News

Damanaki “Not Listening”

25 February 2011

Each Commissioner quickly establishes a hallmark of their time in office. For Joe Borge it was a concern to get the balance between governance and conservation right.

MCZs: The Opposite of the Big Society

25 February 2011

There is a paradox in the way that the present Government is using heavy duty, top-down legislation, inherited from the previous administration to establish a network of marine protected areas in UK waters.

Dear Hugh………… Fight for Fish Campaign

22 February 2011

The NFFO has written to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall with some advice on how to take the Channel 4 Fight for Fish campaign forward and some pitfalls to avoid.

North East Drift Net Fishery

11 February 2011

The North East drift net fishery has come under sustained pressure from the powerful and well connected angling lobby for over 30 years.

Small Scale Fisheries – thinking through the issues

7 February 2011

Commissioner Damanaki’s (if not necessarily DG Mare’s) enthusiasm for special treatment for small scale fisheries is well known.

Effort Control generates perverse outcomes

7 February 2011

Intense discussions between the NFFO and Defra over the shape of the days-at-sea regime for 2011/12 have yet to reach conclusion.

Independence and Integrity

4 February 2011

One of the guiding principles insisted upon when the NFFO was established in 1977 was that it should maintain its integrity and independence by being financially independent of government or other large bodies which have agendas of their own.

RACs and ICES Plan increased Cooperation

31 January 2011

Regional Task Forces will tackle weak stock assessments

A Decade of Paralysis

31 January 2011

If the CFP fails to find a way to regionalise its decision-making it will drift into a decade of paralysis.

Irish Sea Shores up its Position

28 January 2011

Approaching the turn of last year the Irish Sea faced an appalling prospect.

Dutch Progress Conservation Measures for the Dogger, Cleaver Bank and Frisian Front

21 January 2011

First discussions towards defining management measures for the Dutch sector of the Dogger Bank, the Cleaver Bank and Frisian Front were progressed at the FIMPAS workshop held in Den Helder, Holland, between 24th and 26th January.

North Sea Marine Plan

17 January 2011

The first marine plan in covering much of UK waters in the southern North Sea will start its two year planning process from April.

A Turning Point in European Fisheries?

17 January 2011

Will Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall’s Fight for Fish campaign mark a turning point in the Common Fisheries Policy?

The Mixed Blessings of Celebrity – The Fight for Fish

10 January 2011

This week sees the start of a major Channel 4 campaign focused on fish and fishing. In a series of TV programmes over the coming week celebrity chef big guns, Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and Arthur Potts Dawson, each focus on some aspect of the fishing industry and of fish consumption, mixing campaigning zeal with practical recipes using underutilised species.

Overcapacity: European Court of Auditors’ Study

5 January 2011

The European Court of Auditors has instigated an investigation into fleet overcapacity within the CFP.

North West Waters RAC Spells out its requirements for Regional Management

4 January 2011

At a recent meeting with the Lori Evans, Director General of DG Mare, the Commission’s fisheries directorate, the NW Waters RAC spelt out what it would like to see under a regionalised Common Fisheries Policy

ICES agrees to Discuss RACs’ Initiative on Weak Assessments

4 January 2011

It is a bald reality these days that, in making fisheries legislation, ministers will rarely stray far from the scientific recommendations.

Crucial Year Ahead

4 January 2011

2011 will be a crucial year for the fishing industry.

President’s Christmas Message

21 December 2010

“The only constant is change”

Flatfish Fortunes: NFFO View

21 December 2010

The fisheries for plaice and sole and other flatfish species are amongst the most valuable to us in terms of revenue, employment and supply of food to consumers in the EU.

There are no technocratic solutions.

21 December 2010

The Council of Ministers meeting of December 2010 may come to be seen as the high-water mark of a technocratic approach to EU fisheries.

MPA Coalition Reinforces Concerns

21 December 2010

The body formed to provide the fishing industry with a voice on how marine protected areas are established in UK waters, the MPA Fishing Coalition, recently met with UK fisheries Minister, Richard Benyon.

Major Showdown Looms over Co-decision-making

11 December 2010

A major clash in Brussels over fisheries jurisdiction is looming in Brussels, which could have direct consequences for UK fisheries.

Norway Agreement for 2011

8 December 2010

Agreement with Norway on a reciprocal fisheries agreement for 2011 was reached at the end of a second round of talks in Bergen on the 3rd December.