SAN
17/04/2013 08:30
GENERAL
REL: 0830 HRS Sanford Limited
GENERAL: SAN: Sanford Limited - Press Release
SANFORD LIMITED
SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
17 April 2013
Sanford To Back NZ-US Ross Sea Protection If Tougher Rules Put On Fishing
Vessels
Sanford Limited has advised the New Zealand Government of its support for the
NZ-US joint proposal to create the world's largest Marine Protected Area
(MPA) in the Ross Sea in return for tougher rules for vessels approved to
fish outside the MPA.
It's hoped the proposal could be approved in July when it will be discussed
at a specially convened session of the Commission for the Conservation of
Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) being held in Germany. If agreed
the area to be protected under the NZ-US proposal is almost nine times the
size of New Zealand and the no-take area for fishing is six times the size of
New Zealand.
Ahead of that meeting, Sanford is warning that the number of vessels in the
Ross Sea is increasing each year (up 30% last year) and CCAMLR currently has
no mechanism for capping the number of vessels or ensuring that ships and
crews are equipped to safely operate in the ecologically sensitive and
dangerous environment.
Sanford's Managing Director, Eric Barratt said the company's support for the
MPA is conditional on the Commission implementing five changes to strengthen
the assessment of vessels before they are approved to fish in the non-MPA
areas of the Ross Sea.
The five changes will improve the ways in which the fishery and fishing
vessels are managed and operated in the area in order to reduce the risks to
the environment. The changes Sanford is seeking from CCAMLR are:
1. Minimum Ice Class standards for vessels (Ships with an Ice Class have a
strengthened hull to enable them to navigate through sea ice).
2. Minimum Safety and Inspection standards for vessels.
3. Vessels Failing to Comply with CCAMLR requirements should be excluded.
4. Contribution to science and research to be a key consideration in the
vessel approval process.
5. Licensed vessels to meet the Marine Stewardship Council standard for the
Ross Sea Toothfish Fishery.
"The establishment of this large MPA will significantly reduce the available
fishing areas and therefore the rules around the approvals, numbers and
operations of vessels must be strengthened."
Sanford will be seeking support for these changes from other like-minded
fishing companies in the hope they will lobby their governments for the best
outcome from the NZ-US MPA proposal.
Eric Barratt says the company supports the 2.27 million square kilometre
protected marine area in the Ross Sea. "But the creation of this MPA must go
hand in hand with enhanced oversight of fishing operations outside that area
in order to realise MPA's full environmental benefits."
"This critical debate has been missing from CCAMLR's Ross Sea protection
discussions to date. With Total Allowable Catch (TAC) tonnage remaining the
same, the increase in vessel numbers heightens competition for fishing areas
dramatically increasing potential risks to the environment, to vessels, and
to crew."
Mr Barratt says the changes Sanford wants CCAMLR's support to apply to
vessels approved to fish outside the MPAs have been carefully considered with
the aim of providing 'workable solutions that will considerably reduce risk
to the environment, improve fishery and research outcomes by further ensuring
sustainability of the resource while increasing vessel and crew safety.'
The five changes Sanford is seeking are outlined in detail below.
Eric Barratt
Managing Director Phone: +64 21 325 209
Condition 1: Protection of the Environment - PERMIT ICE CLASS VESSELS ONLY
At present there is no requirement for vessels authorised to fish in the Ross
Sea to be classified as suitable and safe for use in sea ice conditions.
Sanford proposes that all vessels authorised to fish in the area must be a
minimum of Ice Class 1C. Fishing in the Antarctic area is inherently more
risky than fishing in ice-free waters. A number of near misses have occurred
already with non-Ice Class vessels being trapped by ice requiring emergency
assistance. Most of these vessels have been built to operate in tropical
water fisheries and are not equipped to handle sea ice, freezing air
temperatures, and extreme polar weather conditions. Although there is at
present no CCAMLR requirement for any vessel authorised to fish in the Ross
Sea Region to be classified for operations in ice, individual flag states
such as New Zealand assess vessel suitability as part of their licensing
procedure. Such assessments and requirements need to be globally applied to
all vessels in CCAMLR waters.
Condition 2: Vessels Safety and Crewing Standards Need to be Significantly
Strengthened.
