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🐟 Fishing series: The scandal of electric fishing: Difference between revisions
🐟 Fishing series: The scandal of electric fishing (view source)
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[[File:A flat sole.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|According to latest study (2019)<ref name=study />, population of sole has decreased by 57%<br>in the areas where electric pulse fishing was authorized]] | |||
[[File:A flat sole.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image| | |||
You may have heard the term “electric fishing” before. If you have, it is most likely due to the fact that “electric fishing” has turned out to be an ongoing scandal-story followed by the press and NGOs since the end of the millennia. And the main actor of this scandal is: <u>The Netherlands</u>. | You may have heard the term “electric fishing” before. If you have, it is most likely due to the fact that “electric fishing” has turned out to be an ongoing scandal-story followed by the press and NGOs since the end of the millennia. And the main actor of this scandal is: <u>The Netherlands</u>. | ||
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== But what is “Electric fishing”? == | == But what is “Electric fishing”? == | ||
[[File:Electric trawl.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|A pulse fishing trawl]] | |||
If the first image that comes to your mind is of fisherman, fishing rod in hand, electrocuting fishes, you are not too far off… | If the first image that comes to your mind is of fisherman, fishing rod in hand, electrocuting fishes, you are not too far off… | ||
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— See note below<ref>Declaimer: It is produced by “pulsefishing.eu” which is primarily funded by the “Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality”. It, therefore, relies on biased numbers.</ref> | — See note below<ref>Declaimer: It is produced by “pulsefishing.eu” which is primarily funded by the “Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality”. It, therefore, relies on biased numbers.</ref> | ||
== Impact of electric fishing on the | == Impact of electric fishing on the environment and marine life == | ||
==== The argument of Fuel ==== | ==== <u>The argument of Fuel</u> ==== | ||
[[File:Visned.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|Illustration produced by VisNed, one of the most powerful dutch fishing lobby]] | |||
Before the invention of pulse fishing or “pulse trawling”, fishing boats would only rely on “beam trawling”, which consists of dragging heavy chains along the sea bed to dislodge mollusks and flat fishes hiding under the sand at the bottom of the sea. This method, which has a devastative impact on the sea beds and unintentionally allows the catch of unwanted species, is also very costly. Indeed, trawling calls on large amounts of diesel to allow the dragging of the chain and net. | |||
Pulse fishing was therefore advertised by the dutch as a “climate friendly”, less calorific alternative than conventional trawling with numbers such as 46% less fuel. These incredible numbers on which the dutch relied to advocate for more pulse trawling are however challenged by french NGO [http://www.bloomassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/plaidoyer-peche-electrique-v3.pdf/ Bloom] which argues that electric trawlers use slightly less fuel<ref>An electric trawler consumes 2.21 litres of fuel per kilo of fish caught, whereas a beam trawler consumes 2.36 l/kg</ref> because they manage to catch their fish quota much faster thanks to their efficient gear. | |||
== == | == == | ||
==== The effect on marine life ==== | ==== <u>The effect on marine life</u> ==== | ||
:The electric current, which was meant to knock the fish out for a few minutes, was actually proven to make fish undergo violent convulsions, often leading fish touched by the pulse to be injured or to die. | [[File:Bycatch.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|The bicatch of an electric trawler.]] | ||
[[File:Broken spine.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|Scan of a fish’s spine broken by the shock of the pulse]] | |||
The electric current, which was meant to knock the fish out for a few minutes, was actually proven to make fish undergo violent convulsions, often leading fish touched by the pulse to be injured or to die. | |||
50% to 70% of northern sea cod in the array of the electric arc are said to be left with a broken spine and internal bleeding<ref>The effect of electric pulse stimulation to juvenile cod and cod of commercial landing size. IMARES Report C141/11. Available [https://www.wur.nl/en/Publication-details.htm?publicationId=pub-lication-way-343137383633.55/ here] <br>Pulse trawl fishing: characteristics of the electrical stimulation and the effect on behaviour and injuries of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). ICES Journal of Marine Science 73(6): 1557-1569.</ref>. And indeed, since electric fishing is in use in the North Sea, the area<ref>We are here talking about the area of the North Sea in which pulse fishing was authorized by the EU</ref> <u>has seen the number of sea-bed species decrease by 57%</u><)<ref name=study>See latest study (2019) delivered by Cefas [https://www.scribd.com/document/430606618/Cefas-Impact-Electric-Fishing / here]</ref>. Sole population has been reduced by x2.6 and thornback rays by half. This area, on the other hand, is today home to many more fragile brittle stars<ref>Close to the starfish</ref> and hermit crabs, the latter being a scavenger. “This shows that the sea floor are highly disturbed. The invasion of these species is a sign of general stress of the ecosystem, which is losing biodiversity and resilience”.<br> | |||
