The
North Sea:
Fisheries Crisis Hot Spot!
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The North Sea supports a huge diversity of animal and plant life. Hundreds of species of fish, shellfish, whales, dolphins, seals, otters and seabirds make the North Sea their home But this rich and diverse ecosystem is in peril...
Reclamation of parts of the sea for farming, the discharge of chemicals and fertilisers into the sea and rivers that feed into it, and the operation of the oil and gas industry are just some of the causes of environmental degradation to the North Sea. But by far, overfishing is now indisputably the greatest threat to the marine biodiversity in the North Sea . Overfishing in the North Sea has reached crisis levels as the region's governments continue to ignore scientific recommendations to cut fishing levels. As in most commercial fisheries, there are simply too many boats chasing too few fish. This 'take as much as you can' approach to fisheries ignores the need to take a precautionary approach that would protect the marine environment. Greenpeace is actively campaigning in the North Sea to ensure that this vibrant ecosystem and vitally important industry does not suffer the same fate as Canada's east coast cod fishery. Fisheries mismanagement was the number one cause for the collapse of the cod stock which resulted in over 30,000 people being thrown out of work.
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GREENPEACE REPORTS: Greenpeace Briefing North Sea Interim Ministerial Meeting (IMM) on the Integration of Fisheries and Environmental Issues Factsheet Beam trawling on the North Sea Industrial Hoover Fishing - A Policy Vacuum Industrial Fisheries - From Fish to Fodder The North Sea Fish Crisis - Our Shrinking Future Industrial Fishing Campaign - Status report July 3rd 1996. Overview: The Global Fisheries Crisis Case study: Canada's Northern Cod Collapse. |
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GREENPEACE ACTIONS:
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4-8 March 1997:|
PRESS RELEASES:
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14 March 1997:
Greenpeace is calling for an immediate moratorium on the industrial fisheries in critical sensitive areas of the North Sea.
Greenpeace has developed Principles and Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries and an Emergency Recovery Plan to save the North Sea.
North Sea fisheries and environment ministers will meet in March 1997 at an emergency meeting on fisheries called the Interim Ministerial Meeting (IMM). They acknowledge overfishing is a problem.
Will they choose to save the North Sea and the fishing industry in the long-term? Or will their own short-term political interests remain on the top of their agenda?
Greenpeace will be keeping the pressure on them to do the right thing
- watch these internet pages!
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A sequence of three quicktime movie clips from the Greenpeace video, 'To Defend the Wee Bankie' Sandeels - a vital part of the food chain: (44.5 seconds, 1.65Mb) History of north sea fishing: (40 seconds 1.5Mb) Industrial fisheries today: (23 seconds 3.5Mb) |