The FAO (United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation) announced yesterday agreement on international guidelines to limit the impact of deep sea fishing with the aim of protecting deep-sea species and habitats.

The agreement offers the first framework for “operating in high-seas areas outside of national jurisdictions, where many deep sea fisheries (DSF) are located” and - crucially - recognises the need for a co-ordinated, multilateral response to an issue “involving not only nations whose vessels are engaged in deep-sea fisheries but other interested countries as well”.

The FAO news release titled - “Better management for fishing’s ‘Last Frontier‘” - has full details.

A New York Times article titled “Beyond carbon: scientists worry about nitrogen’s effects” sets out to remind us of the “nitrogen dilemma”, that is, its role and impact as both a constituent greenhouse gas and also as a core component in fertilizer.

Of significance is the cycle of run-off from farming into rivers - and subsequently - into coastal areas and its catalytic effect in creating ‘dead water’ through the process of eutrophication.

The Oslo-based Fridtjof Nansen Institute recently organised the “The World Ocean in Globalization: Challenges for Marine Regions” conference.

This was the third such international conference organized by the Nansen Institute covering marine affairs and the Law of the Sea and looked at a variety of emergent issues facing ocean governance, including: invasive alien species, bioprospecting, pollution, seabed resources, sustainability of fishing, illegal fishing and the impact of climate change on the oceans.

A pre-prepared compendium containing the summaries of most of the presentations given is now available. (PDF, 2.7 Mb, 204 pages)

A recent article from the National Geographic cites a report published in Conservation Biology which contrasts the differences in ‘output’ between industrial fisheries and small-scale fisheries (operating in boats 50 feet or shorter).

A range of criteria were investigated with small-scale fisheries emerging as the “… best hope at sustainable fisheries,” according to Daniel Pauly, director of the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre and co-author of the study.

Additionally, the report also criticises the record of market-based sustainable seafood initiatives, indicating they have proved largely ineffectual, not led to reductions in demand and mostly discriminated against small-scale fishers.

One of the key assumptions underpinning the original scenario was the level-of-dependency on fish protein and its impact on diet and food supply. This is now variously estimated as effecting more than one billion people worldwide.

An article by George Monbiot questions the use of trade agreements in securing the rights to fish in non-national waters, specifically off West Africa. While these agreements are not new, he asserts that both enough time has now elapsed for the ‘true’ local impact to be understood and also criticises the EU for its intent & method of negotiation.

Described by Monbiot as an example of “food colonialism”, he indicates that - while the agreements effectively ‘export’ European over-exploitation and consumption issues - the level of non-national industrial-fishing is now at such a scale that indigenous supplies are increasingly compromised with detrimental effects to the local food supply. Crucially, the Europeans who may consume the fish caught in these waters are not dependent on it as their primary source of protein.

He further believes this dynamic will become increasingly ‘aggressive’ as a result of food security perceptions in Europe.

Does this kind of behaviour signal an emergent trend in global fisheries management? What effect would this have - on stock levels, regional populations, small-scale fishery structures, conservation regimes - if projected into the future?

In June this year, the European Commission closed the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery two weeks before the official season was due to end in response to reported overfishing. The World Wildlife Fund – which firmly believes this fishery is on the verge of commercial and biological collapse - has launched its own campaign and is both urging consumers to boycott Mediteranean tuna products and lobbying for a full 3-year fishing moratorium.

The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) failed at its recent annual meeting in Panama to introduce conservation measures to stop the decline of tuna stocks. This article from the World Wildlife Fund offers further analysis.

Oceans on the Precipice: Video from Guy Yeomans on Vimeo.

Video attribution: Scripps Institution of Oceanography

A slightly older article (February, 2008) offering a perspective on the current ‘wild’ stock levels of tuna.