Sustainable eel fishing may start to increase in the European Union following the development of a new labelling scheme by the Sustainable Eel Group. The group, whose members include scientists, NGOs and policymakers, have developed a new standard (the Sustainable Eel Standard) to identify and promote best practice in the eel fishing industry. The development of the new standard is part of a move in the EU to put pressure on caterers and retailers to purchase eel only when they can be certain that it has been sustainably caught.

Eel populations have declined dramatically since monitoring began. A variety of factors have contributed to this decline including habitat destruction, pollution of waterways, disease, blocking of migratory pathways, and the complexity of the European eel lifecycle. These problems led to the eel being listed as endangered in 2008, after numbers had declined by as much as 90%. The new standard will start to tackle these problems by creating wetland habitats, monitoring water quality, and making alterations to the blocks in migratory pathways to allow eels to pass.

The new standard outlines key actions that the fishery must undertake in order to obtain a green score. These include:
• To achieve 40% escapement of eels, and minimise mortality during fishing
• To be licensed and provide accurate logbook data
• To use only legal gear
• To cause only negligible impacts on bycatch species or rare and protected species
• To cause on negligible impacts on habitats
• To active contribute in research and monitoring
• To develop and implement an eel management plan for restocking, and monitor the success of restocking
The report also contains recommendations for reducing the environmental and ecological impact of cultured eel and recommendations for animal welfare. Although these recommendations will ensure progression towards sustainability in the eel fishing industry the report also recognises that the fishery can not yet be called sustainable, as recovery of the stocks has not been sufficient.

The Sustainable Eel group is working with the Environment Agency to ensure that these recommendations are implemented in line with an EU Eel Management Plan

Spanish officials today seized over £4 million worth of illegally caught fish landed in the Canary Islands. It is thought the move is the start of a new EU scheme to prevent to deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing after new regulations were introduced last year. The fish seized, weighing over 1100 tonnes, were destined for sale in Europe.

Illegal fishing of the coast of West Africa is a serious problem for local people, who rely on fishing for employment and as a source of protein. EU officials estimate that Sierra Leone loses around $29 million per year as a result of illegal fishing. Declines in fish stocks can increase pressure on other natural resources such as bush meat. Environmental Justice Foundation, the organisation to which the illegal fishing was first reported, said that the EU needs to take more responsibility for policing it’s waters. Among the species illegally caught were octopus, squid, sole, shrimp, and grouper some of which are known to be endangered or have depleted stocks.

Three boats involved in the illegal fishing, owned by South Korea, Panama, and China, were apprehended in the port of Las Palmas. Fish were taken from waters off the coast of Sierra Leone which are reserved for use by local fishermen under international fishing agreements. Other allegations were also made against the vessels, including use of child labour, damage to the local fishermen’s equipment, and even assault. EU officials noted that illegal fishing often goes hand in hand with other criminal activities.

This move is the most drastic action the European Union has ever taken on illegal fishing and a second strike is planned for later this year. Europe is currently investigating the activities of over 70 vessels from both member states and other countries. If vessels are found to be involved in illegal fishing they can be banned from landing fish in any European port, excluding them from the world’s biggest market for fish. Europe is also demanding answers from the Panamanian authorities who provided certificates to show that the fish landed were caught within international fishing agreements which protect certain areas for use by local fishermen.

See Fish worth £4m seized in EU crackdown on illegal fishing by Robert Booth for more information.

2,700 scientists in over 80 nations have collaborated to create the first ever Census of Marine Life (CoML). In a 64 page report, the highlights of over 10 years of marine biological research are presented, with some groundbreaking findings, including the discovery of over 200 new species. The census will contribute substantially to knowledge of global marine biodiversity and marine ecosystem function. It also includes reference to changes in species distribution across European Seas –the Baltic, Atlantic and Mediterranean- which indicate considerably high levels of threat to biodiversity in these waters.

An original paper, which describes the full inventory of life recorded was published as part of a special edition of PLoS ONE in August 2010. The CoML is widely welcomed, ahead of the final TEEB (Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) report, to be published shortly with support from the European Commission, as part of it’s vision for Sustainable Devlopment

Source: Costello, M.J., Coll, M., Danovaro, R., Halpin, P., et al. (2010). A census of marine biodiversity knowledge, resources and future challenges. PLoS ONE. 5(8): e12110.

