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Good day Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Julie Davidson. I’m a representative of WWF in Russia. Today I’d like to tell you about some of our projects. Populations of 274 representative marine species are tracked to calculate the Marine Living Planet Index. This index shows us the current health of marine environment in 4 oceans as compared to 1970. The Marine Living Planet Index shows a greater than 27% decline on average across the four ocean basins in the period between 1970 and 2003. Zooming into the Marine Living Planet Index The marine index is split by ocean basis. A comparative picture shows dramatic declines in populations of species in the Indian/Southeast Asian and Southern Oceans as compared to the Arctic/Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Indian/Southeast Asian Oceans saw more than 50% decline, in the Southern Ocean it was about 30%. In Pacific Ocean species remained stable overall, while trends in Arctic/Atlantic Oceans increased overall. Mangroves: the indicator of ocean health Mangroves provide nurseries to 85% of commercial fish species in the tropics and are essential in maintaining fish stocks. Between 1990 and 2000, in just 10 years, Asia lost more than 25% while South America lost almost 50% of their mangrove cover. Working to safeguard our oceans and coasts WWF's Global Marine Program focuses its activities on the most significant threats facing the marine environment today and where WWF has the expertise to provide solutions for the future. Our team of marine scientists, policy experts, economists, lawyers, and communications experts work in more than 40 countries, with work focused in over 20 diverse marine ecoregions around the world - from polar ice caps and highly productive upwelling, to coral reefs, mangrove forests, and recently discovered deep-sea habitats. Using our global scope, credibility, and expertise, we develop and advocate solutions for sustainable fishing and the creation and management of Marine Protected Areas. This involves working with fishermen and local communities; commissioning and publishing impartial data; developing political advice for governments; campaigning through the media; lobbying decisionmakers; and above all, championing sustainable livelihoods and the conservation of our oceans and coasts. This is not Planet Earth, it’s Planet Water Oceans cover 71% of our planet’s surface and make up 95% of all the space available to life. The rolling waves, glassy stillness, or frosty ice we see on the ocean’s surface hide an amazing variety of underwater worlds - from sunlit coral reefs to dark abyssal canyons, from forests of giant kelp to mussel communities clustered around scorching hydrothermal vents, from tidal mangroves to the vast open ocean. Rich biodiversity Life began in the oceans, and continues to thrive in its diverse habitats. With as many as 100 million species - from the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth, the blue whale, to the tiniest bacteria – marine biodiversity far outweighs that on land. And new species are being discovered all the time. Vital role for life on land... The oceans also have a huge influence on us landlubbers. They produce 70% of our oxygen, absorb heat and re-distribute it around the world, and dominate the world's weather systems. ...and shapers of human history the oceans have also shaped human history, culture, and lives - and continue to do so. We eat their bounty, bask on their beaches, swim in their waves, dive around their wonders, send our goods and raw materials across their surface, and mine their mineral- and oil-rich floors. There are very few people who are not somehow influenced by the oceans, even if they never set sight on one during their life. Successes in the marine environment Atlantic corals now protected 06 Feb 2007 London, UK – After years of lobbying efforts, the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission and the European Community have agreed to protect the coral-rich waters off north-west Scotland. The Rockwall and Hatton Banks — located in the North Atlantic some 400 kilometers from the Scottish coast — will now be protected from destructive fishing, which threaten cold-water coral reefs that a several thousand years old, and populations of vulnerable fish species. WWF, together with the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, developed a protection plan for the coral reefs at Rockwall Bank, as well as for the endangered fish stocks, particularly Rockwall haddock. “After eight years of continuous efforts to protect the Rockwall Bank, this is a successful milestone,” said Christian Neumann, Marine Conservation Officer at WWF-Germany. “Finally the cold-water corals are getting the kind of protection that they so desperately need. The designation of these closures as marine protected areas would be the next step towards responsible ocean stewardship.” Cold-water coral reefs make an important contribution to the health of the seas by providing habitats for sea fans, sponges, starfish, sea urchins, and crustaceans. The reefs, often associated with seamounts, serve as essential spawning and nursery grounds for several commercial fish species, including orange roughly, blue ling and grenadiers. In previous years, WWF helped protect the Darwin Mounds, another coral area off the Scottish coast, as well as five reefs in Norwegian waters and the ecologically-rich waters surrounding the Azores. Despite the urgent need for protection, the United Nations late last year failed to prohibit unregulated bottom trawling on the high seas, allowing for the unnecessary plunder of the ocean’s precious resources to continue unabated. “The negotiations at the UN represented