There is an urgent need to set and enforce minimum safety standards for
vessels operating in Antarctic waters. Although there are no agreed
international agreements currently in place to govern the safety of fishermen
and fishing vessels within the Convention Area most CCAMLR Members have
either ratified or signed the Antarctic Environmental Protocol (AEP), part of
the Antarctic Treaty System of which CCAMLR is also an integral part.
Article 3 of the Environmental Protocol requires Members to plan and conduct
activities so as to limit adverse impacts on the Antarctic environment. In
the absence of any current standards for assessing the suitability of fishing
vessels for the area, rating the training and ability of fishing crews to
uphold environmental standards, assessing the vessel and crew capability for
emergency response or to specify minimum standards for safety equipment
aboard vessels, even partial conformance with the AEP is problematic. Setting
and enforcing practical standards for vessel safety equipment, crew training
and emergency response capability (including regular practical emergency
drills and processes to overcome language barriers for all crew) is a
required condition for Sanford. One Korean Vessel (Insung No 1) has already
sunk in the Ross Sea in 2010 with the tragic loss of 22 lives. The Korean
Government investigation into the sinking quoted: "Language barriers between
the multinational crew members also harmed their survival chances."
Condition 3: Failure to Comply with Fisheries and Environmental Conservation
Measures Should Result in Vessels being Removed from the Fishery.
Each year CCAMLR imposes various research requirements on vessels authorised
to fish in the Ross Sea. These research requirements relate to the tagging
and release of a certain percentage of toothfish as well as biological
information collected on toothfish and many by-catch species. There are other
environmental and management measures governing the fishery intended to
protect seabirds, reduce impacts on bycatch species, and mitigate the effects
of fishing and navigating on the environment. For example, all fish waste and
catch is required to be retained on board so as not to attract seabirds and
vessels are required to move on to other grounds if by-catch exceeds certain
nominated levels. While all vessels are required to carry two observers a
number of vessels consistently fail to meet reporting and research
requirements and contravene other measures. With the numbers of vessels in
the fishery escalating annually and no current mechanism in place by CCAMLR
to cap this increase, the most obvious mechanism is to allocate licences to
those vessels providing good research information (see 4 below) and refuse
licences to those vessels contravening conservation measures or misreporting.
Sanford strongly urges the adoption of such a mechanism by CCAMLR.
Condition 4: Incentives for additional effort contributing to science and
fishery management.
A smaller number of vessels and flag states have consistently undertaken
additional research providing detailed and important ecosystem information
such as predator-prey relationships, all food webs (using isotopes from flesh
samples), feeding studies on toothfish and other species, detailed biological
examination of bycatch species, and the comprehensive collection of benthic
fauna to support bottom impact studies in the area. For the past two years
one of Sanford's vessels has been involved in an extensive CCAMLR sponsored
research survey of pre-recruit toothfish providing valuable information on
the future potential of the fishery with the majority of the project cost
being borne by the company. While some are contributing significantly to the
underlying science governing the fishery and complying fully with all
regulations, many are not. This, in effect, means that currently a small
group of vessels (and respective CCAMLR Members) are effectively 'carrying'
the remainder of the fleet in respect to research contributions. Sanford
would like to see incentives in place to encourage those who are contributing
and sanctions/exclusion from the fishery for those not contributing.
Condition 5: Vessels Authorised to Fish should be Marine Stewardship Council
Certified
The Marine Stewardship Council has certified the Ross Sea Toothfish Fishery
for the client group (a sub set of the vessels) operating in the area
recognising, rewarding sustainable fishing practices by those operators and
acknowledging the CCAMLR management framework. MSC Certification comes with
additional responsibilities and requirements for vessel operators and 'raises
the bar' higher than the standard CCAMLR requirements set for exploratory
fisheries. The MSC programme reviews the best available science and an MSC
fishery must demonstrate sustainable fish stocks, effective management, and
minimal environmental impact. Such MSC certification is very important in key
American and Asian markets providing consumers with certainty and confidence
that the fish comes from an independently certified sustainable fishery.
Currently less than half the vessels operating in the Ross Sea Toothfish
Fishery are MSC certified. Sanford urges CCAMLR to encourage all vessels
authorised in the Ross Sea to match these higher standards and join the MSC
group.
End CA:00235276 For:SAN Type:GENERAL Time:2013-04-17 08:30:35
