Scientists Call for End to Deep-sea Fishing

A new paper in Marine Policy journal explains that deep-sea fishing should be banned because it has sequentially depleted areas of high productivity and destroyed vulnerable habitats.

The Washington Post has an excellent article with very telling quotes.  For example, here’s Elliot Norse, president of the Marine Conservation Institute (a coalition partner) and the study’s lead author:

We’re now fishing in the worst places to fish…These things don’t come back.

And Kevin Hassett, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute:

What they’re doing out there is more like mining than fishing.

And Daniel Pauly, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia:

It’s a waste of resources, it’s a waste of biodiversity, it’s a waste of everything…In the end, there is nothing left.

Ultimately, however, this knowledge must me translated into policy changes - exactly what we at the DSCC are trying to do.  The EU Commissioner of Fisheries, Maria Damanki, highlights this issue in the Washington Post article.  Here's a final good quote from the article:

Maria Damanaki, the European Union’s commissioner for maritime affairs and fisheries, said in an interview that she would like to reduce fishing on the high seas and cut subsidies for deep-sea trawlers.

“I’ll try. I really agree there’s a danger there, so we have to be prudent,” said Damanaki, adding that nations such as France, Denmark, Portugal and Spain resist such efforts. “We have to try to persuade them to stop this.”

CLICK HERE for a summary of the study put out by the Lenfest Ocean Program. 

The Impact of Deep-Sea Fisheries and Implementation of UN Resolutions: A Report of an International Scientific Workshop

This week marks the official release of a report from an international scientific workshop held in Lisbon in May 2011 (PDF here).  The workshop brought together 22 scientists and fisheries experts from around the world to consider the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions adopted in 2006 and 2009 on high seas bottom fisheries. Specifically, what progress has been made and what are the outstanding issues?

Unfortunately, this group of experts found implementation to be lacking (the same conclusion presented in the new DSCC review – Unfinished Business).

Here are some key conclusions:

Generally, there has been a failure of regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) to collect the necessary data for environmental impact assessments, so these assessments have been nonexistent, partial or inconclusive. Many areas where vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are likely to occur are still being fished and the precautionary principle is not being applied…

No RFMOs have responded in the same way to the resolutions. Instead, RFMOs have taken independent action with varying degrees of effectiveness. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources (CCAMLR) has come closest to fully implementing the provisions of the UNGA resolutions…

[M]uch fishing activity is carried out in the absence of knowledge on fish stock structure, genetics and life-history characteristics of either the fished species or the bycatch species. This makes it impossible to use conventional fisheries management measures such as catch quotas, which are based on estimates of stock biomass. Hence other approaches, such as closures of large areas, will need to be taken.

Clearly, it is time for the international community to take action and ensure that high seas bottom fishing nations follow through on their international commitments.

Put the brakes on deep-sea fishing

(Amplify'd from the Washington Post) 

Deep below the ocean surface lies a cold, hostile environment where the light of day cannot penetrate. The life-forms inhabiting this murky world grow slowly, mature late and take time to reproduce. Many species live 30 years or more, some up to the grand age of 150. Most have not yet been defined by science.

This dark void, which lies beyond any country’s national jurisdiction, is in trouble.

The world’s deep-sea catch is steadily declining, and the high vulnerability of these fish populations and diverse marine ecosystems is well documented. Last year, officials from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea declared that in the Northeast Atlantic, 100 percent of all targeted deep-sea species have been fished “outside safe biological limits.” Yet the fishing continues, via trawlers dragging enormous weighted nets that, in a single pass, scrape clean the ocean floor.

This week, the United Nations will conduct a review of high-seas fishing practices that could ultimately help save deep-sea ecosystems. Since 2004, a series of resolutions has been negotiated and approved, outlining a plan to safeguard the biological diversity of the deep ocean. Now fishing countries will once again be assessed to see if they have done what they pledged to do: protect deep-sea life while fishing in a sustainable way.

The answer, according to experts and environmental organizations around the world, is no.

After nearly a decade of talk, scientists and conservationists are asking the United Nations to take action and declare that any deep-sea fishing that doesn’t meet the terms of these resolutions is illegal, unregulated and unreported, and must be stopped.

