Slack lines
-
Posts
1846 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Posts posted by Slack lines
-
-
Sea anglers in England are to be asked what fish they catch and what they return in the biggest ever survey of the sport in England.
The survey, Sea Angling 2012, aims to find out how many people enjoy the sport, how much fish they catch, what is returned alive, and how important the sport is to the country’s economy.
UK Fisheries Minister, Richard Benyon, said:
“I want sea angling to have a bright future, but to achieve this we must understand what sea anglers are catching, what is being returned alive, and the economic and social benefits the sport provides.
“This is a chance for sea anglers to make sure their interests are taken into account when policies to improve and conserve fish stocks around our coast are developed”
Sea Angling 2012 will be run with the help of a steering group including sea anglers and sector representatives. Its first meeting was on July 6 at Defra in London.
European legislation requires EU Member States to collect and report data on recreational catches of certain species – including bass, cod and sharks – where it is needed to give a clearer picture of how fishing activities are affecting the stocks.
If Sea Angling 2012 and similar surveys in Europe highlight circumstances where anglers should play an important role in conserving vulnerable or overexploited stocks, Defra would seek to agree voluntary measures to avoid having controls imposed from Brussels.
The data obtained in Sea Angling 2012 will allow the importance and needs of recreational sea angling to be more effectively represented in future discussions on marine management at local, national and EU level.
Notes
For more information go to www.seaangling2012.org.uk/
Sea Angling 2012 will be carried out by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas), and the new local Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs).
Sea Angling 2012 will give sea anglers input as the new IFCAs develop their policies for managing sustainable forms of all types of fishing within six nautical miles of the coast.
-
The UK fishing industry is split over the EU's blueprint for its future fisheries policy, after long-awaited proposals on the Common Fisheries Policy were unveiled earlier this week.
A central tenet of the proposed reforms is the EC's commitment to ending discards. The controversial practice of throwing out-of-quota and non-marketable fish back into the sea was highlighted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in Hugh's Fish Fight earlier this year.
Fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki has supported the idea of ending the practice for some time, but her presentation of the CFP proposals on Wednesday marked the first concrete commitment from the EC.
The Scottish Fishermen's Federation said some elements of the reforms were a step in the right direction, but that other aspects were worrying. "Scottish fishermen abhor discarding, but in the complex mixed fisheries our fleet operates in, it is totally impracticable to ban discards altogether," the SFF said.
Proposals for greater decentralisation were welcomed by UK industry body Seafish, which said the move would give individual fisheries more control. However, it warned, there was no 'one size fits all' solution, especially for UK mixed fisheries. "We urge the EU to adopt a risk-based approach," a spokesman said.
Fearnley-Whittingstall, who has been pushing for an all-out ban on discards, said there was still a long way to go before the proposed rules became law: "There are still 18 months of arguments and discussion in the European Parliament that could change everything."
Concerns have been raised that the CFP reforms would add cost into the supply chain, but Damanaki insisted to The Grocer that costs would actually fall. She added that she recognised supermarkets were already doing their bit to end discards by "offering consumers sustainable fish".
The Commission hopes the proposals will be in force by 1 January 2013.
-
A FISH which has caused havoc in the United States had turned up in an East Yorkshire fishing pond.
The 30lb silver carp was hooked by angler Chris Johnson at Greaves End near Eastrington. It was returned to the water but later died, apparently of stress. Anglers are being warned to alert the pond’s owner if any more appear.
The fast-breeding fish are said to have caused hundreds of millions of pounds of damage in the US to fish stocks and waterways after being introduced from China 30 years ago.
It is thought the fish came to be in the pond when an ornamental pool was extended two decades ago by the previous owner.
Owner Darren Cole, who sent samples of the dead fish to the Environment Agency, is convinced it’s a one-off.
The pond isn’t connected to a waterway and Gareth Davies, of the Environment Agency, said it hadn’t had the right conditions to spawn.
“It was introduced in waters outside the UK to control algae.
“They do the job too well and can get rid of it totally, which leads to problems for other fish in the water.”
-
If you have a zoo near you Barry, I believe lion dung is a good deterrant/repellent?
