05
Jun 2008 - Two Italian spotter planes are
currently being used to provide illegal
aerial assistance to industrial tuna fleets
fishing in the central Mediterranean, in
the waters between the islands of Malta,
Pantelleria and Lampedusa – an area where
at least 28 Italian industrial tuna fishing
vessels are active, according to field evidence
obtained by WWF and Greenpeace.
The conservation organizations
denounce these new indications of illegal
fishing, which add even greater urgency
to the call for closure of the imperilled
Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery.
Aerial spotting in support
of bluefin tuna fishing activities is completely
banned in the Mediterranean by international
law, as it gives too strong an advantage
to a massive hi-tech fleet that is already
far larger than the capacity recommended
by scientists for the survival of the species
and the fishery.
“What more blatant proof
of violation of fisheries management rules
is needed?”, asks Dr Sergi Tudela, Head
of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean.
“This new case of illegal
activity in the Mediterranean bluefin tuna
fishery adds to the argument that the fishery
is out of control and must be closed now.
We also call on the EU to launch an urgent
investigation.”
Both Italian planes,
called I-GEMK and I-FINA, were already documented
by Greenpeace during the 2007 fishing season
as being engaged in illegal tuna spotting
in the same area of the southern Mediterranean.
Greenpeace documented how I-GEMK was flying
in search of bluefin tuna on 14 June 2007,
supporting the illegal activity of the Italian
purse seine vessels Ligny Primo, Luca Maria
and Maria Antonietta, belonging to the Associazione
Produttori Tonnieri del Tirreno di Salerno.
This latest evidence
of illegal fishing just adds to the litany
of contraventions observed in the Mediterranean
bluefin tuna fishery. "The oversized
industrial fleet operating in the Mediterranean
is pushing it further to catch fewer fish,"
says Aaron McLoughlin, Head of WWF's European
Marine Programme. "Subsidies are not
the right response to the crisis of a sector
affected by diminishing resources. Sustainable
fishery practices are the solution."
In late April, WWF and
Greenpeace also denounced the use of false
Bolivian and Libyan flags by pirate tuna
purse seine vessels involved in the bluefin
tuna fishery in the same area of the Mediterranean.
“These banned spotter
planes are still chasing the imperilled
Mediterranean bluefin tuna,” said Sebastian
Losada, Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace
Spain. “Marine reserves must be established
to protect the breeding areas of bluefin
tuna in the Mediterranean Sea. If we want
fish tomorrow, we need marine reserves today.”
WWF and Greenpeace call
on the European Commission and other Contracting
Parties of the International Commission
for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT,
the body mandated to ensure the sustainable
management of the Mediterranean bluefin
tuna fishery) to urgently close the fishery
– to avoid any further damage to the bluefin
tuna stock, which is in a critical pre-collapse
situation according to the international
scientific community.
Notes to editor:
- The ban of aerial spotting in support
of bluefin tuna fishing activities is set
out in both ICCAT Recommendation 06-05 and
European Council Regulation 1559/2007.
- WWF and Greenpeace have pictures proving
that the spotting planes with Italian plate
numbers I-GEMK and I-FINA were in the airport
of Pantelleria on 1 June 2008. Official
flight documents obtained by both organizations
prove that I-FINA was engaged in spotting
activities based on the island of Pantelleria
(Italy) on 31 May, whereas I-GEMK was actively
spotting tuna between the Italian islands
of Pantelleria and Lampedusa on 1-2 June.
Gemma Parkes, WWF Mediterranean
+ More
WWF earns prestigious
wetlands award
06 Jun 2008 - WWF has
been recognised for its contribution to
wetlands management and freshwater protection
by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance.
Denis Landenbergue is
being recognized for his lifelong interest
in wetlands and bird conservation, first
as a volunteer and professionally since
1989, and for his outstanding achievements
with regard to designation of Ramsar sites/protected
areas together with improved management
for many of these wetlands, especially in
Africa, South and Central America, and Asia.
Since he started working with WWF International
in 1999, Denis Landenbergue's work has led
to the designation of 84 million hectares
in freshwater protected areas between July
1999 and June 2007, mostly as Ramsar sites.
Mr Landenbergue has
also assisted many countries to become Contracting
Parties to the Ramsar Convention. To reach
these aims, Mr Landenbergue has collaborated
closely with the Ramsar Secretariat and
offered respect and constant support to
officials in charge of wetland conservation
in developing countries. He has administered
many small grants, which in turn have attracted
manifold additional funds from international
aid agencies and corporate donors. Denis
Landenbergue has supported and/or been instrumental
in launching several regional wetland conservation
initiatives. His success is due to his strong
sense of collaboration and partnership,
his talent for publicizing, praising and
encouraging the achievements of governments,
and his dedication.
East Cameroon forest
clearing – wildlife bastion
05 Jun 2008 - Natural
salt licks - On going monitoring by a WWF
team indicate that at least 50 elephants
visit the clearing on a weekly basis, along
with other animal species like gorillas
and buffaloes. These animals come around
to feed on the salt licks.
When Ikwa was discovered
in 2006 it seemed really intact – unaffected
by marauding poachers. WWF, in collaboration
with Cameroon’s Ministry of Forest and Wildlife,
decided to construct an observation tower
and a satellite camp near the clearing in
an effort to keep potential poachers away
and carry out ecological monitoring.
Refuge
In the backdrop of increasing illegal trade
in ivory, that poses enormous threats to
the existence of elephants, Ikwa seem to
play the role of the last remaining refuge.
So safe is Ikwa that elephants will not
scamper away even at the sight of humans.
Gilbert Mbwapeh, a Baka pygmy tracker, who
led a WWF team to this clearing in 2006,
stood by recently and watched as an elephant
gave birth to a calf. He remembers this
as one of the most exciting moments in his
life. “I felt like a midwife delivering
the calf from its mother. I was terrified
and excited at the same time. That was the
first time I was seeing this live and at
close range for the 50 years that I have
lived near Nki,” said Mbwapeh.
Mixed Feelings
Hikers to the area – mostly conservation
staff are also likely to encounter several
gorillas on the way. “Often we encounter
gorillas and chimpanzees, some of which
come out of their hiding places to catch
a glimpse of us. Sometimes they want to
attack or play with us,” says Ndinga Hilaire,
WWF Park Assistant for Nki.
Leonard Usongo, WWF Jengi programme manager
has mixed feelings about this wildlife abundance
and behaviour. “It will be catastrophic
if poachers have access to this area because
these mammals will be easy targets since
they are generally not scared of human presence,”
asserts Usongo. At the same time he notes
it is encouraging to note that parts of
Nki remain like the last bastion of biodiversity
in the region.
Nki National Park covers a surface area
of 309.365ha and harbors rich flora and
fauna, with an increasing number of forest
elephants, estimated at about 3.000, and
a relatively stable population of chimpanzees
and gorillas. However, poaching pressure
on the northeast and trans-boundary poaching
in the southeast of the park are posing
increasing threats to the wildlife population.
