As popular white fish species such as cod, face fisheries collapse, pollock has increasingly been an essential alternative. For instance the kid’s favourite, Fish Fingers, now increasingly consist of pollock rather than cod, as do McDonald’s ‘Filet-o-Fish.’

Perhaps the pollock’s newly received endangered status has been brought about by increased corporate-consumer demand.

Recently the US National Marine Fisheries Service advised an 18 per cent reduction in next year’s catch from the pollock’s stronghold in the eastern Bering Sea. However given that advice about the North Atlantic Cod stocks were not heeded, many believe greater reductions are needed.

Greenpeace’s oceans campaign director, John Hocevar has been vocal about the need to reduce pollock fishing in order to prevent total collapse, suspecting that “we are on the cusp of one of the largest fishery collapses in history.”

Many scientists including Hocevar believe that the pollock’s immense decline could be the reason that stellar sea lion’s – a major predator of pollock – are faring so badly. Their numbers have tumbled by 80 per cent since the 1970s.

Once again, the imperative to diversity fish tastes at home and abroad has been highlighted, to allow imperilled fish stocks to recover.

After years of campaigning by a multitude of NGOs within Britain for a far-reaching Climate Change Bill, the Government has finally given in and last night the Climate Change Bill received Royal Assent.

The British Ecological Society (BES) responded to the initial Government consultation in 2007, calling for the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 70% by 2050, and the BES is extremely pleased that the Government favourably considered our viewpoint.

In fact the Government went further and set binding targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 80% of 1990s levels by 2050. Suprisingly, Lord Turner, the chair of the Climate Change Committee, has pledged support of a third runway at Heathrow with obvious implications in terms of emissions. However, Lord Turner believes that building a third runway at Heathrow will not inhibit targets set out in the bill.

The government has set itself five year carbon budgets that it will be required to not only adhere to, but to provide annual reports on its progress towards meeting the budgets. The first of these budgets will run from 2008 to 2013, with follow-up budgets from 2013 to 2018, and 2018 to 2023.

Announcing the new legislation the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, said “Setting the 80 per cent target was the easy part: now the work really begins,” he said.

“Government, communities, businesses and individuals need to work together to bring about change.”

The ascension of the Climate Change Bill means Britain is now a world leader in tackling climate change. This will hopefully help bring about similar positive changes in other countries that, until now, have been hesitant about making as strong binding commitments as Britain has made.

BES members are invited to comment on this article

Take a look at the new environment blog, ‘Earth Watch’, maintained by the BBC website’s Environment Correspondent, Richard Black: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/richardblack/

Research published in the Royal Society’s Biology Letters journal suggests that fisheries management must consider population demography.

Modeling the life history demographics of 25 different marine fish species, Canadian scientists have found that larger, older female fish produce tougher offspring than their younger counterparts.

In efforts to make fisheries more sustainable, conserving the elder female fish could help sustain populations. Currently the findings of the research are out of sync with real-life fisheries practice, where the largest fish are sought. Overfishing results from this practice because of the two-fold effect of removing the best breeders, and subsequently reducing the rate of recruitment in the local population.

It is suggested that by enforcing size regulations, altering the size of fishing gear and how it’s used could protect the bigger older individuals. The practicality of implementing these measures on the ground are not explored explicitly however, and targeting large female fish within populations could be very difficult to implement.

Do blog readers believe that European fisheries practices are sustainable? Does the Common Fisheries Policy need re-evaluating?

Blog readers are invited to comment on this article

The Science Policy team yesterday attended the final day of the annual Environment Agency conference, which saw Jane Davidson, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing at the Welsh Assembly Government, Ed Milliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, deliver keynote addresses.

Jane Davidson set our her vision for ‘One Wales, One Planet’, a new scheme which commits Wales to become a ‘one planet nation’. The Government aims to reduce the ecological footprint of Wales to 1.88 global Ha per person, from 5.16Ha pp at present. This will involve an 80-90% reduction in the use of carbon-based energy, plus an associated reduction in carbon emissions, a reduction in waste and in travel. Wales is committed to a 3% year-on-year reduction in emissions from 2011.

