COASTAL ALERT

Philippines
RP commits to regional plan of action to combat illegal fishing in Asia-Pacific
BFAR seeks export zone status for mariculture parks
New fishing areas being developed
Asian Fisheries Academy to open in Dagupan
BFAR plan to improve fish labs to boost tuna industry -- official
RP's first commercial sea cucumber hatchery to rise in Dagupan
BFAR forecasts 2007 output to hit 5million MT
National Geographic to look for rare marine species in the Philippines
Fish collectors now use PDAs to track shipments
Seaweed industry fears shakeout due to strong peso and global warming
Solon pushes creation of fisheries department
Coastal management interpretive center opens in Talibon, Bohol
Resort’s dredging activities stopped
Sarangani Bay now has 3,509 artificial reef domes
Business sector helps improve Batangas marine environment
Pangasinan LGUs vow to continue coastal resource management project
Mindanao to form regional agri-fisheries chamber
Shell, Malampaya Foundation to help 500 poor fishermen, farmers in northern Palawan
ADB lauds fisheries project in N. Mindanao
ARMM to intensify patrol against foreign fishing groups
Manta rays in waters off  Ticao island in Masbate lure tourists
ARMM creates new body to protect marine resources
“Cone snail” researcher is Harvard Foundation Scientist of the Year
Seaweed processing plant opens in Shariff Kabunsuan
Bohol fishers reject oil explorers’ compensation offer
 “Payaos” boost fish landings in Southern Mindanao

World
Environment groups want fish protected in WTO deal
More must be done to lift fisher out of poverty and preserve fish stocks – UN body
ILO adopts new labor standards for fishing sector
UN group seeks to increase access to financial services for poor
States reach partial agreement on marine genetic resources at UN talks
WTO members clash over how to discipline fisheries subsidies
Eating seafood guilt-free: UN agency to establish guidelines to certify fish
World body adopts new food standards
UN chief calls for unity against climate change, better access to resources
Climate change affects growth of fish
Financial sector cannot ignore bioldiversity – Conservation group
Fish feed scare highlights challenges of aquaculture boom
Caribbean corals in danger of extinction
European eel, sawfish added to CITES list
Japan’s coastal sardine, mackerel stocks seen plunging
Tuna shortage shuts down fish cannery in Ghana
Indian government bans deep-sea fishing in Exclusive Economic Zone
U.S. definition of illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing published
Nations unite to discourage trawling in South Pacific
Brunei sets moratorium to reduce pressure on marine resources
Fisheries closed on China's Bohai, Yellow seas for spawning season
Malaysia eyes new system to check abuses by local fishermen
India employs crocodiles to protect mangroves
UN adopts new international agreement to protect world’s forests
Habitat protection sought for imperiled green sturgeon
Fishing restrictions off Gaza hurt Palestinians – UN aid officials
Japan develops technology to make human blood vessels from fish
U.S. can't alter 'dolphin-safe' tuna standards, court rules
New species of coral found off coast of Oman
Indonesian survey demonstrates that marine protected areas accelerate coral recovery
Conservation group proposes “recipe” for ending illegal fishing in Baltic Sea
Galapagos Islands added to the World Heritage Danger List

Resources
New road map for establishing marine protected area networks
New FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries
Global Gateway to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing and Mapping for Aquaculture and Inland Fisheries Website
NOAA Annual Report on the Status of U.S. Fisheries
Reef Ball Foundation’s Red Mangrove Planting Product Application Guide

Events
International Year of the Reef (IYOR 2008)11th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS)

Philippines

RP commits to regional plan of action to combat illegal fishing in Asia-Pacific
09 May 2007 (JA Ng, Business Mirror) -- The Philippines has committed to implementing a regional plan of action (RPOA) to combat illegal fishing in the Southeast Asian region. The RPOA was signed last May 4, 2007 by ministers from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and 7 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“The ministers agree on a common and collaborative approach to promote responsible fishing practices and to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the region, in particular, in the South China Sea, the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas, and the Arafura-Timor Seas,” said the joint ministerial statement.

Key points of the RPOA are to:

• enhance and strengthen the overall level of fisheries management and compliance arrangements in the region;
• build upon current international agreements to ensure long-term sustainable
  fisheries;
• collect accurate fishing information, which is essential to manage fishery resources and combat illegal fishing;
• control the size of fishing fleets at a sustainable level, to return the most benefit to communities and reduce illegal fishing activity; and
• coordinate management at the flag, port and market level to eliminate the trade
  path of illegal fishing and to promote the trade of fish product caught by
  responsible fishing operations.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director Malcolm I. Sarmiento said the RPOA is voluntary and takes its principles from established international fisheries instruments for promoting responsible fishing practices.

Among these international covenants are the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA), and the Food and Agriculture’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

The RPOA encourages the 10 countries to work toward the ratification, accession and acceptance and full implementation of UNCLOS and UNFSA. The ministers agreed to establish a Coordination Committee to monitor and review the effective implementation of the measures of the RPOA.

The ministerial meeting was initiated by Australia and Indonesia. Australia will provide some financial support to hold meetings over the next two years. The next meeting, tentatively planned for Malaysia in July 2007, will be used to develop a detailed two year work plan. Full story Related story

BFAR seeks export zone status for mariculture parks
04 Jun 2007 (MV Go, Philippine Star) -- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is exploring the possibility of seeking export zone status for certain mariculture parks that will engage in fish production for export, even as the bureau continues to negotiate with LGUs for the grant of tax incentives to potential locators within mariculture parks.

According to Region I Director Nestor Domenden, LGUs remain opposed to granting tax incentives to locators in the mariculture park.

Domenden acknowledged that the grant of tax incentives may attract more locators in the mariculture parks even though the main aim of the mariculture parks is to help enhance production by assuring locators of technical assistance and ensuring higher standards of production.

In the existing mariculture park in Sto. Tomas, La Union, Domenden disclosed that locators have dropped from a previous high of 36 to just 11 due to various reasons that may include the lack of tax incentives.

Because the mariculture parks are located within municipal waters, locators are subject to LGU-imposed taxes.

Notwithstanding the lack of tax incentives, the BFAR, Domendes said, is planning the creation of at least four more mariculture parks in Region I alone as part of BFAR’s effort to establish new areas for seaweeds.

New fishing areas being developed
Manila, 10 Jun 2007 (AR Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer) – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is spearheading the development of certain regions, other than Mindanao, into becoming major sources of fish and other aquaculture products.

The offshore fishery sector of Region 1 — which is primarily a vegetable-producing area, except for Pangasinan— is being developed as a major source of tuna and seaweeds, according to BFAR Region 1 Director Nestor Denus Domenden.

Domenden said that with the aid of a payao, BFAR was shifting its focus from traditional to nontraditional fishing grounds.

“A payao is a fish aggregating device, which serves as an artificial house for small fish varieties. The payaos are submerged about six to 10 meters below water surface to attract bigger fishes, including the likes of tuna,” he explained.

Each device costs about Php80,000. The installed devices are cued by GPS coordinates so that only legitimate and accredited fishermen would have access to payao areas. Once established, a payao can be a fishing ground for about 20 fishermen. Each payao can yield about 30 kilos of fish in every fishing operation.

Domenden said BFAR plans to put up this year 21 payaos in Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. Full story

Asian Fisheries Academy to open in Dagupan
Dagupan City 13 Jun 2007 (VMH Sarmiento, PIA) -- The Asian Fisheries Academy is set to open in July in Bonuan Binloc, this city.

Located within the 24-hectare National Integrated Fisheries Techgnology Development Center (NIFTDC), the AFA is envisioned by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources as a leader in training in modern fisheries technology and technology transfer. When it operates, it will be the most modern training facility for fisheries in the Philippines.

The AFA was funded through the Php30-million Countrywide Development Fund of Speaker Jose De Venecia and a Php15 million grant from the Government of Japan.

