Three quarters of the world’s fish stocks are under threat from over fishing according to the United Nations. Our oceans are vast, but not limitless.
They give life to the planet and contain 80% of all life on it. They provide the primary food sources for millions of people. Yet, only a tiny area of ocean (0.01%) is protected from increasingly destructive human activity. Such a small percentage is simply not enough.
Greenpeace defines marine reserves as: areas that are closed to all extractive uses, such as fishing and mining, as well as to disposal activities. Within these areas there may be core zones where no human activities are allowed, for instance areas that act as scientific reference areas or areas.
The Pacific has one of the Earth’s most abundant fisheries; more than half the world’s tuna is fished here. However as more and more fisheries around the world collapse, the Pacific is attracting increasing numbers of foreign industrial fishing vessels to gain access to it’s waters as well as those who fish without a license the pirate fishers.
Pacific Island governments need to realise that the key to increasing income from their tuna fisheries in the long term, is to cut the fishing effort in the short term. This is also how they will preserve the valuable tuna resource for future generations. Many of these vessels have no concern for the environment.
This report shows the real and negative conservation and development impacts of trade liberalisation in fish and fishery products. Further liberalisation will speed up the pace of over-fishing, further increase unsustainable aquaculture production, and have generally devastating consequences for fish, the wider marine environment, developing countries and the one billion poor people worldwide who depend on fish as their primary source of protein.
This summary of scientific evidence on the status of Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) tuna stocks suggests that bigeye and yellowfin tuna are now overfished. Unless WCPO nations take urgent remedial measures to control fishing in their waters, we could lose this most cherished of resources.
Scientific evidence on the status of Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) tuna stocks suggests that Big Eye and Yellow Fin tuna are now over-fished. This means unless WCPO nations take urgent remedial measures to control fishing in their waters, we could lose this most cherished of resources.
During December 2005 Greenpeace delegates attended Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) meetings in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. The WCPFC manages and conserves fisheries in the region.
Read how Western and Central Pacific fisheries are threatened, and about solutions to the problem, in this Greenpeace report (PDF, 20pp, 3Mb)
Key issues discussed in this report: Overfishing, overcapacity, capacity migration, rogue industry, strict conservation guidelines, tuna quotas, corruption, good governance and solidarity.
Following a week of potentially crippling budgetary reviews and a visit from US President Barack Obama,Japan's whaling fleet crept out of port at 10am today (12noon AEDT).
