12 Feb 2008
- As a service to the long-term sustainability
of both fish stocks and fishing communities,
WWF has established an online resource providing
up-to-date information on bycatch (the capture
of non-target creatures in fishing gear)
and how to reduce it.
The new website, accessed
through WWF’s familiar www.panda.org portal,
aims to take fishers, consumers and those
simply concerned, through the whole bycatch
story, from problems to proven or potential
solutions.
“Bycatch costs fishers
time and money,” said Amanda Nickson, Head
of WWF’s Bycatch Initiative. “It contributes
to the already critical problem of over-fishing,
it jeopardizes future revenue, jobs and
long-term food security.
“It is also a major
killer of marine wildlife. How many more
reasons do you need to change the way we
fish?”
Each year, many millions
of tonnes of marine animals such as turtles,
whales, dolphins, sharks, and seabirds,
right through to juvenile fish, corals,
crabs and starfish etc are caught by modern,
indiscriminate yet highly efficient fishing
gear and thrown back into the water (‘discarded’),
dead or dying.
In the tropical shrimp
trawl fisheries, for example, bycatch may
outweigh the shrimp catch by 20 to 1 or
more, according the UN Food and Agricultural
Organization.
Much of this bycatch consists of juvenile
and low-value fish which are then often
discarded, usually dead. Such wastages constitute
a serious mismanagement of our valuable
ocean resources. In many cases, however,
bycatch can be reduced with modifications
to fishing gear, which according to Nickson
makes “the ongoing high level of bycatch
unethical”.
“It's time to change
- and we hope this site and the resources
we've provided will help us all contribute
to bycatch reduction," she said.
The new site maps where fisheries are working
to reduce bycatch and includes a new searchable
database that showcases bycatch solutions
through fishing gear modifications. WWF,
which is devoting major new resources to
tackling this problem in key fisheries,
is confident the new site will become an
invaluable source of information for everyone,
including fishers, politicians, technical
experts, journalists and interested members
of the public.
The site is found at www.panda.org/bycatch
+ More
A Watershed for Conservation - WWF and Thailand
Celebrate World Wetlands Day with a New
Protected Site
02 Feb 2008 - Protecting
an ecologically important mash and the livelihoods
it provides are top priorities for WWF and
several governmental agencies in Nong Khai.
On February 2nd they will join together
and celebrate World Wetlands Day by putting
Goot Ting Marsh on the map as an internationally
significant Ramsar Site.
The Ramsar Convention
on Wetlands is an international treaty for
cooperation in the conservation and wise
use of wetlands. Recognized as the first
global treaty of its type, it was signed
in Ramsar, , in 1971. joined in 1998 and
is one of 155 countries participating in
the Convention. WWF has supported and participated
in Ramsar since its inception.
Goot Ting Marsh is gaining
Ramsar recognition for its high biodiversity.
The site is home to more than 120 species
of freshwater fish including: the endangered
Giant golden barb. The World’s third smallest
living vertebrate, the Dwarf minnow, is
native to Goot Ting.
Over 100 bird species also occupy areas
around Goot Ting. An estimated 3,000 Lesser
Whistling Teals and Gargeney live on its
shores. Endangered species such as the Baer’s
Pochard, the Hen Harrier and the Western
Marsh Harrier are also present.
“The Ramsar committee’s
acknowledgement of Goot Ting Marsh as a
protected site, is proof of the marsh’s
value. To join Ramsar a wetland must be
very important in terms of biodiversity
and as a source of living for local communities,”
said Dr. Chavalit Vidthanyanin, WWF’s ’s
Senior Freshwater Biologist.
The area’s human inhabitants
have long been aware of Goot Ting’s significance.
Some 23,000 villagers in 40 communities
live around the marsh. They and their ancestors
have made a living off its bounty for centuries.
Various products, such as the traditional
delicacy ‘Pla Ra’ or fermented fish, sustain
Goot Ting’s people throughout the year.
An official survey in 2006 found that 33,541
kilograms of fish, plus thousands of tons
of shrimp and edible marine plants were
collected from the marsh. In the area’s
three largest villages - Nong Fang Daeng,
Don Ho, and Huay Kam Phaeng - most families’
income derives from the marsh.
“If local villagers
whose living depends on the marsh are engaged,
they will help preserve and use it in a
sustainable way,” said Dr. Chavalit.
His philosophy is shared
by the villagers. “My family and all villagers
here have received direct benefits from
Goot Ting for years. Almost everything the
marsh provides is important to our survival.
We collect water plants to eat daily. Some
types of weeds are used to weave as a sleeping
mat which we can sell,” said Thongsoon Khamrat,
a villager at Ban Non Som Boon. “To have
Goot Ting announced as an important place,
makes us glad and inspires us to protect
it for our children.”
Mr. Yanyong Sricharoen,
Manager of WWF’s Community Management of
Wetlands in and the Mekong River Basin Project,
revealed that there will be a parade event
organized by private and governmental offices
in the province. Students and local people
who live around Goot Ting Marsh will arrange
games and competitions to celebrate the
marsh’s Ramsar recognition. A round-table
discussion about conservation between local
villagers, government officials and NGOs
will also take place.
“In recent years, excessive
fishing and chemical use near the water
have threatened Goot Ting. In response,
WWF officers have sought cooperation among
all stakeholders including government and
private sectors involving the use of the
marsh. Things are improving.” said Mr. Yanyong.
Goot Ting Marsh will
become the newest of 12 Ramsar sites in
. Festivities will take place at Beung Karn
School, with Nong Khai’s governor presiding..
Nong Khai is the only province in that contains
2 Ramsar sites. The other is Khong Long
Lake, which was recognized in 2001.
WWF has been working
in Nong Khai Province since 2005 through
its Regional Participatory Wetlands Management
Project. The Project’s main objective is
to support local communities as they manage,
preserve, and utilize the wetland’s natural
resources in a sustainable way.
Napaporn Yuberk, Assistant Marketing &
Communications Manager, WWF
Dr. Chavalit Vidthanyanin, Senior Freshwater
Biologist, WWF
