Latest news with #GlobalOceanTreaty
West Australian
2 hours ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Reeled in: activists battle industrial fishing off Aust
Environmental activists have intercepted an industrial longline fishing operation off the coast of Australia, seizing hundreds of baited hooks and releasing more than a dozen of marine animals, including an endangered shark. Operating from a small inflatable boat, the activists confronted a European Union-flagged industrial fishing vessel, which had just left the Lord Howe Rise and South Tasman Sea, where it fished for 160 days last year, according to Greenpeace. The action comes ahead of the UN Ocean Conference in France, as activists warn Australia's oceans face growing threats from climate change, habitat loss, and industrialisation. Leaders from the Australian Marine Conservation Society and Greenpeace are urging the federal government to honour its climate commitments at the upcoming conference. They also called for the establishment of the Global Ocean Treaty within the first 100 days of government and the proposal of large marine sanctuaries, including in the Tasman Sea, where activists recently intercepted a large fishing vessel. Georgia Whitaker, senior campaigner for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said the scale of industrial fishing on the high seas is "astronomical." During the rescue operation, she said activists witnessed "shark after shark being hauled up by industrial fleets, including three endangered sharks in just half an hour". Activists retrieved an entire fishing line, including more than 210 baited hooks from the vessel including an endangered longfin mako shark, eight near-threatened blue sharks and four swordfish. "These longliners are industrial killing machines. Greenpeace Australia Pacific took peaceful and direct action to disrupt this attack on marine life," Ms Whitaker said. "We saved important species that would otherwise have been killed or left to die on hooks." Greenpeace said they have been documenting longlining vessels and practices off Australia's east coast, including from Spain and China over the past three weeks. More than two-thirds of sharks worldwide are endangered, and a third of those are at risk of extinction from overfishing, according to 2024 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Reeled in: activists battle industrial fishing off Aust
Environmental activists have intercepted an industrial longline fishing operation off the coast of Australia, seizing hundreds of baited hooks and releasing more than a dozen of marine animals, including an endangered shark. Operating from a small inflatable boat, the activists confronted a European Union-flagged industrial fishing vessel, which had just left the Lord Howe Rise and South Tasman Sea, where it fished for 160 days last year, according to Greenpeace. The action comes ahead of the UN Ocean Conference in France, as activists warn Australia's oceans face growing threats from climate change, habitat loss, and industrialisation. Leaders from the Australian Marine Conservation Society and Greenpeace are urging the federal government to honour its climate commitments at the upcoming conference. They also called for the establishment of the Global Ocean Treaty within the first 100 days of government and the proposal of large marine sanctuaries, including in the Tasman Sea, where activists recently intercepted a large fishing vessel. Georgia Whitaker, senior campaigner for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said the scale of industrial fishing on the high seas is "astronomical." During the rescue operation, she said activists witnessed "shark after shark being hauled up by industrial fleets, including three endangered sharks in just half an hour". Activists retrieved an entire fishing line, including more than 210 baited hooks from the vessel including an endangered longfin mako shark, eight near-threatened blue sharks and four swordfish. "These longliners are industrial killing machines. Greenpeace Australia Pacific took peaceful and direct action to disrupt this attack on marine life," Ms Whitaker said. "We saved important species that would otherwise have been killed or left to die on hooks." Greenpeace said they have been documenting longlining vessels and practices off Australia's east coast, including from Spain and China over the past three weeks. More than two-thirds of sharks worldwide are endangered, and a third of those are at risk of extinction from overfishing, according to 2024 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Powys County Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Attenborough film shows seabed ‘devastation' says MP in bottom trawling ban call
A Labour MP has pressed ministers to say whether they will ban bottom trawling before climate leaders meet in France next month, after Sir David Attenborough warned the fishing practice was among the most 'wasteful'. Sir David's new film Ocean features detailed footage, thought to be the first of its kind, of bottom trawling along the seabed. The camera follows large nets which are dragged along the ocean floor using a metal beam, with sea creatures indiscriminately caught inside before they are brought to the surface. Rotherham MP Sarah Champion told MPs that 'David Attenborough's latest film Ocean revealed the shocking devastation caused by bottom trawling' and referred to calls from environmental campaigners to 'take action at the UN conference in just four weeks'. At Foreign Office questions, Ms Champion asked: 'Will the Government use the conference to announce a ban on all bottom trawling in marine protected areas? 'And why has the minister still not set out when we will ratify the ocean treaty which will keep our Sids (small island developing states) and overseas territories safe?' Minister Catherine West replied: 'The climate and ocean adaptation sustainable transition (Coast) programme is improving vulnerable coastal communities' resilience to climate change including protecting and restoring coastal habitats, supporting nature-based solutions and improving small-scale fisheries management, and including the issue which she raises – the use of bottom-towed gear over rock and reef habitats in 13 Marine Management Organisation areas.' Greenpeace UK's co-executive director Will McCallum, Oceana UK executive director Hugo Tagholm and Blue Marine Foundation chief executive Clare Brook have previously written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging him to prioritise ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty – also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement – to conserve the high seas and help protect 30% of the world's oceans. They have also called for a full ban on bottom trawling, which they said would help marine ecosystems in UK domestic waters 'recover' from the practice's 'devastating impact'. It comes ahead of the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in June, which is being held in Nice on the Mediterranean coast. Commons foreign affairs committee chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, later told the Commons: 'I know there's a lot going on, but the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty is important. 'It's about our blue planet. It's about our oceans. 'It used to be that we had a leadership position in it. In fact, when we were leading it, 115 countries signed that treaty, but it needs to be ratified as well, and very few countries are ratifying it including Britain. 'And when we ask the Government about it, the Government says it's because they haven't got enough time. Have they dropped the ball? 'Is there a Bill? Are we going to ratify it, and will we ratify it before the UN Ocean Conference?' Ms West replied: 'We will redouble our efforts to get into the legislative queue and do all (that's) necessary to ensure and maintain our leadership on this important area.' In his documentary, Sir David said the bottom trawling net moves along the seabed 'destroying nearly everything in its path', even if it is not wanted on the surface. 'It's hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish,' the 99-year-old said.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Attenborough film shows seabed ‘devastation' says MP in bottom trawling ban call
