Download The Bite Back fisheries campaign

The Bite Back fisheries campaign
“Vis wijzer, vis niet!”
Stijn Bruers
IARG, July 2011
Situation: biodiversity and overfishing
• 88% of EU fish populations are overfished
• Worldwide: 50% fully exploited, 25% over
exploited (FAO)
• Global fish stocks might collapse by 2050 (B.
Worm, D. Pauly)
• Ecological footprint of fish is 5 to 10 times
higher than plant based sources (algae,
seaweed, linseed,…)
> 30 Mton bycatch
>20 Mton illegal (IUU)
captures
Sea
5 Mton
Companion animals and fur
industry
16 Mton
Livestock (animal feed)
Aquaculture (inland)
20 Mton
80 Mton legal wild fish
marine captures
Aquaculture (marine)
60
Mton
10 Mton legal wild fish
inland captures
>0,1 Mton
Humans (fish
consumption)
Humans (fish oil)
30 Mton
20 Mton
Situation: the science of sentience
• EU Food Safety Authority (EFSA), “General approach to fish
welfare and to the concept of sentience in fish”, Scientific
Opinion of the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare, 2009
• “There is scientific evidence to support the assumption that
some fish species have brain structures potentially capable of
experiencing pain and fear. The balance of evidence indicates
that some fish species have the capacity to experience pain.”
• “Responses of fish, of some species and under certain situations,
suggest that they are able to experience fear.”
• “The stress physiology in fish is directly comparable to that of
higher vertebrates.”
• “From studies of sensory systems, brain structure and
functionality, pain, fear and distress there is some evidence for
the neural components of sentience in some species of fish. Our
knowledge and understanding of manifestations of sentience in
fish, however, are limited.”
Situation: the science of sentience
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Pain receptor cells,
Nociceptive neural pathways to higher brain structures,
Specialized processing systems in the brain,
Specialized transmitter substances,
Endogenous opioids and opioid receptors,
Electrophysiological responses to cuts and bruises,
Suspension of normal activity associated with noxious
stimuli,
Behavioral avoidance,
Learned avoidance of places,
Influence of analgesics in reducing responses
Effects of chronic stress (immune system,…)
Situation: social intelligence
• “Fish are steeped in social intelligence,
pursuing Machiavellian strategies of
manipulation, punishment and reconciliation,
exhibiting stable cultural traditions, and cooperating to inspect predators and catch
food” (Laland et al. 2003)
Situation: fisheries and sentience
• Wild catches: very slow deaths of the fish
(hooking, drying, compressing, freezing,
gutting, suffocating,…). Acute pain cannot be
avoided by any means.
• Farmed fish: diseases and chronic distress
Situation: fish consumption
• Toxics: (PCB’s, dioxins, heavy metals, flame
retardants,…)
• Dangerous: fatty fish, high in food chain
• Omega-3-fatty acids are also in algae,
seaweed, linseed, nuts, purslane and other
leafy vegetables…
Objective
2012 reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy
• A substantial decrease and phase-out of the European fisheries subsidies, and
a redirection of EU funding towards
– maritime conservation: using vessels and skills for e.g. cleaning operations (plastic
debris, oil spills,…) and tracing of illegal fishing operations.
– research, development and promotion of qualitative plant-based alternatives for
fish products (novel protein foods based on e.g. algae and seaweed).
• In the short term: lowering the Total Allowable Catches in line with most
recent independent scientific recommendations, based on an ecosystem
approach instead of a single species approach. In the long term a further
continuous decrease of the TAC is necessary in order to take the animal
welfare and rights into account.
• Phase-out of fuel tax exemptions and other perverse subsidies for
unsustainable and polluting fishing practices (e.g. deep sea trawlers).
• A moratorium on new aquaculture farms and a stronger environmental
regulation of existing farms.
• A support for marine protected areas.
• A general promotion of a shift in consumers’ diets, away from animal proteins.
Actions
Banners, flyer, website www.viswijzervisniet.be
Actions
• EU Directorate-General Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries: lobbying and action (sept, 2010)
Actions
• Council of the European Union (okt., nov.
2010)
Actions
• Consumer awareness: Antwerp, Ghent,
Leuven,… (national and local TV and media)