Posted on 16 September
2011 Halifax, Nova Scotia: After decades
of little hope in what was once one of the
world’s major fisheries,
Atlantic Cod is showing signs of recovery
on the Grand Banks off the coast of Canada.
But WWF is warning that fisheries managers
must not rush to reopen the cod fishery
that has been under moratorium since 1994.
The Atlantic cod population on the Grand
Banks, southeast of Newfoundland, is showing
the early signs of improvement, according
to a report by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries
Organization’s (NAFO) scientific council
in 2010.
But although the current
course for recovery of southern Grand Banks
cod is positive, it is still just 21 per
cent of what is considered to be a sustainable
level for the stock.
Ahead of the annual meeting of NAFO on September
19th in Halifax, Nova Scotia, WWF is warning
that fisheries managers must first finalize
the promising interim cod conservation plan
developed by NAFO over the past year.
“It’s an encouraging sign after decades
of seeing little-to-no recovery of a cod
population that was once a central part
of the region’s fishing industry”, says
Dr. Bettina Saier, Director of Oceans Program
at WWF-Canada. “But this ongoing ecosystem
recovery is at risk if NAFO doesn’t reduce
the amount of allowable cod bycatch.”
Small window of opportunity
This small window of opportunity for the
cod rebuilding strategy to make a difference
could easily be lost to the high amount
of cod caught as bycatch in other fisheries.
The bycatch of Grand
Banks cod increased from 600 tonnes in 2006
to 1000 tonnes in 2009. Reducing bycatch
by 50 percent is the key to cod recovery,
combined with protection of habitats and
other ecological important areas such as
spawning and nursery grounds.
NAFO has demonstrated leadership by protecting
coral and sponge habitats and seamounts,
but they have fallen behind on their 2006
international commitments to protect other
vulnerable marine ecosystems, such as spawning
grounds, as called for by United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions.
A scientific study published
in July 2011 showed that Atlantic cod off
Nova Scotia are recovering from their dramatic
collapse two decades ago — and that the
ecosystem is recovering with them. This
is a good indicator for the future of fisheries
on the Grand Banks.
Collapse of the Grand
Banks cod fishery
The Newfoundland Grand Banks, off the east
coast of Canada, used to be famous as supporting
some of the world’s most productive fisheries.
Small boats caught sustainable amounts of
cod for hundreds of years.
But as fishing methods
advanced in the 1950s with the introduction
of larger, new factory trawlers and warnings
from scientists of the dangers of over-fishing
went unheeded, eventually the amount of
cod in the area reached record lows.
A total fishing moratorium was enforced,
throwing about 40,000 people out of work
and shattering the livelihoods of local
fishing communities.
Smart Fishing Initiative
Since 2005, WWF has been involved with NAFO
with the goal of recovering the Grand Banks
ecosystem. WWF’s Smart Fishing Initiative
works with every level of the fishing industry
to reform commercial marine fisheries towards
long-term sustainability - where seafood
is harvested in a way that sustains and
protects the marine environment, the species
within it, and the people who depend on
them.
+ More
Businesses call for
action on climate change
Posted on 14 September
2011 London: A summit of world leaders and
global businesses closed yesterday with
recognition that “failure is not an option”
at climate talks in Durban later this year.
NJ Mxakato-Diseko, ambassador at Large for
COP 17/CMP 7, Department of International
Relations & Cooperation South Africa,
who spoke on the closing day of the Business
for the Environment Climate Summit (B4E)
in London, said that a failure to make progress
at the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change) talks could result in a
‘collapse of the system’. The Ambassador
also highlighted the need for developed
countries to engage more with developing
countries and ‘demystify’ the transition
to a green economy.
Ambassador Diseko welcomed the commitments
made by participants in the Summit, which
saw over 250 high-level business, NGO and
civil society leaders from 26 countries
put forward a document setting out plans
for industry commitments and policy asks
to speed up the change to a green economy.
Concerted action for
sustainability
Delegates argued that concerted government
action can leverage a stronger private sector
response and more investment in projects
which can contribute to long-term sustainability.
Jim Leape, Director
General of WWF International said, "Multilateral
government talks have so far failed to agree
on solutions to stop runaway climate change.
In this context, it’s clear that to avert
the worst we must find ways to channel the
private sector’s resources and entrepreneurial
drive into the challenge of building a renewable
energy economy."
The outcome document also contains the commitments
and expectations for Durban talks of seven
industry working groups: Building &
Construction; Transport & Mobility;
Food & Beverage; Renewable Energy; Consumer
Goods; Forestry & Agriculture; and Finance
& Investment.
Reaching for Zero
The theme of the B4E Climate Summit, organized
by Global Initiatives in partnership with
WWF and the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD), was ‘Reaching for Zero’.
This saw delegates discuss how solving the
global climate challenge will require a
dramatic shift to transformative action
beyond incremental change and reductions.
Sir Stephen Gomersall, Group Chairman for
Europe from Hitachi said: “On the long road
to achieve zero emissions, government, businesses
and individuals all have their roles to
play … It was good to see so many companies
sharing their approaches and commitment
at this conference.”
The outcome document will accompany a more
extensive B4E Climate Summit report that
will provide session outcome focused on
inputs from industry groups to identify
industry commitments and policy needs from
climate negotiators in contributing to achieving
national targets established by governments.
The document from the
B4E Climate Summit will be communicated
throughout the various COP 17 Prep Meetings
up till the UNFCCC COP 17 in Durban, South
Africa, with the objective of providing
clear industry support to climate negotiators
towards Rio+20.