According to a report published on 4th February by the Centre for Hydrology and Ecology and Pond Conservation, 80% of ponds in England and Wales are in a ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ condition, thus failing to provide vital habitat for aquatic plants and animals. These findings are particularly worrying given that reports by the Environment Agency last autumn showed that 75% of UK rivers will fail to meet new European biological standards. Although large numbers of new ponds are created each year in the UK, many of these ponds are located in agricultural areas and suffer from pollution by nutrient run-off. This eventually results in overgrowth of vegetation and stagnant water. In contrast, the report found that ponds close to rivers, streams and other wetlands are in much better condition. These results highlight the importance of developing future ponds in areas that are protected from pollution, in order to protect Britain’s future freshwater biodiversity.

Pond Conservation Press Release: First national survey shows Britain’s wildlife ponds are in a ‘terrible state’

New research shows that concentrations of pollutants in the environment and atmosphere may increase with global warming, as melting glaciers release pollutants which became trapped in their ice at the end of the twentieth century.

A team of researchers working in Switzerland has found that the concentration of pollutants, including DDT and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenols) in a glacier-fed lake – Lake Oberaar – is higher than in lakes which do not receive meltwater from glaciers, indicating that the pollutants are entering the lake from the glacier, rather than from direct deposition from the atmosphere.

From the 1950s – 70s remote glaciers in the Swiss alps were affected by atmospheric deposition of pollutants. Persistent pollutants such as PCBs and DDT can travel long distances in the atmosphere and can persist for many years in the environment, accumulating in food chains. Analysis shows that from the 1960s – 70s, the accumulation of pollutants in the sediment of Lake Oberaar was rapid, whilst this dropped in the 1980s – 90s due to tighter regulation and the banning of particular products, such as DDT. Now, the researchers have shown, the input of organic chlorines into the lake is as high as the peaks in the 60s and 70s.

The researchers conclude that increased warming will cause the further release of pollutants, leading to the increased exposure of wildlife and fisherman to these compounds, and contamination of water used for drinking and irrigation.

Original research: Bogdal, C., Schmid, P., Zennegg, M. et al. (2009). Blast from the Past: Melting Glaciers as a Relevant Source for Persistent Organic Pollutants. Environmental Science and Technology. 43: 8173-8177.

Source: EU Science for Environment Policy

The Queen’s Speech in Parliament today, in which she set out the legislative agenda for the Government, was just 7 minutes long. This is far shorter than normal, and reflects the fact that there is very little parliamentary time between now and the next election for the passage of new Bills.

The speech did however still contain some proposals of note from an ecological perspective. A proposed ‘Energy Bill’ would support the construction of up to four Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) demonstration schemes to reduce emissions from coal power plants, whilst a ‘Flooding & Water Management Bill’ would require sustainable drainage systems to be considered for new building developments and give water companies more power to control customers’ water usage during droughts. The Government will also respond to proposals on high-speed rail between England and Scotland.

One draft environmental bill proposed in June has been dropped however- the Antarctica Bill. This would have implemented a new annex to the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty, introducing a ‘polluter-pays mechanism’ to act as a deterrent to irresponsible operators in the region. It would also have established a liability regime for environmental emergencies.

It remains to be seen how many of the proposals retained in the speech actually make it into law. For a comprehensive list of all the Bills proposed by the Government, please see here.

The Natural Capital Initiative will be represented at an Earthwatch debate this week; ‘From Tsunami to Drought’. Professor Paul Leonard, Environment Consultant and a member of the NCI steering group will join a panel of four other speakers tasked with pitching ideas to a panel of experts in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style contest. The speakers will each outline their solutions to the looming crisis of drought, predicted under climate change scenarios to become a more frequent occurance and which may drive neighbouring states into conflict over increasingly scarce water resources. The proposals will be assessed by the panel of ‘Dragons’ and the winner will receive a (fictitious) cheque for $1 billion to put their ideas into practice.

The event is taking place on Thursday, 19th November, from 7-9pm at the Royal Geographical Society, London. The Guardian will be covering the debate with a live blog and it will be recorded by the BBC, for broadcast on Radio 4 on New Year’s Day.

The Natural Capital Initiative is a partnership between the Society of Biology, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the British Ecological Society. The NCI aims to identify gaps in research and policy, facilitating an ecosystem approach to policy-making becoming a reality across governments.

