Latest news with #CCAMLR
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How Is Industrial Fishing Harming Oceans? Let Me Count the Ways
Anyone who has spent time near the ocean has experienced its magic. The way it stretches across the horizon, seemingly infinite, humbles you. Its vastness is almost impossible to comprehend. Those who dare to dip below the surface are rewarded even further with a glimpse into another world. As a kid, I wanted nothing more than to swim with dolphins. That's how the dream began, at least, to become a marine biologist. There weren't many paths for marine biology at my Mexican university back then, so I enrolled in the closest thing possible: fisheries science. At the time, I didn't realize those early studies would reveal just how destructive industrial fishing is. With all I had learned, I knew I couldn't stand by while humanity destroyed the oceans. World Oceans Day is on June 8, and in fact, all of June is World Oceans Month. These special waters cover around 70% of our planet. They regulate our climate, provide more than half of the world's oxygen, feed billions, and sustain all life on Earth. A month of celebration is the least we can offer them. This year's theme is 'wonder: sustaining what sustains us,' and to truly sustain the ocean, we have to change how we fish. Industrial fishing is one of the biggest threats to our oceans, with many fish populations being caught at unsustainable rates. Bottom trawling is among the worst offenders, scraping entire seabeds clean with nets the size of football fields. The vast majority of what they capture is bycatch, including sharks, sea turtles, and other endangered species. Imagine bulldozing a forest to pick a single apple. That's bottom trawling. Another core issue is that industrial fishing is often unregulated and plagued by corruption. Foreign vessels routinely fish illegally, especially in waters of poorer nations, and enforcement is nearly nonexistent. In Africa, European and Chinese fleets exploit national waters, sometimes flying an African country's flag through corrupt deals with local governments. If caught, these vessels can simply change their names or switch ships. Local fishers are left with empty nets, and their food security and livelihoods are eroded. Similarly, in Antarctica, 'super-trawlers' are harvesting massive quantities of krill — tiny crustaceans that form the foundation of the Antarctic food chain. These ships often operate in biologically rich areas that Antarctica's governing body, CCAMLR, has failed to regulate. When krill are overfished here, the entire ecosystem suffers. But how does this translate to our plates? Certifications like the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Friend of the Sea (FOS) aim to guide us towards sustainable seafood consumption decisions. But even they are problematic. Their certifications rely on an outdated scientific model, called Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). The goal of MSY is to exploit the most fish possible without collapsing the population. Still, the model is risky and flawed because it ignores the complexity of marine ecosystems and the interactions of species within them. What's shocking is that MSC even certifies bottom trawling! All of this is leading us on a dangerous path toward global-scale fisheries collapse, and we've seen it happen before. Take the Atlantic cod fishery. Canadian communities sustainably fished cod using traditional methods for centuries. But when industrial trawlers arrived in the 1950s, everything changed. Catches skyrocketed from 250,000 to over 800,000 tonnes annually by the 1960s. Warning signs were ignored, and by 1992, the fishery collapsed. It took only a few decades of industrial fishing to destroy what had survived centuries of traditional use. To this day, cod populations haven't recovered. We haven't learned our lesson. Scientists are now raising alarms about other major fisheries approaching collapse. We risk repeating history — only this time, on a global scale. But abandoning seafood isn't the solution. Fish are a critical source of nutrition and livelihood for billions. What we need is a radical transformation of how we fish. Last year, 30 leading ocean experts released '11 golden rules' for sustainable fishing. These go beyond outdated science and offer a more holistic vision that protects ecosystems, respects communities, and supports food security. Marine conservation and fishing can coexist. Off Baja California Sur, I've worked with organizations advocating for the Dos Mares Biosphere Reserve. It wouldn't ban all fishing, just industrial fishing. Thousands of local fishers support it. Their oceans have been depleted by industrial fleets, and they understand the need for change. Artisanal, small-scale fishers have stewarded the ocean for generations. They use traditional, low-impact methods, and their communities depend on the long-term health of the sea. Supporting them means supporting sustainability. We can live in harmony with the ocean. We can thrive from its bounty without destroying it. You don't have to give up seafood to protect the ocean. But knowing where your seafood comes from absolutely matters — and that's the first step toward sustaining what sustains us on this World Oceans Day. Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier co-founded SeaLegacy in 2014. SeaLegacy's mission is to inspire people to fall in love with the ocean, amplify a network of changemakers around the world, and catalyze hands-on diplomacy through hopeful, world-class visual storytelling. For more updates on their meaningful work, learn more about SeaLegacy, and subscribe to Ripple Effect, Katie Couric Media's sustainability newsletter. The post How Is Industrial Fishing Harming Oceans? Let Me Count the Ways appeared first on Katie Couric Media.