The inability of electric trawlers to fill their sole quota last year is perhaps not unrelated to this | The inability of electric trawlers to fill their sole quota last year is perhaps not unrelated to this devastation… | ||
== == | == == | ||
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== The dutch Scandal == | == The dutch Scandal == | ||
[[File:Pulse fishing exemptions map.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|A map showing the area for which exemptions were granted]] | |||
[[File:Pulse fishing vote.jpg|thumb|Thumbnailed image|EU's 2017 vote to ban electric pulse fishing]] | |||
[[File:Pulsevisserijverbod.jpg|thumb|Thumbnailed image|Tweet from the director of the 2nd largest fishing lobby in the NL after ban: “<i>Bad news from Brussels {…} it is a dramatic vote for the dutch fishing fleet which conducted extensive research on this innovative and sustainable technic”</i>]] | |||
If pulse electric fishing is a technic used since the 1970s, most countries (including China) came to the conclusion that its effect on marine life were destructive which led to the European ban of 1998. | If pulse electric fishing is a technic used since the 1970s, most countries (including China) came to the conclusion that its effect on marine life were destructive which led to the European ban of 1998. | ||
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File:Congratulations to dutch fishermen.jpg|NL government still denying impact on the environment in 2019 | File:Congratulations to dutch fishermen.jpg|NL government still denying impact on the environment in 2019 | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
== The state of electric pulse fishing in 2020 == | |||
In January 2018, thanks to the union of multiple ecological parties and NGO’s, partly piloted by french association Bloom, the debate over electric pulse fishing was relied by various european politicians. At the wake of the 2018 vote for its complete ban, VisNed, the largest dutch fishing lobby started to hand over documents singing the praise of the technic to the deputies of the European parliament inside of Brussel’s parliament. | |||
On January 16th, the European Parliament voted 402 to 232 for the total and final ban of electric fishing in Europe, to come into application on 2021. | |||
After a rollercoaster of news (from the creation of dutch task force to lobby in the EU parliament against the application of the ban, multiple arrestations of dutch electric vessels full of illegally fished sole, destabilization campaigns against multiple NOG’s by dutch newspapers and the call from dutch prime minister Mark Rutte fro France and Germany to rally the Netherlands in its scientific research), the transition period prior to the complete ban started in August 2019. | |||
Since summer 2019 the Netherlands has continued to break European law. Among its former fleet of 84 electric pulse fishing boats, still 42 of them are active today. While the latest regulation allows them to keep a maximum of 14 boats to pursue research (5% of its fleet) until the end of the transition period, the Netherlands seems determined to pursue its electric exploitation of the Northern sea. | |||
== Dutch scientists admit == | == Dutch scientists admit == | ||
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"<i>The Netherlands have gone beyond the legal framework in recent years by expanding the number of temporary permits. It seemed experimental, but researchers have never written a proposal for a research program that required 84 vessels […] Fishing with electric 'pulse' trawlers is just more profitable</i>".<ref>BioNieuws, edition of January 27 2018</ref> | "<i>The Netherlands have gone beyond the legal framework in recent years by expanding the number of temporary permits. It seemed experimental, but researchers have never written a proposal for a research program that required 84 vessels […] Fishing with electric 'pulse' trawlers is just more profitable</i>".<ref>BioNieuws, edition of January 27 2018</ref> | ||
== Annexe: the dutch sing for the loss of their fleet == | |||
Dutch singer Geke’s Tiental composed a song titled « Jealousy" in honor of electric trawl fishermen. According to her, French fishermen are jealous of the Dutch who manage to innovate and become a leader of the field. | |||
Click [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k02OiKOi6M/ here for music video] | |||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||