Navigation path

Additional tools

Tag ‘sustainability’

A FATAL TASTE FOR BABY-FISH

Monday, March 19th, 2012
VN:F [1.7.5_995]
Rating: 3.1/5 (8 votes cast)

When the EU forbade juveniles catches, back in 2006, we knew that it was a first step, but a long way was still ahead: sometimes, putting a rule in writing is not enough to have respected!

And, as a Greek, I know that the fatal taste that we developed for baby-fish in the Mediterranean will be hard to change: almost every taverna in my country continues to serve, at least occasionally, fried juveniles.

It is very much enshrined in our culture: I am a big fan of Andrea Camilleri, the well known Italian writer who created Montalbano, and I intend to write him a letter to pay tribute to his work, but also to ask him to stop having the protagonist of his novels eating small squids: that is unethical!

Moreover, if fishermen let the fish grow, they can catch it the year after, bigger and more valuable: fishing for juveniles is economically irrational. Read the full entry

Number of views: 2467

Read the full entry | 4 Comments | Add a new comment

TOWARDS RIO PLUS 20: THE WAY TO GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012
VN:F [1.7.5_995]
Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

Rio plus 20

The future we want

In June, the UN Conference on sustainable development will take place in Rio. Oceans are one of the main priorities and I will bring to the “Rio plus 20″ conference the EU commitment to move forward on several fronts, towards ambitious goals.

The impact of our plans to phase out discards will be lessened in the absence of a roadmap for the rest of the world. The same goes for illegal fishing: we have to seize the opportunity to step up international commitment and work toward a worldwide catch certification scheme.

My hope is that our partners’ ambition will match ours and that the contribution of civil society will help us to tackle outstanding issues. To do so, we need to fill the serious governance gap that exists today. Only through concrete actions across borders and sectors we will be able to achieve overarching objectives of the international community, such as biodiversity protection and address the conservation and the sustainable use of marine biological diversity in deep-sea areas, beyond national jurisdiction. Read the full entry

Number of views: 2438

Read the full entry | No Comments | Add a new comment

LONDON: AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW

Sunday, February 5th, 2012
VN:F [1.7.5_995]
Rating: 5.0/5 (4 votes cast)
All Aboard!

London Sustainable Fish City: All Aboard!

The initiative of making London the first Sustainable Fish City in the world is gaining momentum, also thanks to the Sustainable Fish Forum that took place in London on 24 January.

I had the chance to partake in the event, organised by the Marine Conservation Society, the Marine Stewardship Council, Seaweb’s Seafood Choices, and Sustain, and patronized by the famous chef Raymond Blanc.

It was inspiring to see how these people value the future of our oceans and how effective is their action! It shows that restaurateurs, caterers and retailers are ready to engage and to invest in sustainability. Read the full entry

Number of views: 2004

Read the full entry | Comments Off | Add a new comment

ILLEGAL FISHING: WE NEED SHARED COMMITMENT

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
VN:F [1.7.5_995]
Rating: 5.0/5 (3 votes cast)

Yesterday, I watched with empathy, in the second episode of Al Jazeera programme “Pirate Fishing“, the adventures of the fisheries ministry inspector Victor Kargbo and the reporter Juliana Ruhfus, chasing the Sea Queen/Ocean-3, caught fishing illegally in Sierra Leonean waters. And I was thrilled when they succeeded!
 

I am ever more convinced and committed that the EU has to play a leading role to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Read the full entry

Number of views: 1685

Read the full entry | Comments Off | Add a new comment

LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES

Thursday, December 1st, 2011
VN:F [1.7.5_995]
Rating: 3.7/5 (3 votes cast)

The small-scale fisheries fleet in Fournoi, in the Nineties

When, not a long time ago, I met representatives of small-scale fishermen, the president of Glaros (seagull, in Greek), the association of small-scale fishermen form the island of Fournoi, handed me a picture of what once was a significant small-scale fleet based on the island. The fleet was then scrapped –he affirms– following the adoption of the latest reform of the EU common fisheries policy, in the Nineties.

I believe that small-scale fishermen greatly contribute to the economic progress and the preservation of distinctive social and cultural characteristics of European coastal communities. Read the full entry

Number of views: 2289

Read the full entry | 1 Comment | Add a new comment

THE GAME HAS JUST BEGUN

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
VN:F [1.7.5_995]
Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

Friday last week, after the meeting of the Council where EU Ministers agreed quotas for the Baltic Sea, I took the time to watch “Game over – Facing our Ocean’s Point of No Return” .

