Additional News

3165th AGRICULTURE and FISHERIES Council meeting outcomes

May 14-15, 2012 - Brussels, Council of the European Union

Concerning fisheries, ministers held a public debate on the environmental aspects of the common fisheries policy (CFP) and the European maritime and fishery fund (EMFF) within the framework of the CFP reform.
As regards agriculture, the Council held a public debate on the specific issue of the greening of the common agricultural policy (CAP) within the framework of the CAP reform.
The Council was then briefed on a conference on aquaculture, the consequences of the closure of fishing by EU vessels in Mauritanian waters and the animal welfare requirements before slaughter.

Link:  Council of the European Union

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Reflections on the new European Fund for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs

March 7, 2012 - EUROPA Rapid

Speech of Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Hearing "the new EMFF in the view of the CFP reform" organised by European People's Party Group at the European Parliament Brussels

Link:  EUROPA Rapid

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DG MARE Commissioner preparing for Rio: our key targets for Oceans and Coasts Symposium "A Blueprint for Oceans and Coasts"

March 6, 2012 - EUROPA Rapid

Speech of Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries at the European Parliament, Brussels

Link:  EUROPA Rapid

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DG MARE Commissioner on the Common Fisheries Policy Reform

February 6, 2012 - THE PARLIAMENT- Politics, Policy and People Magazine

Kicking off our feature on common fisheries policy reform, fisheries and maritime affairs commissioner Maria Damanaki sets out what the EU is doing to ensure sustainable fishing practices. "CFP reform is a matter that concerns everybody – fishermen, coastal populations, retailers, consumers, taxpayers," she says.

Link:  The Parliament

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Batteries open the door to hybrid systems

January 31, 2012 - The MotorShip

Dutch company ESTechnologies has introduced what it says are the first marine lithium-polymer batteries with Lloyd’s Certificate. The battery range is designed and certified for marine applications and large energy storage systems. 

Link:  The MotorShip

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Fishermen protest high fuel costs in Italy

January 25, 2012 - PressTV, Rome

On Wednesday, hundreds of self-employed fishermen from all over Italy gathered in Parliament Square to protest against fuel price and tax increases introduced by the emergency government led by Mario Monti.

The spike in the cost of diesel - which has increased from 1.30 to 1.80 euro per liter in three years - is threatening to put many fishermen out of business. Italy's commercial fishing industry includes about 25,000 fishermen with combined annual revenue of 1.2 billion Euros.

Link:  pressTV

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2012 Energy Audit of the Italian fishing sector

January 23, 2012 - CNR/ISMAR, Ancona

An e-Audit (Energy Audit) is an engineering test for the monitoring of energy usage during various activities. An Energy Audit template was conceived and applied to some fishing vessels of the Italian fishing industry. The main goal was to define the energetic profiles of the Center Adriatic Sea fishing fleet as a baseline for further analysis, aimed mainly to find and evaluate improvements.

Link:  2012 e-Audit of the Italian fishing sector

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Scottish funding for fishing communities

January 18, 2012 - World Fishing & Aquaculture

The European Fisheries Fund (EFF) has made £4.2m of funding available to help fragile fishing communities across Scotland.

Link:  World Fishing & Aquaculture

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Grants go toward algae biofuels research in US, Japan

January 17, 2012 - FIS, Italy

A better understanding of how algae can be used to make biofuels is the aim of a new joint project between the University of California (UC) at Davis and the University of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of four new grants, jointly funded by the US National Science Foundation and the Japan Science and Technology Agency, to develop environment-friendly fuels and reduce pesticide use.

Link:  FIS WorldNews

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Fuel savings for kite propelled fishing vessels

January 17, 2012 - World Fishing & Aquaculture

The commercial fishing industry may be set to benefit from innovative new kite technology – aimed at providing fuel savings for vessel operators.

Link:  World Fishing & Aquaculture

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Seminar on ship energy optimization: TecnoVeritas

December 20, 2011 - Ship-Technology.com

TecnoVeritas, in cooperation with the Shanghai Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers (SSNAME), held a seminar titled 'A tool for ship energy optimization compliant with IMO MEPC.1/Circ684' on November 29 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), during the most representative and largest maritime event in Asia, Marintec China 2011.