-
-
The UK's consumption of fish in 2011 has already matched what our seas can supply for a year, campaigners said today.
Research from think tank NEF, the New Economics Foundation, and the Ocean2012 campaign suggests that the amount of fish we eat in the UK is almost double the produce fished from British waters.
Annual fish supplies from our seas can only satisfy demand for 196 days - which means that if we were to rely only on our own fisheries we would run out of stocks for dishes such as the traditional favourite of fish and chips after today (July 15).
The report shows the impact of declining stocks and rising consumption by putting annual resources on to a calendar year and finding the day when European countries start to eat into catches from elsewhere in the world.
It shows that the day on which the UK effectively uses up its own supplies has got earlier, from August 4 last year, and six weeks earlier than in 1995, showing a growing reliance on imports.
Across the EU as a whole, the problem is even more acute, with the bloc running out of its own fish on July 2.
The report, which comes as the EU sets out proposals for reforms of its fisheries policy, calls for fishing capacity to be reduced in line with available resources, and for scientific advice to be properly heeded in setting fish catch quotas.
The campaigners are calling for responsible consumption to be promoted to EU consumers and measures which ensure sustainable fishing outside Europe's waters.
And they want access to fisheries to be dependent on meeting conservation criteria, and for investment in environmental measures and enforcement of sustainable quotas and practices.
The report's author Aniol Esteban, of NEF, said: "In a context of finite resources and growing populations, the current model is environmentally unviable, socially unfair and makes no economic sense.
"It's a shame that our appetite for fish is not accompanied by an appetite to ensure a sustainable future for fisheries and fishing communities in the UK, Europe and beyond."
He said that maintaining current levels of consumption without getting EU fish stocks back into shape will only worsen the situation.
Ian Campbell from Ocean2012, said: "It turns out there aren't plenty more fish in the sea after all.
"Unless we radically change course, we're facing a future of abandoned fishing communities, huge job losses, depleted oceans and a sad end to a Great British meal," he warned.
-
Throughout the world, conservation biologists are indicating ecosystems that are beginning to degrade on account of the fact that large predators are being removed from the food chain. Without them, the intricate webs that keep habitats tightly-knit are broken, and the ecosystem suffer.
Large predators and other “apex consumers” are the ultimate link in the food chain, and they main responsibility as such is to keep all other animals under control. The way in which creatures in the food web prey on each other determines the health of the system.
At this point, a wide range of terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems are no longer being shaped or influenced by large predators. A new study concludes that the loss of these animals is the primary influence that the spread of our species is having on the natural world.
This investigation was conducted by an international collaboration of researchers. Details of the work appear in this week's issue of the top journal Science. University of California in Santa Cruz (UCSC) marine ecologist and evolutionary biologist James Estes was the lead author of the research.
He explains that large predators and apex consumers were once spread throughout the globe, inside every ecosystem and food chain. In fact, these creatures were responsible for modeling the very structure and dynamics patterns inside these systems.
But excessive hunting and habitat fragmentation have brought these creatures to their knees, with many species going extinct as a result. Their disappearance usually leads to deteriorating water quality, disrupted nutrient cycles, changes in vegetation patterns, and an increased number of invasive species.
Apex consumers indicate animals such as the elephant and bison, which are not necessarily top predators. When it comes to predators, animals such as sharks, wolves, predatory birds and large fish are in decline around the world.
Removing these animals from the food chains results in a phenomenon called “trophic cascade,” which is when the effects of their absence reverberate further down the food chain. In this manner, these consequences can span the entire system.
David Garrison, the director of the NSF Biological Oceanography Program, says that the work “highlights the unanticipated effects of trophic cascades on Earth systems, including far-reaching processes such as biogeochemical cycles.”
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) partially funded the new research effort. “The removal of predators like sharks and sea otters, bass and wolves has consequences, not only for these species, but for all of us,” the official says.
“The top-down effects of apex consumers in an ecosystem are fundamentally important, but it is a complicated phenomenon. They have diverse and powerful effects on the ways ecosystems work, and the loss of these large animals has widespread implications,” Estes concludes.
-
AN INVESTIGATION is under way after raw sewage was found leaking into a river in Flintshire.
