Category Archives: Fishing

Russia arrests Ukrainian biologist for backing curbs on Antarctic krill fishing

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‘Trumped-up’ charges spark diplomatic row as scientists express fears for health of 70-year-old Leonid Pshenichnov

A diplomatic row has erupted over the “illegal” detention of one of Ukraine’s scientists, who has been accused by the Kremlin of undermining Russia’s industrial trawling for krill in Antarctica.

Leonid Pshenichnov, 70, a Ukrainian biologist who is an expert on Antarctica, has a decades-long record of scientific research and contributions to conservation, including support for marine protected areas in the region.

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Brexit has done nothing to stem sharp decline of UK fish populations, shows study

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Experts call for urgent strategy to end overfishing as report shows just 41% of stocks of species such as cod and mackerel considered healthy

The UK’s populations of fish such as cod, herring and mackerel are still being “grossly mismanaged” by politicians and overfished, despite hitting unhealthy levels, a study has found.

British fish stocks have been under growing pressure for decades, but during the Brexit campaign some politicians promised that leaving the EU would allow the UK to take control.

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David Lammy given warning after fishing with JD Vance without licence

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Foreign secretary referred himself to Environment Agency after hosting Vance at Chevening country retreat

David Lammy has received a formal warning after reporting himself for fishing without a licence with the US vice-president, JD Vance.

The foreign secretary took Vance angling at his official country retreat in Chevening, Kent, on 8 August as he hosted him at the start of a holiday in Britain.

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Feargal Sharkey accuses Environment Agency of illegally draining River Lea

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Fishing club chaired by singer threatens court action over abstraction it says is putting rare trout population at risk

The singer and environmentalist Feargal Sharkey is threatening to take the Environment Agency to court for draining a river that hosts the oldest fishing club in England and putting a rare population of brown trout at risk.

The former Undertones frontman chairs the Amwell Magna Fishery, which has used the secluded stretch of the River Lea in Hertfordshire since 1841.

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Lammy refers himself to watchdog after fishing illegally with JD Vance

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Foreign secretary reports ‘oversight’ to Environment Agency after failing to acquire necessary rod licence

David Lammy has referred himself to the environment watchdog after going fishing with JD Vance without the required licence during the US vice-president’s trip to the UK.

The foreign secretary hosted Vance and his family at Chevening House in Kent last week, where the pair fished from the property’s private lake. Anglers aged 13 and over must hold a rod licence to fish for freshwater species such as carp in England and Wales. Lammy failed to land a catch, but “all of my kids did”, Vance said.

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‘Death spiral’: Mekong River megafish have shrunk by half, study reveals

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Fish once as large as grizzly bears have become far smaller in recent years due to overfishing, dams and climate crisis

The size of megafish in the Mekong River has shrunk alarmingly in recent years owing to overfishing, a study has found. The length of the largest and most endangered freshwater giants, some as big as grizzly bears, decreased by 40% in seven years.

Some fish, like the Mekong giant catfish, have been studied for over a longer period and show a decline in weight of 55% in the past 25 years, dropping from an average of 180kg (397lb) to 80kg.

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Australian government to declare almost a third of its oceans ‘highly protected’ in the next five years

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Murray Watt tells UN conference in France a review of Australia’s marine parks will ‘lay the foundation’ for increasing ocean protections

The Australian government plans to declare 30% of its ocean “highly protected” by 2030, raising expectations from conservationists it will ban fishing and drilling in nearly a third of the country’s waters.

The environment minister, Murray Watt, told the UN Ocean Conference in France a review of 44 of Australia’s marine parks would “lay the foundation” to increase the area of the country’s ocean with higher levels of protection.

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Campaigners hail plan to ban bottom trawling in half of England’s protected seas

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Environmental groups welcome government proposals to clamp down on destructive fishing practice

Environmental groups have welcomed government proposals to ban the destructive fishing practice known as bottom trawling in half of England’s protected seas.

The plan, to be announced on Monday by the environment secretary, Steve Reed, came before a UN summit in Nice to tackle the ocean’s failing health. It follows pressure from conservationists and the release of a David Attenborough film featuring rare underwater footage of the devastation to the seabed caused by bottom trawling in British waters.

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‘Nothing left’: Irish whale-watching company closes amid ‘overfishing’

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Sprat fishing has disrupted the food chain and diverted humpback, minke and fin whales as well as dolphins

A whale-watching company has abandoned tours off Ireland’s southern Atlantic coast and declared the waters an empty, lifeless sea.

Colin Barnes, who ran Cork Whale Watch, announced he was closing the company because overfishing of sprat has disrupted the marine food chain and diverted humpback, minke and fin whales as well as dolphins.

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Shark fisher uses drone to save teenage girl from drowning in Florida rip current

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Andrew Smith called ‘true hero’ after using drone to deliver flotation device to girl ensnared by Pensacola Beach current

A Florida man who fishes sharks has been called a “true hero” after saving a teenage girl from drowning in a rip current by using a drone to deliver a flotation device to her.

