MIXED FORTUNES FOR CETACEANS (12 Aug 08) The latest global assessment of cetaceans shows that the marine mammals throughout the world's oceans have experienced mixed fortunes. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reveals that some large whale species, including the humpback, are now less threatened with extinction. The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) has moved from Vulnerable to Least Concern, meaning it is at low risk of extinction, although two subpopulations are Endangered. The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) has also moved to Least Concern. Despite the improvement in status of these two species, the assessment revealed deterioration in the status of others. Overall, nearly a quarter of cetacean species are considered threatened, and of those, more than 10% (nine species) are listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered, the highest categories of threat. In addition, two subspecies and 12 subpopulations are listed as Critically Endangered. The IUCN added that it was unable to assess more than half of the world's cetaceans because of a lack of data.

UK SEABIRDS FAIL TO BREED YET AGAIN (14 July 08) Early reports of seabird breeding performance on RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) Scotland's coastal reserves indicate continuing problems for the United Kingdom's internationally important population of seabirds. Guillemots, kittiwakes, puffins and other seabirds are suffering, with nests abandoned and empty cliffs which should now be teeming with thousands of nesting birds at this time of year. Worryingly, evidence suggests these repeated annual breeding failures are now substantially reducing populations of certain species, with some experiencing massive population declines in recent years at cliffs that used to support huge colonies. A shortage of fish caused by overfishing and possibly climate change is thought to be to blame.

'UNSUSTAINABLE' SEAL HUNT TO BEGIN (30 June 08) The annual cull of Namibia's Cape fur seals begins tomorrow. During this year's season — from July 1 to Nov. 15 — seal hunters will be allowed kill 6,000 adult males and 80,000 pups, a quota that remains the same as last year, said Moses Maurihungirire, director of resource management at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources. Maurihungirire said that the seal population is healthy and not at risk of extinction, despite the fact that the stocks have not been properly assessed since 1996. The government has said the seal hunt protects its fish stocks because seals consume 900,000 tons of fish a year, which is more than a third of the fishing industry's catch. The hunt also provides revenue from skins, fur and meat, and creates 149 jobs, Maurihungirire said. But activists from Seal Alert South Africa said the country's seal population is no longer sustainable. Francois Hugo, of Seal Alert, said a colony on Cape Cross island was wiped out during last year's hunting season.

PUFFIN NUMBERS DROP BY 30% (4 June 08) A dramatic drop in the population of puffins at their main North Sea breeding site has alarmed scientists. After almost 40 years of breeding success puffin numbers on the Isle of May have plummeted by 30 per cent. It is not known whether the sudden decline is merely a blip or whether the tiny iconic bird has joined the list of sea birds in long term decline in the North Sea. The sudden drop in numbers was revealed in a survey carried out every five years on the island off Scotland's east coast by scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. The disappearance of the sand eel due mainly to industrial fishing by factory ships in the North Sea is believed to be one of the main factors in the puffin's decline on May.

ICELAND AND NORWAY RESUME WHALE MEAT EXPORTS (3 June 08) 60 tons of Icelandic finback whale meat from 2006 has been sent to Japan. Norwegian minke whale meat was shipped over in the same delivery. Kristján Loftsson CEO of Hvalur ehf, an Icelandic company that arranges the marketing of Icelandic whale meat, said there is a demand for whale in Japan and that he had received a good price for the meat, Fréttabladid reported. The Icelandic ministry of fisheries policy on whaling was that they would not issue whale quotas unless there was proof of demand for whale meat. The Icelandic Minister of Fisheries, Einar Kr. Gudfinnsson, says it is too early to decide if a further quota will be administered or how large it could be. Seven finback whales were caught in 2006, but according to the Icelandic Marine Research Institute, the total stock could sustain a quota for 150-200 finbacks each year.