Environment Agency Wales is urging residents who live in Mynydd Isa to prevent pollution from damaging streams by checking their drainage.
Environment officers have investigated reports of sewage pollution to two streams in the area which drain into the River Alyn, a popular destination for anglers and other water users.
A Welsh Water survey of the drains using CCTV cameras showed the pollution is not being caused by the sewer system.
EAW officers now believe the pollution is caused by houses with wrongly connected drains where a washing machine, sink, shower or even toilet has been connected to the clean water drainage system.
If any of these pipes are wrongly connected to the clean water system, the EAW said, foul water from homes will get into the local stream causing pollution.
Lyndsey Rawlinson from Environment Agency Wales said: “We urge local people to check that their plumbing is connected properly and to fix any misconnections.
“We will be visiting houses in the area with environmental health officers from Flintshire County Council to find any wrongly-connected drains and explain how to fix it.
“We are keen to work with local people to tackle these misconnections and prevent further pollution in the area.”
It is not currently known how big the scale of the problem is or how many houses may be involved.
The River Alyn is a tributary of the River Dee. It arises at the southern end of the Clwydian hills and the Alyn Valley forms part of the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
People can find further information on misconnections by visiting www.connectright.org.uk.
They can also help the environment by reporting any incidents of pollution, illegal tipping of waste or poaching to EAW via its 24-hour free phone number 0800 807060.
-
The global forum charged with both protecting and overseeing the hunting of whales ended a four-day session on Thursday with a walkout by pro-whaling nations to block a vote on the creation of a new sanctuary.
The 63rd annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), in other words, ended true to form.
"You can only conclude that this commission - which, despite a moratorium, does not have a mandate to stop the large-scale hunting still going on - is genuinely dysfunctional," said Frederic Briand, head of Monaco's delegation.
"Since the moratorium was put in place in 1986, more than 33,000 whales have been killed," he told AFP as the 89-nation body adjourned for another year.
A significant number of the giant sea mammals are also killed through so-called "by-catch" and ship collisions.
The one modicum of progress achieved here was the adoption by consensus on Wednesday of a British plan to discourage influence peddling by changing the way member nations pay their dues.
Under the old rules, members could pay subscription fees - ranging from a few thousand to more than 100,000 dollars (euros) - by cash or cheque, a practice that fuelled allegations of corruption.
The IWC was rocked last year by accusations in the British press that Japan used cash and development aid to "buy" votes from Caribbean and African nations.
Japan, which denied the charges, is one of three countries along with Norway and Iceland that practice large-scale whaling despite the moratorium, collectively taking more than 1,000 whales annually in recent years.
Such payments must now be made by bank transfer, as is done in other international organisations.
Some anti-whaling delegates and environmental groups took a "glass-half-full" approach to the outcome.
"The commission, despite the recurrent standoff between pro-hunting and pro-conservation nations, is taking small steps in the right direction," said Sigrid Luber, president of Ocean Care, an advocacy group.
Luber said the new measure should make it easier "for delegates to express their own opinions".
Progress was also made towards recognising the conservation status of dozens of smaller cetaceans - an order grouping 80-odd whales, dolphins and porpoises - and not just the 15 giant sea mammals currently covered by the IWC.
Others also point out that the moratorium, while flouted by the trio of hunting nations, has helped many species inch back from the brink of extinction.
"The majority of whale stocks are moving in the right direction, often at a pace of five to 10 per cent per year," noted French scientist Vincent Ridoux, a member of the Commission's scientific committee.
"That is a direct result of the ban on commercial hunting," he said.
But on Thursday, the deep-seated divide that pulls this body apart surfaced again when Japan led a walk-out of pro-whaling nations to insure that a vote to create a sanctuary in the South Atlantic - spearheaded by Brazil and Argentina - would fail to muster the necessary quorum.
Currently there are two such whale havens, one in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, and the other in the Indian Ocean.
Japan carries out an annual hunt during the southern hemisphere summer in Antarctic waters and said this week it planned to return next season despite vows from anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd to disrupt the hunt.
In February, Japan recalled its Antarctic fleet a month ahead of schedule with only one fifth of its planned catch, citing interference from Sea Shepherd's vessels.
