Environmental NGOs propose several priorities to ensure that European aquaculture develops in an environmentally responsible manner. To minimise the environmental impacts of aquaculture the priorities are to ensure sustainable sourcing of feed, to avoid escapes by adopting technical standards, to minimise biodiversity impacts and to reduce the impact of chemicals and medicine use. To fill the knowledge and data gaps, more research and data collection are needed regarding the effects of aquaculture on wider ecosystems. This should underpin the development of measurable targets and indicators. Also aquaculture governance needs to be improved, to ensure early and effective stakeholder and public participation and the integration of environmental legislation. Innovative production processes such as integrated multi-trophic aquaculture and aquaponics should be supported and encouraged. Public funding needs to be focused and accountable and environmentally responsible trade promoted.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) has entered a crucial implementation phase, as countries are now developing the programmes of measures to maintain or achieve good environmental status for marine waters by 2020.
Fisheries in Community waters are managed under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The CFP was born in 1983 and suffered a significant review in 2002. This resulted in an increased emphasis on the reduction of the environmental impacts of fisheries, but by 2007 the CFP was still widely regarded as a failure.
There is no easy way to tackle the issue of marine litter: it is complicated and has many causes, impacts and inputs. As a high percentage of marine litter comes from land based sources, EU legislation is possibly the best way to address the problem and look for solutions.
The Port Reception Facilities (PRF) Directive is due to be reviewed by 2014, and Seas At Risk has been working with IEEP to identify how the Directive can be improved to effectively tackle a significant source of marine litter.
The Port Reception Facilities (PRF) Directive is due to be reviewed by 2014, and Seas At Risk has been working with IEEP to identify how the Directive can be improved to effectively tackle a significant source of marine litter.
Civil society organisations from across the EU are today calling on EU Member States to up their level of ambition and tighten marine litter reduction targets with the aim of ending the marine litter problem within a generation.
At the Fisheries Council meeting yesterday, EU Ministers spoke out in support of a discard ban despite a concerted effort by France and Spain to get rid of the proposal in the ongoing reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. Ministers also took the first formal step of agreement on aspects of the CFP reform by adopting conclusions on the external dimension.
Environment groups are this week pushing for the UN’s International Maritime Organisation to support tough new rules for ships using polar waters.
After heated negotiations going on until the early hours, EU Fisheries ministers have finalised their negotiation position on the discard ban and some other aspects of basic regulation of the CFP, outlining a pretty dire approach to resolving the problems associated with discards and overfishing.
In advance of the December Fisheries Council meeting and where fishing limits for 2013 will be set, SAR and FISH are calling on EU Fisheries Ministers to follow scientific advice and set limits that enable the EU to rebuild fish stocks to sustainable levels.
This week will see the European Parliament vote on the most important file on the reform of the CFP and Fisheries Ministers will set next year’s fishing limits. In advance of the Fisheries Council meeting, SAR and FISH are calling on Ministers to follow scientific advice and set limits that enable the EU to rebuild fish stocks to sustainable levels.
EU countries are not being ambitious enough in implementing the Marine Directive, national targets for 2020 are too weak and there are major shortcomings in coordination at the international level. These are the key findings of a survey held among European NGOs earlier this year.
Two recent economic studies show that the costs associated with temporarily reducing or halting fishing to allow stocks to recover are far outweighed by the economic benefits of healthy fish stocks.
At the October Council meeting, European Fisheries Ministers have reached a provisional agreement on the future of EU fisheries subsidies, setting aside €975 million for controversial subsidies that maintain or increase the current overcapacity of fishing vessels and thus contribute to overfishing.
This position paper is a reaction to the recent European Commission’s Communication on Blue Growth, which ‘drives forward the Commission's Integrated Maritime Policy and launches a process which will place the blue economy firmly on the agenda of Member States, regions, enterprise and civil society.’
Environmental NGOs wish to express their concerns regarding some of the priorities set in the Blue Growth Communication and to contribute alternative ideas in shaping a truly sustainable blue economy.
Working alongside partners in the Clean Shipping Coalition, Seas At Risk and T&E have made a proposal to the International Maritime Organisation that could help break the deadlock in discussions on market-based measures to reduce the shipping sector's GHG footprint.
After an 18 hour negotiation marathon a scandalous lack of ambition has led ministers to backtrack on previous commitments and sanction another decade of overfishing, environmental destruction, and the loss of fisher jobs and livelihoods.
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