05
March 2009 - Rome, Italy — We've just presented
evidence to the Fisheries Committee of the
UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)
that the Spanish company Vidal Armadores
S. A., despite being involved in pirate
fishing, received over 3.5 million Euros
in Spanish government subsidies. On top
of that, the company is still getting help
from the Spanish government in securing
contracts and licences to fish in other
countries.
Pirate fishing - known
by its less colourful name: illegal, unreported
and unregulated (IUU) fishing - costs the
world US$4 billion annually and leaves communities
that depend on fish without much needed
food and income.
In the Southern Pacific,
pirate fishing for the prized Patagonia
toothfish (also known as "sea bass")
has driven the species to the brink of commercial
extinction. Illegal fleets catching the
remaning toothfish here are predominantly
controlled by northern hemisphere transnational
crime syndicates.
Off the radar
Vidal Armadores is currently
running a fleet of at least five vessels
in the Southern Ocean, at least three of
which are blacklisted by the Commission
for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine
Living Resources (CCAMLR). The Commission
– part of the Antarctic Treaty System -
manages fishing activities in the Southern
Ocean. It blacklists vessels for engaging
in pirate activity or failing to respect
conservation measures, and the 24 member
states agree not to buy fish from blacklisted
vessels.
But when a blacklisted
vessel transfers its catch at sea to another
ship, who is to know? In 2007, CCAMLR estimated
that pirate vessels caught more than 3600
tonnes of toothfish and killed more than
8000 seabirds.
In April 2008, New Zealand
inspectors documented that the Namibian-flagged
Paloma V had been involved in illegal transshipments.
It was blacklisted by CCAMLR as a result.
The inspection revealed that the vessel
was operating together with other ships
in the Vidal fleet including the blacklisted
North Korean-flagged Chilbo San 33 and Black
Moon, as well as the Spanish-flagged Belma
and Galaecia.
Despite this, Spain
signed an agreement with Namibia in 2008
that gave the Belma access to Namibian fishing
grounds, and has provided Vidal Armadores
with other assistance in securing contracts
and licenses.
Hook them and book them
We are calling on all
countries participating in the Committee
on Fisheries in Rome to take the evidence
presented to them seriously and urgently
work towards closing the loopholes that
these operators use to avoid controls.
Vidal Armadores is not
alone - fishing companies around the world
use transshipments and loopholes to evade
the law.
We need bodies like
the UN FAO to support strong regulations
involving the ports that these ships enter,
create a global record of fishing vessels
and to urgently reduce commercial fishing
to a sustainable level. It is simply a matter
of political will to deliver the kind of
enforcement that is needed to protect the
marine environment and the communities which
depend upon it.
And in the case of Vidal
Armadores, we want to see the Spanish government
take real action to stop ocean plunder -
they can start by asking for their subsidies
back. Then they can prosecute any Spanish
nationals that were captains or masters
of the ships. Then they can revoke all Vidal
Armadores' licenses and stop helping them
get contracts.
+ More
CeBIT launch of climate
leadership challenge
03 March 2009 - International
— Schwarzenegger says they're "whining",
Gartner says they're "sleepwalking".
IT industry chiefs can help usher in a new
low-carbon era, if only they would lead
by example and lobby governments for a strong
climate agreement in Copenhagen. That's
what our new IT Climate Leadership Challenge
is for.
IT industry leaders
could be climate leaders too
We're getting IT companies to make greener
electronics. Philips' recent transformation
to a green leader in the electronics sector
shows what public pressure can achieve.
Now we need to get the
industry's heavyweights onto their feet
and into the ring, so they help us fight
the causes of climate change!
IT companies need to
address their own carbon footprint, which
is currently as large as the aviation industry's
and growing. That's not enough though. Their
influence with governments could be used
to counter the lobbying of dirty old industries,
intent on wrecking the Copenhagen negotiations.
Challenging all the
big names in IT
We've laid down the challenge to the CEOs
of Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, Google, HP, IBM,
Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, Panasonic, Sharp,
Sony, Sun Microsystems, Toshiba, and Sharp.
Go to the IT Climate
Leadership Challenge homepage
You know how this works
IT companies like to do the right thing
when they know that consumers and competitors
are watching.
Building on our quarterly
Guide to Greener Electronics, we will be
periodically evaluating responses from the
companies and will be highlighting those
company CEOs who are stepping up to the
Climate Challenge and showing true climate
leadership in 2009 and beyond.
Wise words
Gartner - Low Carbon & Environmental
leadership report:
"2008 has seen the emergence of some
low-carbon 'leaders' in the ICT industry.
They are just starting to wake up to the
risks and opportunities of climate change,
and move beyond pushing a more energy-efficient
device. However, on the whole, the industry
been sleepwalking toward a low-carbon economy.
2009 will see rapid progress."
Governor Schwarzenegger
at CeBIT 2009:
"Losers whine but winners move forward
in a strong and powerful way and I know
that everyone who is here at the CeBIT is
a winner!"