Link:  Ship-Technology.com

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Viewpoint: Fuelling the fisheries subsidy debate: Agreements, loopholes and implications

December 16, 2011 - Journal article. Authors: Harper et al. - Fisheries Research Journal

There is a general consensus that most subsidies to fisheries, particularly fuel subsidies, are harmful to both the economy and the environment. As the World Trade Organization struggles to come to an agreement on fisheries subsidies, understanding the position of the negotiating countries is crucial. As we move toward more sustainable regulations, we must ensure that no loopholes exist for countries to evade binding regulations. In this note, we use the example of the United States to illustrate how arguments for exemptions can lead to such loopholes. The United States provides interesting insight, as it appears that their support for a ban on fisheries subsidies may be contingent upon a legal pun, which would allow them and other countries to carry on subsidizing fuel to their fishing fleets into the future

Link:  Fisheries Research 113(1): 143-146

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European Court of Auditors issues special report on whether EU measures contributed to adapting the capacity of EU fishing fleets to available fishing opportunities

December 12, 2011 - European Court of Auditors

Overcapacity of the EU’s fishing fleets has undermined the sustainability of fish stocks and the viability of the fishing sector for many years. This report examines the EU’s measures to reduce fishing overcapacity. It concludes that the measures taken to date have failed, gives reasons for this failure, and makes recommendations for tackling these persistent failures.

Link:  European Court of Auditors Report No 12/2011

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The new global carbon budget and carbon trend analyses

December 05, 2011 - The Global Carbon Project

Key findings and analyses include:
* CO₂ emissions grew 5.9% in 2010 to reach 9.1 GtC (33.5Gt CO₂), overcoming a 1.4% decrease in CO₂ emissions in 2009
* Including land-use change and deforestation, in 2010 emissions reached 10.0 GtC   (36.8 Gt CO₂)
* As of 2009 developing countries now emit more than developed countries in terms of consumption, and China now emits more than the US in terms of consumption

Link:  Global Carbon Budget

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IBIA recognises LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) as fuel for ships

November 08, 2011 - The Motorship

At the recent annual convention of the International Bunker Industry Association, held in Barcelona, the IBIA board announced its official decision to “become more closely engaged in LNG matters”.
Link:  The Motorship

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Green Economy Report. Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication

November 02, 2011 - United Nations Environmental Programme

The Green Economy Report is compiled by UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative in collaboration with economists and experts worldwide. It demonstrates that the greening of economies is not generally a drag on growth but rather a new engine of growth; that it is a net generator of decent jobs, and that it is also a vital strategy for the elimination of persistent poverty. The report also seeks to motivate policy makers to create the enabling conditions for increased investments in a transition to a green economy.

More specifically on Fisheries: "...It is estimated that the fishing industry employs more than 35 million people, which implies that between 15 and 22 million fewer fishers would be required in a green-fisheries scenario..."

Link:  UNEP Green Economy Report

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Industrial air pollution cost Europe up to €169 billion in 2009, EEA reveals 

November 24, 2011 - European Environmental Agency Press Release

Air pollution from the 10,000 largest polluting facilities in Europe cost citizens between € 102 and 169 billion in 2009. This was one of the findings of a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) which analysed the costs of harm to health and the environment caused by air pollution. Half of the total damage cost (between € 51 and 85 billion) was caused by just 191 facilities.

Link:  EEA Press Release

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Climate change impacts on the biophysics and economics of world fisheries 

November 20, 2011 - Nature Climate Change (2011) - doi:10.1038/nclimate1301

Global marine fisheries are underperforming economically because of overfishing, pollution and habitat degradation. Added to these threats is the looming challenge of climate change. Observations, experiments and simulation models show that climate change would result in changes in primary productivity, shifts in distribution and changes in the potential yield of exploited marine species, resulting in impacts on the economics of fisheries worldwide. Despite the gaps in understanding climate change effects on fisheries, there is sufficient scientific information that highlights the need to implement climate change mitigation and adaptation policies to minimize impacts on fisheries..

Link:  Nature Climate Change Journal

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Rio+20: towards achieving sustainable development by greening the economy and improving governance 

October 10, 2011 - 3118th ENVIRONMENT Council meeting, Luxembourg

The Council reaffirmed that the EU and its Member States are looking forward to an open discussion on the various subjects with all countries and stakeholders, in order to make sure that the outcomes of Rio+20 address our global challenges and ensure tangible, effective and forwardlooking, action-oriented and measurable results that have a real and positive impact across the world now and for future generations.