This short but comprehensive documentary outlines well the urgency of concrete actions to counter the depletion of fish stocks and the severe consequences that any delay could trigger, be that in South America, in the North Sea or in the Baltic. Cod overfishing in Canadian waters, leading to the overmultiplication of sea urchins and the resulting damages for the whole ecosystem is just an example and the fact that this happened far away must not trick us. Seventy-five percent of our stocks are overfished and if we don’t act now, only 8 out of 136 EU stocks will still be healthy by 2022.

But, together with the pressure to make all necessary steps towards sustainability, maybe for the first time during my mandate, I also felt that we are on the right path: following the Commission proposal, all quota decisions taken by last week Council are based on scientific advice!. Read the full entry

Number of views: 3191

Read the full entry | 3 Comments | Add a new comment

REFORM AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Monday, August 29th, 2011
VN:F [1.7.5_995]
Rating: 2.0/5 (4 votes cast)

Reaching the end of August, a difficult summer is ending. Now we have to speed up.  The economic recession, deepening in some European countries, underlines the basic need: we have to promote concrete measures for enhancing the employment and the quality of life of young people. The basic danger is still there: our children will live in a way worse than our own. Hence, our proposals have to invest to future. “Sustainability” is now the important word, still it needs a concrete political translation.

At the beginning of the summer I presented the proposal for a fisheries policy for the future, now under discussion in the Ministers Council, the European and national parliaments. This proposal is exactly about sustainability: we try to ensure the survival of sea stocks, in order to have new employment opportunities in fisheries and aquaculture sector

There were already a lot of reactions, some of them very skeptical or negative. Is this approach realistic? Is this change too radical for the social situation of the fisheries sector? Is the environmental aspect overwhelming the social one? Read the full entry

Number of views: 5185

Read the full entry | 2 Comments | Add a new comment

SUSTAINABLE FISH: ASK FOR IT!

Thursday, July 28th, 2011
VN:F [1.7.5_995]
Rating: 3.0/5 (2 votes cast)

During our “chat” on Twitter, a couple of weeks ago, some of you asked how I intend to communicate on the reform of the Common fisheries policy and how we can “win allies” to support the proposals.

On my side, I will push for ending overfishing and let those stocks that are depleted grow again. I can discuss with EU Ministers and the European Parliament the improvements that the reform would bring about, making decisions more effective. I can meet fishermen, to find together the best way to ending discards – avoiding catching what cannot be put on the market in the first place.

But, in the end, this will have little impact if consumers do not drive the market towards ever more sustainable practices. It will be them –you– that can make a difference. Read the full entry

Number of views: 8344

Read the full entry | 6 Comments | Add a new comment

FISH, HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
VN:F [1.7.5_995]
Rating: 4.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Food insecurity remains a major challenge. The FAO estimated that in 2009 the number of malnourished people exceeded 1 billion – about 1 person in 6.

Food production is only one of the factors we must take into account: access to markets, commodity prices, and the nutritional value of products are equally important. Since 2008, high food price volatility has worsened the situation, leading to a significant deterioration of food security in the world.

The latest data, published last Friday by OECD and FAO, shows that, over the next ten years, “real prices for cereals could average as much as 20% higher and those for meats as much as 30% higher, compared to 2001-10″.

OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2011 - © OECD 2011 Read the full entry

Number of views: 9449

Read the full entry | Comments Off | Add a new comment

WORLD OCEANS DAY

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
VN:F [1.7.5_995]
Rating: 3.7/5 (7 votes cast)

Since 2008, 8 June has been officially designated as World Oceans Day by the United Nation General Assembly. This year, I am celebrating it in London, at the “GLOBE World Oceans Day Forum“, where fisheries Ministers and legislators from across Europe are meeting.

It is the occasion for discussing about the forthcoming reform of the Common Fisheries Policy that I will present this summer. But also for honouring oceans and seas, for their beauty, and for their immense richness, benefitting mankind since the dawn of time. Read the full entry

Number of views: 9872

Read the full entry | 1 Comment | Add a new comment

« Previous Entries