While enforcement of these regulations is critical, what makes the destruction of the deep sea truly senseless is its cost — which is paid for by public money. Fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly and economist Ussif Rashid Sumaila of the University of British Columbia examined subsidies to international bottom-trawl fleets and found that governments around the globe pay $152 million per year to prop up these fisheries.

Government subsidization of fishing is not new. But without substantial taxpayer support, these operations would incur losses of $50 million annually. In addition to the waste and cost, deep-sea catches are also relatively insignificant as money-earners for major economies. The European Union, for example, has one of the world’s largest deep-sea fishing fleets, yet its catches represent just 2 percent of the total value of all E.U. fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic. Meanwhile, the destruction from the deep-sea trawlers is irreparable.

Bottom fishing on the high seas is a global activity carried out by a small number of countries. A technical paper prepared for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimated in 2008 that 285 vessels worldwide are engaged in these high-seas operations and are registered to 27 flag states. The European community has the largest number of vessels (103), with the majority flagged to Spain. Other flag states with a relatively large number of vessels include New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and Australia. Deep-sea fish products are typically consumed in Europe, the United States and Japan.

We are spending millions in public funds to wreck seascapes that take millennia to form. Governments must realize that deep-sea fishing not only wastes taxpayer dollars but that destroying the unique marine life in the deep sea for a relatively small catch of slow-growing fish is a bad investment.

Karen Sack is director of International Ocean Conservation at Pew Environment Group.

Unfinished Business: A Review of the Implementation of the Provisions of UNGA Resolutions 61/105 and 64/72

This week the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) releases a new report, Unfinished Business: A Review of the Implementation of the Provisions of UNGA Resolutions 61/105 and 64/72 (PDF).  

The report assesses compliance with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions on high seas bottom fishing.  It is the culmination of many months of engagement with world renowned scientists and our partner organizations.

The assessment finds that:

1) While progress has been made in identifying and protecting some vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) as called for in 61/105 and 64/72, the efforts taken to date are far from comprehensive;

2) The environmental impact assessments of fishing activities called for in both resolutions have not been completed for the majority of bottom fisheries; and

3) Deep-sea fisheries for many species remain unregulated, contrary to explicit language calling for such regulation in both resolutions.

Based on this assessment, the DSCC has concluded that high seas fishing States are, with few exceptions, failing to live up to the provisions of UNGA resolutions 61/105 and 64/72. As a result, deep-sea species are increasingly overexploited and VMEs continue to be significantly damaged.

Looking forward, we hope the international community will act responsibly and implement these resolutions.  If not, these vulnerable species and habitats may be lost forever.

The UN Workshop on Bottom Fishing

Credit: UN Photo/Joao Araujo Pinto on Flickr

This week, September 15-16, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is holding a workshop reviewing what has been done to limit the impact of bottom fishing on high seas ecosystems.  The review comes just two years after the UN found that resolutions adopted in 2006 and 2009 calling for protective measures were not being fully implemented. 

The official title of the workshop is as follows:

Workshop to discuss implementation of paragraphs 80 and 83 to 87 of resolution 61/105 and paragraphs 117 and 119 to 127 of resolution 64/72 on sustainable fisheries, addressing the impacts of bottom fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems and the long-term sustainability of deep sea fish stocks

You wouldn’t know it from the title, but this workshop is actually quite special.  For the first time ever, the UN will conduct an open review of national and regional actions with regards to deep-sea protection.  In the past, negotiations have taken place behind closed doors leaving few opportunities for civil society to advocate for sustainable resource management practices and the conservation of biodiversity.  This time around, we have been given the opportunity to directly share our views and those of leading scientists who are engaged in deep-sea research. 

The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) will be present at the workshop along with numerous coalition member groups.  We’ll hold a side event and an evening reception to inform and encourage action among policymakers, and coalition partners and DSCC leadership will participate in expert panels scheduled into the main agenda.

