12 Oct 2007 - The Norwegian
Nobel Committee has recognized climate change
as the world's major challenge of the early
21st century, WWF said today.
"The award of this Nobel Peace Prize
is clear recognition for the growing global
movement to stop climate change," said
Hans Verolme, Director of WWF International's
Climate Change Programme.
"It is a token of the tremendous admiration
we all feel towards the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change for its work, and
our gratitude to Al Gore for championing
this cause."
WWF congratulates both winners and urges
others around the world to be part of the
solution by taking action to avert dangerous
climate change.
The award comes two months before representatives
from over 190 countries, together with observers
from intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, including WWF, meet in Bali,
Indonesia, to launch formal negotiations
for a global climate agreement beyond 2012.
Tuna fishing fleets in the Pacific pose
danger to wildlife at sea
11 Oct 2007 - Gland, Switzerland – Thousands
of seabirds and significant numbers of sharks
and marine turtles are being caught and
killed each year in long-line fishing nets
targeting southern bluefin tuna, reveals
a new WWF report.
Japan’s long-line southern bluefin tuna
fleet, for example, killed between 6,000
and 9,000 seabirds per year in the 2001
and 2002 fishing seasons. About three-quarters
were albatrosses and one-fifth petrels.
It is estimated that annual seabird deaths
from all southern bluefin tuna fishing could
be as high as 13,500, including some 10,000
albatrosses. Of the 22 species of albatrosses,
19 are classified as threatened with extinction,
according to the World Conservation Union.
“Southern bluefin tuna long-line fleets
are fishing blind, with little or no understanding
of their devastating impact on threatened
species,” says Dr Simon Cripps, Director
of WWF’s Global Marine Programme.
“Responsible countries must urgently implement
measures to dramatically reduce the death
toll.”
The new report — Behind the Facade: A Decade
of Inaction on Non-Target Species in Southern
Bluefin Tuna Fisheries — exposes ten years
of inaction by members of the Commission
for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin
Tuna (CCSBT), and calls for reform measures
to be agreed at their upcoming annual meeting
in Australia to stem the catch of endangered
wildlife and reduce chronic overfishing.
“Currently, the commission only requires
the use of tori poles, devices used to scare
away seabirds from fishing lines, whereas
they should be calling for a whole suite
of bycatch reduction measures to be enforced,”
adds Dr Cripps.
“CCSBT now lags well behind other regional
fisheries management organizations’ efforts
to tackle bycatch.”
The report urges members of the CCSBT to
immediately agree to mandatory requirements
for the collection and submission of data
on the impact of southern bluefin tuna fishing
on non-target species, and to ensure their
on-board observer programme prioritize the
collection of this data.
The CCSBT relies on ad hoc reporting of
bycatch data by it members. Data is therefore
piecemeal and inconsistent if reported at
all. Publicly available data for seabirds
indicates that thousands of seabirds are
killed annually by southern bluefin tuna
longliners.
END NOTES:
• Southern bluefin tuna, a migratory fish
found mainly in the southern waters of the
Pacific and Indian Oceans, is fished predominantly
by Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan
and several other Asian countries. Long-line
fishing fleets take around two-thirds of
the reported catch of the tuna species.
• Members of the Commission for the Conservation
of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) include
Australia, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand,
the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea,
Taiwan and the European Community. The CCSBT
is holding its annual meeting in Canberra,
Australia, from 16-19 October.
• Governance of the world’s oceans is characterized
by a patchwork of organizations tasked with
the conservation and management of living
marine resources. Formal cooperation between
countries through regional fisheries management
organizations (RFMOs) dates back to at least
the 1920s. There are now 16 RFMOs with a
mandate to establish binding management
measures for fisheries resources.
Brian Thomson, Media Relations Officer
WWF International
Jessica Battle, Communications Officer
WWF Global Marine Programme
