Tag Archives: Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
Russia and NZ in ‘knock out brawl’ over fishing vessel in protected Antarctic waters
Russia has accused New Zealand of falsifying evidence in a diplomatic clash over illegal fishing in protected waters around Antarctica. New Zealand and many allies rejected the accusation,,, On January 19 last year, a routine New Zealand surveillance flight over the Southern Ocean spotted a Russian-flagged ship called FV Palmer fishing in a marine protected area where fishing is banned by international agreement. The Palmer’s satellite tracker, officially called a “vessel monitoring system” ,or VMS, indicated the vessel was about 800 nautical miles (1500 kilometres) from that spot. >click to read< 15:44
Toothfish research draws scientists, seafarers back for second Antarctic journey
Having broken the ice three years ago, a Nelson-based longliner is making a return voyage to the Antarctic to gain further insights into the world of toothfish. The Talley’s-owned FV Janas sailed last week to the northern Ross Sea region to carry out a winter scientific research survey. This is the second such trip for the Janas, having successfully completed a survey in the Ross Sea in 2016. During that trip, scientists and crew successfully fertilised Antarctic toothfish eggs, measured egg buoyancy of newly fertilised eggs, and collected wild eggs from plankton for the first time in history. >click to read< 14:28
Antarctic toothfish poaching ships shrug off New Zealand navy
Staying hidden behind sea ice and large waves, sailors aboard a navy patrol boat from New Zealand sneaked up on three suspected poaching ships, then took photos and video of the fishermen hauling in prized fish in banned nets from the ocean near Antarctica. Seemingly caught red-handed, the crews of the rusting vessels just kept on fishing. Read the rest here 09:24
East-West hostility may stall Ross Sea conservation
A proposal to protect one of the most pristine marine ecosystems on the earth, Antarctica’s Ross Sea, could be jeopardized by growing tensions between Russia and the West, say environmentalists involved in next week’s high-level meeting on the plan. The two countries first blocked plans for the reserve in 2011 but, according to one environmentalist who asked to remain anonymous, CCAMLR negotiations took a downturn in 2013 when Russia granted asylum to National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, prompting President Barack Obama to cancel a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Read the rest here 12:30
Will the World Adopt Sustainable Longline Fishing Practices?
The United States is the world leader in innovations to reduce longlining bycatch of birds, but we haven’t come nearly as far with protections for non-target fish and sea turtles. Many other nations don’t use mitigation for any kind of bycatch. Largely as a result, about half of the world’s petrels and most of the albatrosses are threatened with extinction. more@audubonmagazine 19:55
World’s largest marine reserve weighed for Antarctica
An effort to create the world’s largest marine reserve off Antarctica as a haven for seals, whales, penguins and diminishing fish populations comes up for a vote this week at an international meeting. [email protected]