BUSHMEAT OF THE OCEAN (12 May 08) Most of us have seen the pictures, some of the world's most endangered animals being sold in markets across Africa as bushmeat. Gorillas, chimps, monkeys and wild cats, no animal is safe from this destructive trade. Logging in areas of pristine tropical forest has created a network of new roads which give the hunters easy access to their prey in parts of Africa that may previously have taken weeks to reach. Suprisingly perhaps, a similar situation can be found in markets across the US, Europe and Asia but instead of gorilla, chimp and serval you will find grouper, tuna and cod. Instead of logging companies you have equally ruthless fishing concerns, whoes hunters are the bluewater trawlers and longliners. How can you compare a grouper with a gorilla? I hear you say. Well according to the highly respected IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) there are three species of grouper that are critically endangered (calico, goliath and black) one level higher than the endangered mountain gorilla. It seems that we are quite happy to tuck into an endangered marine animal whilst we reel in horror at what we perceive to be the barbarity of the African bushmeat trade, well here's a warning, that monkfish you had for supper last night is the bushmeat of the ocean, once plentiful, but now a rare and endangered wild animal.

CLIMATE-CHANGE LOSERS (28 April 08) A recent study has measured the sensitivity of Arctic marine mammals to climate change. The study found that the three species most vulnerable to climate change are the hooded seal, the polar bear, and the narwhal: the common thread between these species being the loss of sea ice. The study points out that many Arctic species are well-adapted to environmental changes, due to seasonal extreme, and have survived past climate-changes. Yet, according to Sue Moore of the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association), this time is different: "the rate and scale of current climate change are expected to distinguish current circumstances from those of the past several millennia. These new conditions present unique challenges to the well-being of Arctic marine mammals."

WHALERS 'SEVERELY DISRUPTED' (15 April 08) Japan's whalers began arriving home Tuesday as authorities prepared to investigate high-seas clashes with Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace that prevented the fleet from killing almost half its intended catch. Japanese officials said they were considering legal action against the conservation groups that disrupted the five-month Antarctic voyage. But they declared the mission a success despite the lower-than-expected haul, vowing to continue the annual hunt despite diplomatic pressure by anti-whaling countries led by Australia. Escorted by patrol boats, the 8,044-tonne Nisshin Maru mother ship with 143 crew on board docked at a heavily guarded Tokyo port early Tuesday. The fleet of six vessels killed a total of 551 whales, less than its original target of about 950 whales including 50 humpbacks.

PROTECTION FOR 20% OF UK WATERS? (3 April 08) Up to 20 per cent of British waters could be closed to activities such as fishing and oil exploration to protect threatened species under a Bill due to be published in draft. Research carried out for the Government by the University of Bangor shows that a network of reserves covering 14-20 per cent of British waters would be enough to protect declining species such as the angel shark, porbeagle and common skate. However, marine conservation campaigners have said that the Bill was unlikely to provide sufficient powers to prohibit damaging activities such as scallop-dredging from sensitive areas and will repeat the errors of the past, with Government allowing short-term commercial interests to compromise much-needed long-term protection and sustainability.

30% OF NORTH SEA SHOULD BE PROTECTED (20 March 08) Conservationists are urging the Government to create five protection zones in the North Sea and to ban fishing in them to give fish stocks a chance to recover. Commercial stocks including cod, haddock, turbot and monkfish would be among the species that would most benefit, but a fishing ban would aid the entire ecosystem, according to a report published today by the WWF. Other wildlife expected to flourish would be seabirds, seals, dolphins and the rare angel shark. The common skate, once abundant but now all but gone from the North Sea, might even reestablish itself as a commercial species. The protection areas, which would cover a total of 5.08 per cent of the North Sea, should be trailblazers for a network that conservationists hope will eventually cover 30 per cent of the region, say the researchers.

'EXTINCT' PETREL REDISCOVERED (7 March 08) A bird not seen for almost 80 years has been rediscovered in the Pacific to the delight of conservationists. Only two records of Beck's petrel existed previously, from the late 1920s when Rollo Beck, an ornithologist, collected two of the tube-nosed seabirds on a quest for museum specimens in the region. Now, an expert on a ship in the Bismarck Archipelago, north-east of Papua New Guinea, has photographed more than 30 Beck's petrels. Young birds were amongst the group indicating that the birds have a breeding site close by. Hadoram Shirihai, an ornithologist from Israel, led the two-week voyage last summer an account of which is published in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.

OCEAN MAP REVEALS HUMAN DAMAGE TO OUR SEAS (15 Feb 08) Dr Ben Halpern, of the University of California, presented these new findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference in Boston yesterday. Dr Halpern said: "This project allows us to finally start to see the big picture of how humans are affecting the oceans. "The big picture looks much worse than I imagine most people expected. It was certainly a surprise to me." Activities and impacts included in the study include fishing, ocean acidification caused by pollution, temperature change, species extinctions and invasions, and the shipping, oil and gas industries. The researchers developed models to quantify and compare how 17 human activities affected marine ecosystems.

