SSACN - Tagsharks » Campaigns

Historic Scotland marine consultations

sharkman — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:23:13 +0000

Historic Scotland has launched public consultations on:

a strategy for the protection, management and promotion of marine heritage 2011-16, and
guidelines for the selection, designation and management of Historic Marine Protected Areas (Historic MPAs).

The guidelines set out how they will apply the provisions in the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 relating to Historic Marine Protected Areas; the strategy sets out Historic Scotland’s priorities for the period 2011-16.

They would greatly appreciate it if you could take some time to provide your thoughts on these documents.

The consultations are available to download together with ‘respondent information forms’.

Should you choose to respond, it is important that you complete and return a ‘respondent information form’ with your comments, because it tells them how you want your response to be treated.

You can email the form if you are responding on-line, or alternatively, you can post the form to us along with your written comments.

The consultations close on 27 January 2012.

EC to stop shark finning

editor — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 10:00:04 +0000

Finning consists of cutting off and keeping the fins of sharks while throwing the shark body overboard to die.

The European Commission wants to eradicate the practice of shark finning completely from EU waters and fishing vessels from the EU wherever they operate in the world.

The practice has been banned by EU legislation since 2003, but the current system makes control difficult and compliance hard to ensure. To strengthen the existing legislation, the Commission asks the scientific community, the industry, Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), NGOs and all interested parties to give their views over a 12 week consultation period starting today.

The received input, as well as the latest scientific knowledge from across the world, will feed into a proposal for a new, more effective EU law to stop the practice of shark finning completely to safeguard sharks, many of which are under serious threat.

Shark finning is prohibited by regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) and is illegal almost all over the world. The practice contributes to the excessive mortality and stock depletion of several species of sharks, many of which are already under serious threat. This is why back in 2003 the EU adopted Regulation no 1185/2003, which bans finning and regulates the on-board processing of sharks and which applies to all vessels fishing in EU waters and to all EU vessels, wherever they operate.

But the illegal practice of shark finning is continuing because fins can be worth dozens of times more per kilo than the rest of the shark meat. As on-board storage space is limited, there can be a strong incentive for fishermen to get rid of carcasses and only keep the fins.

Since then, however, it has become clear that under the current system controls cannot be 100% accurate. The fishing sector, NGOs and RFMOs all agree that the legislation should be revised; and last year the Commission committed to such a revision in its Action Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.

As to the new approach, several potential solutions are envisaged. The consultation document published by the Commission presents the main options that are currently being discussed by experts worldwide. Interested parties (fishermen, scientists, industry representatives, RFMOs, stakeholders and members of the public) will have eight weeks to express their opinion and select their preferred option. The consultation will close on 21 February 2011.

The results of the public consultation will feed into the process of policy development, as will the recommendations of competent scientific bodies, for the production of a new piece of legislation to come out during the first half of 2011.

For more information:
Consultation Website

Report highlights Spurdog stock issues

editor — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 10:06:00 +0000

A Background Document on the Spurdog Squalus acanthias has been developed by OSPAR following the inclusion of this species on the OSPAR List of threatened and/or declining species and habitats (OSPAR Agreement 2008-6).

The document provides a compilation of the reviews and assessments that have been prepared concerning this species since the agreement to include it in the OSPAR List in 2008.

The original evaluation used to justify the inclusion of S.acanthias in the OSPAR List is followed by an assessment of the most recent information on its status (distribution, population, condition) and key threats prepared during 2009-2010.

Chapter 6 concludes – This species is seriously depleted by fisheries throughout the OSPAR Maritime Area. Management is now being introduced in line with ICES advice and fishing pressure is falling significantly in several OSPAR Regions. Despite this improved management, the scarcity of large mature females will result in continued poor recruitment for many years and very slow population recovery. S. acanthias is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as “Critically Endangered” in the North-East Atlantic.

Chapter 7 provides recommendations for the actions and measures that could be taken to improve the conservation status of the species.

Sharkatag recognised in World Ocean’s Day debate

editor — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:57:09 +0000

Stuart McMillan MSP, (SNP) recently spoke in the Scottish Parliament chamber to promote the upcoming World Oceans Day which raises awareness of the oceans of the world and encourages their sustainable development and protection.

World Oceans day was formally established last year by UN to occur on June 8th of every year. The 2nd Annual World Oceans Day is to be celebrated next week.

In the following Members’ debate, Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): congratulated Stuart McMillan on securing the debate and as part of her contribution to it went on to highlight the issues associated with sharks and the work of SSACN with a focus on Sharkatag, saying…..

“At least 30 species of shark occur in UK waters. Some are resident off our coasts all the time; others are migratory. Half of British shark species appear on the red list of the IUCN—the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources—which assesses species’ risk of extinction. Sharks are vulnerable, because their development, both before and after birth, is slow, meaning that they mature very slowly and grow slowly. They also have few young, so they are highly susceptible to overfishing, either for their meat and fins or as bycatch.