Training is geared primarily toward training Filipinos to be fishery technicians, but the academy will accept foreign students once a year. Full story

BFAR plan to improve fish labs to boost tuna industry -- official
General Santos City, 25 Apr 2007 (BSS, Sun.Star General Santos) – The tuna industry will benefit from a plan of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to improve at least eight government fish laboratories across the country, an official of the bureau said.

BFAR has earmarked Php10 million for the project.

Sani Macabalang, BFAR-Central Mindanao director, said the agency’s fish laboratory in General Santos City, where many of the tuna companies are based, badly needs a facelift.

"Due to the government's scarce resources, we have been tapping the private sector to help us in the progressive face-lifting of the laboratory," he said.

The laboratory is key to ensuring that the industry continues to meet European Union standards.

In a 26-page report, the EU mission that recently inspected the country’s tuna processing plants concluded that majority of the establishments they visited maintained satisfactory hygienic and structural conditions. Full story

RP's first commercial sea cucumber hatchery to rise in Dagupan
11 Jun 2007 (PNA) -- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is building the Philippines’ first-ever commercial hatchery for sea cucumber.

The sea cucumber hatchery will be the source of juveniles to be disseminated to various coastal areas of the country. It is located at the 24-hectare National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center in Dagupan City where the country's Philippine Bangus (Milkfish) Center is also located.

When completed, the hatchery can produce at least 50,000 juveniles a year.
Sea cucumber currently ranks among the top 8 Philippine exports. It earned USD7 million in 2001. It is a delicacy in China, and a raw material for various chemical preparations.

The Philippines is the world’s second largest exporter of the commodity, after Indonesia.

World Fish Center, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute are helping BFAR to set up the hatchery.

Areas identified by the BFAR as most feasible for raising sea cucumber are Pangasinan, particularly Bolinao and the Hundred Islands; Zambales, Palawan and Sulu archipelago which are rocky and sandy.

The BFAR said over 60 coastal municipalities in 14 regions of the country depend on sea cucumber fishery for livelihood. Many populations appear have reportedly declined with increasing market demand.

BFAR forecasts 2007 output to hit 5million MT
Manila, 20 Apr 2007 (AR Remo, Inquirer.net -- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) predicts fisheries production this year will reach 5.0 million MT, from 4.4 million MT in 2006, if the industry is not hit by natural disasters or disease outbreaks, and the bureau gets an additional Php170 million in its 2007 budget, BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento said.

 “The additional budget will be used for production enhancement and hunger mitigation projects,” Sarmiento said.

BFAR has lined up several “modernized and socially equitable agriculture and fishery support services to increase productivity and income.” The establishment of more mariculture parks is one focus, Sarmiento said.

There are currently 25 mariculture parks in operation, mostly in the Visayas, he added.

The BFAR also plans to establish a hatchery for high-value species such as grouper, milkfish and sea bass, establish new seaweed processing plants and expand seaweed production. Full story

National Geographic to look for rare marine species in the Philippines
24 Apr 2007 (K Adraneda, Philippine Star)National Geographic is set to arrive in the Philippines before the end of this year to conduct a "deep-sea research" in the country to discover marine species that they believe can only be found here, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney revealed.

Kenney said National Geographic may arrive "sometime in September or October" for the research project in partnership with the US and Philippine governments.

"They're going to be doing deep sea research on the sea species that they believe (could) be found only here in the Philippines and nowhere else in the world," Kenney told reporters on the sidelines of the Earth Day celebrations at Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City the other day.

"They're going to do a special feature in their magazines and it's a great way of calling attention to the extraordinary diversity in the Philippines and of course allowing us to think about how to continue to protect that," she also said.

Fish collectors now use PDAs to track shipments
07 Mar 2007 (Sun.Star Cebu) -- Hand-held computers or personal digital assistants (PDAs) are currently helping ornamental fish collectors of San Francisco town in Camotes Island, Cebu and Hambongan Island off Inabanga, Bohol track their shipments of tropical fish.

The gadgets also enable them to evaluate their packing and handling systems, allowing them to reduce mortality and earn more from the delicate marine fauna that they collect.

The collectors acquired their gadgets through the Marine Aquarium Market Transformation Initiative, a collaborative undertaking of international non-profit organizations Marine Aquarium Council (MAC), ReefCheck and the Conservation and Community Investment Forum. The project promotes the use of market-based instruments in conservation and sustainability of coral reefs through an internationally recognized certification system.

Aside from allowing an easy tracking of the commodities, the interaction among stakeholders and researchers leads towards the implementation of environmentally-sound practices through the tropical fish collection value chain.

Called the IT Traceability System, the web-enabled, integrated information technology system was developed by MAC with the Spanish software company Soluziona.

The system operates on a technical platform provided by Microsoft Corp.

Through the PDAs provided by MAC via the Academy for Educational Development, traders are advised of any mortality in the cargo.

They are also informed if any of the fish or invertebrates were rejected at the exporters’ screening phase, allowing them to analyze and improve the collection, holding, handling and transport of the commodities. Full story

Seaweed industry fears shakeout due to strong peso and global warming
10 July 2007 (EM Dagooc, Philippine Star)Seaweed farmers and exporters are speaking out about the adverse effects of the strong peso and “global warming” trends on their business.

The industry fears a “shakeout” in the next few months if the peso strengthens further against the US dollar.

Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP) president Benson U. Dakay said that for every Php1 loss in foreign exchange, processors lose an average of 85 centavos in revenue.

Global demand for processed seaweed is increasing steadily, but the supply of raw seaweeds has gone down because of “global warming,” Dakay further noted. Monthly production from a typical one-hectare farm has dropped from 1,000 kilos to 500 kilos of raw seaweeds per month.

“It’s a sellers’ market… farmers cannot meet [the processors’] demand. They need to increase their capacity to produce,” Dakay said.

The industry shakeout could mean half of the country’s 25 seaweed processors may close shop.

The Philippines still dominates the global market for seaweeds with more 60% share of the market. But it is facing stiff competition from cheaper processed seaweeds from Indonesia.

Philippine processed seaweeds sell at about US$1,000 per ton; processed seaweeds of comparable quality from Indonesia are priced at US$700 per ton.

Solon pushes creation of fisheries department
09 Jun 2007 (PNA) -- Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte, chairman of the House committee on fisheries and aquaculture, wants the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) upgraded to a “full-grown department” that will oversee the “development and management of the country’s fisheries.”

Noting the “strategic importance” fishing and allied industries to the Philippine economy, Villafuerte has rejected the government’s rationalization plan for the bureau under Executive Order 366, saying it is “ill-considered and foolish.”

Coastal management interpretive center opens in Talibon, Bohol
The municipality of Talibon, Bohol opened last February its Fisheries and Coastal Resource Management Interpretive Center (FCRMIC), an educational facility mandated to showcase, promote and advocate efforts to protect and manage the rich fisheries and coastal environment of the Danajon Bank.

Only the second of its kind in the Philippines (after Masbate City) and the first CRM interpretive center run by a municipal government, it will serve as the hub of information, education, communication, training and outreach activities related to coastal management and environmental conservation in the Danajon Bank area.

The Talibon FCRMIC was established by the Municipal Government of Talibon with support from the Fisheries Improved for Sustainable Harvest (FISH) Project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR).

Also launched at the Center’s inauguration last February was the Save Danajon Bank exhibit.

Danajon Bank, a major fishing ground supporting coastal communities in at least four provinces, has the only double barrier reef in the Philippines, one of only about half a dozen double barrier reefs recorded worldwide. The reef is in a degraded and declining condition, as are most of the resources in the area.

Organizers said the exhibit, developed by local stakeholders with assistance from the FISH Project, is a call to action especially for local communities to help in the rehabilitation and management of Danajon Bank.

Resort’s dredging activities stopped
Calatagan, Batangas, 26 May 2007 (Philippine Daily Inquirer>) — Alleging that the resort’s dredging activities might cause siltation that could affect marine life, the Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (MFARMC) has ordered the developers of Playa Calatagan, a residential beach resort, to temporarily stop its excavation along the seashore of Barangay Sta. Ana here.

Playa Calatagan is a mixed-use leisure-commercial-residential development project of Landco Pacific Corp. in a 92.3-hectare land in Sta. Ana.

