Balisage

Not the Same Old Tuna – #3
PA – 2, The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and its adjacent seas – ICCAT.
17th -27th November Paris

During the Panel session number 2, responsible for the conservation of bluefin tuna, the fate of the ships announced as “removed” was often mentioned. The EU, for example, announced that 126 purse seine vessels and 130 longline vessels have been “removed” from the bluefin tuna fleet between 2008 and 2010, without giving precise information on the ships’ demolition, conversion or any other mode of decommissioning. Contracting parties from the Eastern Mediterranean also announced the “removal” of fishing boats and tugs assigned to transporting cages without providing detailed information on their demolition or their redeployment for another purpose.

Not the Same Old Tuna – #4
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and its adjacent seas – ICCAT.
17th -27th November Paris

In Paris, ICCAT contracting countries are multiplying good news announcements, positive resolutions and promises of finances to save tuna and to show the image of a united family and of world citizens.

However, the reality is the complete opposite. The declarations of catches, the statistics, the lists of ships involved, and the annual reports are, in general, truncated, manipulated, or nonexistent. Back payments of subscription accumulate. Absentees are given the benefit of the doubt, such as Algeria, suspected to be involved in illegal activities of bluefin tuna in 2008 and 2009 – the Algerian delegation arrived one day before the meeting finishes.

Not the Same Old Tuna – #2
Plenary, The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and its adjacent seas – ICCAT.
17th -27th November Paris

This is the first time that Robin des Bois has participated as an observer at the ICCAT debates. We would like to thank the secretary of the Regional Fisheries Management Organization and its member states’ for their current efforts and those in the future to prevent the irreversible decline of tuna and tuna like species.

All tuna species merit equal, fair and efficient consideration and all professional fishers have the right to exercise their profession and their invaluable know-how in safe and social working conditions conforming to all international maritime regulations.

Not the Same Old Tuna – #1
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and its adjacent seas – ICCAT.
17th -27th November Paris

Already in the first hours of the meeting, the Japanese showed their inflexibility on the origin and the traceability of bluefin tuna, of which they are the principal consumer world wide. The Japanese delegation tore into the system of tracking and controlling which was put in place by ICCAT and implemented by the fishing-states. The exporting countries were carefully put in the line of accusation. According to Japan, the fishing of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean Sea is illegally done. Miraculously, all the tuna captured weigh between 31 and 32 kg; the minimum regulatory weight being 30 kg. Japan estimates that half of the bluefin tuna captured weigh less than 30 kg. It is interesting that the compilation of 17 B.C.D.s (Bluefin Catch Documents) show 5,258 tuna captured and put in fish farms during 6 months and 6,350 tuna released. From the Mediterranean catch to the fish market in Tokyo, the list of shady transactions and breaches in regulation is long.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and its adjacent seas – ICCAT.
17th -27th November Paris

Bluefin tuna, albacore, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, marlin and swordfish are just some of the numerous species directly concerned by ICCAT, created in 1966 in order to maintain the populations of tuna and tuna-like fishes “at levels which will permit the maximum sustainable catch for food and other purposes.” ICCAT’s area covers the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas such as the Mediterranean. This Commission also deals with species caught in association with fisheries targeting tuna such as the blue shark and porbeagle.

Conferences, symposiums, chitchat and roundtables… So far, Protected Marine Areas are large spaces in which everyone wants to protect what they hold most dearly, aka, their own interests, even when those are as murky as dredging muds. The road to bringing reason to the active minorities, who are often polluting the most, is still long.

La Rochelle is, in this regard, quite edifying. As part of the extension and deepening of the pleasure-boating port of Minimes – for the benefit of trimarans, catamarans and monohulls, 1 million m3 of radioactive sludge and other pollutants must be extracted from the access channel to the old port by October 2011, and these extractions will be scattered at sea around the Pertuis Charentais Natura 2000 site. This 456,000 hectare area is described as one of the most productive marine ecosystems within the French waters, and several endangered species such as sturgeon, shad, and porpoises reside there. It is also an important economic resource for the professional fishermen, who, thanks to diversified techniques, supply auction and regional markets. Oyster ponds on the islands of Ré and Marennes-Oléron are labeled as part of the Pertuis Charentais.

Only in French.

The quarterly bulletin by Robin des Bois containing information and analysis on the demolition of ships, is about to be published.

– Bangladesh is seasick (p 1).

– Brutal demolition in Africa, ships flying the Togo flag for their last voyage (p 3).

– Turkey scraps old ships in the Mediterranean (p 4).

– A unique (hopefully) barratry brought to light thanks to bulletin #20 of shipbreaking.com (p 5).

– A supply oil ship of the Japanese whaling fleet goes to be dismantled in India (p14).

The Conference on Biodiversity taking place in Nagoya Japan ends today while, in November, the Japanese whaling fleet will leave for Antarctica to catch 1,000 whales. Since 1986, when the moratorium on commercial whaling entered into force Japan has killed, in the name of science, 13,210 whales of which close to 10,000 were caught in Antarctica, a whale sanctuary since 1994. Considering the state of the Japanese whaling fleet, the entire Antarctic ecosystem is threatened by an oil spill.

The mother-ship, Nisshin Maru, ex Chikuzen Maru was launched in 1987. She was initially a stern trawler in American waters. She was quickly converted into a whaling factory ship. She works in the Antarctic Ocean without a double hull or reinforcement against ice and with only one engine. In February 2007, while the Nisshin Maru was sailing in the Ross Sea, a major explosion occurred aboard killing a crewmember and immobilising the vessel leaving her to drift for several days in the ice-infested Southern Seas. According to New Zealand authorities, the incident is one of the most serious to have occurred in the region. The Japanese did not immediately send out an SOS. The Nisshin Maru is also a little tanker with a capacity of holding 2,600 tons of fuel.

The Conference on Biodiversity taking place in Nagoya Japan ends today while, in November, the Japanese whaling fleet will leave for Antarctica to catch 1,000 whales. Since 1986, when the moratorium on commercial whaling entered into force Japan has killed, in the name of science, 13,210 whales of which close to 10,000 were caught in Antarctica, a whale sanctuary since 1994. Considering the state of the Japanese whaling fleet, the entire Antarctic ecosystem is threatened by an oil spill.