New research published in the journal Nature Geoscience shows that 73% of the world’s major river deltas, formed when rivers deposit sediment on their way out to sea, are sinking. This has major implications for the 500 million people who live in or near river deltas.

Results show that sediment delivery to the deltas has been reduced or eliminated at the majority of deltas, of which much can be attributed to upstream damming and a reduction in the number of distributory side channels. The creation of reservoirs, floodplain engineering and extractive activities are also factors, causing sediment compaction. The Po Delta in Italy, for example, subsided by 3.7 metres in the twentieth century, with 81% of this attributable to methane mining.

The reduction in sediment delivery is causing the deltas to sink, exacerbating the risk of flooding around the delta, caused by an increase in sea level rise under climate change. Population growth and development around the delta will also further exacerbate flood risk. Overall, the surface area of deltas vunerable to flooding could increase by 50% under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections for sea level rise in the twenty first century.

Research paper: Syvitski, J.P.M., Kettner, A.J., Overeem, I. et al. (2009). Sinking deltas due to human activities. Nature Geoscience. Doi: 10.1038/NGE0629
Original source: Science for Environment Policy, European Commission

New research showcased in last week’s ‘Science for Environment Policy‘ digest, produced by the European Commission, suggests that the ‘Species at Risk’ (SPEAR) system could provide an accurate and cost-effective means of assessing the effects of pesticides in streams. Under the Water Framework Directive, all water bodies should achieve ‘good ecological status’ by 2015. SPEAR (pesticides) provides a means to measure the ecological status of a waterway, in respect to the impacts of pesticides on organisms.

SPEAR assesses the impact of stressors on at-risk invertebrates, with SPEAR (pesticides) specifically examining the effects of this one particular stressor. In an analysis carried out under the European Commission’s INTERACT project, researchers applied SPEAR (pesticides) at the level of the family and at the species level at 48 small sites on streams in Finland, Germany and France. The results were then compared. Only five species were found to have SPEAR values that were significantly different at the species and at the family level, including the caddisfly (Anabolia nervosa) and mayfly (Baetis vernus); species-level results indicated that the species were not at risk from pesticides, whilst family-level results indicated that the organisms were at risk.

Overall the results indicate that SPEAR (pesticides) could be used at the family level – which is less costly and time consuming than conducting analysis at the level of the species – and across borders. This methodology can contribute to researchers’ ongoing efforts to examine the ecological status of waterways.

Original research: Beketov, M.A., Foit, K., Schäfer, R.B. et al. (2009). SPEAR indicates pesticide effects in streams. Comparative use of species- and family-level biomonitoring data. Environmental Pollution. 157:1841-1848.

Scientists at the Institute for Applied Ecology at the University of Canberra, Australia, have found a turtle that does better in a suburban habitat than it does in nature reserves. Eastern long-necked turtles (Chelodina longicollis) living in the suburbs of Canberra occupy home ranges nearly three times larger than turtles in the nature reserves. They are better able to cope with periods of drought, have higher population abundances and growth rates, and at last equivalent recruitment levels.

Eastern long-necked turtles, common across much of south eastern Australia, can be found in many freshwater habitats in the wild and in towns and cities. The researchers compared turtles that lived in the suburbs of Canberra to those in adjacent nature reserves, attaching miniature radio transmitters to the turtles in each habitat and following their weekly movements over the course of a year. Both turtle populations made long journeys of up to two and a half kilometres between bodies of water. It was expected that given their extensive movements, the suburban turtles would have a high rate of encounters with vehicles on roads, and thus fewer would survive. In fact, suburban turtles did not suffer appreciably higher mortality than their counterparts on reserve lands, only one of the 36 radio tracked turtles being hit by a vehicle. Vegetated drainage lines and drainage culverts running under roads protected the turtles.

Given the severe droughts that have been affecting much of Australia, the different populations’ response to drought was also notable. Turtles in the nature reserves responded to the drying up of the wetlands by lying dormant buried under leaf litter. However, suburban turtles were able to maintain aquatic activities throughout periods of drought as suburban water bodies remained flooded. Suburban landscapes, despite their unique challenges, may therefore be higher quality habitats than nature reserves for turtles during drought. The researchers hope to further evaluate whether well-designed urban areas hold any promise as long term drought refuges for some turtle populations.

For further information, please see here.