The project, which involves the construction of a subdivision, clubhouse, beach walk, parks and other commercial and recreational facilities, obtained an environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on 27 October 2005. An MFARMC official, however, claimed that based on the council’s marine protected area survey conducted at Pagapas Bay and South China Sea, Landco had been dredging the shoreline, which is prohibited under the Municipal Fisheries Code.

The survey was conducted on April 29.

“They cannot dredge the area because it is a public domain, meaning it is owned by the public,” Jessie de los Reyes, Calatagan MFARMC chair, told the Inquirer.

He added that the group also found out that Playa Calatagan had been dredging the area to build a drainage system to serve as a catch basin for rain waters, but the drainage is allegedly directed to the sea.

The MFARMC official expressed fears that these activities might cause siltation to spread in the coastal waters, destroying sea grass beds and coral reefs, driving away fish from their habitat. This could affect 3,000 families in the town.

Calatagan, a third class municipality in Batangas popular for white-sand beach resorts, has been declared a marine reserve by virtue of Municipal Ordinance 08-92.

Batangas Provincial Environmental Officer Maximo Soriano confirmed De los Reyes’ claim that Landco had not formed a multipartite monitoring team in Playa Calatagan within the period stipulated by the ECC. But he insisted the company did not violate any ECC provision by dredging at the site.

“Excavation is not large-scale and it is part of their environmental management plan. Dredging is not prohibited if you’re doing it just to remove the silt deposit in the area,” he said. Full story

Sarangani Bay now has 3,509 artificial reef domes
18 Jun 2007 (Sun.Star General Santos) -- Some 3,509 artificial reef domes have been submerged in the different parts of the vast 214,000-ha Sarangani Bay two years after private scuba diving aficionados started the project.

Christopher Dearne, spokesperson of the Sarangani Bay Divers, said Project Aware Foundation provided 900 Australian dollars and the Philippine Ports Authority funded 100 domes towards the completion of the project by the end of the year.

The group hopes to deploy a total of 5,000 domes in three years. The artificial reef dome project kicked off on April 1, 2005 and the first domes were plunged a few days later.

The group's concrete domes, where corals are manually attached by the members, come with funky names like Cambridge, Mushroom, Fish Port, Makar.

"In many cases, the transplants have really taken a good hold and are developing very well. Table corals have really surprised us in many cases with their speed of growth," Dearne, a British national, said.

"The soft hand corals, on the other hand, have now totally covered some domes with their aggressive growth leaving a well camouflaged habitat module for the marine creatures. Broken Table Corals seem to like being transplanted on the domes and attach themselves very quickly; with care, the broken coral complete with its fish population can be moved," he added.

Dearne said the three-year, 5,000-dome project costs less than $20,000, or $4 for each dome.

Many species of fish and other marine creatures have picked out their place either in and around the domes and within the confines of the transplanted corals, the group's report said.

Local fishers have noticed the increase in the fish population and have begun targeting the artificial reef areas, the report added. The group is now considering developing “fishing areas” where the domes will be used to attract fish specifically for the local fishers in the hope that this will keep the fishers away from the areas that the group want to preserve. Full story

Business sector helps improve Batangas marine environment
After years of decline in reef ecosystem and destruction of marine biodiversity, the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) is set to implement the Reef Ecosystem Enhancement Flagship Project (REEF) in Bauan, Batangas in an effort to improve and protect the area’s marine ecosystem.

PBSP partnered with Dow Chemical Pacific Limited to implement the project, as well as with the Conservation International (CI) and the First Philippine Conservation (FPC) to cover a study tour for government officials from Bauan, Batangas.

The tour brought the officials from Bauan to Verde Island, also in Batangas, previously also a site of the REEF Project assisted by CI and FPC. The Project involved community-based marine biodiversity conservation and the declaration and management of the Verde Passage as a marine protected area (MPA).

PBSP Program Officer Terteen Omaña said the REEF Project’s goal is to raise the awareness among residents of Bauan and providing orientation on coastal management.

Town officials will also be undergoing training on resource management and advocacy for MPAs. The training will be provided by the CI and FPC. Based on story posted by A. Villafania at Inquirerbloggers.net 07.03.07

Pangasinan LGUs vow to continue coastal resource management project
27 Apr 2007 (PNA) -- LGUs in western Pangasinan promised to sustain a model coastal resource management (CRM) project funded by the Royal Netherlands government.

The Lingayen Gulf Sagip Project, implemented by the Marine Environment Resources Foundation, started in 2002 with an Php88 million grant from the Netherlands government. It helps LGUs rehabilitate and manage Lingayen Gulf.

Funding for the project will end in December this year. Full story

Mindanao to form regional agri-fisheries chamber
11 May 2007 (Sun.Star -- A Mindanao-wide Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industries will be organized to ensure prioritization of issues affecting local agri-fisheries and food producers.

This developed after key agri-industry players met in Cagayan de Oro City for the 1st Mindanao Agri and Food Convention.

Industry members signed a declaration of commitment, vowing to work with each other and with agencies and other concerned sectors to identify and implement projects, build partnerships and expand collaboration among member-associations. Among the signatories were representatives from the Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries and Allied Industries (Caffinormin), Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries (SFFAII), Mindanao Fruit Industry Development Council (MinFruit), Paglas Group of Companies, Caraga Oil Palm Producers Association, NorMin Poultry, Higaon Tribal Council of Northern Mindanao, Greater Mindanao Mango Development Foundation, Inc., NorMin Cassaya Industry Association, Banana Industry Development Association Region 10, NorMin Producers Association and Northern Mindanao Veggies Industry Association (NorMin Veggies). Full story

Shell, Malampaya Foundation to help 500 poor fishermen, farmers in northern Palawan
11 May 2007 (PNA) -- Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI) and the Malampaya Foundation are targeting 500 families from the coastal communities in northern Palawan to benefit from "Unlad Kabuhayan" this year.

The PSFI and Malampaya Foundation are funded by the joint venture partners of the multi-million Malampaya gas project.

Faljun Paul Tatoy, project officer, said "Unlad Kabuhayan" seeks to reduce poverty in rural community by providing employment and livelihood opportunities for fishers, farmers and micro-entrepreneurs, focusing primarily on livelihood and entrepreneurship programs in fishing and agriculture.

Tatoy said the foundation has released Php 850,000 to 176 beneficiaries from the towns of Roxas, San Vicente, Araceli and Taytay.

He said that qualified beneficiaries from Magsaysay, Busuanga, Cuyo, Coron, Agutaya, Cagayancillo, Dumaran and El Nido will also receive financial assistance. Full story

ADB lauds fisheries project in N. Mindanao
17 May 2007 (Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro) -- The Asian Development Bank Mission commended the implementation of the Fisheries and Resource Management Project (FRMP) in the Gingoog and Panguil Bays in Northern Mindanao.

The ADB mission visited Gingoog and Panguil Bays in Northern Mindanao to assess the implementation of FRMP by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

FRMP ended in 2006.

The Gingoog Bay area includes Balingoan, Talisayan, Medina, Gingoog City and Magsaysay, while the Panguil Bay area covers Bonifacio, Ozamiz and Tangub cities.

These areas received livelihood assistance for seaweed production, bangus cage culture, and stilt seaweed driers, among others.

Project sustainability and profitability, as well as efficiency of coordination between BFAR and the LGUs, were among the focus of the evaluation. Full story

ARMM to intensify patrol against foreign fishing groups
Cotabato City, 02 Jul 2007 (N Katada, Manila Bulletin) — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) announced it will gradually intensify patrol operations in its territorial waters to protect the fishery resources of the region.

A multi-agency regional anti-illegal fishing joint response team has been created by Governor Zaldy Ampatuan through Executive Order No. 16 pursuant to the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (Muslim Mindanao Autonomous Act No. 86). BFAR organized a workshop in June 2007 to prepare a draft manual of operation for the joint response team.

