Four Demands for a Successful Long-Term Negative Emissions Strategy in Germany
To ensure that Germany achieves its goal of climate neutrality by 2045, negative emissions are necessary, as depicted in the global IPCC scenarios.
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Publish date: September 27, 2005
Written by: Frederic Hauge
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Just recently, a Norwegian expedition discovered more than 300 km of fishing nets used for ghost-fishing in the area. Fishermen in this area use between 150 and 300 km of nets and often leave them behind because they usually can not bring back both their catch and their nets.
Rotting fish
Norwegian fisherman Nils Roar Hareide recently found ghost-fishing nets during an Irish-financed expedition. Hareides expedition found 22 sets of nets between 400 and 1,200 meters deep, approximately 60 nautical miles south-east of Rockall, a small, isolated rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. Each net measured between eight and 13 km, adding up to a total of 300 km. The expedition successfully pulled up some of these ghost nets and found that not all of them were marked by those fishing enterprises that left them behind.
Though mostly based in Spain, the boats laying out such long nets sail under French, British or German flags. The volume of the nets is such that it is extremely difficult to pull them up and the fishermen therefore leave some in the water. A large number of fish and crab end up rotting in the nets left behind. It is estimated that in the area of Rockall, approximately 100 tonnes of fish and crab caught in these nets end up rotting every day.
Hareide does not understand how Spanish fishermen can intentionally spoil such huge resources.
The fishermen catch 100 tonnes of fish in six weeks out here, which is a lot, said Hareide.
During his expedition, Hareide found, amongst others, large amounts of dead crab in the nets pulled up. Some ghost-fishermen do not come back for their nets for several months and Hareide spoke of one specific ship that allegedly left its nets in the water for up to four months.
This is scandalous, says Bellona President Frederic Hauge. These fishing nets must simply be pulled out of the seathis can not become a question of financial resources. Constant patrolling of the areas where ghost-fishing is a problem is a must in order to stop this madness.
A new UK-financed expedition, also lead by Hareide, will soon head out to continue the work of finding such nets on a vessel called the India Rose.
Norwegian pressure on the EU
The Fishboat Owners Association in Norway has put pressure on the EU to review and update its laws. As a result, the DeepNet project, involving partners from Norway, the UK and Ireland was set up. Pat Gallagher, Irelands marine minister, confirms that a retrieval system to remove some of the lost fising gear may be developed as a pilot project by the EU and Norway. Bellona is hopeful that concrete action will be taken at the EU level and will continue to actively work on this issue.
To ensure that Germany achieves its goal of climate neutrality by 2045, negative emissions are necessary, as depicted in the global IPCC scenarios.
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
Transport on the Northern Sea Route is not sustainable, and Kirkenes must not become a potential hub for transport along the Siberian coast. Bellona believes this is an important message Norway should deliver in connection with the Prime Minister's visit to China. In an open letter to Jonas Gahr Støre, Bellona asks the Prime Minister to make it clear that the Chinese must stop shipping traffic through the Northeast Passage.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has published a new report on its efforts to ensure nuclear safety and security during the conflict in Ukraine, with the agency’s director-general warning that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station remains “precarious and very fragile.”