Tag Archives: Pew Charitable Trusts
Hawaii fishermen upset at Hawaii monument expansion
President Barack Obama is to travel to Hawaii this week to mark the new designation of the expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marina National Monument which he signed despite strong opposition from the Hawaii fishing industry. President Obama who was born in Hawaii is expected to cite the need to protect public lands and waters from climate change. The Western Pacific fishery Management Council of which American Samoa is a member voiced disappointment with Obama’s decision, saying it “serves a political legacy” rather than a conservation benefit. Council member from American Samoa Taulapapa Willie Sword told KHJ News in a recent interview the territory should be concerned with the Hawaii monument expansion because “we could be next.” There was also opposition from the fishing industry in Hawaii. Sean Martin, the president of the Hawaii Longline Association, said his organization was disappointed Obama closed an area nearly the size of Alaska without a public process. “This action will forever prohibit American fishermen from accessing those American waters. Quite a legacy indeed,” he said in an email to The Associated Press. The Pew Charitable Trusts helped lead the push to expand the monument. Read the rest here 11:39
Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission discusses fishing limit of Pacific bluefin tuna
An international fisheries commission began discussing details of fishing restrictions for bluefin tuna in the northern Pacific at a meeting in southwestern Japan on Monday amid concerns about overfishing. At a subcommittee meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission held through Friday in the city of Fukuoka, participants are discussing the possibility of invoking a catch limit based on Japan’s proposal. The panel is discussing specific control measures with an eye to reaching a formal agreement within this year. Meanwhile, nongovernmental organizations Greenpeace and the Pew Charitable Trusts have issued a statement requesting the WCPFC to immediately implement a 2-year moratorium on all commercial fishing for Pacific bluefin tuna. Read the rest here 15:10
Environmental group distraught as tuna conservation body succumbs to politics
The international scientific research and public policy advocacy group, Pew Charitable Trusts, is again calling for a two-year moratorium on the commercial fishing of Pacific bluefin tuna. It comes after the group in charge of looking after tuna conservation failed to recommend action, despite stocks dropping to crisis levels. Angry environment groups say some of the 40 nations that make up the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission are putting politics above scientific advice. And after 10 days of talks in Bali, Pew’s Director for Global Tuna Conservation Amanda Nickson says the commission’s scientific committee has done nothing. Listen to the audio here 10:22
Pew Calls for 2 year moratorium on Commercial Fishing of Pacific Bluefin Tuna
The Pew Charitable Trusts today called for a two-year moratorium on commercial fishing of the highly depleted Pacific bluefin tuna. In this year’s stock assessment, scientists found that the population is at just 2.6 percent of its historic size and that overall fishing mortality remains up to three times higher than is sustainable. Despite that dire state, the two international bodies that manage Pacific bluefin—the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, which met this month in California, and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which meets in December in Fiji—have failed for several years to agree on a Pacific-wide recovery plan that will end overfishing and return the population to healthy levels. Projections from the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean show that under current conditions, the catch limits now in place have a less than 1 percent chance of successfully rebuilding the population over the next 20 years. Read the rest here 16:27
Nils Stolpe: MPA’s – ENGOs and Foundations next attempt to halt fishing – Déjà vu all over again
Back in 2002, when various groups and people had figured out that the creation of things called marine protected areas (MPAs) could be sold politically as a mechanism for “saving the oceans,” the people at the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Conservation Law Foundation hired a marketing firm, Edge Research, to demonstrate that New Englanders and Maritime Canadians would be firmly behind using them to put even more fishermen out of work. Well, borrowing from a line made popular by the late Heather O’Rourke in the movie Poltergeist II, they’re back! Only this time they’re trying to convince the Obama White House that two areas off the New England coast are deserving of protection in perpetuity by being designated as National Monuments. Read the rest here 11:36
The Enviro Crackpots keep pushing! – Cashes Ledge deserves permanent protection
World famous oceanographer Sylvia Earle dived Cashes Ledge and declared it to be a “Yellowstone” of the ocean. Visions of enviro’s appear in my head doing the wave chanting ocean Serengeti over and over, trance like,,, Despite all the fishing that has rendered much of the Northeast a shell of its colonial riches, there remains in precious spots underwater life every bit the rival of the California coast and the Caribbean. Two such areas, Cashes Ledge and the New England Mid Atlantic Coral Canyons and Seamounts, deserve national marine monument status from President Obama before he leaves office. But there aren’t any such protections in the Atlantic, and groups such as the Conservation Law Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the National Resources Defense Council, are campaigning for protection. (Full disclosure: I (Derrick Jackson) coauthored a book on Maine’s puffin restoration and discussed the bird’s winter feeding at a CLF luncheon this winter). Get the gist? Read the rest here 16:58
“foreign” NGOs, Pew instrumental in stripping indigenous people of constitutional rights with N.Z. Marine Sanctuary
When New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key announced the establishment of one of the world’s largest marine reserves at the United Nations last year, it was met with near unanimous praise. The proposal got the nod from big conservation groups and scientists, and media coverage was generally flattering. The 620,000 square kilometer sanctuary in the Kermadec region, northeast of New Zealand, is one of the most pristine and biodiverse on Earth, home to 35 species of whales and dolphins, 150 types of fish, and three of the world’s seven sea turtle species. Under the plan, fishing, oil, gas, and mineral exploration would be banned. But seven months later the sanctuary is at the center of a legal dispute and claims that “foreign” NGOs — most notably the Pew Charitable Trusts — were instrumental in a decision that will see New Zealand’s indigenous people stripped of constitutional rights. Read the rest here 12:26
Enviro’s spar with Obama administration over fish catches!