Called the Inter-Agency Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) team, the group is composed of concerned ARMM agencies, including the Office of the Regional Governor, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Transportation and Communication, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Regional Ports Management Authority (RPMA), Regional Telecommunications Commission, Maritime Industry Authority, Regional Fisherfolk Council, Intelligence and Security Service under the Office of the Regional Governor, and BFAR-ARMM. The regional offices of national government agencies, specifically the Philippine National Police (PNP), PNP Maritime Group, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Philippine Navy, are also in the team.

Poaching by foreign fishing vessels is reportedly rampant in the southern part of Tawi-Tawi near the Malaysian border; intrusion into Sulu Sea is also said to happen periodically.

The regional MCS team is chaired by the DAF Regional Secretary and co-chaired by the BFAR-ARMM regional director. It has four operating task forces known as "Task Force Central" responsible for securing the contiguous ARMM water territories of Maguindanao, Shariff Kabusuan and Lanao del Sur; Task Force Basilan, Task Force Sulu, and Task Force Tawi-Tawi.

Each task force is headed by the provincial fishery officer, assisted by the RPMA, PCG, PNP and the Navy.

BFAR-ARMM Regional Director Keise T. Usman said the BFAR central office will reinforce the regional MCS team with the deployment of a modern patrol craft imported from Spain. The vessel will be stationed in Tawi-Tawi and will be jointly manned by BFAR fish examiners/inspectors and PCG officers. The PCG crew manning the vessel will provide the armed complement of the BFAR technical team.

RPMA Manager Alejandre Ampatuan said the creation of the regional MCS team and task forces will bolster the efforts of ARMM to exercise its rights over all its territorial waters.

Under MMAA 86, ARMM territorial waters are measured from the coastline extending seaward up to 22.5 kilometers. Within these waters are municipal waters which are reckoned from the coastline up to 12 kilometers seaward.

Governor Ampatuan said the task forces will also have deputized ports management functions, while RPMA floating operatives will reinforce the MCS task forces and those of the local government units.

Manta rays in waters off  Ticao island in Masbate lure tourists
Ticao Island, Masbate (DO Calleja, Business Mirror) — This sleepy island between Sorsogon and Masbate mainland whose territorial waters boast of being a sanctuary of manta rays, an exciting yet endangered sea creature, is eyeing a prominent place in the country’s ecotourism map.

“This is not an ambitious aspiration. In fact, we do not even intend to modernize our place to be attractive to tourists. What brings them here is the natural beauty of our island and, of course, the fabulous manta ray,” according to Benjamin Espiloy, the mayor of Monreal town, one of the four municipalities within the island.

Monreal lies at the heart of the elliptical-shaped island that stretches parallel with Ticao Pass on the north side from the boundary of Burias Pass down to San Bernardino Strait off the coast of Bulan town in Sorsogon province. The municipality is the nearest access point to a vast section of Ticao Pass considered as a Manta Bowl.

The area has been placed under government protection to preserve the endangered population of manta ray, a cartilaginous fish locally called pasa-pasa. Since the declaration of the bowl as protected area about two years ago, catching, slaughtering, selling and eating manta ray had been prohibited.

There are several dive spots within the about 48-square-mile bowl—the Rentees Reef, Coral Garden, House Reef and some more that are newly discovered and yet to be named. Every expedition could make at least 10 sightings of manta ray during the peak season, which is between December and May when the sea is calm, Marti Calleja, a dive expedition organizer, said. Outside this season, diving is difficult and risky because of strong current that develops whirlpool effects on the bowl.

Unlike the shallow seawater sanctuary of whale sharks at the nearby town of Donsol, Sorsogon, that had been regularly drawing thousands of tourists every year, the Manta Bowl is between 12 and 20 fathoms.

Although fisherfolks here are already aware that it is an endangered species considered as among the world’s priceless treasures, “illegal fishing like the use of dynamite and cyanide near or within the protected area were yet to be totally curtailed,” Espiloy said.

These illegal fishers do not necessarily come from Monreal or from the three other municipalities of the island but from as far as Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon and the neighboring Visayan areas, he said.

Mayor Helen Bunan of San Fernando town, the biggest among the four Ticao municipalities, said the local government units (LGUs) on the island are in the process of formalizing a common manta ray preservation program so that each town works in harmony with each other toward this end.

There is a long-term coastal development and management program being formulated and when finalized among the LGUs, it would provide for the establishment of a fish sanctuary, mangrove reforestation and the opening of alternative sources of livelihood for coastal families to dissuade them from illegal fishing, Bunan said.

The fish sanctuary declaration would cover not only the Manta Bowl but also the areas surrounding it, she added. Full story

ARMM creates new body to protect marine resources
General Santos City, 22 May 2007 (BS Sarmiento, Sun.Star General Santos) -- The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has created a council recently for the management and development of fisheries and aquatic resources in the area.

ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy U. Ampatuan established the Regional Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council through Executive Order No. 2 Series of 2007 to protect marine resources in the region from being exploited by foreigners.

"This will limit access to the fisheries and aquatic resources for the exclusive use of Filipinos, preferably the ARMM residents," the order reads.

The region, covering the provinces of Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the Islamic City of Marawi, is a major producer of seaweeds in the country.

The council's functions, among others, are as follows:

• Assist in the formulation of the regional policies on fisheries and aquatic resources for the approval of the regional governor;
• Assist in the preparation of comprehensive regional fisheries development plan; and
• Recommend to the Regional Legislative Assembly the enactment of fishery laws.

Full story

“Cone snail” researcher is Harvard Foundation Scientist of the Year
Filipino-American Baldomero Olivera, University of Utah molecular biologist, is Harvard Foundation’s 2007 Scientist of the Year.

Olivera is best known for his groundbreaking research with neurotoxins produced by venomous cone snails, Conus, found in the tropical waters of the Philippines. His work has led to the discovery of the pain killer Ziconotide in the 1980s by Michael McIntosh, then barely out of high school and working with Olivera. Ziconotide was developed into an artificially manufactured drug by Elan Corporation and approved for sale in 2004 under the name Prialt.

Olivera is a summa cum laude graduate from the University of the Philippines Medical School in Manila (1960). He moved to the US to take up his graduate degree in chemistry at the California Institute of Technology.

Olivera was in the Philippines recently as key speaker of the quarterly Innovation Forum organized by Ayala Foundation and Information Development Program.

Olivera said each cone snail has at least 700 compounds, each with a different potential medical use. He added his research involved only a few of the estimated 10,000 cone snail species found in Philippine waters.

“[The cone snail] is one of the least understood creatures of the sea but it may hold the key to solving many of today’s diseases,” Olivera said. Based on report by A. Villafrania, Inquirerbloggers.net 07.09.07

Seaweed processing plant opens in Shariff Kabunsuan
22 May 2007 (BS Sarmiento, Sun.Star General Santos) -- A seaweed processing plant has been established in Parang town in Shariff Kabunsuan.

Janice Musali, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-ARMM assistant director, said investments for the new alkali treatment plant reached Php5 million.

The agency is planning to put up similar plants in other parts of the region to beef up the area's seaweed production, she added.

Musali said the plant can process around four tons of alkali-treated seaweeds a day.

ARMM contributes at least 50% of the Philippines’ annual seaweed production volume for the export market.

But the country's international market share is facing grave competition from Indonesia.

In 2004, export earnings from seaweed products amounted $144 million, only 0.3percent higher than $ 143.59 million registered in 2003.

Competition from Indonesia has shrunk the Philippines’ share of the world market from 80% in 2004 to the current 68%. Full story

Bohol fishers reject oil explorers’ compensation offer
Cebu City 20 June 2007 (J Napallacan/K Bagaipo, Philippine Daily Inquirer) -- Fishermen in Bohol rejected outright offers of compensation for loss of income during oil exploration being conducted in the Cebu-Bohol strait.

Instead, the fishermen, with the assistance of local officials and different non-government organizations, went to court that the seismic survey be stopped.

Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim and 30 other petitioners representing NGOs, fisherfolk and LGUs filed a petition for certiorari, prohibition, injunction with prayer for preliminary injunction, temporary restraining order and ex-parte temporary restraining order before the Bohol Regional Trial Court.

