Scottish government drops plans for Highly Protected Marine Areas: The Scottish government has said that controversial plans for protected marine areas around the nation’s coastline will not now go ahead. Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) were set to be established across 10 per cent of Scottish waters by 2026, but strong criticism from communities and parts of the fishing industry has seen the Holyrood drop the plans. While no areas were ever designated, representatives of the Scottish commercial fishing industry claimed that the plans were poorly thought out, based on weak evidence and said that there had not been sufficient engagement with coastal communities. Angus MacPhail, a creel fisherman who works in the Outer Hebrides was quoted in the Guardian as comparing the plans for HPMAs to the highland clearances and said that both fishing communities and the wider employment which relies on commercial fishing, such as net makers and schools attended by fishermen’s children, would all be badly affected by the scheme. The divisions over the HPMA have seen splits emerge within the SNP, with many MSPs – including former leadership contender Kate Forbes – voting against the scheme in the Scottish parliament. It is unknown if a different scheme will replace the HPMAs in some form in the future. Read more on this story by clicking here.
Dolphins, whales and seals being “failed by UK government policy”: An article in this month’s Guardian has stated that the UK’s marine mammals are being failed by government policies which do not offer them enough protection. A report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) committee said that the UK government was still making trade deals with counties such as Japan, Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands which continue to hunt whales. Furthermore, other factors such as entanglement in fishing gear and disturbance through offshore drilling were having a major impact on marine mammals, with poor data collection on cetacean deaths meaning that the actual number of dolphins, whales and seals being killed could actually be much higher. Conservative MP Sir Robert Goodwill, who is chair of the Efra committee was quoted in the Guardian as saying: “We are rightly appalled when magnificent whales or defenceless seals are deliberately slaughtered. We can and should do more to stop this as … snarling these beautiful creatures in fishing gear wreaks a far greater toll … We must stop this industrial-scale killing. We owe it to our generations to come.” Click here to read more.
Army veteran rescued from Rockall after thirty-two days: Cam Cameron, a former soldier who now works as a teacher, has failed in his bid to set a new record by living on Rockall for sixty days. Rockall – a tiny, uninhabited rock outcrop – is located in the North Atlantic, over 200 miles from the British mainland. Cameron had planned to live on Rockall for sixty days and break the previous record of forty-two which was set by adventurer Nick Hancock in 2014. But declining weather conditions meant that he had to put out a distress call on the thirty-second day due to declining weather conditions. Cameron still becomes only the sixth person ever to spend a night on Rockall and to put this achievement into context twelve people have walked on the moon and 6,000 have climbed Mount Everest. Read more on the BBC website here. The Telegraph also ran an article on this story which looked at the fishing-related politics around Rockall. Cameron insisted that his aim was to challenge himself and raise money for charity, and not reinforce claims that Rockall is a possession of Britain. While Britain has claimed Rockall since 1955, Ireland has stated that Rockall does not belong to any nation and has fished in the waters around Rockall for decades. Since Britain left the EU the Scottish government has been claiming a twelve-mile zone around Rockall as British territorial waters and in 2021 an Irish fishing boat was blocked from entering the waters of Rockall by a Marine Scotland vessel. Read more about the dispute here.
Fishermen fined for using electrical currents: A group of ten fishermen have been fined more than £20,000 for catching razor clams by illegal electro-fishing. This method of fishing uses electrical arrays which are towed behind a vessel causing shellfish to pop out of the seabed where they can be easily collected by divers. It is a much more efficient way of fishing than divers hand-collecting alone, but can quickly de-populate entire areas of shellfish. Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) spend five years on an investigation into the company Daniel Turner Marine & Forestry Ltd, with the IFCA stating that the electrical equipment was dropped overboard by the crew when the company’s vessels were stopped for inspections. After the long investigation, it was only in May of this year that the majority of defendants changed their pleas to guilty. Several were given conditional discharges but some were fined up to £5,500 plus additional costs. The sentencing of two individuals has been delayed until September when evidence of their financial details will be presented to the court as there is the potential that assets they have gained through criminal activity will be confiscated. Read more on this story by clicking here.
US fishing team misses out on $3.5 million: A team taking part in a fishing tournament missed out on a multi-million dollar prize after the marlin they brought back to shore was classed as being “mutilated.” The crew of the Sensation took part in the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament and fished off the coast of North Carolina, catching a 619lb marlin after a six-hour fight. The Sensation was live-streamed returning to the harbour in Morehead City and there were cheers as the marlin was hoisted up in front of a large crowd. But it soon became clear that the marlin had been bitten by a shark and had a visible wound on its tail section, meaning that under the rules of the tournament, the shark was ineligible as a catch and the crew would miss out on the prize money. IGFA (International Game Fish Association) guidelines, which the tournament bases its rules on, state that any fish which is injured or damaged will not be able to reach its full fighting potential and will therefore be disqualified as a catch. The crew of the Sensation missed out on $2.7 million (£2.2 million) in prize money plus an additional $700,000 (£550,00) bonus for catching a marlin over 500lbs. The crew of a boat called Sushi instead won the main prize with a 484lb blue marlin. Sensation captain Greg McCoy was quoted by CNN as saying: “We worked hard, we felt like what we did was incredible with this fish, we knew we had won the tournament,” he said. “I knew that fish was gonna destroy the other fish on the leaderboard weight-wise, and that’s exactly what it did. We followed all the rules. There was nothing nefarious or cheating or anything like that on our part. We feel like it was taken away from us.” It was also reported that the team had hired an attorney to try and overturn their disqualification. Read more on this story by clicking here.
