go on and exhust other species without the finger being pointed...

[ 23. June 2005, 03:08 PM: Message edited by: JeffB ]

Ken, what on earth do recent UK court cases, involving whitefish and pelagic species, both of which are under tight quotas, have to do with the Danish sandeel fishery?

What possible motive for black fish landings in that fishery?


Leon,
Interesting news about the anchovy fishery; any indication if its likely to be environmental, or just overfishing in that case?