The petition named Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-7 officer-in-charge Allan Arranguez, Energy Secretary Rafael Lotilla and NorAsian Energy Ltd. chairman Rufino Bomasang as respondents.

The petitioners said the seismic surveys in the Bohol Strait would cause "irreparable harm" to marine life as shown in different scientific studies they submitted to the court. The studies showed, among others, the effects of seismic air-gun blasts on different species of fish.

NorAsian's project description also failed to mention the effects of the seismic survey on fish affected by sounds less than 100 decibels, according to the petitioners.

They said the respondents also failed to comply with Presidential Decree 1585, which requires an Environmental Impact Statement, and other environmental laws, which the DENR and Department of Energy are (DoE) mandated to enforce and observe. Full story

“Payaos” boost fish landings in Southern Mindanao
21 May 2007 (J. Romares-Sevilla, Sun.Star General Santos) -- Landings by commercial fishers in Southern Mindanao hit 4,315MT during the first quarter, up from 2,189MT during the same period last year, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) revealed.

BFAR attributes the increase largely to the payaos or deep-sea fish shelters that the bureau installed in the area.

Municipal fish production also increased, from 6,089 MT valued at Php359.6 million during the first quarter 2006 to 10,425MT valued at Php434.2 million this year.

Value of commercial fisheries production for the quarter was estimated at Php214.1 million, up 54.7% from last year’s Php138.4 million.

Abundant catches were noted for acetes, anchovies, big-eyed tuna, frigate tuna, Indian mackerel, Indian sardines, mulle, roundscad, skipjack and squid.

To further increase fish catch, BFAR deployed 9 additional payaos in Compostela Valley. Full story

World

Environment groups want fish protected in WTO deal
Geneva, 01 May 2007 (L MacInnis, Reuters) - State subsidies that encourage overfishing should be banned under any World Trade Organisation (WTO) free trade pact, environmental groups said.

Conservationist groups WWF and Oceana urged countries negotiating a new WTO deal to back a U.S. proposal on ending incentives that have vastly expanded the size of the world's fishing industry, pressuring stocks worldwide and threatening extinction for many species.

"We are pouring billions of dollars into overfishing today. That is just madness in a world where fish stocks are depleting in every ocean," WWF Senior Fellor David Schorr said.

Total fishing subsidies, including money for things like research and stock management, are estimated at $34 billion a year, a third of the value of the sector's overall sales.

Capacity-increasing subsidies, including government supports for ships, fuel, or fishing equipment, are believed to add up to about $20 billion a year worldwide.

The U.S. proposal includes a broad ban on subsidies that encourage overcapacity and overfishing, including for the buying of fishing vessels and their running costs. It also sets limits on remaining subsidies and requires countries to disclose the assistance they give to the industry. Full story

More must be done to lift fisher out of poverty and preserve fish stocks – UN body
New York, 27 Apr 2007 (UN News) -- The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said greater efforts must be made to lift fishermen out of poverty and reduce the overexploitation of threatened fish stocks. 

“While fishing’s role in helping people in the world’s poorest communities feed themselves and stave off destitution cannot be understated, our studies reveal that despite the food and income that fishing provides many fisherfolk still live in poverty,” said Ichiro Nomura, Assistant Director-General of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. 

Fishing communities are often overcrowded and are characterized by sub-standard living conditions, with residents having low levels of education and lack of access to services, such as schools and health care, and infrastructure, such as roads and markets. Many fishers also do not have the rights to the property on which they live.

Opportunities for employments in fields other than fishing – an extremely hazardous occupation – are limited.

Due in part to their poverty and vulnerability, fishing communities also face problems such as a high rate of HIV infection. In developing countries in Africa, Asia and Central America, the rate of infection is as much as five to 14 times greater in fishing areas than in the general population.

“Stronger efforts to tackle the diverse factors underlying this reality are needed, or else these communities will simply continue to tread water, surviving from day to day, living in poverty, and not managing local fish stocks as well as they might,” Nomura said.

FAO asserts that poverty also contributes to poor fishing management, resulting in the shrinking coastal and inland fish stocks.                    “Poor people can rarely afford to defend their long-term interests of securing access to healthy fish stock,” Nomura noted.                    According to the agency, greater strides to bolster education, income and health issues in fishing communities will not only help combat poverty and social problems, but will have the added benefit of solving problems related to fish stocks.

In addition, by granting small-scale fishermen legal access to fishing sites, increasing their responsibility in managing local fisheries and providing training, the issues of poor management and stock degradation could be addressed.

ILO adopts new labor standards for fishing sector
Geneva, 15 Jun 2007 (ILO News) – The 96th annual conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted a comprehensive new set of labor standards for the fishing industry.

Delegates gave overwhelming support to new standards designed to improve the conditions of millions of men and women working in the fishing sector. The new standards contain provisions designed to ensure that workers in the fishing sector have improved occupational safety and health and medical care at sea; that sick or injured fishers receive care ashore; receive sufficient rest for their health and safety; have the protection of a work agreement; and have the same social security protection as other workers.

The Convention, to be known as The Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 and the Recommendation will come into effect when they are ratified by 10 (including eight coastal nations) of the ILO’s 180 member States. Full story

UN group seeks to increase access to financial services for poorNew York, May 30 2007 (UN News) -- A United Nations group has issued a series of key messages targeted at encouraging different audiences to boost access to financial services – from opening bank accounts to taking out loans to buying insurance – to the poor.

These messages, aimed at governments, regulators, development partners and the private sector, were formed by the UN Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors, which was created to promote financial inclusion in poorer countries.

“Access to a broad range of financial services is a significant development issue everywhere outside of developed countries,” Richard Weingarten, Executive Director of the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) said.

He noted that there are nearly three billion people worldwide who lack access to basic financial services.

The Group, in its messages, reminded governments that although increasing access to financial services is crucial, it alone will not eliminate poverty. It also called on governments to lower interest rates to ensure that prices are transparent and that the market remains open and competitive.

Regulators must ensure that laws relating to money laundering do not hinder access to financial transfers critical to the poor, the Group said, while the private sector must remember that providing services to the poor presents a considerable business opportunity.

States reach partial agreement on marine genetic resources at UN talks
New York 30 Jun 2007 (UN News) -- Countries participating in annual United Nations-sponsored talks this week on oceans and the law of the sea have agreed to some recommendations on how to manage and protect increasingly valuable marine genetic resources.

Countries attending the UN Open-ended Informal Consultation Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea recognized the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea as the legal framework for all activities in the oceans and seas.  But they disagreed on how the Convention applies to marine genetic resources beyond areas under national jurisdiction.

While the G-77 group of developing countries and China said these areas are governed by the Convention’s provisions relating to the “Area,” which considers these resources as “the common heritage of mankind,” Japan, the United States and some other developed countries said marine genetic resources fall under the provisions of the Convention relating to the high seas. The European Union argued for a middle position.

The issue of marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction will now be taken up early next year at the UN Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction.

In their recommendations, countries acknowledged that vulnerable marine genetic resources were threatened by pollution, climate change, destruction of habitats, destructive fishing practices, overexploitation and other factors. They stressed the need to support collaborative efforts to research, access and use these resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction so as to realize their potential, and emphasized the needs to share the results of marine scientific research. These recommendations will feed into the General Assembly’s resolutions on the law of the sea and sustainable fisheries.

Participants raised several related concerns. An expert from Indonesia said the country had already lost 26 islands to climate change, while several countries stressed that destructive fishing practices, and especially bottom trawling, was damaging fragile marine genetic resources. Related story

WTO members clash over how to discipline fisheries subsidies
20 Jun 2007 (Bridges Weekly Trade News) – Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) clashed over the shape of future WTO rules on fisheries subsidy spending during a 14 June meeting of the Negotiating Group on Rules. In particular, a new proposal from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan was criticized by countries that argued that far broader restrictions on subsidy payments would be necessary in order to counteract the rapid depletion of marine fish stocks.

