MAP News, 165th Ed. 2 of 2


MAP News, 16th Edition, Part 2 of 2
US UPHOLDS ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES AGAINST THAI AND INDIAN SHRIMP
Exporters explore new options

STORIES/ ISSUES
Twenty percent of the world's mangroves lost over the last 25 years:

AQUACULTURE CORNER
New facility aimed at ending fish farm woes
Blue fishers, blue genes: fishy undercurrents in post-tsunami Asia


US UPHOLDS ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES AGAINST THAI AND INDIAN SHRIMP
The US-based International Trade Commission (ITC) on 4 November decided
not to revoke its anti-dumping duty on shrimp imports from India and
Thailand. The Commission decided in April 2005 to review the 10 percent
duty imposed in January of this year to light of the impacts of the
December 2004 tsunami on the shrimp industries of the two countries (see
Bridges Trade BioRes, 21 January 2005,
http://www.ictsd.org/biores/05-01-21/story1.htm). In its final ruling,
however, the ITC found that revoking the antidumping duty on shrimp
imports from India and Thailand would likely injure the US shrimp
industry. This decision will be reviewed in February 2006.


==============

Exporters explore new options

To adjust to the loss in market access in the US, some of the producers
in countries affected by the antidumping duties are considering striking
a bilateral deal with the US, known as a "voluntary export restraint",
in which the exporting countries would voluntarily reduce their exports
to the US. Such a measure could address US concerns without the
uncertainty or unilateralism of anti-dumping or bond measures. At
present some of the countries are diverting their products through third
countries in order to circumvent anti-dumping levies, offering a
possible reason why US import volumes have thus far remained unaffected
by the duty. The US recently made a proposal in the WTO Negotiating
Group on Rules to toughen rules on such circumvention practices (see
Bridges Weekly, 2 November 2005,
http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/05-11-02/story7.htm).

Another way of circumventing the duty would be to move into value-added
finished products like ready-to cook, eat and fry material, which would
allow domestic producers to capture larger shares of the gains from
trade along the production chain. To do so successfully, however,
exporters would have to incur substantial marketing expenses by
developing the necessary brand name involved in value-added products.

From: "ben brown" yarl@...

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Twenty percent of the world's mangroves lost over the last 25 years:

Rate of deforestation slowing, but still a cause for alarm
9 November 2005, Rome - Around 20 percent of the world's mangrove forests have
disappeared during the past 25 years as a result of over-exploitation and
conversion to other uses, according to a new FAO study.

Mangroves today cover around 15 million hectares (ha) worldwide, down from 18.8
million ha in 1980, according to the study. Still, during the same time frame
the annual rate of mangrove deforestation dropped from around 185 000 ha per
year in the 1980s to 105 000 ha/yr during the 2000-2005 period, it added.

"More countries are now recognizing the importance of mangroves and are making
an effort to conserve and better manage them," said Mette Løyche Wilkie, a
mangrove expert at FAO. "Yet the true value of mangroves and other wetlands is
still underestimated and much remains to be done to reduce the rate of loss,
which is significantly higher than for other forest types," she added.

Key findings of FAO report to be discussed at Uganda meeting on wetlands

The key findings of the report were presented today at the Conference of the
Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, which began yesterday in Kampala,
Uganda (8-15 November 2005).

The report, to be published next January, will provide an overview on mangrove
vegetation and species, uses and threats in addition to information on mangrove
areas and area changes over time. It is prepared by FAO in collaboration with
mangrove specialists throughout the world and is co-funded by the International
Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).

A misused resource

Because they are located in coastal zones, where population densities are
typically high, mangrove areas are frequently converted to other uses, including
fish and shrimp-farming, agriculture, salt production and urban development.

In the past, many governments actively encouraged such development of mangrove
areas in order to strengthen food security, boost national economies and improve
living standards.

Over the last few years, however, an increased awareness of the wider value of
mangrove ecosystems has led to new legislation, better protection and management
of mangrove resources and, in some countries, a re-expansion of mangrove areas,
according to FAO.

Mangroves are found in more than 120 countries and territories around the world,
but the UN agency noted that close to half of the total mangrove area is found
in just five countries: Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Nigeria and Mexico. Asia
has the largest area of mangroves, followed by Africa and South America.

Mangroves provide wide range of benefits

Mangroves are salt-tolerant forest ecosystems commonly found along sheltered
coastlines, in deltas and along river banks in the tropics and sub-tropics.
Millions of fishermen, farmers and others depend on them as a source of wood,
medicinal plants, and food.

