Tag Archives: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
Jersey fishing community ‘fearful’ over proposed marine plans
Nathalie Porritt and Gabby Mason say they fear for the future of dredging and trawling boats if proposed plans are implemented
Seven fishing boats in Jersey could be out of business “overnight” if a recommended plan is implemented, members of the fishing community say. The draft Marine Spatial Plan was published in October to recommend ways of protecting the island’s marine environment. Changes to the way the fishing industry could work were made in it, including over the use of boats with mobile gear. Deputy Jonathan Renouf said the plan could “help the fishing industry”. Members of the fishing community came together at a public drop-in session on Thursday to voice their issues. Nathalie Porritt, a fishing merchant at Aquamar Fisheries, said the proposed areas would particularly affect the scallop industry. >>click to read<< 09:49
Fines to rogue fishermen fall and illegal fishing escapes prosecution, environmentalists claim
Concerns have been raised recently that fishermen are increasingly involved in illegal scallop dredging and prawn trawling to supply a black market in seafood, at the expense of Scotland’s marine environment.,,, Environmentalists claim that the Scottish Government is not treating damage to MPAs by boats as “serious crimes”. They have accused the official body tasked with protecting seas, Marine Scotland, of failing to take tough enforcement action against skippers breaking the law. >click to read< 13:54
Sure, let’s protect the oceans, but we still need to fish – Jim Meek
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are getting as common as hipster sightings along the south end of Agricola Street. Just last week, the world’s largest MPA (600,000 square miles) was announced for Antarctica’s Ross Sea. The new MPA was the result of a multilateral negotiating marathon involving nations that don’t get along — like Russia and the U.S. — so let’s hope it all works out for the environment. Speaking of the Americans, their outgoing president has burnished his legacy by using executive orders to announce two massive “national marine monuments” off Hawaii and New England. By massive, I mean 5,000 square miles of MPA territory. We’re not talking the Sailors’ Monument in Point Pleasant Park here, or the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. Normally, Americans declare marine sanctuaries instead of marine monuments, but the former would involve pre-consultation with a bunch of noisy people including disgruntled fishermen — who can raise an awful ruckus once they’re riled up. So Barack Obama got around all that “let’s-listen-to-the-people-first” nonsense by declaring marine monuments under a century-plus old piece of legislation called the Antiquities Act. So, you’re asking yourself, who can blame a president for using an executive order or two during his last months in office? New England fishermen, that’s who. Read the op-ed here 11:07
Daily Astorian Editorial: Marine areas: Protection or fishing limitation?
No Fishing
Fishermen tend to be a bit like old-fashioned gold prospectors – they resent any limitations on where they can practice their trade, even if they have no intention of actually ever venturing out into that enticing potential area located somewhere over the far horizon. So there is bound to be some local grumbling about President Obama’s move,,, Read more here 19:29
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to discuss closing Georgetown Hole, other areas, to fishing
Murrells Inlet seafood dealer Chris Conklin will be sworn as a new member of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council at the start of the council’s meeting on Monday and will immediately find himself embroiled in what promises to be an intense discussion on the proposed establishment of more Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) off the South Atlantic coast. The impact on South Carolina fishermen – both recreational and commercial – could be significant if all the proposed MPAs are approved, and the council is being urged to do just that by at least one environmental group, the PEW Charitable Trusts. more@myrtlebeachonline 00:26