Delegates had a similarly mixed reaction to a new paper from the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) states focusing on access fees and the industry's economic impact in the developing world.

The Japan-led proposal appealed to Members to prohibit specific types of subsidy payments as opposed to the blanket ban with some exceptions supported by countries including the US, New Zealand, and Brazil.

Japan, Korea, and Taiwan argued that this 'bottom-up' or 'positive list' framework would be enough to sufficiently lessen overfishing, and would be more workable than sweeping eliminations. Korea contended that delegates' priority was to reach consensus on fisheries disciplines, and that this proposal represented the strongest compromise. Taiwan echoed this sentiment, praising the paper for striking the right balance.

Countries including Australia, Chile, New Zealand, and the US contested this supposed 'balance' and reiterated their calls for more extensive disciplines. New Zealand asserted that the Asian nations' approach, which would permit some subsidies for building and purchasing fishing vessels, did not go far enough and failed to "follow the momentum of the negotiations." It further argued that Japan's exemption for payments to small-scale fisheries amounted to a "get out of jail free" card given that 90% of the country's fishing fleet was accounted for by ships of less than five gross tons and thus likely to fall under this categorisation. Taking a similar view, the US said the proposal contained too many loopholes enabling circumvention.

Both New Zealand and the US are members of the 'Friends of Fish' group, a loose coalition of countries that have long supported a blanket ban with a list of specific negotiated exceptions.

Some delegates fell between the two groups. Notably Norway, which has co-sponsored papers with the 'Friends of Fish' before, and the EU, which is not a member of the group, expressed support for the positive list approach but hesitation about other aspects of the proposal. Norway welcomed the proposal but expressed concern that it contained too many exemptions. The EU applauded the proposal, but criticized it for being insufficiently developed. Full story

Eating seafood guilt-free: UN agency to establish guidelines to certify fish
New York, 20 Apr 2007  (FAO News) -- As the world consumes more seafood, with an increasing proportion of it farmed in captivity, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced that it is working to create a new international standard to certify the safety and harvesting of fish.

Currently, almost half of all seafood eaten is farmed in captivity by humans instead of being raised in the wild, prompting questions about whether what is eaten is safe and whether it was produced without hurting the environment.

A certification system that is uniform across the world could verify that seafood has been harvested in a way that is healthy, socially responsible and environmentally-conscious, and to this end, FAO is mounting the effort to create a standardized framework.                    “Establishing transparent, fair and reliable certification schemes is not at all straightforward,” said Lahsen Ababouch of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Department.

Without one global standard, both consumers and producers are tasked with deciding which certification method to trust. As the number of so-called standards increase, consumers could become confused and lose confidence in the entire certification system.

“Who sets the standards? Can producers be sure they are grounded in good science? Are the out of reach of poor farmers in the developing world?” he asked. “To what extent should private-sector standards supplement governmental consumer protection policies, and how can the two be reconciled?”

Such issues, FAO said, could potentially be resolved with the creation of a uniform certification system. To this end, the agency, in collaboration with the non-governmental organization (NGO) Network for Aquaculture Centres in the Asia Pacific, has been conferring with certification organizations, producers, processors and consumer groups to establish global guidelines for the creation of a new system.

“The idea is to bring together a broad group of all the different people involved in the industry, look at what’s already being done in terms of certification, and come up with an overarching framework that can help put aquaculture certification schemes on the same page,” Rohana Subasinghe of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Department said.

While the guidelines to be set up will not be standards in and of themselves, they will help to regulate the raising of seafood by Governments, NGOs or private companies, Subasinghe added.

The first discussion among the various participants was held recently in Bangkok, bringing together 72 different groups from 20 countries.

“There was wide consensus on the roadmap that is being proposed, that certification schemes should address four main areas: food safety and quality, social impacts of fish farming on local communities, environmental issues and economic feasibility,” Ababouch said.

World body adopts new food standards
New York, 9 July 2007 (UN News) -- A United Nations commission that is the world’s highest body on food standards has adopted dozens of new and amended food standards and introduced measures to help countries establish their own regulations.

Codex Alimentarius Commission Secretary Kazuaki Miyagishima said additional regulations must be up to global standards. “It is important that the extra safety measures are taken using the same rigorous and internationally recognized principles, not only to protect consumers, but to ensure they are consistent with multilateral trade rules,” he said.

Codex developed guidelines to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter, which together cause a large proportion of food-borne diseases worldwide. If dealt with efficiently, hundreds of thousands of cases of such disease could be prevented yearly.

Codex codes adopted this year include a measure reducing contamination of Ochratoxin A, which is toxic to the kidneys, in wines; a revised standard for infant formulae, including those for special medical purposes to save babies’ lives; and a revised code of hygiene for eggs and egg products to protect people from bacteria such as Salmonella Enteritidis.

For the first time, two emerging developing countries – Brazil and Malaysia – stated their intention to contribute to the Codex Trust fund, which helps other developing countries to participate in the Commission’s meetings.

The two countries’ contribution is the first example of developing economies supplying support to others in the realm of food safety.

UN chief calls for unity against climate change, better access to resources
New York, 17 April 2007 (UN News) -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a “long-term global response” to deal with climate change, along with unified efforts involving the Security Council, Member States and other international bodies to deal with the problem of scare resources, warning that countries’ lack of access to water, energy and other essentials can lead to conflict.

“Adverse effects are already felt in many areas, including agriculture and food security; oceans and coastal areas; biodiversity and ecosystems; water resources; human health; human settlements; energy, transport and industry; and extreme weather events,” he said.

He warned that that projected changes in the earth’s climate are more than an environmental concern. “They can also have serious social and economic implications.

He pointed out that human relations are easier at times of plenty but when resources are scarce the earth’s fragile ecosystems become strained, along with “the coping mechanisms of groups and individuals,” and this can lead to a “breakdown of established codes of conduct, and even outright conflict.”

Calling for the involvement of civil society and the private sector, he said the Security Council “has a role to play in working with other competent intergovernmental bodies to address the possible root causes of conflict discussed today.”

Ban pledged the UN’s readiness to assist in this effort. “I personally look forward to engaging with Member States on these issues, and hope that through discussions in various fora, we can develop a broad consensus on the way forward,” he concluded.

Climate change affects growth of fish
27 April 2007 (CSIRO) – Changes in growth rates in some coastal and long-lived deep-ocean fish species in the south west Pacific are consistent with shifts in wind systems and water temperatures, according to new Australian research published in the United States this week.

“We have drawn correlations between the growth of fish species related to their environmental conditions – faster growth in waters above a depth of 250 meters and slower rates of growth below 1,000 meters,” said lead author, Dr Ron Thresher of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). “These observations suggest that global climate change has enhanced some elements of productivity of shallow-water stocks but at the same time reduced the productivity and possibly the resilience of deep water stocks.”

Thresher said the research – published in the latest edition of the US science journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – is based on the examination of fish earbones, or otoliths, which show similar characteristics to the growth rings used to date the age of trees. The work was done in collaboration with the Victorian Marine and Aquatic Fisheries Research Institute, which has specialist skills in analysing otoliths

Thresher said populations of large marine species are widely subject to two major stressors – commercial fishing and climate change. Heavy exploitation increases the sensitivity of species to environmental effects and could be magnifying the effects of long-term climate change and short-term climate variability on the viability of some species.

The science team examined 555 specimens ranging in age from two to 128 years, with birth years from 1861 to 1993.

Growth rates of a coastal species, juvenile morwong, in the 1990s were 28.5% faster than at the beginning of the period under assessment in the mid-1950s.  By comparison, juvenile oreos, a species found at depths of around 1,000 meters, were growing 27.9 per cent slower than in the 1860s. There was no or little change in the growth rates of species found between 500 and 1,000 meters.

Growth rates of the juveniles of the deep-water species all began decreasing well before the onset of commercial fishing.

