Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/804561
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 MARCH 2017 News 7 are overfished. The Mediterranean Sea is the largest enclosed sea on earth and one of the world's biodiver- sity hotspots, home to 17,000 marine species. Due to the increasing demand for seafood and the industri- alization of fisheries, as well as the lack of appropriate control and monitoring which has led to Illegal, unregulated and un- reported fishery (IUU) in the Mediterranean region, fishing efforts and annual landings have continued to increase regularly since the 1970s, reaching a peak in 1994 of 1,087,000 tonnes. Then, landings decreased ir- regularly to 787,000 in 2013 as the majority of stocks for which there is a validated assessment are fished outside biologically sustainable limits. In addition, recreational fish- ing is a popular and fast-grow- ing activity in the Mediter- ranean for both tourists and local communities. As a largely unregulated and uninvestigated activity in the Mediterranean Sea, little data is available on the number of recreational fish- ers, their catch volume and the value they bring to coastal com- munities. A group of 13 main species accounts for some 65% of land- ings, with anchovy (393,500 tonnes) and sardine (186,100 tonnes) being by far the most dominant species in the Medi- terranean and Black Sea. Clams (56,000 tonnes), mussels (21,000 tonnes) and the species group of squid, cuttlefish and octopus (58,000 tonnes) also account for substantial landings. The fishing sector in the Mediterranean today has a to- tal landing value of $3 billion and a trade value of $27 billion. It employs over 250,000 peo- ple (of which 55% are artisanal fishers) without considering the employment provided by fish markets, production, distribu- tion and sales. Overfishing does not only af- fect the conservation of fish stocks, it has a direct impact on the economy of the region, the wellbeing of coastal communi- ties and employment. "Sustainability is the only way to ensure that the Mediterrane- an Sea will continue to support our national economies and cre- ate jobs. This means that indus- tries, governments, civil society and all stakeholders must con- tribute to building a plan that aims at both economic growth and f lourishing marine ecologi- cal assets," the WWF said yes- terday. The WWF said vessels in Mediterranean waters were re- duced to decrease pressure on fish stocks, but unfortunately, this policy did not result in im- proved stock status and it had a significant impact on small- scale fishers and coastal com- munities. "Alternative management strategies, based on scientific evidence, must be adopted to reach sustainability targets. These strategies include a di- versity of approaches to manage fishing effort: limit the number of vessels at sea per day, limit the number of days at sea per vessel, and closing off nursery areas," the WWF said. One of the most effective meas- ures to ensure the sustainable management of Mediterranean fish resources is to ensure that all fish are allowed to reproduce at least once. "This requires the adoption of technical measures to avoid fish being caught below their minimum reproduction size and age. To avoid catching juveniles and ensure healthy stocks, minimum conservation size based on sexual maturity and according to the best scien- tific advice, should be adopted at the Mediterranean level for all commercial species." The WWF also wants a "land- ing obligation" that supports fish selectivity at sea, and pre- vent the commercialization of undersized fish. This means introducing technical modifica- tions of nets and gears to include fish exclusion devices – such as grids, panels, turtle exclusion devices – as well as avoidance of critical and sensitive areas, par- ticularly during seasonal migra- tions. "In addition, WWF consid- ers that it is critical to evaluate the fishing effort of recreational fisheries and collect catch da- ta regularly at a regional level. Recreational fisheries must be included in management plans and technical measures that ap- ply to professional fishers, for example spatial and temporal closed areas, reduction of days at sea, number of vessels." The Mediterranean Sea is the largest enclosed sea on earth and one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, home to 17,000 marine species WBRU rejects accusations levelled by CABS over monitoring of hunting season JEANELLE MIFSUD THE Wild Birds Regulation Unit yesterday denied accusations by the conservationist Campaign Against Bird Slaughter of "taking credit" for their efforts against il- legal bird trapping. On Monday, CABS issued a statement accusing WBRU head Sergei Golovkin of taking credit for CABS's efforts in order to "whitewash the total failure of his authority to control illegal bird trapping in spring." The eNGO made reference to communication Golovkin made to the European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforce- ment of Environmental Law (IM- PEL), where he rejected the scale of illegal bird trapping reported by CABS. CABS had argued that the sei- zures and apprehensions listed by the WBRU were the result of re- ports that CABS had made to the police. "If you remove the cases reported by our teams from the list the government stands there empty-handed", CABS press of- ficer Axel Hirschfeld said. WBRU rebutted the claims by admonishing CABS for "reacting angrily in a condescending man- ner" and accused the eNGO of seeking to tarnish the credibility of Maltese authorities. One of its paramount objectives was to en- sure the eradication of illegal kill- ing and trading in wild birds, it added. "Whilst reports made by CABS and other NGOs facilitate enforce- ment, and are positively acknowl- edged in this context, it is unfortu- nate and unjustifiable that CABS take umbrage at the Maltese au- thorities for simply doing their work," WBRU's statement read. "It appears that each time Malta is reported internationally in the context of the positive work being done, CABS would react angrily in a condescending manner and attempt to tarnish credibility of Maltese authorities with mislead- ing statements, as though prefer- ring to see Malta being unjustly portrayed in a negative light." WBRU added that enforcement operations against illegal trapping continued with WBRU carrying out further monitoring opera- tions, which resulted in two illegal trapping sites being located and dismantled on 26 March. Two suspects were also appre- hended and are facing charges, WBRU said. According to WBRU, the total number of illegal sites dismantled over the past two weeks stands at 25, while the number of live birds seized stands at over 30, and the number of persons facing criminal action stands at five. Sergei Golovkin