Andrew Smith’s heroics – which have gone viral in corners of the internet dedicated to uplifting news stories – unfolded after he left work on 15 May and made the last-minute decision to go to Pensacola Beach to try fishing in the waters there, according to the Florida station CBS 12.

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UK sand eel fishing ban remains in place despite EU legal challenge

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Creatures make up the bulk of seabirds’ diet but are fished for commercial pig food

A ban on fishing for sand eels in UK waters will remain in place despite a legal challenge from the EU.

The small, silvery eels make up the bulk of the diet of seabirds, but they are fished for commercial pig food. A lack of sand eels means seabirds such as puffins can starve to death.

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Trump order to loosen fishing regulations poses major risks, experts warn

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Conservationists fear fallout from president’s proclamation on fishing in federally protected area of Pacific Ocean

Environmental conservation groups are expressing major concerns over Donald Trump’s recent proclamation to reverse fishing regulations across the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine national monument, a federally protected area in the central Pacific Ocean spanning nearly 500,000 sq miles.

As one of the most pristine tropical marine environments in the world, the monument is now at risk following Trump’s decision last week to unleash American commercial fishing in the area with far-reaching environmental consequences.

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Mackerel stocks near breaking point because of overfishing, say experts

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North-east Atlantic mackerel in decline and Good Fish Guide says shoppers should look for other options

Mackerel stocks are nearing a “breaking point”, experts have said as the fish is downgraded as a sustainable option.

People should be eating herring instead, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said, because mackerel continues to be overfished by countries including Norway and the UK.

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Hope for endangered penguins as no-fishing zones agreed off South Africa

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Deal will restrict fishing near colonies on Robben Island and Bird Island for 10 years, after long debate between industry and conservationists

Efforts to stop the critically endangered African penguin from going extinct took a step forward on Tuesday after South African conservationists and fishing industry groups reached a legal settlement on no-fishing zones around six of the penguins’ major breeding colonies.

Sardine and anchovy fishing will not be allowed for 12 miles (20km) around the penguin colony off Cape Town on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and Bird Island, across the bay from Gqeberha, also known as Port Elizabeth. There will be more limited closures around four other colonies, according to a court order formalising the agreement.

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Once named world’s ugliest animal, blobfish wins New Zealand’s fish of the year

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Made up of blobby tissue and living deep in the ocean, the distinctive species beat the longfin eel and pygmy pipehorse in the annual contest

It was once crowned the “world’s ugliest animal” and now the disgruntled-looking gelatinous blobfish has a new gong to its name: New Zealand’s fish of the year.

The winning species of blobfish, Psychrolutes marcidus, lives in the highly pressurised depths off the coasts of New Zealand and Australia and has developed a unique anatomy to exist. Blobfish do not have a swim bladder, a full skeleton, muscles or scales. Instead, their bodies are made up of blobby tissue with a lower density than water that allows them to float above the seafloor.

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Fishing rights will not derail EU-UK security pact, says European Council president

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With member states keen to link quotas to any deal, António Costa says defence and fisheries ‘are different things’

The EU will not let the question of fishing rights derail a pact with the UK on security and defence, the president of the European Council has said.

The comments from António Costa, who took over as the European Council president in December, is a boost for Keir Starmer, amid frustration among UK officials over EU insistence on linking a security deal to other demands, notably fishing rights.

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Campaigners call for action as jellyfish threaten Scottish salmon farms

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String jellyfish species that has killed millions of salmon in Norwegian sea farms reported in Scotland

A jellyfish species that has been wreaking havoc on Norway’s salmon industry has made its way to Scotland, causing significant damage and prompting calls for urgent action.

The string jellyfish has killed millions of salmon in Norwegian sea farms with officials urging an extermination of affected stocks.

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Europe’s exhausted oyster reefs ‘once covered area size of Northern Ireland’

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Study uncovers vivid and poignant accounts of reefs as high as houses off countries including UK, France and Ireland

Only a handful of natural oyster reefs measuring at most a few square metres cling on precariously along European coasts after being wiped out by overfishing, dredging and pollution.

A study led by British scientists has discovered how extensive they once were, with reefs as high as a house covering at least 1.7m hectares (4.2m acres) from Norway to the Mediterranean, an area larger than Northern Ireland.

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Arctic tern and common gull join red list of UK species in crisis

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Seabirds are in a precarious position as their breeding areas are threatened by climate breakdown and overfishing

Five seabirds have been added to the UK’s conservation red list, meaning they are at dire risk of local extinction.

The government has been urged to act as the arctic tern, Leach’s storm petrel, common gull, great skua and great black-backed gull join other seabird species such as the puffin on the list after severe population declines.

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Minister seeks legal settlement in case of South Africa’s imperilled penguins

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Dion George says avoiding extinction of African penguin is his objective, and settling case aimed at stopping fishing around major colonies will help

South Africa’s new environment minister has said he wants to stop African penguins from going extinct by taking measures including settling a case brought by two environmental charities to stop fishing around the birds’ major colonies.

BirdLife South Africa and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCOB) said they want an extension of no-fishing zones around six beaches and islands where the penguins breed, after failing to reach an agreement with fishing industry groups demanded by the previous minister.

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