“Modeling suggests that, with increasing global warming, temperatures at intermediate depths are likely to rise near-globally,” Thresher said. “This could mean that over the course of time, the decrease in growth rates for the deep-water species could slow or even be reversed.” Full story

Financial sector cannot ignore bioldiversity – Conservation group
Gland, Switzerland, 7 June 2007 (IUCN) – The financial sector cannot afford to ignore the risks associated with biodiversity. That is the message from a new report “Biodiversity, the Next Challenge for Financial Institutions”, published by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

The report’s author, Ivo Mulder, surveyed 26 commercial and investment banks, NGOs and other stakeholders – more than two-thirds believe the financial sector is exposed to significant reputational risk if it invests in companies which have a detrimental impact on ecosystems.

Increased pressure from NGOs, more regulations from governments keen to protect the natural environment and rising consumer expectations all mean that financial institutions must take more heed of biodiversity, the study found.

One example is the recent EU Environmental Liability Directive, which came into force on April 30. The new legislation holds companies liable for damage to flora and fauna, water resources and natural habitats and obliges them to pay for damages that cannot be avoided. The potential financial implications are significant not only for companies using these resources, but also the banks and insurance companies that service them.

A few banks already consider biodiversity risks when deciding which companies to invest in. In February 2007, Rabobank established ten guiding principles for its risk analysts – these include environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources and cruelty against animals.

But it is not all about risk, the report reassures. There are growing biodiversity business opportunities for financial institutions, such as sustainable biofuels, along with markets for ethically-certified commodities like fish, timber and organic food.

Fish feed scare highlights challenges of aquaculture boom
28 May 2007, Rome/Bangkok(FAO News) - The recent discovery that feed used on some U.S. fish farms contained the toxin melamine highlights the challenges facing the booming aquaculture sector, which today supplies some 44% of all fish consumed worldwide, according to the United Nations Fisheries and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Melamine is the same substance linked to the recent pet food recall in the United States and Canada. The convoluted way in which it ended up being fed to fish destined for human consumption underscores the difficulties involved in ensuring product safety in today's era of transnational fish production, processing and distribution networks: feed made with tainted wheat gluten produced in China was exported by a U.S. firm and sold to at least two Canadian suppliers, which in turn exported it to fish farms in the United States.

More recently, several U.S. states banned certain catfish imports from overseas after tests on frozen fillets showed that some contained blacklisted antibiotics.Giant retailer Walmart soon followed suit in all of its U.S. stores.

These incidents illustrate the importance of ensuring product safety in fish farming -- the most rapidly growing food production sector for over a decade now -- according to Lahsen Ababouch, a fish product safety expert with FAO.

"Today's global chain of fish production and supply is extremely complicated," says Ababouch. "With nearly half of all fish eaten today coming from farms, and some 12 million people dependent on fish farming for their daily income, ensuring that farmed fish products are safe to eat and of the highest possible quality is crucial."

According to Jochen Nierentz of FAO's GLOBEFISH programme FAO is particularly interested in looking at how poor small-scale farmers in the developing world can cope with increasingly stringent import standards in developed countries. Ninety-eight percent of the world's fish farmers are found in the developing world.

"Certainly, all concerns regarding food safety are legitimate. The challenge is making sure that benchmarks used to judge safety are grounded in sound science and that fish farmers, whether they be from a developed or developing country, are not unfairly disadvantaged," adds Ababouch.

The amount of fish supplied by farming has skyrocketed in recent years, says Rohana Subasinghe, an aquaculture specialist with FAO. In 1980 just 9% of the fish consumed by human beings came from aquaculture. Today 44% does, he noted.

FAO believes that responsible aquaculture is key to meeting the world's growing demand for fish and reducing pressure on stocks in the wild. Full story

Caribbean corals in danger of extinction
Arlington, Virginia, 7 Jun 2007 (IUCN) –  Caribbean coral species are dying off, indicating dramatic shifts in the ecological balance under the sea, a new scientific study of Caribbean marine life shows.

The study found that 10% of the Caribbean’s 62 reef-building corals were under threat, including staghorn and elkhorn corals. These used to be the most prominent species but are now candidates to be listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

"One of the Atlantic Ocean's most beautiful marine habitats no longer exists in many places because of dramatic increases in coral diseases, mostly caused by climate change and warmer waters," said Dr. Michael L. Smith, director of the Caribbean Biodiversity Initiative at Conservation International.

The threats to corals and other marine species include coastal pollution and human development; increased sedimentation in run-off water; thermal stress and heightened severity of hurricanes from climate change; and shifts in species dynamics due to overfishing, according to the study.  Scientists explained that the Caribbean has undergone the longest and most sustained impacts from human development since the colonization of the Americas.

Next to corals, mangroves appear to be the hardest hit. Mangrove cover in the region has declined by 42% over the past 25 years, with two of the eight mangrove species now considered Vulnerable to extinction and two more in Near Threatened  status.

Beds of sea-grasses in shallow coastal waters are in equal need of protection to safeguard the wealth of marine life they support.

Unlike corals, seagrasses and mangroves, Caribbean algae appear to be surviving well and perhaps are taking advantage of the corals’ demise. Algae thrive on dead or dying coral reefs and can overgrow and smother newly settled corals. In addition, the fishes that feed on algae are being overexploited and their reduced populations enable algae to form dense growths that prevent corals from re-colonizing.

The scientists noted that some healthy Caribbean coral reefs still exist in well-managed marine protected areas such as Bonaire Marine Park in the Netherlands Antilles.  Direct human impacts are reduced in these areas allowing most corals to thrive; however, thermal stress from global warming affects all corals in the Caribbean and must be reversed if these refuges of Caribbean beauty are to survive, they added.

European eel, sawfish added to CITES list
Extensive discussions on marine species at this year’s CITES conference of parties led to the inclusion in CITES of the European eel, which is a popular food in many countries. The eel joins a growing list of high-value fish and other marine species whose trade is managed through the CITES permit system to ensure that stocks are not depleted. This trend reflects growing concern about the accelerating decline of the world's oceans and fisheries.

In addition, trade will now be forbidden for the sawfishes, whose rostral saws and other body parts are valued as curios and in traditional medicine.

The inclusion of the European eel and sawfish in CITES was recommended by an expert panel convened by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.

FAO’s panel found that populations of sawfish and European eel both have declined significantly from historical highs, that international trade is a key driver in their overexploitation, and that management of these species in the past has typically been poor. CITES Press Release; FAO News

Japan’s coastal sardine, mackerel stocks seen plunging
10 Apr 2007 (Kyodo Times) -- Stocks of 40 of the 86 major fish species regularly caught off Japan's coasts are at low levels, and 14, including sardines and Atka mackerel, face an acute shortage, according to the government's latest evaluation compiled by Japan Fisheries Agency.

The evaluation recommends catch ceilings levels for these species. These ceilings are lower than the total allowable catch (TAC) set by the fisheries agency and the findings may spur calls for cutbacks.

"In order to make fishing a sustainable endeavor, the Fisheries Agency's TAC must be lower than the upper levels of catches worked out by scientists," said Arata Izawa, an official of the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Based on catch sizes and other data, the Fisheries Agency classified fish stocks into three levels -- low, medium and high -- and their expected changes into three -- decreasing, stable and increasing.

The evaluation found that 40 species, including sardines and chub mackerel in the Pacific and Tsushima Current, and walleyes in the Pacific, are at low levels, and 14 species show a decreasing trend. Full story

Tuna shortage shuts down fish cannery in Ghana
18 Apr 2007 (Graphic on Ghana Homepage)-- The Ghana Agro-Food Company Limited (GAFCO) shut down its Cannery Division in June because of lack of tuna fish.

The company uses special species of tuna, namely, skip jack and yellow fin, for its Sankofa canned tuna.

Yellow fin and skip jack, regarded as the best species of tuna, were reportedly not landed in Ghana. Tuna fishing companies, which are mainly foreign, are said to prefer land these species in neighboring countries and bring the ordinary tuna species to the Ghanaian market. Full story

Indian government bans deep-sea fishing in Exclusive Economic Zone
New Delhi, 16 Apr 2007 (ANI)  -- India’s Central Government banned all deep-sea fishing vessels in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country from April 15 to May 31 along the east coast.