A bid to boost the voice and access of non-governmental organisations in the IWC's proceedings also failed.
"I know some of us would have liked to go further, particularly on the issue of observer and civil society participation," said Richard Pullen, the head of Britain's delegation.
"But negotiations mean compromise."
-
The government has watered down plans to drastically reduce the number of coastguard centres.
The original proposals envisaged cutting the centres from 19 to nine, with only three remaining open 24 hours a day. But transport secretary Philip Hammond said 11 centres would remain open and all would operate round the clock.
The original proposals were criticised in a recent report by the Commons transport committee, which said it had "serious concerns that safety will be jeopardised if these proposals proceed".
Launching the report, the committee's chairman Louise Ellman said the coastguard proposals were "seriously flawed" and there was little support for them.
Hammond said the change was prompted by responses to a public consultation on the plans.
"It is clear from the responses that there is huge public and political admiration for the work of our coastguard, a clear consensus that change and modernisation is necessary but also some specific concerns about the original proposals," he said.
Coastguard centres in Swansea, Portland, Liverpool, Great Yarmouth, Brixham, and Walton on the Naze will close, as well as Clyde and Forth in Scotland.
The Public and Commercial Services union welcomed the climbdown but said it would oppose any compromises in safety.
The union's general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "This fight is not over. We are committed to ensuring we retain the local knowledge of our coastlines that is essential to saving lives, as we are determined to defend all public services and our communities from the government's cuts."
Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT transport union, said: "While the government has clearly been forced by public and union pressure to make significant changes to their original proposals, we still remain concerned that the revised plans may leave gaps in the service and will be seeking further assurances that there will be no impact on the safety of our members out on the high seas."
Conservative MP Sheryll Murray, whose husband died in a boating accident, called the coastguard closures a "disaster" and urged the government to fulfil its promise to listen.
"Today the English Channel became a more dangerous place," she said. "Plans to reduce the Coastguard stations from 19 to just 11 is a disaster for public safety for all sea users."
-
A ‘FISH map’ will be created around the coast of Anglesey – with sea creatures plucked from the waters recorded for a study on the impact of fishing on marine habitats.
Anglers and mussel fishermen are among those that will take part in the major research project, Fish Map Môn, developed by the Countryside Council for Wales.
Fishermen will be asked to report on their activity around the island to draw up a clear picture of the level of fishing off the coast.
They will then use the data collected and map this against sensitive marine habitats to understand the impact of fishing.
This information will help provide a basis to develop a fisheries management programme around Anglesey and adjust fishing activities if required.
A similar project could then be rolled out across the whole of Wales.
The Fish Map Môn project is run jointly by the North Wales Fishermen’s Cooperative Ltd, Bangor Mussel Producers Ltd, the Welsh Federation of Sea Anglers and Countryside Council for Wales.
A launch meeting with all the stakeholders in the project is being held at the Gazelle Hotel near Menai Bridge today.
CCW chairman Morgan Parry said: “For an activity to be truly sustainable it has to look after the local economy and communities as well as the natural environment.
“This project is one of the best examples of collaboration between various interested parties to work towards a sustainable, workable future.
“This project has the potential to improve the management of our seas for the benefit of wildlife and for those whose livelihoods depend on them,” Mr Parry added.
Mussel fisherman James Wilson, speaking on behalf of Bangor Mussel Producers Ltd, said: “We are happy to be involved in a closely integrated project that will examine, in an innovative way, the crossover between fisheries and environmental needs.
“We hope the work will provide information that, in time, will be useful for marine spatial planning and developing an ecosystem-based approach to managing the marine environment.”
Roger Cook, Environment and Conservation Officer for the Welsh Federation of Sea Anglers, said: "We welcome the Welsh Government’s support for this project, which we expect will provide evidence of any adverse impacts of fishing.
“Any attributed to specific angling techniques would provide a basis for us to revise our code of conduct for sea anglers.
-
Youtube Video ->Original Video
-
-
-
-
I believe this is one of wilsons haunts?
Seventy-nine anglers at the end of a competition staged on a Norfolk water weighed in a staggering aggregate of 1,775lbs of fish last Saturday.Obviously, yet another giant carp catch heaved out of a commercial match lake, you might think.