Link:  EU Council conclusions

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OECD Research Fellowships and Conference Sponsorship - Co-operative Research Programme 

July 28, 2011 - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The OECD Co-operative Research Programme (CRP) invites applications for its 2012 Research Fellowships and Conference Sponsorship. Applications are invited from research scientists working in agriculture, forestry or fisheries and who would like to conduct research projects abroad, in another member country of the Co-operative Research Programme. The aim of the Research Fellowships is to strengthen the international exchange of ideas and increase international mobility and co-operation among scientists working in these areas. Applications should fit into one of the three following research themes: The Natural Resources Challenge,
Sustainability in Practice, The Food Chain

Link:  OECD Trade & Agriculture Directorate

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UN Shipping Group Moves on Vessel Emission Reductions 

July 21, 2011 - International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

IMO is the United Nations agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.
The measures will mandate an efficiency rating system known in UN-speak as the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships.
Under EEDI, each new vessel over 400 gross tons ordered from January 1, 2013, would require a survey of fuel efficiency and have an International Energy Efficiency Certificate issued. Under SEEMP, new and existing ships will have to keep on board a ship-specific energy use management plan during operation.

Link:  ShippingEfficiency.org

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NGOs and OCEAN2012 oppose an increase in de minimis aid. 

Apr 20, 2011 - OCEAN 2012

Selected Members of the EU Parliament are calling for an increase of possible de minimis aid to the fisheries sector, mainly to provide fuel subsidies to the fishing sector at a time of rising fuel prices. This is in strong contradiction with the EU’s commitment to eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies but, more importantly, granting more public money to the fisheries sector without a clear link to delivering public goods would send a perverse signal during the discussion on the new CFP. NGOs and the OCEAN2012 coalition oppose an increase of the de minimis ceiling.

Link:  OCEAN 2012 Publications

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Azti-Tecnalia presents two energy efficiency systems for the fisheries sector

April 13, 2011 - Sinaval-Eurofishing 2011 Trade Fair in Spain.

The fisheries sector Trade Fair in Spain —Sinaval-Eurofishing 2011— was the scenario chosen by   Azti-Tecnalia (the technological centre specialising in marine and food research) to present two technologies employed by its researchers aimed at enhancing energy efficiency in the sector. In concrete, it involves a system for the management of fuel consumption on board vessels and a system of monitoring and computer-simulation of fishing gears.

Link: http://www.tecnalia.info/sp_notas_de_prensa.php (Press Releases 13/04/2011)

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Focus on Powder Coatings

European Paint and Resin News, Dec 2007/Jan 2008, 46(1): pp. 14.

XIOM CLAIMS A REDUCTION IN FUEL CONSUMPTION OF 16% WITH NEW COATING SYSTEM
Xiom Corp says that its newly developed plastic powder coating system can lessen fuel usage when applied on a boat‘s propeller device. The plastic powder coating system, which uses Xiom‘s polymer materials, can be applied on site since it comes with portable patented spray guns. It has been tested on marine vessels equipped with a cylindrical tube, known as a Kortz nozzle. Fuel consumption was reduced by about 16% on a 75- foot steel fishing boat with a 6-ft diameter Kort nozzle coated with Xiom‘s system. A jv has been established in New Bedford, MA, USA, by Xiom to oversee the use of its protective coatings in 700 fishing trawlers.

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European Paint and Resin News, Dec 2007/Jan 2008, 46(1): pp. 14.

XIOM CLAIMS A REDUCTION IN FUEL CONSUMPTION OF 16% WITH NEW COATING SYSTEM
Xiom Corp says that its newly developed plastic powder coating system can lessen fuel usage when applied on a boat‘s propeller device. The plastic powder coating system, which uses Xiom‘s polymer materials, can be applied on site since it comes with portable patented spray guns. It has been tested on marine vessels equipped with a cylindrical tube, known as a Kortz nozzle. Fuel consumption was reduced by about 16% on a 75- foot steel fishing boat with a 6-ft diameter Kort nozzle coated with Xiom‘s system. A jv has been established in New Bedford, MA, USA, by Xiom to oversee the use of its protective coatings in 700 fishing trawlers.