Posted
on 30 June 2009 - Oslo, Norway – Norwegian
fisheries regulators in a landmark decision
have banned all fishing of the critically
endangered European eel starting in 2010
and cut 2009 catch quotas by 80 percent.
The Norwegian Ministry
of Fisheries also has announced that all
recreational fishing of European eels would
stop on July 1st, as stock of the eels hit
historically low levels and continue to
decline. The decision represents a major
conservation decision that is a model for
proper fisheries management, according to
WWF-Norway.
“The Minister of Fisheries
is making an important, and the only right
choice, and is showing international leadership
in fisheries management,” said Rasmus Hansson,
WWF-Norway CEO. “Norway’s Fisheries Minister,
Helga Pedersen, has used every occasion
to point out that Norway is the best in
the world on fisheries management, and by
making bold moves like this they have probably
earned the title.”
The European eel is
listed as critically endangered in Norway
and on the IUCN Redlist. Stocks are at historically
low levels with spawning levels at between
one and five percent from their 1970 level,
with only the Atlantic area seeing higher
levels. In the Baltic Sea, including Kattegat
and Skagerrak, indices show a sharp decline
in young yellow eel stocks since 1950.
As early as 1999, The
International Council for the Exploration
of the Seas (ICES) stated that the eel stock
was outside safe biological limits, and
that the fishery was unsustainable. Yet,
fishing has been ongoing for decades, despite
scientific advice.
“A total fishing ban is the strongest measure
the fisheries management can use, and when
a species is critically endangered one must
use the strongest and most efficient measures.
This protection should have been implemented
many years ago, and we are hoping that the
long-overdue protection is not too late,”
Hansson said.
A successful rebuilding
strategy for the eel, both in Norway and
the EU, will have a substantial impact on
eel numbers in Norwegian waters. Consequently,
Norway has a great responsibility in influencing
both the management and the research that
is being undertaken in Europe. In Europe,
fishing for eel continues, despite the very
severe and depleted state of the stock.
“WWF urges Ms Pedersen
to fight for the EU taking similar bold
measures in their fisheries management,
and WWF will fight to stop the eel fishery
in the EU,” Hansson said.
+ More
Last shots come in for
world's largest nature photo shoot
Posted on 21 June 2009
- A striking symmetry of wings as two gulls
attack a grey heron on the Elbe in Germany.
An ibex caught negotiating an absolutely
impossible slope in Spain. A Hungarian bee
eater of spectacular plumage snapped catching
a bumblebee nearly as colourful.
These are among 100,000
images collected in the Wild Wonders of
Europe project over the course of 114 missions.
Come the conclusion of this endeavour, 66
professional photographers will have travelled
to 48 European countries to document the
wildlife of a continent often overshadowed
by their more famous counterparts.
“Wild Wonders is an
immensely valuable conservation initiative”
Said WWF Director-General James Leape.
“It brings the work
of WWF and other conservation organisations
to life. These vivid images demonstrate
that even in Europe there are still many
undisturbed areas of natural beauty - and
that our efforts to preserve them are paying
dividends.”
Part of the mission
of Wild Wonders of Europe is to inspire
passion for wildlife in Europe and to change
the perception that the whole continent
is covered in buildings and roads.
Few people would know,
for example, that Finland is the best place
on Earth to view bears, wolves and wolverines
living together, and that it is not uncommon
to see several hundred vultures in the south
of Spain in just one sitting.
“If we want these places
and creatures to remain and flourish, we
must inspire people to want to protect them.
We hope that we can connect them to the
heritage of this continent and make them
realize how much there is worth saving.”
Said Staffan Widstrand, Managing Director
of the project
“Photography can have
an enormous impact upon people’s perception.
It can elicit emotion and understanding
in a way that words often cannot.”
“This project will both
excite and surprise those who have the opportunity
to see it and we hope and feel that it will
change the perception of wildlife in Europe.”
By July of this year,
the photographers will have completed their
planned 114 missions.
Then, in April 2010,
to coincide with the international year
of biodiversity, the Wild Wonders of Europe
Great Wild Show Outdoor Exhibition series
will be launched, and shown all across Europe,
visiting many of its major cities over a
period of 3 years.
WWF has been a keen
supporter of the project from the start,
and is proud to be the main conservation
partner for Wild Wonders of Europe.