Ed Milliband, delivering his first speech as Secretary of State at the new Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), emphasised the need to “up the pace”, with respect to tackling climate change, calling on the public sector to play a greater role in energy generation. He stressed that carbon emissions from aviation can no longer be overlooked, with an amendment to the UK Climate Change Bill meaning that emissions from aviation will be taken account of in carbon targets. Mr Milliband also highlighted the opportunities for creating “green jobs” which a switch to renewable energy and development of ‘green’ technologies could bring: “greening the upturn” in the economy which would mark a climb out of recession.

Boris Johnson used his speech to announce a new ‘priority parks’ initiative, allowing the public to vote for 47 green spaces which they would like to receive investment. The top-10 parks will receive a £400,000 award for improvements. Mr Johnson stated that he had has his ‘mind changed’ over climate change, based on the ‘huge body of scientific evidence’. It was his duty as Mayor, he said, to create a city which is tree-lined, enjoyable and above all, a ‘nice’ place to live. London could be the centre of a green revolution. The cornerstone of this is the Mayor’s recently announced plan to introduce 6-10,000 bicycles to the streets under a cycle-hire scheme, and the introduction of cycle ’super-highways’.

A business forum saw corporate figures questioned by the Chair and audience over their sectors’ plans for mitigating and adapting to climate change. One speaker, Mike Barry, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Marks and Spencers, highlighted the need for organisations such as M and S to pay heed to ’sound science’ when making decisions regarding ‘greening’ their supply chains, and the importance of gathering multiple stakeholders together to discuss potential solutions based on this.

It seems as though the Government-Industrial complex has overcome sensibilities in a move by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), calling to maintain fishing levels of bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus 50% above scientists’ recommendations.

ICCAT members decided to permit a take of 22,000 tonnes per year (Total Allowable Catch), despite ICCAT scientists setting a quota of 15,000 tonnes (TAC). The members voted on the higher quota despite warnings by scientists that fisheries would collapse if their advice was not heeded. The ICCAT members’ target does not even take into consideration the additional 30% of take that illegal fishing contributes.

Some European countries have independently expressed concern over bluefin stocks. Spain, which consume the most tuna of any European country, called for a suspension of the fishery, whilst Italy have opted for a total moratorium.

It is thought that conservation groups may now engage the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), in order to enforce trade control over the bluefin tuna trade.

Europeans, particularly the British, have a tendency to favour very few fish species over the relative diversity of fish available on the market. There are many decent alternatives to popular choices such as Atlantic cod and bigeye tuna (stocks of both are perilously depleted), its simply a matter of educating the public, and where possible your colleagues.

The Marine Conservation Society has provided a comprehensive sustainable fish guide, and a pocket-sized version is available from their fish online website.

A new report by the Campaign for Better Transport suggests that emissions from transport could be cut by up to 26% of 2006 levels by 2020.

The report highlights the following areas where most emissions could be reduced:

• Reductions in passenger travel emissions of 32%

• Freight emissions reduced by up to 19%

• Cars 25% more fuel efficient

• Car traffic reduced by 15%

• Domestic aviation emissions down 30%

The report suggests that cutting long-distance travel could lead to significant reductions in overall emissions, particularly from long-distance commuters and HGVs.

The government awaits the official findings from the Committee on Climate Change before making any final decisions.

Conservationists and policy makers are conscious that many species ranges’ may shift because of climate change, in fact many species have already begun to do so, (although this wasn’t detected convincingly in the recent Countryside Survey Report for the UK).

Recent research published in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology investigated the extent to which the Natura 2000 network is capable of supporting European species in the face of climate change.