Half of England women’s fishing team quit in trans row: Three of the six women who make up the England women’s sea fishing team have quit after a trans woman was permitted to join the lineup. The captain of the team, who has now quit, said that the transgender angler had advantages over the female-born anglers, saying: “This is such an advantage, with the ability to cast longer distances than any woman. They have the capability of doing this while using more powerful equipment, such as stiffer and more powerful rods. Not to mention the extra strength she has wading in and out of the surf or walking through mud and rocks, and the stamina to keep this going for four or five hours … I have no grudge personally. This is an advantage to our team, but we find it totally unfair to other nations.” Similar rows have taken place across different sports with some claiming that it is unfair that transgender athletes can compete against female-born competitors. Read more by clicking here.
Chip shop cod and haddock could be replaced with American species: A story in this month’s Daily Mail said that British cod and haddock which are usually sold in fish and chip shops could be replaced with fish imported from America due to rising prices. Although it has fallen from a high of £250, cod is still costing £206 for 18 kilograms (40lbs), a situation which is exacerbated by potatoes also increasing from £8 to £25 for 25 kilograms (55lbs). This may force Britain’s 10,500 fish shops to switch to cheaper species to avoid fish and chips becoming unaffordable for consumers. Species such as Pacific perch and rockfish which are found on the west coast of America could be used to replace cod and haddock. The war between Russia and Ukraine is the cause of much of the price rises as there are now tariffs on Russian whitefish caught in the Barents Sea. Read more on this story by clicking here. In a related story, which may prove that fish and chip shops are economising on their portion sizes, the dimensions of fish served at a takeaway this month made national news. Stephen Varley, 65, went to a fish and chips shop in Ockenden, Essex where he was served fish and chips costing £9.60 from an establishment called Fish n Chickn. The fish portion was only four inches long and went viral across social media and news outlets. Mr Varley said that he had been going to Fish n Chickn for thirty-five years and had never had reason to complain before, but left on this occasion in “disbelief.” Read more on the GB News website here.
Research from Mexico shows protected areas increase stocks: An article in the Guardian has pointed to research from Mexico which shows that protecting areas from commercial fishing does not reduce catches. A four-year study of the Revillagigedo national park in the Pacific Ocean to the west of Mexico saw an area covering 147,000 sq km (57,000 sq miles) protected from commercial fishing. The study’s authors concluded that “Large, fully protected MPAs [marine protected areas] can contribute to a more sustainable and equitable use of the ocean, without major economic repercussions on the fishing industry” and said that this dispelled the “myth” that such areas meant that commercial fishermen caught fewer fish. Mexico’s commercial fishing industry had claimed that the area would reduce their catches by 20 per cent. However, the author’s made it clear that the Revillagigedo protected area was sited far from land and the factors which had made it a success would not be replicated in areas close to land and that each protected area needed to be tailored to local requirements. Click here to read more on this story.
Marine heatwave could see mass fish mortality: A severe marine heatwave could see a mass die-off of marine life in British and Irish waters this summer. Sea temperatures off certain areas such as the north east coast of England and parts of Ireland are the highest ever recorded for this time of year, while the North Sea and the Atlantic are at temperatures which are higher than average. The El Nino weather phenomenon, which affects sea temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean but has global impacts, will see the seas around Britain and Ireland continue to warm as the summer continues. Dr Dan Smale of the Marine Biological Association told the Guardian that the marine heatwave “is unprecedented and possibly devastating. Current temperatures are way too high but not yet lethal for the majority of species, although stressful for many … If it carries on through summer we could see mass mortality of kelp, seagrass, fish and oysters.” Research published in 2019 found that the amount of marine heatwaves was increasing with three times as many heatwave days happening in the last four years compared to the previous average. Read more on this story here.
China accused of plundering African fish stocks: Small-scale artisanal fishermen from African nations such as Ghana are having their catches decimated by distant-water vessels from China. The article, in the Telegraph this month, said that the large and technologically advanced Chinese vessels were not only outcompeting the local African vessels but were also deliberately capsizing the boats of African fishermen and destroying their nets. A Chinese vessel can catch five times as many fish as a traditional African fishing boat and fish stocks along the entire west coast of Africa – where many people are subsistence fishermen – are being wiped out. The claims of the African fishermen are backed by science with a 2019 study finding that stocks of anchovies, sardinella and mackerel were only 40 per cent of what they were in 1993. Chinese vessels have been fishing in African waters since the 1980s when China’s own fish stocks began to decline. Today the Chinese fishing fleet, which may number as many as many as 17,000 vessels, continues to fish in the waters of developing nations with some vessels staying out at sea for years, supported and refuelled by motherships which also change crews and take catches back to China. Read more on this story by clicking here.
Threats facing the world’s marine environment highlighted on World Oceans Day: June 8th was World Oceans Day with UN Secretary-General António Guterres marking the occasion by calling for greater protection of the world’s seas and oceans. He said that climate change, along with overfishing, ocean acidification and pollution were the major threats. Mr Guterres said that “We should be the ocean’s best friend. But right now, humanity is its worst enemy” although he added that “the tides were turning” as action was being taken to protect the oceans. This included the global target to protect 30 per cent of ocean, coastal and land habitats by 2030. Read more on this story by clicking here.