| To: ~digs who wrote (347) | 6/18/2006 3:14:29 AM | | From: Litore Lapis | | | | I haven't even thought of fish as a financial investment.
However, there is abundant evidence that this fast disappearing commodity is most valuable to us.
Here is a handy site...
fishbase.org
It's a sector definitely worth some investigation.
With the huge ocean out there it's seems silly just to invest in some daft little polluted fish farms. There should be some big money moved into replenishing the seas (and fresh water varieties).
/edit OTOH Tilapia have been farmed for thousands of years. I expect there will be plenty of business there. |
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| From: Litore Lapis | 6/18/2006 8:47:59 PM | | | | | | Japan to increase 'scientific' whaling
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor
(Filed: 19/06/2006)
telegraph.co.uk
Japan is to allow its whaling fleet to catch more of two endangered species after its efforts to have a temporary ban on commercial whaling lifted were frustrated.
Tokyo confirmed that it will increase its catch in the Southern Ocean this year to 935 minke and 10 fin whales.
The Japanese fleet will kill another 40 fin and 50 humpbacks - species listed as endangered by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) - in the following two years under a loophole that permits "scientific" whaling. Humpbacks have an estimated population of 10,000 in the Southern Ocean.
The British whaling commissioner, Richard Cowan, said Britain would protest over the decision but added that under the UN's whaling treaty Japan had the right to kill whales for scientific purposes.
"They say it's necessary for stock assessment but we believe they could find out all they need to know by non-lethal means," he said.
"They have stocks of whale meat coming out of their ears and we understand they are putting it into pet food because they can't sell it for anything else."
Japan's decision came after it suffered a string of defeats at the 70-member IWC's annual meeting over the weekend in the Caribbean state of St Kitts and Nevis. Pro-whaling countries lost their third vote in a row on Saturday, due to China and South Korea's refusal to support a proposal to allow fishermen in Taiji, a coastal community in south-east Japan, to hunt minke whales.
In a stinging defeat for Tokyo, the proposal, which needed a three-quarter quorum to pass, failed by one vote to win even a simple majority. Four countries that were expected to side with Japan - China, South Korea, the Solomon Islands, and Kiribati - unexpectedly abstained.
The Japanese had hoped for more support from small countries in the Pacific and Caribbean with no whaling interests but a need for development aid.
Joji Morishita, of the Japanese delegation, said before the vote: "We are glad this is not a secret vote. Japan will remember which countries supported this proposal and which countries said no."
The five-day meeting ends tomorrow. |
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| From: Litore Lapis | 10/18/2006 2:28:47 AM | | | | | | Scientists call for 'total cod ban'
ananova.com
Cod fishing must be banned to prevent the species from dying out in the North Sea, it is reported.
Scientists say a complete ban must be introduced throughout next year as other measures have failed, according to The Times.
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, the official committee of European fisheries experts, will tell the Government on Friday that stocks of cod in the seas around the UK are still very depleted.
This is despite a European Union recovery plan for cod adopted in 2004 which limited catches and the amount of time boats can spend at sea, the committee will say.
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| From: ~digs | 3/28/2007 3:31:38 AM | | | | | | Study Urges Catch Share Fishing Programs
apnews.myway.com
Mar 28, 12:03 AM (ET) ; By ANDREW MIGA
WASHINGTON (AP) - Setting strict fishing limits and giving fishermen flexibility in how they divide their catch are key steps to rebuilding depleted fish stocks and saving embattled fishing communities, according to a study by an environmental group.
So-called catch share programs that allocate a percentage of the overall catch to fishermen create economic incentives while promoting healthy marine fisheries, concluded a report being released Wednesday by Environmental Defense, an environmental advocacy group.
Under catch share plans, fishermen are allowed to buy and sell shares of a fishery's total catch.
"That's the missing puzzle piece here," said David Festa, oceans program director at Environmental Defense. "When you drop that little gear into this complex mechanism, all of a sudden the watch starts to tick smoothly."
But catch-share plans, also known as limited access privileges or quotas, have generated controversy in areas such as New England where some fishermen fear the shares of smaller boats would be bought up by big corporations bent on monopolizing the region's centuries-old industry.
Some critics also see it as privatization of a public resource.
"It's supposed to be a national resource that belongs to everyone," said Jim Kendall, a New Bedford, Mass., seafood industry consultant. "What about the people who are excluded from the fishery? How do you treat people fairly? Who decides?"
