Tag Archives: International Council for Exploration of the Sea

Fishermen join forces to tackle North Sea cod quota ‘mismatch’

Skippers and other industry representatives from Shetland, Scotland, Denmark, Norway and England met in Copenhagen to discuss a “quota mismatch” they are facing at sea, Shetland Fishermen’s Association said today. Vessels are encountering more cod than current official assessments, the industry group said, adding the recent talks in Copenhagen  “painted a unanimous picture” of an abundant stock stretching across the whole North Sea and beyond. But quota for the species, a staple of fish suppers in many parts of the UK has been slashed by 70% in just three years. According to the SFA, this “poor science” leads to quota recommendations that bear no resemblance to the volume of fish in the sea. >click to read< 12:46

Scottish fishermen launch survey of North Sea fish stocks to tackle government’s ‘poor science’

Scottish fishermen have revealed plans to fund additional surveys of North Sea white fish stocks in a bid to tackle the Scottish Government’s ‘poor science’. The Shetland Fishermen’s Association and the Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association are organizing “rigorous, transparent studies of key fish stocks that are fit for purpose”. The groups, which account for more than 80% of the UK’s white fish catches, criticized the Scottish Government for following “poor science” in its recent decision to close the Clyde cod-box, which led to its plans to fund its own scientific research into the North Sea. >click to read< 11:37

Portugal faces sardine ban

This comes after the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) advised that sardine fishing be completely suspended in Portugal and Spain in 2018 given what it termed the huge drop in stocks in the last ten years. The Portuguese government has in recent months appeared to defend the interests of the sardine fishing industry. But Minister Ana Paula Vitorino appeared to make a U-turn on Wednesday when she revealed that sardine fishing along Portugal’s northern and central coastlines would be banned in order to preserve stocks. click here to read the story 15:07