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India plans to start fishing for krill in the Southern Ocean
Chennai: India may soon enter the global commercial krill fishing industry by starting operations in the Antarctic or Southern Ocean. Officials said at least two Mumbai-based firms have come forward to launch operations, focusing on harvesting krill, a small crustacean rich in omega-3, used in aquaculture feed and health supplements."The firms may attempt krill fishing this summer season in the Southern Ocean, between Dec and Feb. Till now, we did not venture into fishing there because it requires huge investment. We have asked the companies to talk to those in other countries involved in fishing in the Southern Ocean. We will give them permits and also the Indian flag for their vessels," said M Ravichandran, secretary, ministry of earth sciences (MoES).Krill are small, shrimp-like crustaceans that play a vital role in the Antarctic food web, serving as a key food source for penguins, seals, whales, seabirds, and fish. They are harvested for omega-3-rich oils used in supplements and aquaculture. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) estimates their biomass at about 379 million such as South Korea, Japan, and China have long harvested krill under CCAMLR quotas. India holds fishing rights under the Antarctic Treaty System but has not used its quota until now. Indian companies currently import krill oil, mainly from Norway, to supply aquaculture farms. Domestic harvesting is expected to reduce reliance on Indian Antarctic Act 2022 and the Indian Antarctic Environmental Protection Rules provide the legal structure for permits. The ministry is coordinating with shipping, fisheries, and commerce ministries to enable private industry's firms are expected to charter ice-class vessels, register them under the Indian flag, and deploy them to the Southern Ocean. Vessels will process krill onboard, extracting omega-3 oils and packaging the product for export. Inspectors will monitor compliance with CCAMLR quotas."In the late 1990s, we undertook a krill expedition, which was scientific. Now industries are ready," said Thamban Meloth, director, National Centre for Polar and Ocean has, however, been a global concern among environmentalists that krill fishing threatens Antarctic ecosystems due to overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change. CCAMLR has established two marine protected areas (MPAs) but four more proposed MPAs to conserve biodiversity have not materialised for years.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge blocks imports of some Chilean sea bass from Antarctica in fishing feud at bottom of the world
MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge in Florida has blocked the imports of a high-priced fish from protected waters near Antarctica, siding with U.S. regulators who argued they were required to block imports amid a diplomatic feud triggered by Russia's obstruction of longstanding conservation efforts at the bottom of the world. Judge David Leibowitz, in a ruling Monday, dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2022 by Texas-based Southern Cross Seafoods that alleged it had suffered undue economic harm by what it argued was the U.S. government's arbitrary decision to bar imports of Chilean sea bass. The case, closely watched by conservation groups and the fishing industry, stems from Russia's rejection of catch limits for marine life near the South Pole. Every year for four decades, 26 governments banded together in the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, to set catch limits for Patagonia toothfish, as Chilean sea bass is also known, based on the recommendations of a committee of international scientists. But in 2021, and ever since, Russian representatives to the treaty organization have refused to sign off on the catch limits in what many see as a part of a broader push by President Vladimir Putin's government to stymie international cooperation on a range of issues. Russia's refusal was an effective veto because the commission works by consensus, meaning any single government can hold up action. The U.K.'s response to Russia's gambit was to unilaterally set its own catch limit for Chilean sea bass — lower than the never-adopted recommendation of the scientific commission — and issue its own licenses to fish off the coast of South Georgia, an uninhabited island it controls in the South Atlantic. That drew fire from environmentalists as well as U.S. officials, who fear it could encourage even worse abuse, undermining international fisheries management. Leibowitz in his ruling sided with the U.S. government's interpretation of its treaty obligations, warning that the U.K.'s eschewing of the procedures established by CCAMLR risked overfishing in a sensitive part of the South Atlantic and undermining the very essence of the treaty. 'Unlimited fishing would by no means further the goals of CCAMLR to protect the Antarctic ecosystem,' he wrote. 