We hope the conclusions from the workshop will influence the UNGA – and in particular certain countries who are engaged in high seas bottom fishing and regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) – to take much stronger action to see that resolutions protecting the deep sea are implemented.  Learn more about those resolutions here.

We at the DSCC are specifically urging the General Assembly to call for:

1. The immediate cessation of high seas bottom fishing except where conservation measures consistent with UNGA resolutions are in force and have been effectively and fully implemented;

2. The protection of all vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) as identified by the UN FAO, including long-lived fish species, spawning areas on the high seas and unique habitats such as seamounts and canyons; and,

3. The designation of high seas bottom fishing as illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing when it is conducted in contravention of international instruments, including UNGA resolutions.

Merry-Go-Roundnose

Round and around we go, where will we stop?  We really don't know.  As leading international scientists recently pointed out, the deep sea is in need of protection, yet policy lags.

CLICK HERE to see a quick animation and learn which countries are causing problems this week!

This Week: The United Nations ICP Meeting

According to a 2008 analysis published in Science, over 40% of the world's oceans are heavily affected by human activities and few if any areas remain untouched.

The DSCC is back at the United Nations headquarters to advocate for much needed deep-sea conservation measures.  This week marks the 12^th meeting of the ‘United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea’.  In UN-speak, the annual meeting referred to as ‘UNICPOLOS’ or ‘ICP’.

So why is ICP important?  Well, it’s the principle annual meeting where the UN General Assembly a) reviews developments in ocean affairs, and b) identifies areas where international coordination and cooperation could be improved.  An important element of this meeting is the Report of the Secretary-General that is presented and considered by the General Assembly. (The report is good reading for anyone interested in the latest updates on international marine policy.)

ICP takes on a particular theme each year, and this year that theme is the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (or Rio+20), possibly the most influential global environment conference this decade.  The Rio+20 meeting has the potential to bring all 192 member states of the UN together to take decisions how we can sustain the well-being of our planet and ourselves.  The original Rio Earth Summit (or UN Conference on Environment and Development) resulted in (among other things): the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The challenge, however, is that the focus of Rio+20 has not yet been decided.  As BBC correspondent Richard Black writes, it is a ‘big summit’ in search of a ‘big idea’.  The DSCC and the rest of the ocean community believe that big idea should be the oceans. 

According to the preliminary findings of a major new report, the global ocean is "at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history" as a result of overfishing, pollution, and climate change.  International waters – which cover 45% of the planet – are essentially open for managed exploitation.  The main exception is international fisheries.  They are partially managed in some areas of the world, but overall evaluations show them to be failing in their conservation mandates.

The DSCC believes that the time has come for the world to tackle the serious and long-running threats to the marine environment.  This week we will be looking to the ICP to ensure that the oceans are a high priority at next year’s summit.  We will also continue to push our UN goals specific to deep-sea conservation this year.

(Image: A Global Map of Human Impacts to Marine Ecosystems, Credit: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis.)

Interview with an Expert: Susanna Fuller on the Implementation of the UN Resolutions

The main challenge to deep-sea conservation on the high seas is the fact that a handful of deep-sea fishing countries is not following the rules. Recently, this fact was further explored by the DSCC in the preliminary findings from its third comprehensive review of the implementation of UN General Assembly resolutions calling for protection of the deep sea. (The full report is forthcoming.)

Recently, the DSCC was able to discuss this problem with Susanna Fuller, the Marine Conservation Coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Among the topics discussed are:

• Partial implementation of UN resolutions by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) [0:31]
• The behavior of countries' fleets on the high seas and, in particular, their inconsistency in implementing their obligations across different ocean regions [2:52]
• Preparing for the UN's review of the implementation of its resolutions in September this year [4:11]

Deep-Sea Fishing Countries Fail to Implement United Nations Agreements

The DSCC presented its preliminary findings at a side event during the UN's BBNJ working group meeting on June 2, 2011.

Last week at the BBNJ meeting the DSCC reported the preliminary findings from its third comprehensive review of the implementation of UN General Assembly resolutions calling for protection of the deep sea.  

The results? Failure to implement the resolutions is leaving the majority of deep-sea biodiversity on the high seas threatened by destructive fishing.  (You may recall that we've discussed the relevant UN resolutions here.)