the first opportunity for the international community to take action on the back of recent scientific reports about the serious plight of the oceans and the collapse of global fisheries,” said Dr Simon Cripps, Director of WWF’s Global Marine Program. “The failure of governments to heed advice from some of the world’s leading scientists and to reach agreement on a plan for immediate protection of vulnerable high sea areas enables one of the world’s most destructive fishing practices to continue.” WWF continues to push the contracting Parties to the NEAFC Convention to manage fisheries in the high seas responsibly through an ecosystem approach, and continues its efforts to ensure that EU Members States protect deep-sea fish stocks, cold-water corals and seamount habitats. END NOTES: • The North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) regulates fisheries in the North East Atlantic Ocean in areas beyond the 200-nautical mile limit of a country's national jurisdiction. There are currently five contracting parties: the European Community, Denmark (in respect of the Faroe Islands and Green Great Barrier Reef fish rebound in marine protected areas Land), Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation. 04 Sep 2006 Great Barrier Reef, Australia – Recovery rates of fish in the Great Barrier Reef have increased significantly as a result of marine protected areas. According to a study by the Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, populations of important fish species — such as coral trout — are up to 50 per cent more abundant in marine sanctuaries than in reefs still open to fishing. Research done on fringing reefs around the Whitsunday Islands showed coral trout and stripy sea perch up 60 per cent. “The results of the study demonstrate what scientists and conservationists have been saying for years, that creating marine sanctuaries means fish can mature and populations can recover,” said Richard Leck, a marine and coastal policy officer with WWF-Australia. “What is truly exciting about this research is that not only are the protected areas flourishing, but there is very likely to be a spill-over effect to surrounding areas which will benefit the whole ecosystem. This research clearly shows that a network of marine sanctuaries with a strong zoning plan is vital to ensuring the sustainable future of the reef.” Stretching for over 2,000km along Australia’s northeast coast, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system. Under a 2004 zoning plan, strict protection of the reef system rose from 4.6 per cent to 33 per cent within the existing Marine Park and World Heritage Area. The network of highly protected areas is aimed at reducing pressure on the Great Barrier Reef and enhancing its capacity to overcome large-scale threats such as coral bleaching, which is linked to climate change and global warming. WWF is a strong advocate of marine protected areas (MPAs). In the last few years alone, the global conservation organization has helped achieve protection for more than 200,000km2 of marine areas around the world, including the Great Barrier Reef, which cover coral reefs, sea grass meadows, mangroves, fish breeding grounds and deep-sea habitats. “The results of the research add to increasing data from Australia and around the world showing that highly protected areas boost fish stocks and conserve marine biodiversity,” added Leck. “We expect these benefits will be foremost in the minds of government planners in Australia as they embark on the next phase of establishing a national network of marine protected areas.” END NOTES: • According to WWF around 4,600 MPAs were designated in 2005, protecting around 2.2 million km2, or 0.6 per cent, of the world’s oceans. WWF's Global Marine Program is working towards a network of effectively managed, ecologically representative MPAs covering at least 10 per cent of the world’s oceans by Sustainable traps boost lobster conservation in Central America2020. 01 Jun 2006 Cayos Miskitus, Nicaragua – In a joint effort between WWF and Nicaragua’s URACCAN University, fishermen here have tested and approved sustainable lobster traps in efforts to conserve the species. The lobster traps are slightly modified compared with traditional ones, allowing for smaller lobsters to escape capture and mature. Over fishing for undersized lobster, as well as female specimens carrying eggs, is a serious conservation problem facing Central America’s Mesoamerican reef. “We are delighted with the results of a recent test of traps that have the potential to curtail the illegal catch of hundreds of thousands of undersized lobsters,” said Sylvia Marin, Regional Representative for WWF Central America. WWF hooks up with Norwegian fishing company to save marine turtles 26 Sep 2005 Gjøvik, Norway – WWF is working with Mustad, the world’s largest manufacturer of fishing hooks, to reduce the accidental catch of millions of marine turtles. By producing circle hooks for commercial fishermen, WWF and Mustad hope to reduce the accidental catch of turtles by as much as 90 per cent. According to WWF, accidental catch — or by catch — is probably the single greatest threat to marine turtles. As many as 200,000 loggerheads and 50,000 leatherback turtles are caught annually by commercial long-line tuna, swordfish, and similar fisheries. “Circle hooks are an easy and effective solution that contribute to saving turtles, while normal fishing activity can be upheld,” said Rasmus Hansson, CEO of WWF-Norway. “We do not want the fishermen to stop fishing, so it is important that companies like Mustad take responsibility and create viable alternatives.” The circle hook has proven to be better than the traditionally-used “J” shaped hook, which can be snagged by turtles, leading to