A Labour MP has pressed ministers to say whether they will ban bottom trawling before climate leaders meet in France next month, after Sir David Attenborough warned the fishing practice was among the most 'wasteful'. Sir David's new film Ocean features detailed footage, thought to be the first of its kind, of bottom trawling along the seabed. The camera follows large nets which are dragged along the ocean floor using a metal beam, with sea creatures indiscriminately caught inside before they are brought to the surface. Rotherham MP Sarah Champion told MPs that 'David Attenborough's latest film Ocean revealed the shocking devastation caused by bottom trawling' and referred to calls from environmental campaigners to 'take action at the UN conference in just four weeks'. At Foreign Office questions, Ms Champion asked: 'Will the Government use the conference to announce a ban on all bottom trawling in marine protected areas? 'And why has the minister still not set out when we will ratify the ocean treaty which will keep our Sids (small island developing states) and overseas territories safe?' Minister Catherine West replied: 'The climate and ocean adaptation sustainable transition (Coast) programme is improving vulnerable coastal communities' resilience to climate change including protecting and restoring coastal habitats, supporting nature-based solutions and improving small-scale fisheries management, and including the issue which she raises – the use of bottom-towed gear over rock and reef habitats in 13 Marine Management Organisation areas.' Greenpeace UK's co-executive director Will McCallum, Oceana UK executive director Hugo Tagholm and Blue Marine Foundation chief executive Clare Brook have previously written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging him to prioritise ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty – also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement – to conserve the high seas and help protect 30% of the world's oceans. They have also called for a full ban on bottom trawling, which they said would help marine ecosystems in UK domestic waters 'recover' from the practice's 'devastating impact'. It comes ahead of the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in June, which is being held in Nice on the Mediterranean coast. Commons foreign affairs committee chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, later told the Commons: 'I know there's a lot going on, but the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty is important. 'It's about our blue planet. It's about our oceans. 'It used to be that we had a leadership position in it. In fact, when we were leading it, 115 countries signed that treaty, but it needs to be ratified as well, and very few countries are ratifying it including Britain. 'And when we ask the Government about it, the Government says it's because they haven't got enough time. Have they dropped the ball? 'Is there a Bill? Are we going to ratify it, and will we ratify it before the UN Ocean Conference?' Ms West replied: 'We will redouble our efforts to get into the legislative queue and do all (that's) necessary to ensure and maintain our leadership on this important area.' In his documentary, Sir David said the bottom trawling net moves along the seabed 'destroying nearly everything in its path', even if it is not wanted on the surface. 'It's hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish,' the 99-year-old said.
Rhyl Journal
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
Attenborough film shows seabed ‘devastation' says MP in bottom trawling ban call
Sir David's new film Ocean features detailed footage, thought to be the first of its kind, of bottom trawling along the seabed. The camera follows large nets which are dragged along the ocean floor using a metal beam, with sea creatures indiscriminately caught inside before they are brought to the surface. Rotherham MP Sarah Champion told MPs that 'David Attenborough's latest film Ocean revealed the shocking devastation caused by bottom trawling' and referred to calls from environmental campaigners to 'take action at the UN conference in just four weeks'. At Foreign Office questions, Ms Champion asked: 'Will the Government use the conference to announce a ban on all bottom trawling in marine protected areas? 'And why has the minister still not set out when we will ratify the ocean treaty which will keep our Sids (small island developing states) and overseas territories safe?' Minister Catherine West replied: 'The climate and ocean adaptation sustainable transition (Coast) programme is improving vulnerable coastal communities' resilience to climate change including protecting and restoring coastal habitats, supporting nature-based solutions and improving small-scale fisheries management, and including the issue which she raises – the use of bottom-towed gear over rock and reef habitats in 13 Marine Management Organisation areas.' Greenpeace UK's co-executive director Will McCallum, Oceana UK executive director Hugo Tagholm and Blue Marine Foundation chief executive Clare Brook have previously written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging him to prioritise ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty – also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement – to conserve the high seas and help protect 30% of the world's oceans. They have also called for a full ban on bottom trawling, which they said would help marine ecosystems in UK domestic waters 'recover' from the practice's 'devastating impact'. It comes ahead of the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in June, which is being held in Nice on the Mediterranean coast. Commons foreign affairs committee chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, later told the Commons: 'I know there's a lot going on, but the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty is important. 'It's about our blue planet. It's about our oceans. 'It used to be that we had a leadership position in it. In fact, when we were leading it, 115 countries signed that treaty, but it needs to be ratified as well, and very few countries are ratifying it including Britain. 'And when we ask the Government about it, the Government says it's because they haven't got enough time. Have they dropped the ball? 'Is there a Bill? Are we going to ratify it, and will we ratify it before the UN Ocean Conference?' Ms West replied: 'We will redouble our efforts to get into the legislative queue and do all (that's) necessary to ensure and maintain our leadership on this important area.' In his documentary, Sir David said the bottom trawling net moves along the seabed 'destroying nearly everything in its path', even if it is not wanted on the surface. 'It's hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish,' the 99-year-old said.