“Organisations such as the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network believe that more effort should be made by Government and fisheries managers to protect shark species. The network’s argument for that requires to be backed up by evidence, which is why the SSACN has organised the Scottish shark tagging programme. The next event, Sharkatag 2010, takes place during the weekend of 18 June in the western Solway.

“Last year’s event in the Solway tagged 222 sharks, which at first seems a reasonable figure, although the majority were immature females, with a small number of larger females—and the male breeding stock that would have been expected was absent across the region. In addition, only a handful of rays were tagged. Twenty years ago, mature rays and tope were plentiful in that part of the Solway. The good news for humans in Dumfries and Galloway—in contrast to the sharks—was that, of the 175 sea anglers who registered for the event, 90 per cent came from outwith the region and over a third from outside Scotland, so the event was shown to contribute to the local economy.”

Stuart McMillan MSP’s Parliamentary motion;

S3M-05940# Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (Scottish National Party): World Oceans Day— That the Parliament recognises World Oceans Day 2010 on 8 June and congratulates the United Nations for designating a day with the aim of improving the health of the world’s oceans; considers that lobbying by the Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network encouraged the UN to officially recognise 8 June as World Oceans Day; acknowledges that there will be events to mark the date across the world and hopes that communities across Scotland may take part or organise their own events; further considers that the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, Scotland’s first such Act, goes a long way in improving awareness and responsibility for the sustainability of Scotland’s seas and hopes that the events on 8 June will take up this message; hopes that the theme of the day, Our Oceans, Our Responsibility, will be widely spread, and wishes World Oceans Day much success in future years.

Supported by: Dr Alasdair Allan, Aileen Campbell, Shirley-Anne Somerville, Dr Bill Wilson, Gil Paterson, Sandra White, Maureen Watt, Kenneth Gibson, Joe FitzPatrick, Robin Harper, Brian Adam, Dr Elaine Murray, Mike Pringle, Sarah Boyack, Jamie Hepburn, Linda Fabiani, Liam McArthur

Lodged on Thursday, March 11, 2010; taken in the Chamber on Wednesday, June 02, 2010

MPA and Conservation Strategy Responses required

editor — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:06:50 +0000

With the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 now in place, the Scottish Government is now in the business of implementing the act.

The Government’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) Guidelines and Marine Nature Conservation Strategy are out for consultation at the moment, both with a deadline of June 4^th.

SSACN will of course be responding to these consultations as, no doubt, will representatives from other recreational and conservation groups and obviously many representatives from the commercial sectors.

The consultation documents may be found at MPA Guidelines and Marine Nature Conservation Strategy.

This once-in-a-generation Act needs to be implemented in such a manner as to reflect the interests of the general population and not just those of the dominant commercial sector lobbies; consequently we urge everyone to respond as individuals to ensure the full spectrum of voices is heard by the Scottish Government.

Scottish finning permits

ssacn — Sat, 09 May 2009 13:24:56 +0000

The following question was raised in the Scottish Parliament by John Scott (Ayr) (Con) :

To ask the Scottish Executive how many permits it has issued in each of the last five years to allow the finning of sharks in Scottish waters.

Answered by Richard Lochhead: Permits have been issued, as follows, to Scottish registered fishing vessels which are part of the Anglo-Spanish fleet:

Allow spurdog to recover

ssacn — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:28:00 +0000

Speaking during today’s debate in the Scottish Parliament on sea fisheries, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment John Scott MSP said:

“I would like to say a word about another under threat species – the Spurdog. The Cabinet Secretary will know that the European Commission are proposing a Total Allowable Catch of zero for this species. While well intentioned, the effect of such a move would be to guarantee the discarding of any Spurdog caught as by-catch – not something I would welcome.

“The fact remains however that Scotland’s once thriving Spurdog stocks have been decimated in recent years and are in dire need of recovery.”

Having raised the matter with Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead during the debate, Mr Scott said: “I salute the sterling work of the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN) who have begun their own Spurdog tagging programme in an effort to fully awaken the Government to the urgency of the situation facing this species.

“I therefore call on the Cabinet Secretary to take the specific steps necessary to ensure that Spurdog catches are kept to an absolute minimum and that the biomass of the stock – currently on the brink – can be restored to sustainable levels.”

NWWRAC attempt to change 5% rule

ssacn — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:26:00 +0000

Commercial fishermen within the NWWRAC (North Western Waters Regional Advisory Committee) wrote to the EU to try and have the 5% spurdog bycatch rules changed allowing them to catch more of the species.

Fortunately the Commission has declined this request with a distinct change of language which should be welcomed as it now appears they are taking on board others views by stating “I understand that there is a strong divergence of opinion within the RAC between the catching sector and the other sectors.”

This understanding looks good for further shark protection measures proposed for EU shark community plan of action (CPOA) which is due later this year.The commission also used the ICES advice as a reason for not having a change of heart

The letter to the RAC finally concluded ….”In the meantime however the 5% by-catch is the main management measure that will discourage fishers from targeting spurdog aggregations, given that effort reductions have been less than originally anticipated. The 5% by-catch limit is clearly a necessary incentive”