Latest news with #bycatch
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Plymouth Fish Finger made from bycatch to be served in schools
A new fish finger made from bycatch, which would normally go to waste, has been created for Plymouth school University of Plymouth said the project was part of the national FoodSEqual programme and had been co-led by Sole of Discretion CIC, Plymouth Fishing & Seafood Association and CATERed, which provides the majority of the city's school said the the food item, known as the Plymouth Fish Finger, was made following a workshop to encourage people to eat more whiting, pouting and dogfish have been used to create the fish finger, and small scale coastal fishers are paid for the goods which are normally low in value and underutilised. Active food system justice researcher, Dr Clare Pettinger, held workshops with the Whitleigh community, where it was identified better access to fish would encourage people to eat more of Pettinger worked with multiple organisations and identified the use of bycatch to the World Wide Fund for Nature, (WWF), bycatch is the incidental capture of non-target species. The university said pupils at Sir John Hunt Community College held a series of taste sessions for the fish and breadcrumbs to design and make the new said 36,000 fish fingers needed to be produced to fulfil the city's school meals, which it said needed Pettinger said: "Our amazing local partners have a shared vision for the Plymouth Fish Finger because it belongs to the community, promotes Plymouth seafood brand and provides true pride and identity in the product."We don't just have to accept that things won't change when it comes to accessing healthy food at a reasonable cost – together we can achieve so much."
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Passes New Shark Rules — With One Big Exception
At the recent 29th session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission held in La Réunion, countries finally adopted a suite of shark conservation measures after years of lobbying by environmental groups. These new rules, which aim to cut down on shark bycatch and regulate harmful fishing practices, represent a significant step forward. But for some species… it may not be enough. The IOTC regulates fisheries for tuna and other highly migratory species like swordfish across the Indian Ocean. Tuna and sharks often swim in the same waters, so fishing fleets frequently haul in sharks as bycatch (animals fishers do not want, cannot sell, or are not allowed to keep). In some cases, like with blue sharks (Prionace glauca), they are caught in such high numbers that conservationists argue they should be managed as target species instead; blue sharks make up over 60% of swordfish fishery catches in the region. Many of these sharks species are also intentionally caught for their fins, which are used in delicacies and traditional medicine in parts of Asia. The newly passed resolution now requires that all sharks be landed with their fins still naturally attached, closing a major loophole that allowed for shark finning at sea. Cutting off a shark's fins and discarding the rest of the body not only kills the shark, but makes it nearly impossible to track which species are being caught. The new rule allows some flexibility, such as tagging fins and carcasses and storing them separately, but starting in 2028, any party wanting to use an alternative method will need to justify it with evidence. This change, IOTC argues, is a win for both enforcement and science. Also adopted were stricter retention bans that prevent fishers from keeping certain shark species if they are caught. Oceanic whitetips (Carcharhinus longimanus) and thresher sharks (Alopias spp.) were already protected under such bans. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) will be added to that list starting in 2026, assuming the IOTC's scientific committee gives it the green light. Meanwhile, blue sharks will soon be managed under a formal system that includes catch limits and quotas, a first for the species in the Indian Ocean. With updated data showing they're not currently overfished, this preemptive approach aims to keep it that way. But the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), already overfished and in danger of collapse, didn't receive the full protection that many hoped for. While there is now a partial retention ban, it applies only under specific conditions: if a mako is still alive when brought aboard, it must be released, but if it's dead (and if an observer or electronic monitoring system is on board) the vessel is allowed to keep it. Given that many makos are caught on wire traces, which virtually guarantee the shark won't survive the fight to the surface, critics say this rule is too weak to make a real difference. These wire traces are often made of steel and are used in longline fishing to prevent toothier fish (like sharks) from biting through the line. They also increase shark catchability (and at times, mortality). The IOTC has now restricted their use, but only in the area north of 20 degrees south latitude. That leaves much of the southern Indian Ocean, including key fishing zones for Spain and other EU countries, unaffected. Since EU fleets tend to fish in those southern waters and use electronic monitoring, they're allowed to keep dead makos while others are not. That discrepancy has drawn sharp criticism from conservation groups, who argue it undermines the intent of the ban and could keep mortality levels far too high for mako populations to recover. Scientific advice suggests mako mortality needs to drop by 60% to give the species a fighting chance. The current resolution likely won't achieve that, and some observers fear it could be too late already. Still, the IOTC considers the adoption of even a partial ban a success, though one unevenly shared. EU officials defended their position by pointing out that many developing coastal nations lack the resources to monitor their fleets as rigorously, leading to gaps in reporting. Without stronger commitments and better data, the path to true recovery for sharks like the shortfin mako remains uncertain.
