Monday 10 December 2007

Cutting total catches increases profitability

Research is showing that fishermen will make even more profit than thought if they let stocks rebuild.

The simple reason is that when stocks are plentiful they become easier and cheaper to catch.

This is not rocket science but is a departure from traditional fisheries management, where the maximum highest sustainable catches are set so as to not deplete stocks.

The research shows that there would be higher profits if stocks were kept at a higher level.

"We calculate that we should be conserving about 65% of the virgin biomass whereas at the moment we're down to about 30%."
Source:BBC (Quentin Grafton, Australian National University,Canberra

This is good news for those of us that want to see marine biodiversity maintained.

The full report from the BBC can be found http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7127761.stm

Thanks to Charlie for passing this on

WWF-HK starts a shark fin campaign

WWF Hong Kong has launched a shark fin campaign on the 3rd December, aimed at highlighting the
  1. Most shark fisheries are poorly managed and unsustainable.
  2. Huge wastage, 90-95% of the shark is disposed of after the fins are cut off.
  3. 20% of the 546 shark species on the IUCN redlist are threatened with extinction.

Consumers should stop eating shark fin and restaurants should stop selling it.

The full story can be found Click HERE

Thursday 6 December 2007

Fish don't have many friends

This is so true...
we all love polar bears and tigers, flamingos and eagles but how many friends do fascinating fish have?

Thanks to Dr. Martin for passing me this.

Hong Kong marine species struggling to survive

A recent study and press release from WWF-Hong Kong highlights the plight of some of Hong Kong's favourite marine species, including the green turtle, horseshoe crab and chinese bahaba.

Also worth noting is :

"the dire situation facing the globally Critically Endangered Chinese Bahaba and locally depleted Hong Kong Grouper, both well-known edible fish in Hong Kong, were largely unknown to the general public. Mr Alex Fong, Ocean's 10 Ambassador of WWF Hong Kong said, "The polling results show charismatic marine species such as the Chinese white dolphin and Green turtle have received far greater public attention than commercially important fishes"

Sounds like a familiar story. There is a need to focus on better protection not only on individual species but the setup and real complete protection of a variety of marine habitats.

The story from WWF can be found here: http://www.wwf.org.hk/eng/pressreleases/20071115.php?source=eNews200711_1