A proposed federal rule that would give regional councils more say in setting catch limits on fish has sparked rare friction between the Obama administration and environmental groups. The proposal, years in the making, could take effect this summer. It would provide the eight councils “additional clarity and potential flexibility” to comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act. Groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and Earth Justice say the change could roll back nearly a decade of progress in rescuing once-overfished populations. Read the rest here 20:58
Part of the bottom of the fabled Georgetown Hole will be closed to fishing by 2017
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved in a final vote Friday to close off 3.1 square miles of the offshore fishing mecca, after looking at options as varied as closing off 15 square miles to not closing the Hole at all. Trolling, or fishing off the bottom would still be allowed. The move would reserve the acreage as a marine spawning sanctuary to help restore the lost stock, particularly those huge brood stock “trophy fish” that are rarely, if ever, caught today. Council also voted to close two artificial reef areas totaling about 6 square miles. Read the rest here 12:06
How In Trouble Are Bluefin Tuna, Really? Controversial Study Makes Waves with Enviro’s
A group of scientists is now making the case that Atlantic bluefin may be more resilient to fishing than commonly thought — and perhaps better able to rebound from the species’ depleted state. But the study is controversial. Several tuna researchers we spoke with warned that the results are preliminary, and it’s much too soon to use them to guide how fisheries are managed. In an email exchange with The Salt, Safina writes, “[T]heir main concern is not recovery, not conservation, but how their findings can allow additional exploitation and more stress to be inflicted on a very beleaguered creature.” Read the article here 08:10
Nils Stolpe – Are you getting the idea that if you’re a fisherman Daniel Pauly isn’t on your side?
FishNet-USA/February 22, 2016 – “… The crisis in the world’s fisheries is less about scientific proof than about attitude and political will. And the world’s fish need a dynamic, high-profile political champion like a Bono or Mandela to give finned creatures the public profile of cute and furry ones.” (Daniel Pauly in “Hooked on fishing, and we’re heading for the bottom, says scientist”,,, This quote by the Pew Charitable Trusts’ premier fisheries researcher says just about all that needs to be said about the ongoing anti-fishing campaign that they have been financing, along with a handful of other mega-foundations, to convince anyone who is willing to listen that, in spite of a dearth of compelling scientific evidence supporting this strum und drang , the world’s oceans are – and have been – facing a crisis brought about because of the depredations of commercial fishermen. Where are the Kardashian’s when Pauly really needs them? Read the rest here 19:23
Pew lie’s, Pew cry’s – Pacific tuna conservation meeting ends in deadlock
Environ mental groups expressed frustration Wednesday after a key Pacific fishing industry meeting failed to adopt measures to protect vulnerable tuna species from overfishing. The Pew Charitable Trusts said the bluefin and bigeye tuna species could become severely depleted due to inaction by the . Critics said a commission meeting, which wrapped up in the Indonesian island of Bali late Tuesday, also did nothing to prevent shark-finning and illegal fishing. Read the article here 08:18
EU ministers OK Baltic catch limits; Envirocrat activists object
The ministers reached the agreement Thursday night at a meeting in Luxembourg. In a statement, they said the limits take into account scientific advice as well as the EU’s recently changed Common Fisheries Policy. But Andrew Clayton, a spokesman for Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-governmental organization, said the limits, which concern 10 commercial fish stocks, exceed scientific recommendations in seven cases. Last year, he said, ministers exceeded scientists’ recommendations for herring, cod, plaice, Atlantic salmon and sprat. Greenpeace said,,, Read the rest here 13:56
House Natural Resources Committee Demands Obama Administration Info on Marine Monument Designtions
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee has demanded records of all meetings, correspondence and memos related to marine monument designations. The letter references emails that “show representatives from the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Pew Charitable Trusts warning their members to avoid talking to the ‘outside world’ about the organizations’ efforts to influence the Administration to announce a Marine National Monument off of New England during the ‘Our Ocean Conference’ in Chile.” The emails in question were originally obtained by Saving Seafood via public records requests, and were first reported by Greenwire. Read the rest here 17:00
Obama: new measures to crack down on illegal fishing at “Our Ocean” 2015 Pow Wow!