If a fishery is well-managed, the value of shares owned by fishermen should increase as science-based conservation measures take hold and the fishery rebounds, Festa said. That would give fishermen a stronger interest in making sure stocks aren't depleted, he added.
Fishermen already operate under a complex system of federal regulations as government regulators wrestle with overfishing and collapsing fisheries. The 14-month, $1.2 million study focused on 10 fisheries in the United States and Canada that use catch-share programs. Environmental Defense said it was the largest such study since Congress lifted its moratorium on catch-share programs five years ago.
The report comes more than two months after President Bush signed into law a major bill that overhauled management of marine fisheries and boosted protections of dwindling stocks. The reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act supports catch-share programs, said Festa.
---
On the Net:
Environmental Defense: environmentaldefense.org |
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| To: ~digs who wrote (347) | 3/28/2007 3:43:57 AM | | From: ~digs | | | | HQSM.ob has morphed..
-new ticker [HQSB.ob]
-new share structure [1-for-20 reverse split]
Tuesday March 20, 8:24 am ET
HQ Reports Sales Increase by 42% for FY 2006; Income From Operations Increased by 54%
biz.yahoo.com
 |
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| To: ~digs who wrote (353) | 3/28/2007 4:05:35 AM | | From: ~digs | | | | Colombia fish disaster highlights importance of pond-raised aquaculture, says producer
fishfarmer-magazine.com
06 March, 2007 - A Seattle-based aquaculture company has highlighted the significance of pond-raised aquaculture, following reports that around three million cage-raised tilapia suffocated due to drought in southern Colombia.
The fish reportedly died after a four-month drought drastically drained water levels, leaving too little oxygen to sustain dozens of hatcheries.
Commenting, Norbert Sporns, CEO of HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries, Inc. said: "This environmental tragedy sadly highlights one of the ongoing debates in the aquaculture industry today about the advantages of pond-raised vs. cage-raised farmed fish. Advocates of cage-raised practices assume that fish in cages are raised in a constantly flowing water supply which reduces the effects of algae cultures and leads to better-tasting, healthier fish. But in fact, this reliance on an uncontrolled water environment can lead to many problems, one of which is horribly dramatised by the disaster in Colombia."
According to Dr Claude E. Boyd - Professor of Agriculture and Environment at Auburn University, Alabama, and a long-time consultant to numerous domestic and international organisations including the World Aquaculture Society and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation - conflicts in management of water resources can result in such a kill-off.
Dr Boyd, who is Butler Cunningham Eminent Scholar in Auburn's Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture and the author or co-author of numerous scientific books on pond aquaculture, said: "In general terms, pond culture is more environmentally friendly than cage culture, because it enables greater control of the water environment and effluents that impact the health of the fish."
HQ Sustainable is a leader in toxin-free integrated aquaculture and aquatic product processing. The Seattle-based company's tilapia farm operations are pond-based and located in Hainan, China. |
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| To: ~digs who wrote (352) | 3/28/2007 6:46:10 AM | | From: Litore Lapis | | | | More on the same story..
Landmark Study Shows Clear Pathway to Restoring Imperiled Fish Populations
prnewswire.com
Report Shows Bycatch Reduced by Nearly Half; Per-Boat Revenues Increased by
80 Percent; Safety Doubled in Fisheries with Catch Share Systems
WASHINGTON, March 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Environmental Defense
today released the results of a landmark study that provides a clear
roadmap for rebuilding fishing stocks and restoring fishing communities.
Entitled "Sustaining America's Fisheries and Fishing Communities," this
research details how Limited Access Privilege Programs (LAPPs), or "catch
shares," save fishing stocks and help restore fishing communities by
offering clear environmental, economic and social benefits. The report also
describes a tool to help design effective systems.
A team of over 30 scientists, economists, fishery specialists and other
experts collected data on nearly 100 fisheries and analyzed over 150 peer-
reviewed studies. Funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, this is
largest such study since the U.S. Congress lifted the moratorium on catch
shares five years ago.
"Catch shares are the missing piece in the puzzle to restore our
fisheries and fishing communities," said Fred Krupp, President of
Environmental Defense. "For the first time, this comprehensive study
provides the hard data that shows how catch shares can improve the
performance of fisheries at lower cost to fishermen and greater benefit to
the overall ecosystem."
