Blogger: Adam Murray, Communications Officer
I have always had it drummed into me that when I have my fish and chips at the beach that I should not go for haddock and cod. Someone once told me that they are just as endangered as chimpanzees – and for those that know my affinity for primates this has always disturbed me. However, as I have said it is always good to assume nothing. So I have been having a look around the web and came across our good friends at the Marine Conservation Society. They have a great website that tells you all about the best tasty fish to put on your plate www.goodfishguide.co.uk/ Digging deeper, and trying to look into the ecosystem approach to conservation, it is more and more apparent that the issue doesn’t just stop with fish. Even though birds are mobile, just as mobile as fish I should point out, they still need to be brought into the equation. Luckily, this is being considered as you can see from the following extract from an MCS report: http://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/fisheries/Joint_position_doc_CFP.pdf
The UK based NGOs WWF, Greenpeace, the RSPB, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), ClientEarth, NEF (the new economics foundation) and OCEAN2012 – a broad alliance of organisations, including development and environment organisations, divers, commercial and recreational fisher organisations as well as research institutions and aquariums – seek to promote a reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) which is built on the following guiding principles. The reformed CFP must:
Prioritise ecological sustainability:
The CFP must give clear legal primacy to the principle of ecological sustainability, so that Europe can meet both its environmental commitments and its social and economic objectives in the long term.
Be integrated with other European marine and environmental policies, in particular the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the Habitats and Birds Directives and the Water Framework Directive:
In order to do so the CFP should incorporate clear commitments to meeting MSFD objectives and tools that allow the proper management of fishery resources taking into account the marine, and, where relevant, aquatic or terrestrial ecosystems. These will include the creation of Marine Protected Areas and Marine Reserves which should be incorporated into the fisheries management strategies.
Require the application of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management in all fisheries management scenarios/contexts:
In practical terms, it should require Member States to take into account multi-species interactions and minimise the impacts of fishing on wider ecosystem functions and conditions. This must include any habitat degradation and mortality of non-target species (other fish species, birds, marine turtles, etc.). Management measures should be taken in the context of fisheries level long-term management plans that take account of the MSFD requirements to co-ordinate strategic management of European marine regions.
Next time you are eating your fish and chips by the seaside this summer and are inspired to find out more about this area of conservation take a look here.
Photo Credit: Adam Murray