'Allowing one nation to refuse to agree on a catch limit for a particular fish only to then be able to harvest that fish in unlimited quantities would contravene the expressed purposes of CCAMLR.' The ruling effectively extends an existing ban on imports from all U.K.-licensed fishing vessels operating near South Georgia, which is also claimed by Argentina. However, the fish is still available in the U.S. from suppliers authorized by Australia, France and other countries in areas where Russia did not object to the proposed catch limits. Chilean sea bass from South Georgia was for years some of the highest-priced seafood at U.S. supermarkets and for decades the fishery was a poster child for international cooperation, bringing together global powers like Russia, China and the U.S. to protect the chilly, crystal blue southern ocean from the sort of fishing free-for-all seen elsewhere on the high seas. Southern Cross originally filed it lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade but it was moved last year to federal court in Ft. Lauderdale, where the company received two shipments of seabass from a British-Norwegian fishing company in 2022. An attorney for Southern Cross, which doesn't have a website and lists as its address a waterfront home in a Houston suburb, didn't immediately respond to a request seeking comment. Environmental groups praised the ruling. 'Allowing any country to sidestep agreed limits and fish freely undermines decades of hard-won international cooperation and threatens one of the last intact marine ecosystems on the planet,' said Andrea Kavanagh, who directs Antarctic and Southern Ocean work for Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy. — This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. __ Contact AP's global investigative team at Investigative@ or
The Hill
31-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Judge blocks imports of some Chilean sea bass from Antarctica in fishing feud at bottom of the world
MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge in Florida has blocked the imports of a high-priced fish from protected waters near Antarctica, siding with U.S. regulators who argued they were required to block imports amid a diplomatic feud triggered by Russia's obstruction of longstanding conservation efforts at the bottom of the world. Judge David Leibowitz, in a ruling Monday, dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2022 by Texas-based Southern Cross Seafoods that alleged it had suffered undue economic harm by what it argued was the U.S. government's arbitrary decision to bar imports of Chilean sea bass. The case, closely watched by conservation groups and the fishing industry, stems from Russia's rejection of catch limits for marine life near the South Pole. Every year for four decades, 26 governments banded together in the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, to set catch limits for Patagonia toothfish, as Chilean sea bass is also known, based on the recommendations of a committee of international scientists. But in 2021, and ever since, Russian representatives to the treaty organization have refused to sign off on the catch limits in what many see as a part of a broader push by President Vladimir Putin's government to stymie international cooperation on a range of issues. Russia's refusal was an effective veto because the commission works by consensus, meaning any single government can hold up action. The U.K.'s response to Russia's gambit was to unilaterally set its own catch limit for Chilean sea bass — lower than the never-adopted recommendation of the scientific commission — and issue its own licenses to fish off the coast of South Georgia, an uninhabited island it controls in the South Atlantic. That drew fire from environmentalists as well as U.S. officials, who fear it could encourage even worse abuse, undermining international fisheries management. Leibowitz in his ruling sided with the U.S. government's interpretation of its treaty obligations, warning that the U.K.'s eschewing of the procedures established by CCAMLR risked overfishing in a sensitive part of the South Atlantic and undermining the very essence of the treaty. 'Unlimited fishing would by no means further the goals of CCAMLR to protect the Antarctic ecosystem,' he wrote. 'Allowing one nation to refuse to agree on a catch limit for a particular fish only to then be able to harvest that fish in unlimited quantities would contravene the expressed purposes of CCAMLR.' The ruling effectively extends an existing ban on imports from all U.K.-licensed fishing vessels operating near South Georgia, which is also claimed by Argentina. However, the fish is still available in the U.S. from suppliers authorized by Australia, France and other countries in areas where Russia did not object to the proposed catch limits. Chilean sea bass from South Georgia was for years some of the highest-priced seafood at U.S. supermarkets and for decades the fishery was a poster child for international cooperation, bringing together global powers like Russia, China and the U.S. to protect the chilly, crystal blue southern ocean from the sort of fishing free-for-all seen elsewhere on the high seas. Southern Cross originally filed it lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade but it was moved last year to federal court in Ft. Lauderdale, where the company received two shipments of seabass from a British-Norwegian fishing company in 2022. An attorney for Southern Cross, which doesn't have a website and lists as its address a waterfront home in a Houston suburb, didn't immediately respond to a request seeking comment. Environmental groups praised the ruling. 