TRADITIONAL COASTAL FISHING SHOULD BE PROTECTED FOR THE SUSTAINABLE AND
RESPONSIBLE FISHING MANAGEMENT REFORM
Small-scale traditional coastal fishing
practices is one of the oldest forms of production in human history, and it is
still the livelihood of many communities residing by the coast or in-land
waters.
Ossified inefficient hunting practices are driving fishing in our
country to the brink of destruction. While fish stocks are melting away at an
ever-increasing rate because of uncontrolled overhunting, the way the marine
ecosystems function is ignored, and aquatic life is getting destroyed. This
destruction process is not limited to aquatic life: it puts the coastal
fishermen who fish in the most sensitive areas to the brink of extinction also.
With the disapperance of small-scale coastal fishing, coastal communities whose
economy depends on small-scale hunting also disappear, and traditional fishing,
the oldest form of production in human history, is forced to leave the stage of
history.
Today, the first and foremost cause of the problems world fisheries
face is the excessive pressure exerted by the industrial fishing practices.
Inadequately monitored industrial fishing practiced irresponsibly is leading
marine resources to collapse: 60% of open ocean stocks, and 40% of coastal
stocks are destroyed. Due to the high initial invesment costs and operational
expenses, industrial fishing require a great amount of harvest, which contradict
sustainable hunting practices and destroy fisheries. This situation is
destroying small-scale coastal fishing that is not responsible for the
destruction of the fish stocks, not to mention the fact that the industry is
actually dooming itself in the meantime.
Small-scale fishing communities and
environmental NGOs aware of all this are now coming together to speak up and
voice their demands for a fishing reform. The latest example of this is the La
Coruna declaration. World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress and Mediterranean
Platform of Artisanal Fishers became strong and examplary voices on a global
scale in terms of the statements and demands made during the process.
The
traditional fishermen are concious of the fact that the way to protect
themselves is through preserving the coastal and marine ecosystems. Because of
this, they have begun to centralize their rightful demands full of concerns in
the international arena.
The circumstances the traditional fishermen are
facing today in Turkey are even more unfortunate than the rest of the world
including Europe. Small-scale fishermen, which comprise 90% of the commercial
fishing fleet in Turkey, cannot even get 10% of the total hunt.
Coastal zone,
the historical hunting grounds of professional fishing, is exposed to
overfishing and detrimental fishing practices by industrial fishing vessels.
Traditional fishermen is struggling to compete with the 40-50, or even 50 meter
commercial fishing vessels with their 6-7 meter boats, as they watch the
industrial fishermen damage the aquatic organisms’ environment in
despair.
All kinds of illegal and harmful fishing, juvenile fishing and
large-scale fishing in the migratory routes of fish are the main factors that
crush the small-scale fishermen and threaten the future of all humanity.
Unable to make themselves heard during the decision-making processes, the
traditional fishermen could not establish the necessary platform against the
large-scale fishing groups. The strong organizational structure of the
industrial fishermen, their financial and political lobbying power have cast out
the traditional fishermen.
We are calling upon environmentally-concious
individuals, NGOs, our fishing organizations, and fishermen to discuss the text
below and and contribute to its content, and, establishing a common voice, come
together to reach out to the public.
GELBALDER
www.gelbalder.org
DECLARATION
Call for an Urgent Reform in
Fisheries Practices
Translation: Selen Yildiz
It is time to say “
stop” to the mentality that ignores the need to practice fishing within a
framework that sustains aquatic resources. Therefore, we are on the verge
establishing a new system, a new world in our country’s fisheries management.
The major characteristic of fisheries is that, when managed based on
nature’s rules, the resource productivity is unlimited. The most obvious reason
behind the fisheries collapses and the persistence of this situation is the
fishing industry fleets that continues to hunt heedlessly disinterested in the
future of the fisheries, and the institutions that have ignored this. The victim
of this cycle, aquatic life disappears, and the damage is going to be
irreversible. As a result of this, small-scale traditional coastal fishing is
effected directly and negatively.
Our right-mided fishermen, scientists,
NGOs and sensible individuals are aware of these two negative trends. Our
traditional fishermen concerned about their ability to practice their profession
in a healthy way, have arrived at the point of forming a platform to secure the
future of aquatic resources.