suffocation or internal bleeding if swallowed. The circle hook is also designed not to damage fish. “Circle hooks also result in better catch,” added Hansson. “Dependent on water depth, shape and type of fish, the circle hooks normally give 20 per cent more catch than the J-hooks.” Mustad has developed circle hooks for the last 60 years and is now leading the fishing hook industry with new, specially designed products which are already being used in several markets. Today, for example, it is forbidden to use anything but circle hooks for commercial line fishing in the United States. Additionally, many sports fishermen use circle hooks to avoid by catch, particularly when fishing for swordfish, tuna, sailfish, and blue marlin, and species that are normally released after being caught. Due to its design, the circle hook from Mustad only fastens itself at the side of the mouth of the fish, where it can easily be removed and the fish released. Mustad is providing WWF with 250,000 circle hooks to be distributed to WWF projects in areas where turtle by catch present a serious problem. This includes working with fishermen in Malaysia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, and Ecuador. Additionally, Mustad wants WWF to test how these circle hooks reduce the by-catch of sea birds, which in many areas of the world is as big a problem as turtle by catch. “If we are to ensure the continued survival of turtles, we must work to transform fisheries around the world to make long-line fishing more turtle-friendly,” said Katherine Short, a fisheries officer with WWF's Global Marine Program. Protecting fisheries and marine habitats The marine environment has never before been under such heavy pressure. Pollution, habitat destruction, unsustainable fishing, tourism development, oil and gas extraction, shipping, aquaculture, and climate change are all taking their toll on marine habitats, marine species - and fishers too. The world's leaders have already recognized the problem. In 2002 they agreed, at the World Summit for Sustainable Development, to create representative networks of Marine Protected Areas by 2012 and replenish depleted fish stocks by 2015. In 2003, G8 leaders noted that global sustainable development and poverty reduction require healthier and more sustainable managed oceans and seas. WWF is working to make these visions a reality Our Global Marine Program is turning the tide towards healthy oceans by: "Wherever there is fishing, there is by catch, one of the greatest and most pervasive threats to the marine environment in general, and marine turtles in particular. We must work with local partners and the fishing industry to minimize by-catch to the greatest extent possible." END NOTES: • Mustad is the world’s leading producer of fishing hooks with nearly 1,200 employees worldwide, of which 335 is based in Norway. Mustad has factories in Norway, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Portugal, and China, and its products exported to 160 countries. • Marine turtles are one of the oldest creatures on earth, but today most are threatened with extinction as a result of getting caught in fish hooks and nets, as well as from the illegal poaching and sale of turtle shell, leather, and meat. Turtle eggs are also collected in large numbers. As a result, all seven species of marine turtles — hawksbill, green, Kemp’s rudely, Olive rudely, leatherback, loggerhead, and flat back — are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), while six of the seven species are listed as “Endangered” or “Critically Endangered”. “Good management of fisheries, including lobsters, ensures that fishing remains a way of life for coastal communities.” Of all the fishing resources in this region, spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) is the most important income source for a large number of coastal communities, especially as it fetches high market prices. A Mexican fisherman, for example, can sell a 1kg lobster tail for US$22 in the market place. The same quantity will sell for about US$60–90 in a restaurant in the Mexican resort town of Cancun. The Nicaraguan fishermen who tested the sustainable lobster traps found that the alterations do not diminish the catch of legally-sized lobsters. “Fishermen appreciate the fact that there are longer-term benefits of letting the undersized lobsters go,” said Alicia Medina, WWF Technical Officer for the Mesoamerican Reef. “They recognize both the conservation and economic value of saving them.” Also recognizing the importance of a sustainable lobster fishery is the Central American Fishing Organization (OSPESCA), which has included size restrictions for traps in its regulations. “Although OSPESCA’s measurements are a bit smaller than the trap measurements we recommend, we consider their new regulations as an important step towards the conservation of spiny lobster and other fish caught in traditional traps used by local fishermen,” Medina added. With fishermen in Nicaragua starting to adopt sustainable lobster traps, WWF is working to replicate the success in other Mesoamerican reef countries, including Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. The Mesoamerican Reef is the second longest barrier reef in the world, only surpassed by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It spans more than 1,000km, from the northern end of the Yucatan Peninsula to the northern coast of Honduras, including Belize and Guatemala. The reef contains a large diversity of coral reefs, in addition to other important ecosystems such as beaches, mangroves, lagoons, and sea grasses. This array of systems fosters the reproduction, nesting, and feeding of a great diversity of mammal, fish, marine turtles, and invertebrates, including the spiny lobster.