One important function of mangroves is to serve as spawning grounds and
nurseries for fish and shellfish and they play an important role in the marine
foodweb. When mangrove forests are destroyed, drops in local fish catches often
result.

These unique forest ecosystems provide a number of additional environmental
benefits, as well. Mangroves help prevent and reduce coastal erosion, providing
nearby communities with protection against the effects of wind, waves and water
currents. This was the case during the 2004 tsunami in Asia where evidence
indicates that where extensive areas of mangroves existed, coastal villages
suffered less damage.

From: "Elaine Corets" manglar@...

========= =
Note from Editor; The following article brings up the very controversial issues
of genetically modified marine organisms coupled with an expanding aquaculture
industry that increasingly displaces (or replaces) the artisanal fishers with
fish farmers. This unfortunately seems to be the course being set by several
high ranking inter-governmental institutions, which are promoting the "Blue
Revolution" big time, even more so since the tsunami of 2004. Rather than repair
the injured oceans and support restoration of our planet's wild fisheries,
artificial means of farming fish are being sought which threaten to further
degrade and undermine the wild fisheries while eliminating the livelihoods of
millions of fisherfolk around the world.
===

Blue fishers, blue genes: fishy undercurrents in post-tsunami Asia
GRAIN
At the same time as Asia's fisherfolk are urging their governments to help
re-establish artisanal fisheries after last year's tsunami, an international
'tsunami-recovery' consortium is suggesting that they should abandon their
livelihoods and find employment elsewhere. The fisherfolk also face other
challenges - from growing pressures to switch over to industrial aquaculture and
fishering, and the introduction of genetically modified fish.
A new consortium is challenging the tsunami rehabilitation efforts to build
boats for local fisherfolk to reclaim their lost livelihoods. In its recent
policy brief 1, the Consortium to Restore Shattered Livelihoods in
Tsunami-Devastated Nations (CONSRN) argues that replacing lost boats and fishing
gear is over-simplistic and not a sustainable way of rebuilding devastated
communities. It cites Indonesia's severely depleted coastal fisheries resources
as the main impediment to successful rehabilitation efforts. The urgent need, it
seems to the group, is not to reinstate the fishermen but create employment
opportunities for them to do something else.
The consortium includes the Asia Pacific Fisheries Commission, the Bay of Bengal
Program, the Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific, the SouthEast Asian
Fisheries Development Centres, the WorldFish Center (formerly ICLARM) and the UN
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) through its Regional Office for
Asia-Pacific. The FAO was appointed as the technical lead in fisheries
rehabilitation.
The call is seemingly well-heeded - except by the fisherfolk, who have other
ideas. Several organisations of small-scale fisherfolk in Sri Lanka, India,
Thailand and Indonesia are demanding that relief efforts should focus on
re-establishing the artisanal fisheries sector as a priority. They are also
urging their own governments, as well as donors, to accompany it with a change
in approach and policies that will put a stop marginalising fisherfolk
communities.
Shrinking diversity
In Asia and throughout the globe, marine biodiversity has shrunk considerably
over the years. The question is whether driving fisherfolks away from their own
communities will bring back that lost diversity. A recently published map 2
which looks at the hot spots of marine diversity shows a 10-50% decline in
diversity between the 1960s and the 1990s - with the largest reduction of
species density in Atlantic and Indian oceans - corresponding to fishing
pressures. As early as 1997, FAO has acknowledged major declines in wild
fisheries due to overfishing and habitat destruction, but optimistically
suggested that the projected shortfalls in fish supply "will be met by expansion
within the aquaculture sector." 3
"The reason for the immense destruction of the coast was aquaculture,
development and tourism", according to Father Tom Kocherry, an Indian activist
priest who leads the 10 million-strong National Fishworkers Forum. 4 He was
furious at the suggestion of some European development charities who, just a
fortnight after the tsunami, were quick to suggest that it might not be
sustainable for all fishermen to return to the sea. "I am speaking for the 10
million traditional fishermen who go out in small boats and who practise
sustainable fishing, not the giant trawlers that ruin the fish and the
environment. My people have carried out this livelihood for centuries. Where are
they to go if not back to the sea?"
It is estimated that about 85% of the world's fishers are in Asia, led by China,
India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines. With shrinking land
for agriculture and continuing poverty in the cities, uprooting fisherfolk from
the shore looks misplaced. But given the kind of post-tsunami rehabilitation
that CONSRN wants for the affected communities, and with FAO and Worldfish
Center at the helm, the answer to Kocherry's question might well be inland
aquaculture.
A gift of fish