The Obama administration on Monday announced plans to further crack down on illegal fishing, a global problem that can hurt both fishing communities in impoverished nations and the seafood industry in the United States. President Barack Obama announced new steps to tackle illegal fishing. They include the launching of a program called “,” Experts say the problem is extensive around the world. The Pew Charitable Trusts said Read the rest here 18:03 It’s a big ENGO Spankfest in Chile! All the Big Green “Big’s” are there, and plenty of Global Capitalists just itching to help save the fish from fishermen through “investment”. Click here for the latest! https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurOcean2015?src=hash
Enviro Lobby’s Coordinated Efforts to back door NE Marine Monument’s exposed!
One month ago, environmental groups were strategizing over their latest bid: Get the Obama administration to create its first marine monument off New England. They had talks with fishing groups, lawmakers and think tanks. At the end of August, they exchanged emails over their progress — and in one, the president of the Conservation Law Foundation warned everyone to keep quiet about the possibility of a breakthrough at the upcoming Our Ocean Conference in Chile. The email showed up in response to a public records request that Saving Seafood filed with the office of Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s. Read the rest here Read the email’s here 08:40
Who’s really in charge of U.S. fisheries? – Nils Stolpe, FishnetUSA
An Oligarchy is defined as “a country, business, etc., that is controlled by a small group of people” – Ancient City Shrimp is an eight minute YouTube video (Click here) produced by the St. Augustine Lighthouse Museum that examines St. Augustine’s past as one of several centers of commercial shrimping in Florida. Unfortunately – or perhaps tragically is a better fit – Florida’s shrimp fleet is only a shadow of what it once was. One of the reasons for this is the imposition of unrealistic regulations on U.S. shrimpers that has made the fishery much less profitable than it used to be. A history lesson or two. Read the rest here 16:27
Southern Flounder – Disputed fisheries studies: Politics or inexact science?
Science plays a big role in managing fisheries. Scientists assess fish stocks, migration patterns, environmental issues — useful data that allow regulators to set policy. We expect our science to be accurate and unaffected by politics, and as citizens, we expect political actors to treat science in the same manner.,, Yet a series of e-mails found their way into the public domain from a 2007 round-robin discussion among several N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries scientists trying to peg a mortality rate for speckled seatrout caught by recreational anglers. See video It would take a few hundred words to demonstrate where science goes off the rails and how other factors, including interest group reactions, exert an influence on what is expected to be an unbiased, fact-driven process. Read the rest here 10:30
Con groups, fishermen divided over NOAA plan for marine national monument
Hundreds of people filled a conference hall Tuesday night to speak out on a federal proposal to permanently protect a network of deep-sea canyons and underwater mountains off New England by creating the first marine national monument on the Atlantic coast. Terry Stockwell, chairman of the New England Fishery Management Council, said the existing regulatory framework already protects Cashes Ledge and the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts area. The council in April voted in favor of keeping Cashes Ledge closed to most fishing. Read the rest here 18:29
Pew threatens to get Pacific bluefin tuna banned from international trading
An international body that monitors fisheries in most of the Pacific Ocean ended a meeting in Japan on Thursday without agreement on fresh measures to protect the dwindling bluefin tuna. The lack of a required three-quarters quorum prevented any agreement, since representatives from China, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu and the Philippines did not attend. So any decisions on new long-term measures were pushed back to 2016, the Japanese Fisheries Agency said. Further inaction would likely prompt efforts by conservationists to get Pacific bluefin tuna banned from international trading, said a statement by The Pew Charitable Trusts, Read the rest here 11:27
Analysis: New England Marine Monument Proposals Overlook Existing Protections, Overstep Democratic Management
Fishermen, fisheries managers, and environmentalists agree that the Cashes Ledge region of the Gulf of Maine is home to some of the most important marine environments in New England. Since the early 2000s, federal fisheries managers have recognized the value of these areas and have taken proactive steps to protect their unique habitats, preventing commercial fishermen from entering the areas and allowing them to develop mostly undisturbed from human activity. But according to several environmental groups, including the Conservation Law Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Geographic Society, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, such long-standing and effective protections are suddenly insufficient. Read the rest here 09:17
Pew Enviro Groups eye Marine National Monuments protections for Cashes Ledge, canyons, seamounts off Cape Cod
