SSACN - Tagsharks » Campaigns

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: Related posts:Scottish Sharks End Shark finning Spanish prohibit capture of thresher and hammerhead Related posts:

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”