You would be wrong. For these fantastic numbers amount to a brilliant reflection of the unrivalled form on Norfolk’s tidal river Yare where in the latest round of the Nisa Feeder League quality bream and roach produced a stunning match average of more than 23lbs per rod.
It is no exaggeration to portray these results as testimony that no other natural waterway in the UK at present can hope to equal the marvellous biodiversity of our Norfolk Broads, where coarse fish, otters, cormorants, herons, bitterns, king fishers, grebes and even the alien mink appear to co-exist in perfect harmony in a balanced habitat.
Top catch of the day, consisting of 35 bream totalling 51lbs 10oz, was reeled in by Eddie Hall (Yarmouth) from peg 22 on the famous Beauchamp Arms match length on a standard feeder rig baited with worm.
Runner-up Tony Anderson (Diawa Ad Suffolk) netted 49lbs 12oz of similar fish from peg 107 followed by Paul Abbott (Breakaways) with 44lb 15oz from peg 23, then Simon Elliott (Harleston) 44lbs 10oz, peg 119 and Lol Higgins (Suffolk) 42lbs 8oz, peg 129.
These returns indicate the substantial bream shoals were not confined to a couple of hot spots, but were spread out at intervals along the whole match venue interspersed with quality roach of which Maver Ace Chris Vandervliet lifted out a sparkling net of 31lbs and came nowhere.
“There was a split tide, but the water was nicely coloured and the fish fed for the duration of the five-hour contest,” said organiser Andy Wilson-Sutter. “More than half the field, some 42 anglers, returned catches over the 20lbs mark and a match average of 23lbs of silver fish per man is fantastic fishing by any standard.”
-
IN recent years we have begun to realise just how threatened our oceans have become and how the decline of our seas is impacting on people.
As Sylvia Earle, former chief marine science advisor to the US Government, recently put it: ‘If the sea is in trouble, we are all in trouble.’
Around the world we’ve seen fisheries collapse and coastal communities suffer from the loss of vital habitats. We’ve also become increasingly aware of the role that marine habitats can play in storing carbon, like rainforests of the sea, helping to reduce the impact of climate change.
One solution that is increasingly being put forward by scientists, fishermen, conservation organisations and global leaders is the use of Marine Protected Areas, areas of the sea protected from damaging human uses.
In the Isle of Man we are close to finalising the island’s first Marine Nature Reserve. The Ramsey Marine Nature Reserve was initially proposed by the Manx Fish Producers’ Organisation and was developed by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture in partnership with a wide range of sea users, scientists and other members of the community. The Marine Nature Reserve will form part of a global network of Marine Protected Areas, safeguarding the future of our oceans.
Marine Reserves have been used all over the world to protect marine life and sustain local fisheries and their benefits have been well documented. A well designed, well-supported Marine Nature Reserve can have the following positive impacts: recovery of fragile seabed habitats inside the Marine Reserve; increase in available food and shelter for young fish and shellfish inside the Marine Reserve; increases in the diversity of species inside and outside the Marine Reserve; increases in the size and age of animals and plants inside and outside the Marine Reserve; improvement in nearby fisheries, both commercial and recreational; improved resilience against extreme events and climate change impacts; and increased opportunities for tourism, leisure and education within the Marine Reserve and in the surrounding area.
The better an area of the sea that is protected, the greater these benefits will be. In recent years there has been increasing use of No Take Zones, areas of the sea where nothing can be extracted. These highly protected areas allow the seabed to recover to a much more natural state, helping us to understand the impact of our activities and to appreciate the richness of marine ecosystems.
The proposed Eelgrass Zone at Port Lewaigue will be the Isle of Man’s first No Take Zone, protecting rocky reefs, sand banks and kelp forests, as well as our special flowering underwater eelgrass meadows.
We are lucky in the Isle of Man because we have had a successful Fisheries Closed Area in place for over 20 years which has clearly demonstrated the fisheries benefits of protecting an area of ground.