Aquaculture production accounts for about 20% of the total world seafood supply.
Asia contributes 25 million tonnes (valued at US$35 billion), or 82% of world
aquaculture production. 5 To meet the expected global increase in demand for
fish protein, more aquaqulturists are needed, as are "improved strains of fish
that are faster growing, resistant to disease, and suited to a variety of pond
farming conditions." 6
The WorldFish Center is one of the leading research centres focusing on such
research. From 1988 to 1997, it ran the Genetically Improved Farm Tilapia (GIFT)
Project, with funding from the United Nations Development Programme and the
Asian Development Bank. This collaborative project involving a Norwegian
research institute and three national fisheries agencies in the Philippines
worked on cross-breeding several different populations of wild African tilapia
"to produce new strains designed to mature quickly and adapt easily to
pond-farming conditions in Southeast Asia." 7
The project wrapped up with the establishment of the GIFT Foundation
International whose mandate, among other things, is to "provide the GIFT system
with brand development and marketing support." 8 WorldFish also gave birth to
the International Network on Genetics in Aquaculture (INGA) in 1993, a network
of 13 countries in Asia-Pacific and Africa, 11 advanced scientific institutions,
four regional or intern-ational organisations, and one private sector
institution. The network facilitates transfer of genetic material among member
countries and initiates regional resarch programmes for the genetic improvement
of carps and tilapias. Successes have been reported in Bangladesh, China, Sri
Lanka and Philippines in using commercial strains of tilapia that came from the
GIFT project. WorldFish and Malaysia's Department of Fisheries are continuing
with selective breeding work focusing on yield, flesh quality and growth rates.
The Blue Revolution begins
The application of biotechnology to aquaculture has sparked tremendous interest.
"The use of fish hatcheries to supply farms and enhance wild stocks is now
commonplace, and we are now well into the second stage of the revolution, namely
the use of genetic engineering - including splicing genes from one fish strain
or species into another - to produce desired characteristics" observe fisheries
specialists Brian Greer and David Harvey. 9
Close to 40 kinds of transgenic fish have been researched and developed in
several laboratories across the globe since the first transgenic fish was
reported in China 20 years ago. Interests range from studying gene flows in fish
to making novel aquarium fishes to rearing 'pharma-fish' useful to
pharmaceutical industries. But most research focuses on speeding up the growth
rate of commercially important species for the aquaculture industry, such as
salmon, trout, catfish, carp and especially tilapia. 10
Darwin in reverse
Introducing transgenic fish in aquaculture poses many risks. When the British
government decided in 2001 to provide funding for the development of transgenic
fish, some scientists immediately raised concerns about gene flow and the
possibility that these fish would outcompete with wild species for food and
other resources. They cautioned against the inevitability of novel traits from
genetically modified (GM) fish spreading into wild populations and seriously
harming the resilience of aquatic ecosystems.
Two scientists at Purdue University in the US went even further, indicating that
transgenic fish might even put Charles Darwin's theory of evolution (which
espouses the survival of the fittest) in reverse. William Muir and Richard
Howard investigated a Japanese madaka fish that had been genetically engineered
to produce human growth hormone so that it grows six times faster when it was
released into the wild. They found out that the release of 60 of this transgenic
fish into a wild population of 60,000 would be enough to extinguish the very
species in 40 generations! "You have the very strange situation where the least
fit individuals get all the matings", the researchers say. This is because the
fast growth of the transgenic fish makes it reach the right size for mating in a
short period of time without reaching sexual maturity. One result of this is an
increased mortality in the GM fish's offspring. But because of their size, they
get to compete more with the wild population as well as dominate the mating
process. This enhances the passing of such increased mortality trait to the wild
population. "Sexual selection drives the gene into the population and the
reduced viability drives the population to extinction" the authors observe.
The shape of things to come
Whether it's the drive to uproot fisherfolk from their livelihood to pave the
way for tourism and resort development, or to create a hostaged market for
transgenic fish, one thing is clear. The future looks bleak for the communities
affected by the tsunami. What the Consortium has might just be a policy brief,
but it probably reflects the shape of things to come. Fisherfolk communities
were marginalised before the tsunami, and rebuilding their lives after it is
enormously challenging. Now they have another fight on their hands on top of
everything else. It might just be a matter of time before another tsunami hits
Asia. This time, it won't be nature's wrath, but the fisherfolks'.
From: "Ben ABrown" yarl@...

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