SALMON FARMING DECIMATES WILD SALMON (12 Feb 08) Salmon farming operations have reduced wild salmon populations by up to 70 per cent in several areas around the world and are threatening the future of the endangered stocks, according a new scientific study. The research by two Canadian marine biologists showed dramatic declines in the abundance of wild salmon populations whose migration takes them past salmon farms in Canada, Ireland and Scotland. "Our estimates are that they reduced the survival of wild populations by more than half," Jennifer Ford, lead author of the study published Monday in the Public Library of Science journal, said in Halifax. "Less than half of the juvenile salmon from those populations that would have survived to come back and reproduce actually come back because they're killed by some mechanism that has to do with salmon farming."

KRILL - THE NEXT FRONTIER OF MARINE EXPLOITATION (29 Jan 08) As populations of once plentiful pelagic fish become exhausted many of the boats equipped to fish for these species are starting to turn their attention to krill. Krill are a shrimp like animal that are said to represent the largest biomass on Earth. Krill fishing briefly peaked in the 1980s when the Soviet Union caught 500,000 tonnes per year but declined significantly with the fall of Communism. However with severely over-exploited fish stocks and an increasing demand for fish oils and food for the Aquaculture industry the krill fishery is expected to boom in the next few years. Companies like Aker BioMarine are developing new technology that can deliver a stream of live krill onto a vessel and is converting a second vessel for krill catches, alongside its existing Saga Sea. The company says it will be able to catch 200,000 tonnes of krill a year in the near future. It is reckoned that catches could rise to 1 percent of the total biomass of krill, or 5 million tonnes a year if the total was 500 million tonnes. Scientists say little is known about krill stocks and as a keystone marine species - they are the favoured food of whales, penguins, fish and seabirds - large scale exploitation could have dire consequences for the marine ecosystem.

PORPOISE ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION (16 Jan 08) An international research team, including biologists from America's NOAA's Fisheries Service, reported in the scientific journal Conservation Biology, that the estimated population of vaquita, a porpoise found in the Gulf of California, is likely two years away from reaching such low levels that their rate to extinction will increase and possibly be irreversible. Scientists believe only about 150 vaquita remain. The group assessed the number of vaquita based on past estimates of abundance and deaths in fishing nets together with current fishing effort. Approximately 30 vaquita drown each year in the Gulf of California when they become entangled in nets set for fish and shrimp.

MARINE ANIMALS STARVING BECAUSE OF LACK OF FISH (2 Jan 08) The European Commission’s annual proposals for industrial fisheries, such as sand eel and sprat, highlight that seabirds, whales and other marine animals may be finding it difficult to find the food they need to survive. Industrial fisheries pursue these important fish species not for human consumption, but to provide fish meal and oil for rearing livestock and farmed fish. Dr Euan Dunn, the RSPB’s head of marine policy, said: ‘The Commission says that the lack of small oily fish, such as sprat and sand eel, in the North Sea is cause for concern. These species should only be allowed caught when scientific evidence proves the stocks have replenished enough to sustain the fishery, as well as providing enough food for seabirds.’ In recent years there have been unprecedented breeding failures of sand eel-dependent seabirds. It is also thought that the lack of sand eels may be causing harbour porpoises to starve around northern Scotland, and may also be linked to a decline in seal numbers.

UK MARINE RESERVES TAKE SHAPE (20 Dec 07) Public consultation has begun on proposals to extend protection for marine life around Britain. Seven areas, totalling 10,000sq km (4,000sq miles) of sea, have been earmarked as sites for the UK's first offshore Special Areas of Conservation. They include habitats of important sea life, such as sandbanks, sand volcanoes and cold water coral reefs, found in the seas surrounding the UK. Currently, only coastal and inshore areas are protected. The government says areas rich in wildlife further out to sea face a different kind of threat. Jonathan Shaw, the minister for marine, landscape and rural affairs, said: "The UK has one of the richest marine environments in the world. We want to bring conservation standards at sea up to the level of those that we have on land, to give greater protection to sea life". The first reserves are now expected by 2012.