The main findings from this report are:

• Most deep-sea fisheries have been heavily depleted.
• Nearly all regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) and States have fallen so far short of the requirements as to warrant immediate closure of their deep-sea fisheries on the high seas (the only exception is in the Antarctic or CCAMLR region).
• Many vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) remain open with few or no constraints.
• There has been a general reluctance to close areas where most bottom fishing currently takes place, or has taken place in recent years.
• Flag states are selectively implementing the resolutions, obeying them in some ocean regions and ignoring them elsewhere.
• Failure to effectively implement the resolutions risks undermining the authority and efficacy of the UN General Assembly. 
• Other nations must declare that any fish caught in contravention of the resolutions should be considered illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU).

The full report will be released in June.

*Note: 'BBNJ’ is UN-speak for the ‘The Ad Hoc open-ended informal working group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine Biodiversity Beyond areas of National Jurisdiction’

Interview with an Expert: Matt Gianni on the United Nations

Recently we were able to spend some time with Matt Gianni, the Policy Advisor for the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition. In the interview that follows, Matt explains what the DSCC is doing at the United Nations, the role for the UN in deep sea conservation, the state of protections today, and what we hope to come out of the BBNJ meeting.

Our UN Work for 2011

The United Nations building in New York. Source

Since the beginning, one of the major pieces of work for the DSCC has been to secure permanent protection for vulnerable deep‐sea ecosystems and species from deep-sea fishing on the high seas.  And this work has largely been carried out at the United Nations, the highest authority for such international waters. 

Over the years, we’ve had quite a bit of success.  Our work, along with our partner organizations, led to UN General Assembly resolution 61/105, which was unanimously agreed to by UN member states in December 2006.  And in 2009, our work led to UN General Assembly resolution 64/72, which reaffirmed and strengthened the prior resolution. 

As a result, the United Nations has established that deep-sea fishing can only take place under three specific conditions:

1.     Environmental impact assessments must be conducted by fishing countries prior to deep-sea fishing on the high seas.  If there is no way to prevent ‘significant adverse impacts’, then deep-sea fishing is not to occur.

2.     High seas areas are to be closed to bottom fishing where vulnerable species and ecosystems are known or likely to occur, unless significant adverse impacts can be prevented.

3.     Deep-sea fishing must be sustainable.  That is, high seas fishing countries must not deplete deep-sea species, regardless of whether they are commercially targeted or accidentally caught.

And yet, in spite of these strong UN resolutions, vulnerable deep-sea marine life on the high seas is still largely unprotected.  This is because of significant problems in countries’ implementation of the resolutions. 

As the DSCC documented in a 2010 review of international management measures, the implementation of the UN General Assembly resolutions has been patchy and poor in most areas. For example, no environmental impact assessments have been done for any of the deep-sea fisheries on the high seas of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.  This is in stark contrast to the few instances where the resolutions have been properly implemented.  For instance, the regional fisheries treaty organization for the waters around Antarctica – known as 'CCAMLR' - has implemented a near total ban on bottom trawling.

This year the DSCC will be calling for the United Nations to reaffirm its past resolutions and to brand any fishing in contravention of the UN General Assembly  resolutions as ‘illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing’ (otherwise referred to as ‘IUU fishing’). 

The DSCC believes this is the logical next step.  If fishing fleets cannot follow the international agreements of their governments, international monitoring and control measures should be used to stop them.  Although it is for the international community to decide, such measures could include trade sanctions, use of international IUU ‘black lists’, and the FAO Port State Measures Agreement, once it enters into force.

To reach this goal, the DSCC is now preparing another report on the current implementation status of the resolutions.  We’ll also again serve as an important source of information at the UN.  Only a relative handful of nations have vessels deep-sea bottom fishing on the high seas, yet many countries are interested in the issue.  The DSCC is there to provide unbiased information on what has been done.  And of course, the DSCC will be actively campaigning by engaging both policymakers and the broader public. 

Keep an eye out for future posts as we take this message to the United Nations (both this week and beyond)!