Enviro groups this week plan to call for sprawling areas in the Gulf of Maine and off Cape Cod and Rhode Island to be declared the first “marine national monument” on the eastern seaboard. A January 2009 presidential proclamation established three Pacific Marine National Monuments. Now the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and partners like the National Geographic Society, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Natural Resources Defense Council are seeking protections for the Closed Area in the Gulf of Maine and the New England Canyons and Seamounts off the Cape – areas CLF describes as “deep sea treasures.” Read the rest here 16:17
Can they save the fish? Environmentalists push back against bills
“We think that the conservation requirements are working and more can — and should — be done to actually improve fishery management from a comprehensive point of view,” said Ted Morton, director of U.S. Oceans for the Pew Charitable Trusts. “It is disappointing to have to defend what is working from efforts to weaken and undermine it.” The commercial fishing industry generally supports the current law. But many recreational fishermen and charter boat captains say the momentum to slacken the regulations is long overdue, Read the rest here 12:19
Pew calls for ban on international trade of Pacific Bluefin
The Pew Charitable Trusts is calling for a ban on international trade of Pacific bluefin, after what it terms as a failure to come up with new conservation measures at the 89th meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), which just ended in Guayaquil, Ecuador. “The failure the IATTC to agree to reduce catch limits or adopt a long-term rebuilding plan for Pacific bluefin tuna leaves the species at risk of population collapse,” said Amanda Nickson, director of global tuna conservation for Pew. Read the rest here WWF expressed concern about the lack of stricter measures to protect shark, and Pacific bluefin tuna stocks. Read the rest here 14:11
NEW marine park off Broome that allows fishing has been slammed by green groups
Despite praising the “spectacular turquoise waters and abundant wildlife” including unique snub fin dolphins, Mr Jacob said there would not be any no-take fishing zones within the bay. It has infuriated green groups including the Pew Charitable Trusts and local campaigners Environs Kimberley, who said sanctuaries were essential to boost the number, size and diversity of marine life and protect threatened species. The new park, to be jointly managed with the Yawuru traditional owners, will ban commercial gillnet fishing and mining in Roebuck Bay but has no marine sanctuary zones. Read the rest here 10:36
Why This San Diego Fisherman is Selling Pacific Bluefin Tuna For $2.99 A Pound
“It’s a very difficult task to count animals as elusive as tuna,” says Craig Heberer, NOAA. But commercial fishermen like David Haworth, who brought this pile of small, steely gray bluefin to market, say that assessment doesn’t match up with what they’re seeing in the water: a record-smashing abundance of Pacific bluefin tuna. “Our spotter pilots that have been fishing with us for up to 40 years here say they’re seeing the most bluefin they’ve ever seen in their lifetimes, and our government is not documenting any of it,” says Haworth. Read the rest here
EU counters Pew criticism of ‘blurry science’ as bluefin tuna fishing kicks off with 20% hike
As the European Union (EU)’s bluefin tuna fishing season in the Mediterranean kicks off at pace, Pew Charitable Trusts has warned the science behind this year’s 20% hike in the Mediterranean and the Eastern Atlantic quotas is uncertain. It also noted concerns over Turkey going outside of scientific fishing advice, and the EU’s delays in implementing electronic catch tracking. “Yes, science seems to indicate a population recovery, but that science is blurry,” Amanda Nickson, who directs tuna conservation efforts for Pew. “This information provided by [Pew] can be a bit misleading,” Read the rest here 20:42
Two environmental groups say European Union nations continue to overfish their Atlantic waters
The Pew Charitable Trusts said that in many cases the EU’s Atlantic nations set fishing limits “contrary” to the recent reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and continue to overfish for dinnertime favourites such as North Sea cod and hake. In its report Turning the Tide, Pew also said catches of North Sea cod, an iconic species in Europe, has slumped from 300,000 tons in the early 1970s to less than 30,000 tons recently. Read the rest here 08:03
Pew Charitable Trusts promoting illegal fishing crackdown
In New England, one of the U.S.’s most active fishing areas, between 12 and 24 percent of the total catch of species such as cod, flounder and haddock was taken illegal in 2010, according to a study in the journal Marine Policy. Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, said Pew’s project could potentially be a “way to use technology to try and deal with an issue that we have been having a hard time figuring out.” WTF? photo credit Read the rest here 11:44
Pacific states say tuna talks making slow progress
Pacific island states expressed frustration Wednesday at a lack of progress in talks aimed at protecting the region’s valuable tuna resources, accusing powerful faraway fishing nations of stalling on conservation measures. The islands want the annual meeting of the influential Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Samoa to cut tuna quotas in the region, which is the source of almost 60 percent of the global catch. Read the rest here 09:36