AQUACULTURE THREAT TO PACIFIC SALMON (14 Dec 07) Wild salmon on Canada's west coast are being driven to extinction by parasites from nearby fish farms, a study claims. Wild pink salmon around the Broughton Archipelago are declining rapidly and will die out within 10 years if no action is taken, say researchers. They say the data, published in Science, raises serious concerns about the global expansion of aquaculture. Sea lice from farms are known to infect wild salmon, but until now the impact on wild populations has been uncertain. "The impact is so severe that the viability of the wild salmon populations is threatened," said lead researcher Martin Krkosek from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

EU FAILING TO PROTECT FISH STOCKS (5 Dec 07) The European Union has no real idea of how many fish its national fleets catch each year and is failing to clamp down hard on vessels that exceed national quotas, the EU financial watchdog said on Tuesday. The Court of Auditors said unreliable data on catches, weak inspections with no proper deterrent, as well as general fleet overcapacity were threatening fish stocks. For many species including cod, stocks had been hard hit by years of heavy exploitation. "Catch data are neither complete nor reliable and the real level of catches is thus unknown," an ECA report said. It criticized EU governments and the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, for not doing enough to enforce the rules and stop the overfishing -- a phenomenon that international scientists have warned the EU about for years. "If this situation continues, it will bring grave consequences not only for the natural resource, but also for the future of the fishing industry and the areas associated with it," said the analysis of the EU's six major fishing countries: Britain, Denmark, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.

MARINE RESERVES REDUCE POVERTY (30 Nov 07) Marine reserves, co-managed by local communities, can help alleviate the impact of poverty, a study suggests. Research into four successful schemes showed that getting villagers involved in protection projects reduced harmful overfishing and protected incomes. Average incomes of people who had established no-fish zones were more than double those who did not have protected areas, the authors found. The researchers produced the report for the Nature Conservancy, a US group.

OCEAN OBSERVATION SYSTEM IS NEEDED (25 Nov 07) The Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) says warming seas, overfishing and pollution are among profound concerns that must be better measured to help society respond in a well informed, timely and cost effective way. “A system for ocean observing and forecasting that covers the world’s oceans and their major uses can reduce growing risks, protect human interests and monitor the health of our precious oceans,” says Dr. Tony Haymet, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, USA, and Chair of POGO’s Executive Committee. “The world community resolved to construct a comprehensive, integrated ocean observing system two decades ago. The good news is we have demonstrated that a global ocean observing system can be built, deployed and operated with available technologies. Now we must move from experiment and proof of concept to routine use". The cost of an adequate initial system would require investment estimated at $2-3 billion.

DUMPING OF FISH IS "IMMORAL" (20 Nov 07) UK Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw has agreed that dumping thousands of tonnes of dead fish back into the sea because of EU fishing quotas is "immoral". He said he supported the view of EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg and would be pushing for quota increases. The fishing industry has warned it faces ruin because fish caught after quotas are exceeded have to be dumped. But environmentalists say quotas are absolutely necessary to protect stocks, and want to see a change in fishing practices.

MEDITERRANEAN SHARKS IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION (16 Nov 07) A report released today by the IUCN (World Conservation Union) reveals that the Mediterranean region has the highest percentage of sharks and rays threatened with extinction in the world. The report found that 42% of shark and ray species were threatened, and said that overfishing and bycatch were the primary causes. Claudine Gibson, Programme Officer for the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and co-author of the report said "Our analyses reveal the Mediterranean Sea as one of the world's most dangerous places on Earth for sharks and rays. Bottom dwelling species appear to be at greatest risk in this region, due mainly to intense fishing of the seabed."

SHELLFISH THREATENED BY ACIDIC OCEANS (5 Nov 07) By the end of the century many popular seafood dishes will disappear from our tables as shellfish become increasingly scarce, scientists warn. They have found that the build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is causing the oceans to grow more acidic as increasing amounts of the gas dissolve in sea water. This change is reducing the ability of shellfish to make their protective shells. By 2100 some waters are expected to be corrosive enough to cause the shells to dissolve completely, making it impossible for them to survive. Marine biologists warn that this could have a devastating effect on the ocean environment, as other creatures that eat shellfish will find food increasingly scarce while corals, which make reefs, will also be unable to build their hard external skeletons. Dr Carol Turley, from Plymouth Marine Laboratory, will tell a conference of doctors at the Royal Society of Medicine that climate change is likely to have a profound effect on human ability to use the oceans as a source of food.