Densities of scallops are now thought to be 10 times higher within the Port Erin Closed Area than in nearby fishing grounds and those scallops are estimated to be producing over 100 times more young. Having seen the benefits of the Port Erin Closed Area, Manx fishermen have worked with DEFA to implement another Fisheries Closed Area in Douglas Bay and special Fisheries Restricted Areas at Laxey and Niarbyl, and now the first Marine Nature Reserve in Ramsey.
The zoning plan for Ramsey Marine Nature Reserve has been developed through a long process of public consultation and stakeholder involvement. The zones have been designed to bring the maximum benefits to the marine environment whilst considering current commercial and recreational uses of the Bay.
Whilst the Ramsey Marine Nature Reserve will protect just 2.6 per cent of Manx waters, its benefits will be experienced over a much larger area and out into the wider Irish Sea.
If we effectively protect Ramsey Marine Nature Reserve we can hope to benefit through: creating a refuge for scallops which will seed the surrounding fishing grounds with young scallops, boosting future fisheries; protecting maerl, a special seaweed which forms a coral-reef like habitat which provides a good nursery ground for queenies, cod and many other species; allowing eelgrass meadows to recover and expand to cover larger areas; supporting the recovery of kelp forests, which provide shelter for many species of fish and other marine life; protecting our special horse mussel reef off the Point of Ayre, recognised as an internationally important habitat and one of the best remaining examples in the Irish Sea; letting our natural carbon sinks flourish – kelp forests, eelgrass meadows and maerl beds; promoting Ramsey Bay as the special place that it is and encouraging more visitors, both tourists and residents; and increasing understanding of the coastal and marine life of Ramsey Bay.
To realise these diverse long-term benefits we need support from everyone who uses Ramsey Bay and the rest of Manx seas.
As the Marine Nature Reserve develops there will be many opportunities for people to get involved – whether you are a fisherman, a diver, a school pupil or a Ramsey resident, there will be a way you can help. We look forward to working with you.
-
BP PLC said it planned to launch a 3 billion pound redevelopment of a North Sea field, as it seeks to reassure investors it has growth opportunities after a failed Russian tie-up.
BP said it would install a new floating production platform to tap the Schiehallion and Loyal oil fields to the west of the Shetland Islands.
BP said the fields, which have produced nearly 400 million barrels of oil since they started production in 1998, had an estimated 450 million barrels of resource still to produce, although its venture partner, Austria's OMV, put the figure at 325 million barrels.
Justine Greening, Economic Secretary to the Treasury said the investment showed the North Sea was still attractive to oil companies even after Britain increased taxes earlier in the year.
BP's planned $16 billion shares swap and an Arctic exploration deal with Russia's Rosneft fell apart earlier this year. It was the centrepiece of an expansion strategy that analysts said appeared to be focussed on emerging market countries, after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which has hampered BP's future growth in the Gulf, previously an important source of future resources.
-
Angling Trust launches Cormorant Watch micro-site
I tried to view the "micro site" but an error report keeps coming on my screen?
-
British proposals to clean up the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which has been racked by allegations of corruption among its member countries, were accepted by the Commission at its meeting in Jersey last night.
A British resolution aimed at revising the IWC's procedures, some of which are regarded as lax and inadequate and leave it open to accusations of malpractice, was finally adopted by consensus after two days of fierce argument.
Related articles
Fish dumping must be banned to protect stocks, EU chief rules
Leading article: Quotas adrift
Search the news archive for more stories
The decision, warmly welcomed by anti-whaling campaigners, will mean less secrecy and better governance in the IWC, timely reporting of its decisions, peer-review of its reports, and an end to the situation whereby the 89 IWC member states have been able to pay their annual subscriptions – amounting to thousands of pounds – by cheque or in cash.
It has been alleged in the past that subscriptions of some member states were paid by cash coming from Japan – in return for their votes on Japan's side, as the country sought to overthrow the 1986 moratorium and bring about a return of commercial whaling.
Last year extensive accusations surfaced about Japanese vote-buying among the smaller IWC members, ranging from Antigua to Ivory Coast, with payments allegedly made to individuals as well as countries. The British clean-up proposals were put forward in direct response.
"This is a fantastic achievement that will modernise the IWC, bringing it in to line with other important international bodies, and give it real credibility," Mr Benyon said.
