Blog: Oceans

Exposed: Europe's history of overfishing

Posted by Willie — 4 May 2010 at 6:06pm - Comments

The past few days have seen a couple of pretty important meetings in Spain about the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (the CFP). You might not have seen much coverage, which isn't that surprising when there's an election going on, nor when you appreciate that very few people know what CFP stands for. Amongst fishy circles, the acronym is often re-interpreted, but I'm too polite to say what the F would stand for.

Article tagged as: callum roberts, CFP, common fisheries policy, europe, marine conservation society, oceans, spain

Exposed: Europe's history of overfishing

Posted by Willie — 4 May 2010 at 6:06pm - Comments

The past few days have seen a couple of pretty important meetings in Spain about the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (the CFP). You might not have seen much coverage, which isn't that surprising when there's an election going on, nor when you appreciate that very few people know what CFP stands for. Amongst fishy circles, the acronym is often re-interpreted, but I'm too polite to say what the F would stand for.

Article tagged as: callum roberts, CFP, common fisheries policy, europe, marine conservation society, oceans, spain

BP = Biodiversity Perishes

Posted by Willie — 1 May 2010 at 5:25pm - Comments

Gulf of Mexico oil slick: the view from space © NASA

The Gulf of Mexico is in the news right now, because of a catastrophic oil spill. You will probably already have seen the pictures. We’ve already pointed out that this is yet another example of the impact our global dependency on oil is having, and how BP in particular, are at fault for their relentless pursuit of the black stuff. They’ll seemingly stop at nothing to fill up oil barrels.

The images we most associate with oil spills are of the impact on wildlife: sea otters in Prince William Sound , or seabirds in Shetland, covered with oil. It’s a dramatic and easily understood impact on our seas’ biodiversity.

Article tagged as: BP, disasters, fossil fuels, oil spill, USA

If tuna is too cheap, then stocks won't last

Posted by Willie — 29 April 2010 at 12:10pm - Comments

Brussels Expo: every sort of seafood imaginable - except bluefin

I'm in Brussels, at the annual European Seafood Exposition. In the shadow of the improbably-shaped Atomium, thousands of people gather to buy and sell seafood. Five vast halls in an impossibly imposing building, crammed for three days with every sort of seafood you can imagine, as well as quite a few you hadn't yet dreamt up. The scale of it takes your breath away. This is the world's largest seafood fair, and quite literally it's the place the big-money deals are done to trade away our ocean life.

Article tagged as: bluefin, brussels seafood expo, maldives, purse-seining, sustainable seafood, tuna

Whaling: an indecent proposal

Posted by Willie — 25 April 2010 at 9:59am - Comments

If you’ve seen the media reports on whales over the past couple of weeks, you could be forgiven for thinking that there had been some sort of historical deal done. A deal that seems to be being spun as a way to save whales, by allowing some to be hunted. Media spin aside, we’ve been keen to see the detail of what is going to be on the table for our governments at the upcoming International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in June.

Yesterday, at last, the speculation ended when the IWC published the details of a proposal on their website. The proposal is just that, a proposal. Not a deal, and certainly not a done deal. So please, view the over-effusive headlines with some care.

Article tagged as: CITES, fin whale, iceland, IWC, japan, norway, Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, whaling

Is a small step for sushi a great leap for tuna-kind?

Posted by Willie — 14 April 2010 at 10:33pm - Comments

For many people it seems that 'tuna' is synonymous with 'sushi'. And there's certainly no doubt that the demand for high quality tuna to feed the fashionable sushi restaurant demand has had a devastating impact on some tuna populations. None more so than bluefin tuna.

Both the Atlantic and Southern bluefin species are in dire trouble, trouble caused by overfishing, to satisfy a demand for the fatty red belly meat in expensive sushi, sold as 'toro'. It's a demand that has led to a fishing frenzy, in places like the Mediterranean , over the past few decades. It's a frenzy that has trampled over artisanal fishing methods and harvested bluefin tuna with little or no regard to the scientific advice, or the law. They are fisheries that have been so spectacularly mismanaged, it's not even laughable.

Article tagged as: bluefin, sushi, tuna

What’s fishy about Whiskas catfood?

Posted by Willie — 12 April 2010 at 8:41pm - Comments

Today, in my inbox, was a letter from Whiskas parent group, Mars, gleefully telling us Greenpeace folk how committed they were to sustainability, saving the oceans, and other such buzzwords. The tone of the letter suggests a smug grin that would make the Cheshire Cat jealous. It goes on to tell us how they are, like, so committed, that they will be working with the Marine Stewardship Council and by the end of 2010 the MSC logo will be adorning fishy-flavoured packs of Whiskas and Sheba catfood.

Article tagged as: bluefin, mars, tuna, whiskas

Complicit or just complacent?

Posted by Willie — 6 April 2010 at 4:08pm - Comments

A fin whale from the air © CC Sabine's Sunbird

Article tagged as: CITES, fin whale, japan, netherlands, tokyo two

UK creates world’s largest marine reserve

Posted by Willie — 1 April 2010 at 7:53pm - Comments

A green sea turtle © CC PiccoloNamek

Today is a good day for the oceans.

The UK has just created the world’s largest marine reserve, covering some quarter of a million square miles of ocean around the Chagos Archipelago.

Article tagged as: chagos, marine reserves

Trader Joe’s gets a little greener

Posted by jossc — 31 March 2010 at 5:12pm - Comments

Why is an old (sea) dog unlike an old pirate? Well, apparently, you really can teach an old pirate new tricks.

Following the success of the sustainable seafood campaign pioneered here in the UK a few years back, other Greenpeace offices have been publicly pressuring their own supermarkets to sell only sustainably sourced fish in order to help save the oceans.

Article tagged as: orange roughy, sustainable seafood
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