"This comprehensive analysis shows that LAPPs can be a pivotal tool in
preserving fishing stocks," said Barry Gold, the Marine Conservation
Initiative Lead at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. "When designed
with local objectives in mind, these systems not only help create
sustainable fishing practices, they can also help restore fishing
communities."
Environmental, Economic and Social Benefits
Catch shares work by allocating a dedicated percentage share of a
fishery's total catch to individual fishermen, communities or associations.
If a fishery is well managed, the value of these shares increases as the
stock expands. When participants have a secure portion of the catch, they
gain the flexibility to make business decisions that improve safety,
increase profits and promote healthy fishing stocks.
An in-depth analysis of ten fisheries in the U.S. and Canada before and
after the implementation of catch shares showed:
-- Bycatch was reduced by more than 40%, which, together with the benefits
of complying with catch limits, each year saves the equivalent of the
annual seafood consumption of 16 million Americans.
-- Revenues per boat increased by 80% due to higher yields per boat and
higher dockside prices.
-- Safety more than doubled, based on an index of vessels lost, lives
lost, search and rescue missions and recorded safety violations.
"The biggest thing catch shares do is end the race for fish," said
David Krebs, a Gulf red snapper fisherman. "We used to go out in dangerous
conditions, regardless of the cost of fuel or what price we'd get for our
fish. Now our jobs are safer and we can deliver a higher quality product."
"The combination of catch limits, protected areas and controls on
bycatch provide a foundation for healthy fisheries," said David Festa,
Oceans Program Director at Environmental Defense. "Catch shares multiply
the benefits of these practices and create powerful incentives for
improvements in fisheries throughout the country."
The Problem
An estimated 90% of large predatory fish are gone from our world's
oceans. Of 230 assessed U.S. fisheries, 54 stocks are classified as
over-fished, 45 stocks are experiencing overfishing and just over half of
the nation's stocks are in uncertain status.
"Fisheries have continued to decline despite decades of trying to
manage these resources," said Steve Gaines, Director of the Marine Science
Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "As these data
show, this doesn't have to be the reality."
America's fishing communities are also suffering. The collapse of the
iconic cod fishery in New England in the early 1990s cost an estimated
20,000 jobs. An estimated 72,000 jobs have been lost due to decreasing
salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest. The typical fisherman now makes
nearly 30% less than the average American worker and faces an occupational
fatality rate that is 35 times higher than other industries.
"This report clearly shows that catch share programs help end the
dangerous race for fish and contribute to a vibrant, safe future for our
coastal communities," said Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA). "These findings
confirm actual experiences with successful catch share programs in the
North Pacific. These programs have increased the value of fisheries while
contributing to conservation."
The Future
President Bush recently set a practical goal of doubling U.S. catch
share programs by 2010. Congress also promoted these systems and
established guidelines for their use as part of the reauthorized
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which passed
Congress unanimously in December 2006. This new report provides the hard
data to properly evaluate and design these systems.
"Faced with reduced landings and fragile waterfront economies,
California's fishing families and their communities are going through
profound change," said Congresswoman Lois Capps, a member of the House
Natural Resources Committee. "To preserve the economy and heritage of
special places like Morro Bay, we should give fishermen tools that enhance
their economic vitality, advance sustainable fishing practices and protect
fish populations for future generations."
"The task at hand today is prompt and well designed implementation of
catch shares," said Krupp. "We call on both President Bush and Congress to
prioritize funding over the next five years for these innovative approaches
to rebuild our fisheries and fishing communities." To download a copy of
the report and learn more about catch shares, please visit
sustainingfisheries.com.
Contributing Partners
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, established in 2000, seeks to
advance environmental conservation and cutting-edge scientific research
around the world and improve the quality of life in the San Francisco Bay
Area. The goal of the Marine Conservation Initiative is to achieve progress
towards resilient and productive marine ecosystems in British Columbia, the
California Current, and New England by implementing area-based management
and reforming fisheries management. moore.org
Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization,
represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense has
linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships
to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental
problems. environmentaldefense.org
Redstone Strategy Group, LLC is a trusted advisor to businesses,
philanthropies and NGOs around the world. Redstone helps its clients
address pressing business and social policy issues through collaboration,
tough-minded analysis, practical insights and tangible results. Redstone
provided the analysis of catch share systems including the detailed
performance evaluation of the 10 U.S. and British Columbia fisheries
included in the report. redstonestrategy.com |
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