Algumas referências sobre as pescas

Não ando à procura de referências sobre este tópico das pescas: vão acontecendo, com umas a puxar outras. Assim sucedeu desta vez. As abaixo substantivam outras notas que fiz sobre a mesma temática: é, efectivamente, possível ter políticas de gestão do esforço de pesca que recuperem o potencial biológico dos pesqueiros em qualquer região,  em qualquer país, e que permitam, após um período inicial, maximizar, de modo sustentado, o valor económico dos recursos capturados - tenha-se em atenção o que se diz na antepenúltima referência sobre um aspecto do problema.

A aplicação dessas políticas de gestão mais exigentes, é, no entanto, difícil, porque exige um savoir faire político (teórico e político) nem sempre existente na dotação adequada, e/ou porque a percepção da dificuldade de convencer os interessados é sobrevalorizada, e/ou, porque nem há a sensibilidade e o conhecimento mínimo desta problemática, e/ou porque não se sabe, nem se tenta, nem se acredita, nem se quer alterar a percepção das populações sobre esta e outras matérias. Penso que os Açores não tem a política adequada de gestão dos recursos pesqueiros, não porque aquilo que tem sido feito não seja correcto  (pelo menos a nível legislativo) - não estou em condições de ajuizar nessa matéria - mas porque não é suficiente,  não é ambicioso, e sou confirmado nesta minha opinião, pelo parecer de quem sabe disso mais do que eu - é o caso das reservas marinhas - e por experiências nesse capítulo em outros sítios. Porque acontece assim? Penso que tem que ver com os motivos que inventariei atrás, com alguns deles, e/ou com um seu mix - seria um excelente estudo de ciência e sociologia política, precisar o efectivo perfil das razões. A propósito disto tudo ver o que já escrevi aqui.

No entretanto, o Tratado de Lisboa entrou em vigor. Não sendo de todo um devotado da Política Comum das Pescas - muito pelo contrário, e podendo aceitar, em princípio, as críticas feitas à consagração das pescas como competência exclusiva da União, nunca aceitei que isso só por si justificasse a recusa do Tratado, e menos ainda, a factibilidade política, mesmo a nível nacional, da eficácia de tal pretensão. Aliás, sempre considerei que o novo Tratado abria possibilidades interessantes para defender na União os interesses dos Açores neste domínio. Por isso, estou interessado em ver se algo de novo é pensado, e aplicado, a este respeito. A última referência enquadra-se nessa discussão (é TPC).

• Fishing for Answers in Alaska « AFS Blog: "Weather permitting, I was expected to patrol the bay to make sure no fishing boat had crept up inside the “Fishing Prohibited” markers that I would shortly set up 1,000 yards from mouth of the stream. [...] I never caught anyone near the mouth of my stream. At summer’s end, [...] we shared in the exhilaration that, thanks to our stalwart efforts out there in the bays, the salmon industry of western Alaska and the Aleutian Islands had been saved for another year. [...] Not only has the Alaskan salmon fishery thrived since statehood, but so have the fisheries for other species harvested up there — pollock, halibut, cod. Since 2000, all have won the stamp of approval as fully sustainable by the international Marine Stewardship Council based in London, and a recent report financed by the National Geographic Society rated Alaska as one of the best-managed fisheries in the world, alongside those of Iceland and New Zealand. What’s more, in the fall of 2008, in a study of data compiled from 11,135 individual fisheries, marine biologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara concluded that if fishermen universally adopted management practices like some of those used in Alaska, they might well reverse the grim conclusion reached two years earlier by the University of Dalhousie in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that under current practices, virtually 100 percent of the world’s fisheries would collapse by the year 2048 [...]"

• Science & Environment Articles | New Paper Suggests Global Fishery Collapse Can Be Averted | Miller-McCune Online Magazine: "There is reason to have hope in the long-term sustainability of the world's fisheries, which a few years ago were predicted to collapse in the next four decades. According to a brand-new analysis of the most comprehensive fisheries database to date, a balance between fishing and conservation is possible even in extremely overfished regions — when the right combination of management techniques are employed. And to the joy of sushi eaters, there is evidence these strategies already are helping fish populations rebound in some parts of the world."

• Fisheries, Aquaculture Face Multiple Risks From Climate Change| Climate Ark: "A new report, published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, predicts 'an ocean of change' for fishers and fish farmers. It warned that urgent adaptation measures are required in response to opportunities and threats to food and livelihood provision due to climatic variations. The study, 'Climate change implications for fisheries and aquaculture', is one of the most comprehensive surveys to date of existing scientific knowledge on the impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture. [...] 'Marine and freshwater ecosystems will be profoundly affected by processes like ocean acidification, coral bleaching and altered river flows with obvious impacts on fisherfolk, but it is not just about what happens to the fish,' said Daw.[...] Meanwhile, the social and economic context of fisheries will be disrupted by impacts on security, migration, transport and markets.' 'Fisheries are already rapidly evolving due to overexploitation and globalisation. They will suffer from wide range of different impacts from climate change, which may be unpredictable and surprising. The poorest will be least able to adapt to these impacts. For example in Kenya poorer fishers were shown to be less likely to switch to other livelihoods if catches declined.' [...] According to the report, marine capture fisheries already facing multiple challenges due to overfishing, habitat loss and weak management are poorly positioned to cope with new problems stemming from climate change. Small island developing states -- which depend on fisheries and aquaculture for at least 50 percent of their animal protein intake -- are in a particularly vulnerable position. [...]."

• Environmentalists and fishing community can both win, say experts: "'We found that if you have the key spatial (location) information on fish, you can put the Marine Protected Areas in the right places, thus increasing conservation and making the fisheries more profitable,' said Christopher Costello, economist and professor with UC Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management."

• Shifting Baselines: "The term is 'shifting baselines,' and you do need to know it, because shifting baselines affect the quality-of-life decisions you face daily. Shifting baselines are the chronic, slow, hard-to-notice changes in things, from the disappearance of birds and frogs in the countryside to the increased drive time from L.A. to San Diego. If your ideal weight used to be 150 pounds and now it's 160, your baseline -- as well as your waistline -- has shifted."

• Everyone wants a piece of Belize | Grist: "Other countries with larger fleets, namely Taiwan and Spain—Europe’s largest and most aggressive fishing nation—have already approached the government of Belize about moving into the deep waters beyond the Belize Barrier Reef. One of the ecological jewels of the Western Hemisphere is now clearly at risk. Belize has no policy in place to protect itself from foreign nations coming in and fishing out its waters, which are currently so untouched that we don’t really even know what kinds of seafood—or exotic wildlife or rare habitats—might be there. The same situation unfolded in the last half of the 20th century off the coast of West Africa when Asian and European fleets won agreements from local governments that allowed them to decimate both wildlife and local fishing economies. What was once a hotspot of marine diversity and a source of food for Africans was irreversibly damaged."

• Five Economics Pieces Worth Reading: December 31, 2009 - J. Bradford DeLong's Grasping Reality with a Prehensile Tail: "3) BEST NON-ECONOMICS THING I'VE READ TODAY: Ezra Klein: The world's most embarrassing legislative body: I've been focusing on the filibuster today, but Senate 'holds' are almost as pernicious.... The Senate has jurisdiction over a lot of things that most of its members don't care about very much. The deputy U.S. trade representative, for instance. And when senators have that much individual power, they can take a strong stand on things other senators don't care about in order to extract concessions on something they themselves do care about. And why would the other senators stop them? They like having that power, too. And so Sapiro's nomination stalled for nine months -- and the position went unfilled -- because Bunning wanted to sell more -- sigh -- candy-flavored cigarettes."