In addition, all deep-sea fishing vessels in the EEZ have been banned along the west coast from June 15 to July 31, 2007.

Under the law of the sea, an EEZ is a sea-zone over which a state has special rights for exploration and use of marine resources. Full story

U.S. definition of illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing published
The United States’ NOAA Fisheries has published a final rule to define the term "illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing", as required by section 403 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006. For purposes of the Act, this final rule defines "illegal, unreported, or unregulated'' fishing as:

(A) fishing activities that violate conservation and management measures required under an international fishery management agreement to which the United States is a party, including catch limits or quotas, capacity restrictions, and bycatch reduction requirements;

(B)   overfishing of fish stocks shared by the United States, for which there are no applicable international conservation or management measures or in areas with no applicable international fishery management organization or agreement, that has adverse impacts on such stocks; or

(C)   fishing activity that has an adverse impact on seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and cold water corals located beyond national jurisdiction, for which there are no applicable conservation or management measures or in areas with no applicable international fishery management organization or agreement.

Nations unite to discourage trawling in South Pacific
Renaca, Chile, 7 May 2007 (AP/Pacnews) -- More than 20 nations agreed to discourage unregulated and destructive bottom trawling on the South Pacific high seas, a victory for environmental groups, Associated Press reports.

The agreement, which takes effect 30 September was intended to protect about a quarter of the world's high seas, a vast area extending roughly from the Equator to the Antarctic Circle and from Australia and New Zealand to the west coast of South America.

Observers and ship locator monitoring systems are to be used, and vessels must remain at least five nautical miles (9,260 meters) from deep-water corals and other vulnerable marine ecosystems.

The agreement reached in Renaca, Chile, follows a U.N. General Assembly resolution in December aimed at getting tough on high-seas bottom trawling, which involves fishing boats that drag giant nets along the sea floor.

The new agreement is among members of the fledgling South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization: Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Ecuador, the European Commission, Federated States of Micronesia, France, Japan, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, the United States and Vanuatu. Full story; Related story

Brunei sets moratorium to reduce pressure on marine resources
Bandar Seri Begawan, 13 Apr 2007 (Liza Mohd, Borneo Bulletin in BruDirect.com) -- A moratorium to be enforced by Brunei by January 2008 on several fishing activities within “Zone I” (three miles from shore) is expected to reduce resource pressure to 22%.

The moratorium is aimed at reversing the 43% reduction in fish resources from 1980 to 2000, particularly in Zone I at a depth of zero to 50 meters.

The steady decrease of fisheries resources indicates the occurrence of overfishing in the area, said Senior Fisheries Officer Haji Ajamain bin Haji Sawal during a Belait District roadshow on the implementation of a moratorium on fishing operations in Zone I.

Senior Fisheries Officer Ranimah binte Hj Abdul Wahab explained that the moratorium brings a temporary ban or suspension of any fishing activity in a given period of time until the full recovery of fishing resources has been achieved.

The moratorium involves putting off or freezing the issuance of licenses on new and fishing equipment exceeding the limit used in Zone I - such as ring net (ancau), trammel gill net (andang karan ), bottom set gill net (andang jarang), fish trap (bubu), shallow-water fish corral (lintau), pomfret seine net (pukat duai/ panau), beach seine (pukat ambit/kikis), barrier gill net :(pukat kembura/kuasi), cast net (rambat), tiff net (selambau) and conical tidal trap (tugu).

Fishing equipment not included in the moratorium program are handline (jaul), intertidal fish trap (kabat), deep-water fish corral (kilong), seine net penguyat), drill grill net (rantau), longline (rawai ) and barrier (tambak). Full story

Fisheries closed on China's Bohai, Yellow seas for spawning season
17 June 2007 (Xinhua) -- The fishing season ended in China’s Bohai Sea and part of the Yellow Sea at midday June 16.

At least 300,000 fishers in Shandong will be grounded during the 78-day closure of the fisheries, according to sources from Shandong Provincial Bureau of Oceanography and Fishery.

The sources said the provincial government would help people affected by the closure to find temporary new jobs.

This is the 13th time the fisheries have been closed during the spawning season. Fishing will resume on Sept. 1. The provincial departments of fishery administration in Shandong have hired 60 supervisors to monitor the fishing ban. Full story

Malaysia eyes new system to check abuses by local fishermen
10 July 2007 (Bernama>) -- Malaysia is studying the possibility of using an on-line system to help check cheating and other abuses by fishermen in Malaysia can be overcome.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said regulations under the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) would be fully enforced with the introduction of “e-nelayan” (e-fishing). Through “e-nelayan,” a fisherman going out to sea will be given a diesel quota to ensure that his catch corresponds with the amount of fuel used. If the two don't tally, the fisherman may have cheated on the amount of fuel used, he explained.

Muhyiddin said it was important to keep reminding the fishermen to land their catch at designated jetties. "[W]ith the enforcement of the new system, perhaps the sale of fuel to certain quarters in neigboring countries can be overcome," he added. Full story

India employs crocodiles to protect mangroves
18 Jun 2007 (M Kar, Kalinga Times) -- In a novel experiment, forest department personnel in the Indian State of Orissa have let loose large groups of captive bred crocodiles into water bodies of Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary to ward off human interference into the fast-depleting mangrove forest.

To stop frequent movement of villagers into the forest area, as many as 48 crocodiles have been released into the water bodies in Kharinasi and Jamboo areas of the sanctuary, said forest officials.

Crocodiles are seemingly performing the role of 'honorary forest guards' admirably in the core area of the wildlife sanctuary. The fear of marauding crocs greatly regulates the human intrusion. Now the crocs' habitat is being expanded to areas subjected to wanton tree felling, remarked the forest officials.

"We are pressing into service these reptiles for forest conversation. Once crocodiles are firmly ensconced in the water inlets, human intrusion would be greatly curtailed. Fear of croc attack would keep the human trespassers away from the water sources. As the people here take the water route to sneak into the forest, we feel the crocs may come in handy to protect the forest," observed Golakh Rout, Additional Conservator of Forest, Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife) Forest Division.  Full story

UN adopts new international agreement to protect world’s forests
New York, 28 Apr 2007 (UN News) -- After 15 years of discussions and negotiations on a global approach to protect the world’s forests, countries meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York have adopted a landmark agreement on international forest policy and cooperation following two weeks of intense negotiations.

The new agreement, although not legally binding, sets a standard in forest management that is expected to have a major impact on international cooperation and national action to reduce deforestation, prevent forest degradation, promote sustainable livelihoods and reduce poverty for all forest-dependent peoples.

For years countries debated whether to negotiate a formal treaty or a non-legally binding instrument on forest management.  But many developing countries with significant forest cover objected to any action that would compromise their sovereignty or control over their natural resources.

The resulting agreement, however, is considered a reflection of a strong international commitment to promote on the ground implementation of sustainable forest management through a new, more holistic approach that brings all stakeholders together. In addition, the agreement is expected to reinforce practical measures at the country-level to integrate forests more closely with other government policies.                    Another area of disagreement that has long plagued forest negotiations concerned a financing mechanism to mobilize funding for sustainable forest management.  The agreement calls on countries to adopt, by 2009, a voluntary global financing mechanism for forest management.

Habitat protection sought for imperiled green sturgeon
San Francisco, Calif., 18 Apr 2007 (Center for Biological Diversity) — The Center for Biological Diversity sent notice of intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service for failure to designate critical habitat and protective regulations for the southern population of the green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), an imperiled migratory fish that has survived since the Pleistocene. The Fisheries Service listed the southern population, comprised of green sturgeon in the San Francisco Bay and Delta that spawn in the Sacramento River basin, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in April 2006.

"Despite some of the lowest recorded numbers of spawning sturgeon in the Sacramento River recently and the obvious importance of habitat protection, the green sturgeon still does not have the protection it needs for conservation and recovery," said Jeff Miller, conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. "With so few green sturgeon left and the Delta food web they depend upon unraveling, it is imperative we protect critical habitat for