Industrial fishing groups in Turkey, just like
in many other coutries, have resisted all sorts of hunting limitations. The
initial investment amounts, and operational expenses drive the industry to
overfish continously. For this group, fishing is not about sustaining their
livelihood but about sustaining the market-economy model in which the only goal
is to grow capital. Everyone who has some interest in fisheries management is
very well-versed in the fact that the only possible way to grow is through the
equivalent growth of fishery stocks, and that the expansion of industrial fleets
and growth of stocks are indirectly proportional. As it is, the industry cannot
solve the paradox it created. Due to the materials used, and the selective
nature of the methodology it practices, traditional coastal fishing stands out
as a sustainable fishing model. This fishing method, as old as human history,
has succeeded in living in harmony with ecosystems and has been the most
important form of production in obtaining food for coastal communities. In other
words, the fate of marine ecosystems and traditional fishermen is a common one.
The Turkish fishing sector urgently needs a new fishing culture, and this
need is pointed out by all the stake-holders of the sector. This new culture
will first flourish within well-managed and well-guided small-scale fishing and
will lay the groundwork for a horizontal increase in standard of living for the
traditional fishermen.
Based on the following points, we believe that
traditional fishing does not compromise the future of fisheries and that it
should be prioritized within fisheries management:
- Small-scale coastal
fishing, when well-managed in a scientific way and supported by the right
engineering services, does not harm marine ecosystems. It doesnt require
high-tech machines and energy, as it is mainly based on man power. While 1 ton
of fuel used in industrial fishing yields maximum 2 tons of harvest, the same
amount of fuel used in small-scale fishing yields 4 tons of harvest.
-
Large-scale industrial fishing is interested in vertical growth, requiring
overfishing, while small-scale fishing is interested in horiztontal growth.
While industrial fishing is a commercial activity aiming to increase capital,
small-scale fishing is a socioeconomic model for the livelihoods of coastal
communities.
- The right to hunt and access to fisheries in the coast, the
most sensitive areas of the marine ecosystems, should primarily belong to the
traditional fishermen. This claim is not only based on scientific facts but also
the socioeconomical realities of the human history traditional fishing has been
a huge part of. Hunting zones and catch limits, and the sharing of the target
species should be managed based on scientific studies with the principle of fair
sharing the resources.
- The ongoing threat to fisheries and ecosystems
is of global concern, which has led many countries including those in the EU to
understand the need to return to traditional coastal fishing undertaking
relevant studies. Turkey should not lag behind in this process, and take action
to protect small-scale fishing which comprise 90% of the fishing sector.
We believe that we need to proceed targeting the following goals:
1) Bring the industrial fishing catch limits down to scientific limits
and pave the way for sustainable traditional fishing to flourish again,
2) Facilitate constructive talk among all fishing groups and
cooperatives in the sector and engage in activities dedicated to responsible
fishing principles that will help develop the sector as a whole,
3) Make sure
the fishing practices are sustainable and all sorts of harmful hunting are
prevented by new legislation,
4) Monitor all fishing activities in the
Marmara Sea, an inland sea, its straits and all of our coasts and, taking legal
action where necessary, protect our marine waters against pollution from both
sea and land-based sources caused by all individuals, local authorities or
industrial institutions. Unite with all environmental NGOs encouraging them to
participate in the problem-solving processes as stake holders,
5) Target the
establishment of marine reserves (areas closed to fishing or development) that
will eventually support small-scale fishing,
6) Establish a sustainable
coastal management plan supported by a legal base that will target conservation
taking short-term, medium-term and long-term precautions. Sustainability of
coastal communities depends on the sustainability of aquatic life.
7)
Urgently renew the Seafood Law that fails to meet the demands of today’s
fisheries management and work to get traditional fishing and aquatic life
protected within the framework of this law supporting such efforts,
8)
Promote transparency in fisheries policy formation processes and fisheries
management, get the large-scale democratic participation by all the
stake-holders of the sector under legal protection,
9) Encourage legal
support for fishing cooperatives, for all stages of their operations: hunting,
preservation of the harvest, and its transport to the market,
10) Help create
the opportunity for traditional fishermen to participate in decision-making
processes and help them gain access to ecological, oceanographical and
biological information and encourage dissemination of this information by the
central authority,
11) Create an environment in which the authority
responsible for the management of fisheries will be able to make decisions in a
healthy manner without the pressure of political figures, and raise public
awareness and form public opinion about this issue.
Hopefully, all these
positive changes will serve to guarantee food security and the conservation of
marine ecosystems.
GELBALDER
Geleneksel Balıkçılığı Yaşatma Derneği /
Turkey
WWF / Turkey
Greenpeacev / Mediterranean
SAD / AFAG / Turkey
http://www.gelbalder.org/showthread.php/1037-Deklarasyon-ve-çağrı-metinlerinin-İngilizce-tercümeleri
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