"We believe that the reforms will make the Commission and its decision-making process more transparent, and governments more accountable to their constituencies," Sue Fisher, of The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said.
Patrick Ramage, of The International Fund for Animal Welfare, said: "We are heartened that all IWC member countries took seriously the need for urgent measures to rescue the IWC's credibility."
-
Since the birth of the industrial revolution, ocean pH has dropped by 0.1 units. That might not sound like much until you realise that a 0.1 unit fall is a 30% increase in acidity. And, with predictions that ocean pH will continue plummeting, ecologists are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of ocean acidification on marine populations. Brian Gaylord and his colleagues from the University of California at Davis explain that the open-coast mussel, Mytilus californianus, is a foundation species for many coastal ecosystems on the exposed northwestern coasts of North America, yet no one knew how ocean acidification might affect this keystone organism. So, the team decided to find out how a fall in pH might impinge on the earliest settlers to colonise an exposed rocky outcrop, M. californianus larvae, and publish their discovery that the larvae are significantly weakened by ocean acidification in The Journal of Experimental Biology at http://jeb.biologists.org/content/214/15/2586.abstract.
Growing freshly fertilized M. californianus larvae in seawater laced with carbon dioxide ranging from the modern level of 380 p.p.m.CO2 up to a 'fossil-fuel intensive' scenario of 970 p.p.m.CO2, the team allowed the larvae to develop for 8 days. Then they analysed the strength, size and thickness of the larvae's shells and found that acidification of the mollusc's seawater has a strong impact on shell strength. Shockingly, the shells of 5 day old larvae raised in 970 p.p.m.CO2 were 20% weaker than those of larvae reared at the current CO2 level, while the shells of larvae reared at 540 p.p.m.CO2 were only 13% weaker. The team also found that after 8 days at 970 p.p.m.CO2 the shells were up to 15% thinner and 5% smaller, and the body masses of the molluscs within the shell were as much as 33% smaller than those of mussels grown at modern CO2 levels.
'The observed ocean acidification-induced decrease in shell integrity in M. californianus represents a clear decline in function,' say Gaylord and his colleagues, who also warn that, 'Such reductions may in fact be common in bivalves.' Outlining the potential ecological consequences of ocean acidification, the team suspects that larvae weakened by rising CO2 levels could develop more slowly or, alternatively, they could be more vulnerable to predation, more susceptible to stress and at greater risk of desiccation. Ultimately these factors could conspire to reduce the mussel's survival and destroy the delicate balance that exists in today's coastal ecosystems.
-
Loads of conflicting reports around today(thats a shock...........NOT!) here are jist a few.................
EU's fishing reforms will 'double value of industry'
EC plans threaten 1000 jobs in fishing industry
-
The European Commission's plan to reform the fishing industry is a welcome admission that the so-called Common Fisheries Policy is not working. Unfortunately, it will do little to solve the long-standing problem of over-fishing. Its proposal to phase out "discards" – the practice of throwing up to half the catch back into the sea to avoid exceeding the quota – makes for positive headlines, but will not of itself reduce the quantity of fish caught and landed. Nor can delegating the choice of enforcement and incentives to member states be the whole answer. Without political agreement in Brussels on the size of fishing fleets, there will be no prospect of restoring already dangerously depleted stocks.
-
The future of the coastguard centre at Bangor, County Down, should be known later when a review of the entire UK service is expected to be made public.
The government had intended to close more than half of the UK's 18 coastguard centres.
It argued that new technology allowed it to modernise the service safely.
Plans to close the North Down based facility have been opposed by all the main political parties in Northern Ireland.
The issue has been raised with the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach .
Campaigners warned that the original plans could put lives at risk and ministers agreed to reconsider.
There has been a period of consultation and the Shipping Minister Mike Penning has visited Bangor where he was lobbied by the First and Deputy First Minister and the MP for North Down, Lady Sylvia Hermon.
The review is expected to be made public later on Thursday.
The coastguard station in Bangor is responsible for initiating land air and sea searches, including inland waters, across the whole of Northern Ireland.
Irish Lead Mission to Find New Life on the Ocean Floor
in Conservation & Politics
Posted
afloat.ie