The southern hake (Merluccius australis) ban awareness campaign has been officially launched in the southern Chilean city of Puerto Montt, with the aim of halting the resource catches, sale and consumption in the south of the country, extending from regions Los Lagos to Magallanes.
Using laboratory-based experiments, researchers have identified the common characteristics of fish most vulnerable to being caught by trawlers. They found fish that were less able to produce fast burst-type swimming to evade capture were more likely to end up in trawlers' nets.
Thirteen additional countries need to ratify an agreement brokered by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to combat illegal fishing by blocking ports to ships known or believed to be carrying illicit catches that account for more than 15% of global output, the agency said today.
Three Falkland Islands fishing vessels' owner/operators were ordered by the Supreme Court to pay £200.000 security bonds to return to sea while investigations are ongoing on potential anomalies on their catches and species reports. The value of the vessels range between one and 3.5 million pounds.
New evidence is emerging that climate change could join overfishing as a major threat to the world's seafood supplies. While Australia – a small producer on a global scale, accounting for only 0.2% of the world's seafood – has relatively healthy fisheries, it is suddenly and quite brutally feeling the effects of warming ocean waters.
The Falkland Islands government reacted strongly to statements by the Argentine official in charge of Malvinas affairs who claimed that the theft of squid and other valuable fish stocks in the South Atlantic, was the reason behind the success of the Islands' economy, according to a report from the Express.co.uk.
Spanish government last Friday announced penalties that could reach more than €11 million against Spanish nationals, including companies involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. An EU coalition of three international NGOs, including Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana and WWF described the fines as a historic moment in the battle against IUU fishing and are calling on other EU member states to follow suit with their own nationals.
The Falkland Islands have a bright future, not without challenges, or harassment or bullying, but the Islanders will face them with the same strength, tenacity and resolve that helped them through the conflict 33 years ago, said Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire at the annual Falklands' Government Reception in London.
Falkland Islands Holdings PLC said on Monday that underlying pre-tax profit and revenue was broadly flat in its recently-ended financial year, and trading so far in the new year has met its expectations as it seeks to accelerate its growth and increase its scale through acquisitions.
The fishing industry in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile, is going through a serious recession --30% fall in landings-- which is not only impacting the activity of the four main companies, with lesser jobs, but also port operations and the price of freight as volumes are smaller, warned this week Enrique Gutierrez, General Manager of Pesca Chile.