EXPERTS CALL FOR INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON OCEANS (26 Oct 07) Marine policy experts are warning that threats to the world's oceans are undermining its ability to sustain life. They call for an Intergovernmental Panel for the Oceans to better inform policy-making, much in the same way as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) currently does. "Overfishing, destructive fishing practices, such as high seas bottom-trawling and other extractive activities have already resulted in serious declines in fish stocks and marine biodiversity," said Kristina Gerde, High Seas Policy Advisor to the World Conservation Union (IUCN). "The only way to make progress is through an ongoing and concerted international effort."

USA CALLS FOR FIVE YEAR TUNA BAN (18 Oct 07) The USA has called for the complete ban on bluefin tuna fishing in and around the Mediterranean for five years. Only 6 percent of thebluefin's original Mediterranean and east Atlantic stock remains, according to some scientists, as the industry faces surging demand for sashimi (raw fish) from Japan. The fish is one of the Mediterranean's top predators, weighing up to half a tonne and capable of accelerating faster than a sports car. William Hogarth, Director of the US fisheries service, NOAA, said in a statement he would ask the autumn meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) to implement a moratorium over the fishery for three to five years.

COD QUOTA SHOULD BE CUT BY 50% (16 Oct 07) The European Commission and the Fisheries Ministers must heed the warning launched today by the scientists of ICES (the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) to give North Sea cod stocks a chance to recover, according to the international conservation organisation WWF. For 2008, ICES scientists have recommended to limit catches in 2008 to less than 50 per cent of the 2006 catches in the North Sea, Eastern Channel and Skagerrak. If cod populations are to have any chance of recovering from historically low levels there is a need to ensure that juveniles survive to reproduce and that mature fish are able to spawn, WWF says. This needs a range of management measures such as real time closures to avoid capture of juveniles plus seasonal or area closures to protect spawning fish. There will also need to be improvements in how selective fishing gear is in order to reduce levels of discarding in associated fisheries. Deployment of independent observers on board to monitor catches will be critical to the success of such an approach, the organisation adds.

MARINE BILL ANGER (8 Oct 07) Conservationists are furious that the UK Government is under an international obligation to establish a network of marine protected areas by 2010 yet in an unpublicised section of a White Paper it has admitted this will not now happen before 2020. Two environmental groups are questioning the adequacy of the Government's statement that it will publish a draft Marine Bill next Easter but still has no parliamentary slot for it. This is despite there being all-party agreement that a Marine Bill is urgently needed and it being one of Labour's manifesto commitments during this parliament. Joan Edwards of the Wildlife Trusts said: "This Government doesn't seem to see it as a priority at all. It is a matter of 'when convenient' rather than a job that needs doing. "Our frustration is why should other Bills, such as the Planning Bill, get priority. This Government seems to be about making development happen faster at the cost of the environment."

JAPAN'S DALL'S PORPOISE SLAUGHTER (25 Sept 07) Japan kills 20,000 small whales, dolphins and porpoises annually including 16,000 Dall's porpoises which are killed in hand-thrown harpoon hunts in northern Japan. The Environmental Investigation Agency says this is the largest cetacean hunt in the world. Despite protests from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) the Japanese government has refused to intervene. The Japanese have turned to the hunting of smaller dolphins and porpoises following the worldwide ban on commercial whaling introduced in 1986. As a result the catch of Dall's porpoises quadrupled from 10,000 in 1985 to more than 40,000 three years later. The EIA says hundreds of thousands have been slaughtered since.

36 THREATENED ALBATROSS KILLED BY LONGLINE FISHING VESSEL (21 Sept 07) An urgent call for action has been made after shocking reports that a single longline fishing boat in the Chatham Rise area of New Zealand was responsible for the deaths of 36 albatross globally threatened with extinction. Twelve of the birds drowned by the vessel were critically endangered Chatham albatross (thalassarche eremita) - a species more threatened than the giant panda, mountain gorilla or snow leopard on the IUCN's red list. Twenty-four vulnerable Salvin's albatross (thalassarche salvini) were also killed.