The investigators analysed how well connected forest, wetland and grassland ecosystems are across NW Europe now, and how they might become as a result of climate change. They also looked at the extent to which habitat networks will be able to facilitate species’ movement under a specific climate change model.

The findings suggest that protected areas currently suitable for many species, will no longer be able to support these species in the future. The available habitat for different species in the future will vary, for example available habitat for the black woodpecker Dryocopus martius, marsh warbler Acrocephalus palustris and meadow pipit Anthus pratensis is expected to be around 70%, whereas the agile frog Rana dalmatina and bittern Botaurus stellaris only 6-8%. Considerable range shifts were also predicted, for example the middle spotted woodpecker Dendrocopus medius is anticipated to become more abundant in Ireland, the Netherlands and Denmark, as habitat becomes less suitable in France.

The authors emphasise the need to strengthen connectivity between ecosystem networks on a large spatial scale. Given the uncertainty surrounding the frequency of extreme weather events, how representative the study species are and the impact of curbing emissions on climate change, the precautionary principle should be applied.

Thus European policy should aim to broadly meet the needs of as many species as possible by increasing connectivity, whilst considering ecosystem services such as water regulation and carbon fixation. For example increasing wetlands across Europe will offer ecosystem services in terms of winter flood and summer drought alleviation, whilst providing increased connectivity for wetland species such as the bittern.

The research highlights the need to consider wildlife conservation in the context of future climate and habitat change. Presently BRANCH (Biodiversity Requires Adaptation in North Western Europe under a Changing Climate) are helping to fill the policy gaps, by pushing for the integration of planning with biodiversity needs.

The journal article is available for purchase from Wiley Interscience.

Read more about Natura 2000 here.

Source: Vos, C.C., Berry, P., Opdam, P. Baveco, H., Nijhof, B., O’Hanley, J., Bell, C., and Kuipers, H. (2008). Adapting landscapes to climate change: examples of climate-proof ecosystem networks and priority adaption zones. Journal of Applied Ecology. 45: 1722-1731.

Applications are now welcome for the NERC peer review college. The closing date is 9 January 2009.

NERC is seeking college members with all types of environmental sciences expertise. Those selected will make an important contribution to determining the science that NERC funds and will have a pivotal role in maintaining its quality. Members of the peer review college find that they gain valuable insight into the grant assessment process, which can help them to formulate their own proposals. Other benefits of membership are the chance to examine a wide variety of proposals and the opportunity to network with colleagues at panel meetings.

For further information, please contact the Peer Review College at college@nerc.ac.uk or see college@nerc.ac.uk or see www.nerc.ac.uk.

The role of the BES in bringing together policy makers, ecologists and others to discuss topical issues in environmental policy has been highlighted in a response to a parliamentary question in the House of Lords. Lord Dykes (Spokesperson in the Lords – Europe), asked the Government to outline the progress made by the UK Biodiversity Advisory Group (UK BRAG) in investigating empirical ecosystems. In response, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Minister of State for Sustainable Development, Climate Change Adaptation and Air Quality at Defra, referenced the joint UK BRAG – BES workshop, held at this year’s BES annual meeting, which examined ecosystem services and the ecosystem approach:

” In September 2008, UK BRAG held a joint workshop with the British Ecological Society to look specifically at ecosystem services and the ecosystem approach. The workshop brought environmental researchers together with sociologists and geographers to look at valuing biodiversity in a more holistic and practical way. The proceedings of this workshop will shortly be available on the UK BRAG website.”

The BES will also be making the proceedings available online and will announce this on the Blog.

The BES is also involved in further high profile events in 2009, exploring the ecosystem approach, with a three-day stakeholder symposium from 29 April – 1 May. The BES has joined a partnership of organisations; the IOB, CEH and the Science Council, to form the ‘Natural Capital Initiative’. The Initiative’s website and further information about the symposium will shortly be available: again, this will be highlighted on the Blog.

Read the full transcript of today’s discussion in the Lords on ‘They Work for You’