fisheries
Chile Reduces Jack Mackerel Overfishing
Our Chilean colleagues are really on a roll lately. Adding to their recent victories in Sala y Gomez and Punta de Choros, last week the Chilean government announced a drastic reduction in the fishing quota for jack mackerel and other fisheries, starting in 2011.
The triumph against overfishing comes after Oceana sent the Minister of Economy a report analyzing the annual quota set for jack mackerel during the past 10 years. The study, put together with data that Oceana obtained through Chile’s Freedom of Information Act, shows that between 2003 and 2010 the National Fisheries Council set the annual quota for jack mackerel at higher catch limits than was recommended by the Institute for Fisheries Development. In fact, in 2009 the quota was 87 percent higher than what was recommended by the agency.
As a result, the Minister of Economy went to a session of the National Fisheries Council to express his frustration, and in an unprecedented event, he asked them to set smaller quotas for next year.
Another hard-earned victory for Oceana Chile and the oceans!
Oceana Meets With WTO on Fisheries in Geneva
Leading up to what will be one of the heaviest fisheries negotiating rounds in recent memory at the World Trade Organization, Oceana is in Geneva this week holding its Board of Directors meeting. Oceana is working to stop fishing subsidies by working with the WTO to produce new trade rules.
The board had a chance to meet with WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, and Oceana was also welcomed into the Australian Mission, where CEO Andrew Sharpless spoke briefly on the state of the oceans and how the WTO can help.
Dr. Daniel Pauly on The Spill
Oceana board member and renowned fisheries biologist Daniel Pauly spoke to OnEarth magazine about the gulf oil spill’s effect on marine life and fisheries.
“We cannot really grasp the measure of this accident because we don’t know if we are at the beginning, the middle or near the end of it,” he says.
Watch the video for more from Pauly.
Andy Sharpless is the CEO of Oceana.
Factsheet: The Gulf Spill’s Effect on Fisheries
To read more, click here for the PDF factsheet.
The federal government has closed commercial and recreational fishing in a wide swath of the Gulf as a result of the oil spill, which is a serious economic blow to the region.
Ocean Hero Finalists: Carolyn Caggia
This is the eighth in a series of posts about this year’s Ocean Hero finalists.
Today’s featured finalist is 16-year-old Carolyn Caggia, who is devoted to protecting sea turtles from gillnets in her home state of North Carolina.
Gillnet fisheries use hundreds of yards of fishing net that remain in the water for days or longer, ensnaring sea turtles and other species incidentally.
Carolyn was inspired to act after visiting Jean Beasley’s sea turtle hospital in Topsail Island, NC several years ago. She decided to undertake a grass roots advocacy effort to help save sea turtles as her Girl Scout Gold Award project.