90% OF UK FISH STOCKS WILL DISAPPEAR WITHIN 20 YEARS (17 Sept 07) Ninety percent of British fish stocks will disappear within 20 years if they are not given immediate protection, a leading marine researcher claimed yesterday. Prof. Callum Roberts claims that the "endgame is being played out" with the remaining fish in the seas and that they are doomed without radical measures to save them. He told the British Association for the Advancement of Science conference in York that fishing quotas needed to be scrapped and extensive no-fishing zones put in place in one-third of British waters. He also recommends that Fisheries ministers should be stripped of their powers and the responsibility for protecting stocks given to an independent science led body.

DEEP SEA LIFE NOT IMMUNE FROM CATASTROPHE (10 Sept 07) A study of the most remote forms of life on Earth has found that their splendid isolation on the deep seabed will not protect them from environmental catastrophes on the surface. Scientists used to believe that a global disaster that wiped out most of the life on Earth would not touch the unusual organisms that live around the mineral-rich vents on the sea floor. But research by a team of British scientists has found that even these deep-sea creatures which live in total darkness and survive on the chemical energy oozing from mineral vents on the seabed are not immune from the seasonal changes above. "I used to think that life on the deep ocean-floor environment is pretty much quarantined from what happens in the sunlit world up here thanks to their chemical energy supply," Dr Copley will tell the British Association's Science Festival today. A study of a species of tiny shrimp living around deep-sea vents has found that they produce microscopic larvae as part of their lifecycle and that when these larvae migrate they have to rely on food coming down from the sunlit waters above. So the animals living on the deep seabed have to time the hatching of their eggs to coincide with spring blooms of microscopic plant life growing at the surface – a link that has been overlooked.

DAMAGING THE SEA-BED AN OFFENCE? (4 Sept 07) The Crown Estate, one of the UK's largest property owners and the public body which owns the sea-bed is not looking after its biodiversity, according to new research carried out at the University of Bristol. In a paper published in the Journal of Water Law, Tom Appleby, a Research Fellow from Bristol University's School of Law, examines the current dispute between fishermen and environmentalists on the management of Lyme Bay, an area of the English Channel owned by the Crown Estate. The research focuses on the competing rights of commercial scallop dredgers fishing in Lyme Bay, who use a technique that involves dragging steel bags with sprung-loaded teeth across the sea-bed, and the ownership rights of the Crown Estate, which the research suggests should be doing more to protect its property. According to the report, the dredging technique has damaged the reef of Lyme Bay, home to a variety of marine species. Many of these are attached to the sea-bed including a protected species called the pink sea fan coral. Currently nearly all fishing (commercial and recreational) in UK waters is permitted by ancient unwritten rights. The Crown Estate's sea-bed is covered by a range of different legislation including the 2006 NERC Act which states that every public authority must, in exercising its functions, have regard, so far as is possible, to the purpose of conserving biodiversity.

TWO THIRDS OF FISH CAUGHT ARE THROWN BACK DEAD (27 Aug 07) Devastating new evidence of the wastefulness of modern commercial fishing techniques has been revealed in a study by UK Government scientists. The study of the amount of the catch in British waters that is “discarded” because it is too small or the wrong species found that almost two thirds of the fish caught are thrown back over the side dead. Scientists estimated that a total of 186 million fish weighing 72,000 tons was caught by English and Welsh commercial fishing vessels in the English Channel, Western Approaches, Celtic and Irish Seas between 2002 and 2005. Of this total catch, 63 per cent of the fish, weighing 24,500 tons, were thrown back over the side. Few if any of these fish would survive because trawling ruptures their swim bladders.

ICELAND STOPS COMMERCIAL WHALING (25 Aug 07) Iceland has stopped commercial whaling after whalers could not find a market for the meat. The fisheries minister, Einer K. Guofinnsson, said it made no sense to issue new qoutas if the market for whale meat was not strong enough. He said he would not issue a new quota until the market conditions for whale meat had improved and permission to export whale products to Japan had been secured.

YOUNG'S SEAFOOD 'FISH FOR LIFE' SWITCH (17 Aug 07) As part of its 'Fish for Life' programme Young's has switched 21 of its core ready meals to MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certified seafood over the past few months. This means as many as 35 million Young's ready meals a year will now be made with MSC fish. All these meal products (15 frozen and six chilled) are now made with either MSC wild caught Alaskan pollock, or Alaskan salmon or Cape hake from South Africa. Included in the sustainability drive are Young's two flagship products Ocean P