'Allowing any country to sidestep agreed limits and fish freely undermines decades of hard-won international cooperation and threatens one of the last intact marine ecosystems on the planet,' said Andrea Kavanagh, who directs Antarctic and Southern Ocean work for Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy. — This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. __ Contact AP's global investigative team at Investigative@ or
The Independent
31-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Judge blocks imports of some Chilean sea bass from Antarctica in fishing feud at bottom of the world
A federal judge in Florida has blocked the imports of a high-priced fish from protected waters near Antarctica, siding with U.S. regulators who argued they were required to block imports amid a diplomatic feud triggered by Russia 's obstruction of longstanding conservation efforts at the bottom of the world. Judge David Leibowitz, in a ruling Monday, dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2022 by Texas-based Southern Cross Seafoods that alleged it had suffered undue economic harm by what it argued was the U.S. government's arbitrary decision to bar imports of Chilean sea bass. The case, closely watched by conservation groups and the fishing industry, stems from Russia's rejection of catch limits for marine life near the South Pole. Every year for four decades, 26 governments banded together in the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, to set catch limits for Patagonia toothfish, as Chilean sea bass is also known, based on the recommendations of a committee of international scientists. But in 2021, and ever since, Russian representatives to the treaty organization have refused to sign off on the catch limits in what many see as a part of a broader push by President Vladimir Putin's government to stymie international cooperation on a range of issues. Russia's refusal was an effective veto because the commission works by consensus, meaning any single government can hold up action. The U.K.'s response to Russia's gambit was to unilaterally set its own catch limit for Chilean sea bass — lower than the never-adopted recommendation of the scientific commission — and issue its own licenses to fish off the coast of South Georgia, an uninhabited island it controls in the South Atlantic. That drew fire from environmentalists as well as U.S. officials, who fear it could encourage even worse abuse, undermining international fisheries management. Leibowitz in his ruling sided with the U.S. government's interpretation of its treaty obligations, warning that the U.K.'s eschewing of the procedures established by CCAMLR risked overfishing in a sensitive part of the South Atlantic and undermining the very essence of the treaty. 'Unlimited fishing would by no means further the goals of CCAMLR to protect the Antarctic ecosystem,' he wrote. 'Allowing one nation to refuse to agree on a catch limit for a particular fish only to then be able to harvest that fish in unlimited quantities would contravene the expressed purposes of CCAMLR.' The ruling effectively extends an existing ban on imports from all U.K.-licensed fishing vessels operating near South Georgia, which is also claimed by Argentina. However, the fish is still available in the U.S. from suppliers authorized by Australia, France and other countries in areas where Russia did not object to the proposed catch limits. Chilean sea bass from South Georgia was for years some of the highest-priced seafood at U.S. supermarkets and for decades the fishery was a poster child for international cooperation, bringing together global powers like Russia, China and the U.S. to protect the chilly, crystal blue southern ocean from the sort of fishing free-for-all seen elsewhere on the high seas. Southern Cross originally filed it lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade but it was moved last year to federal court in Ft. Lauderdale, where the company received two shipments of seabass from a British-Norwegian fishing company in 2022. An attorney for Southern Cross, which doesn't have a website and lists as its address a waterfront home in a Houston suburb, didn't immediately respond to a request seeking comment. Environmental groups praised the ruling. 'Allowing any country to sidestep agreed limits and fish freely undermines decades of hard-won international cooperation and threatens one of the last intact marine ecosystems on the planet,' said Andrea Kavanagh, who directs Antarctic and Southern Ocean work for Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy. — This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. __ Contact AP's global investigative team at Investigative@ or
