Also by Willie

Saving polar bears

Posted by Willie - 21 March 2010 at 7:39pm - Comments

As iconic species go, the polar bear is quite literally up there. They are emblematic of the top-most chunk of the planet, as well as the emotive symbol of the effects of catastrophic climate change.

Polar bears are quite impressive. They are the world’s largest land predator, and undoubted 'rulers' of their ice kingdom. In popular culture they exist as cuddly toys, heroic fighters, and fashion accessories for Lady GaGa (don’t worry, I checked, it’s fake).

Article tagged as: arctic, CITES, climate change, endangered species, polar bears

CITES - reality bites. Or rather, reality sucks

Posted by Willie - 19 March 2010 at 2:55pm - Comments

A Steller's sea cow skeleton - first spotted by Europeans in 1741, they were driven to extinction within 30 years © CC Funkmonk

International co-operation is vital if we want to protect the plants and (particularly) animals that we share the planet with. They don't all have a very quantifiable value, and often those most at risk live in countries in the developing world where it is hard to balance the growing needs of the population with effective conservation measures. It's also, of course, rather rich to be lectured by the developed West/North on how to look after your flora and fauna when we have been so remiss ourselves.

Article tagged as: bluefin, CITES, endangered species

Governments fail bluefin in Doha

Posted by Willie - 18 March 2010 at 4:13pm - Comments

The breaking news today is that governments at the CITES meeting at Doha have voted AGAINST a trade ban on Atlantic bluefin.

Words cannot express how frustrating this is. The science and scientific backing is incontrovertible. The public will and pressure is immense. The species could be commercially extinct within just a few years.

Article tagged as: ban, bluefin, CITES, doha, extinction, mediterranean, oceans, trade, tuna

100 year old spiny dogfish with your chips, anyone?

Posted by Willie - 17 March 2010 at 3:01pm - Comments

Spiny dogfish - renamed rock salmon for the fish and chip trade. Image © Creative Commons

In the UK fish and chips is an institution. We have other institutions too, of course, like the Royal family, and in Britain if you make it to your 100th birthday, the momentous occasion is marked by getting a telegram from the Queen.

But how would you feel if the fish in your fish and chips was eligible for such a telegram?

Because, it just might be.

Article tagged as: CITES, endangered species, sharks

Fishy focus at CITES meeting in Doha

Posted by Willie - 17 March 2010 at 10:44am - Comments

The CITES meeting is now well underway in Doha, Qatar. Greenpeace is there, as are many other NGOs, and it’s clear that there is a very fishy focus for this meeting. As well as proposals to protect sharks and corals, Atlantic bluefin is the species on everyone’s mind. For a meeting concerned with the international trade in endangered species, it’s amazing how much of it could boil down to simple horse-trading.

This meeting, of course, is the chance to get an international trade ban on Atlantic bluefin, a measure that should protect the species from imminent commercial extinction.

Article tagged as: bluefin, CITES, japan, tuna

A run on salmon?

Posted by Willie - 16 February 2010 at 3:38pm - Comments

It's worth stopping to think about the true price of the salmon you eat. And there's quite a lot to think about.

Salmon is one of the biggest international seafood commodities, and in the UK it's easily one of the most consumed and most conspicuous species in our supermarkets and restaurants. But the vast majority of the salmon you'll find on shelves or plates these days has been farmed rather than fished. Partly that’s because there's hardly any wild Atlantic salmon left, but it's also because salmon's popularity has grown and it has gone from being a delicacy to become more of an everyday food in the past few decades.

Article tagged as: canada, chile, fish farming, msc, salmon, scotland, USA, videos

THANKS, from all the fish!

Posted by Willie - 12 February 2010 at 3:44pm - Comments

Tuna, halibut and eels are as happy as this stingray following this week's developments © Clicksy

It’s been a busy week, for the fish.

There was the news that the UK’s biggest seafood suppliers have decided to stop supplying European eel and North Atlantic halibut. Both of these species are already listed on the IUCN’s redlist, but the fact that suppliers and retailers are increasingly delisting such species is testament to ongoing campaigning by the likes of Greenpeace, the Marine Conservation Society, and Fish2Fork – making sure that they know that serving up endangered fish species is simply no longer acceptable.

Article tagged as: bluefin, CITES, eels, halibut, MCS, tuna

Bluefin trade ban bandwagon

Posted by Willie - 8 February 2010 at 8:30pm - Comments

It’s like déjà vu, but hopefully this time it will be for real.

Several months ago the UK jumped eagerly on France ’s coat-tails by announcing it’s support for a trade ban on bluefin. Amidst the ups and downs since then our friends at Defra have been noticeably unforthcoming of late. Getting any straight answer out of them on bluefin was like setting up a black pudding factory on Mount Everest. That’s why we encouraged supporters to make sure Defra did the right thing and publicly supported a trade ban.

Article tagged as: bluefin, CITES, EU fisheries, iccat, tuna

Finally, France supports trade ban on bluefin tuna

Posted by Willie - 4 February 2010 at 12:17pm - Comments

At last, France has officially announced support for an international trade ban on Atlantic bluefin. This is great news. It means that 23 out of the 27 EU countries now support the species being protected by CITES (the organisation which regulates trade in endangered species). It also means there is no longer any effective block to stop the EU reaching a common position (at a previous vote, it had been blocked by the Mediterranean countries).

Two of the main fishing nations, Italy and France are supporting the trade ban, and Italy has already declared it is suspending its own fishery. That is pretty momentous. It's as if the proverbial turkeys have just voted for Christmas by a landslide.

Article tagged as: bluefin, CITES, EU fisheries, france, italy, tuna

Help protect the Chagos and create the world's largest Marine Reserve

Posted by Willie - 2 February 2010 at 11:41am - Comments

An octopus adds its support to our Marine Reserves campaign

12 Feb update: consultaion extended until 5 March. Click this link to add your voice in support of the new Marine Reserve

The chances are you’ve never heard of the Chagos Islands, let alone ever been for a visit, but over the next few days we all have an opportunity to help protect the amazing life in the seas around them.

The Chagos archipelago is a group of 55 small islands in the Indian Ocean, that makes up Britain’s Indian Ocean Territory. The UK government is currently consulting on whether to establish a Marine Reserve in the waters around the Chagos – which, if created, would be the largest Marine Reserve in the world, covering around 210,000 square miles. Crucially that area includes half of the Indian Ocean’s pristine coral reefs, the world’s largest coral atoll, as well as charismatic critters like turtles, sharks, coconut crabs and seabirds. Not to mention well over 200 species of coral, and a thousand species of fish!

Article tagged as: chagos, chagossians, coral reefs, indian ocean, marine reserves

Greenpeace UK