EU Fisheries Ministers decide on TACs for 2013

Last night Fisheries Ministers finally reached an agreement on TACs for 2013. Although a compromise agreement was reached which aims at putting the majority of fish stocks at an exploitation rate in line with Maximum Sustainable yield by 2015, TACs for many fish stocks were still set higher than proposed by the Commission, which largely followed scientific advice.

For many stocks the agreed reductions in TACs are not sufficient to ensure recovery or sustainable exploitation rates as recommended by scientific advice, particularly for North Sea cod stocks, haddock in Faroese waters and West of Scotland, southern hake in Iberian waters, sole in the Irish Sea and Bay of Biscay, and Norway lobster in Bay of Biscay and Western Iberian Seas.

For stocks which have a lack of scientific advice but show decreasing trends, the Council decided on a 5% reduction, a much smaller reduction for many stocks than proposed by the Commission or advised by scientists for precautionary purposes.

It is positive to see that the Council seems to take the international obligations to reach MSY by 2015 seriously. However, for far too many stocks TACs continue to be set at much higher levels than what is recommended by scientists.

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FISH moves to new premises

The Fisheries Secretariat (FISH) will be moving to a new office later this week.

From 20 December, FISH staff can be found in a new office on Prastgatan 9 in Gamla Stan in Stockholm. This may limit our availability over the next few days, but by the beginning of the new year we should be up and running as normal again!

Please amend your contact details for us.

Our new address is:

Prastgatan 9
SE-111 29 Stockholm
Sweden

Phone: +46 8 250790

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North Sea cod recovery plan shelved?

Ministers agreed a roll-over of Black Sea catch limits today, despite continued problems with illegal fishing of turbot. They also came to an agreement that essentially scraps the 2008 cod recovery plan which is widely judged to be ineffective.

The Fisheries Council meeting that began today will discuss the 2013 fishing opportunities for the majority of stocks in EU waters. An agreement was reached on quotas for some Black Sea stocks and on the future management of cod stocks in the North Sea.

In the Black Sea, only sprat and turbot are regulated through EU annual fishing opportunities and the quotas are shared between Romania and Bulgaria. The Council agreed on a roll-over of the 2012 quotas for both stocks, going against the Commission’s proposed reduction for turbot (COM 74 tonnes; Council 86,4 tonnes). There are problems with illegal and unreported landings in the Black Sea turbot fishery, and the Council has earlier agreed on measures to reinforce control and monitoring in the region.

The Council also came to an agreement on the future management of North Sea cod stocks, discussing proposed amendments to the long-term management plan that has been in place since 2008. The objectives set out in the plan have not been reached and recent evaluation by STECF (2011) has shown that it is flawed and ineffective, unlikely to deliver even by 2015. The fishery is also still riddled by high levels of bycatch and discarding.

The Council’s discussions were focused on the two main measures to limit fishing: effort and total allowable catches. The automatic reductions of both as long as stocks fail to recover were rejected today, essentially scrapping the recovery plan. This was seen as a great success by the UK government, as well as the Scottish industry.

The discussions will continue over the coming days. Ministers still have to agree on fishing limits for the majority of EU stocks for 2013, including cod, haddock, hake, sole and Norway lobster.

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Skagerrak discard ban report presented in PECH

When the report on the Skagerrak discard ban was discussed for the first time in the Parliament Fisheries Committee on 17 December, MEPs raised issues in both the report and the Commission’s proposal on possible increases in TACs, control systems and minimum conservation reference sizes.

On Monday the 17 December, the report on the Discard ban in theSkagerrakwas presented in the PECH Committee in the European Parliament. The German MEP Kuhn presented his report and the Committee members gave comments and raised questions to the Commission about the proposal. The discussion mainly focused on the issues of raised quotas under a discard ban, control via CCTV systems to be mandatory or not, and harmonisation of minimum conservation reference sizes.

It became clear that there are concerns in the Committee about the report from Kuhn, as well as the principal proposal from the Commission.  Commission also said that they themselves had questions on unclarities in the Kuhn report and amendments and that this needed to be sorted out in bilateral discussions with the rapporteur.

Upon questions raised, the Commission answered and admitted that some parts of the text is unclear and needs to be changed. For example, regarding article 3 on exemptions from discards and whether this is up the fishermen to decide depending on chances of survival. Such species should be evaluated and via delegated acts be exempt from the discard ban and not be up to the fishermen.

The current timeline for this legislation:

1. Date for amendments: January 9 (to be confirmed)
2. Vote in PECH committee:  18/02/2013
3. Indicative plenary date, 1st reading:  12/03/2013
4. Implemented by January 2014 at the earliest

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Fisheries Committee shows leadership on Common Fisheries Policy

The European Parliament Fisheries Committee (PECH) has adopted the Rodust (S&D, DE) report on the CFP reform basic regulation, along with a number of amendments which will improve the long-term sustainability of fish stocks.

Votes on restoring fish stocks above MSY levels went through (amendment 2), with fourteen MEPs in favour and nine against. If this is supported at plenary and by the Council, all European fish stocks will be managed so that by 2015 “fishing mortality rates are set at levels that should allow fish stocks to recover, by 2020 at the latest, above levels that are capable of producing the maximum sustainable yield”. All recovered stocks should then continue to be managed within this framework.

Moreover, policies were adopted which aim to assess and eliminate fishing overcapacity (amendment 55). These will require Member States to provide annual capacity assessments which demonstrate that their fleet is in line with the available fishing opportunities. A mismatch would force Member States to submit plans to the European institutions on how to overcome this, and non-compliance could lead to subsidy funds being withheld.

A discard ban for all harvested species (amendment 32) was also supported by the committee. This will be implemented in three phases, beginning in 2014 and concluding three years later.

There was also good news for small-scale fishermen, with the amendment calling for them to be given preferential access to fish resources being voted through (amendment 20). Transferable fishing concessions (TFCs) were also limited to a maximum of 12 years, makes them voluntary, and limits their application to EU waters (amendment 48).

PECH has not always seen as a sustainable committee, with some MEPs criticised for being beholden to specific vested interest groups. However, a sea-change has taken place during recent years, with science and sustainability now being used as a cornerstone for decision-making by a majority of committee members. Chris Davies (ALDE, UK) was delighted with the committee, stating that “(I) can hardly believe how well the votes are going on fisheries reform. Clear majorities for sustainable policies.”

Ulrike Rodust was in celebratory mood after the vote and declared that “in plenary, I expect a large majority, the negotiations with the Council! I’m excited!” While Isabella Lovin (Greens/EFA, SE) thought it was a “fantastic outcome in PECH committee! We won ending to overfishing, discard ban for all harvested species and protected areas!!”

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Basic regulation compromise amendments agreed

The Fisheries Committee (PECH) has moved a step closer to finalising its position on the CFP reform basic regulation. 104 compromise amendments have been agreed by the political groups on the Rodust (S&D, DE). The vote will take place on 18 December.

Initially, over 2500 amendments had been proposed by members of the committee. The political groups have since been negotiating amongst themselves compromises, for when different MEPs have suggested amendments to similar areas of the Commission proposals.

How the Fisheries Committee votes often acts as a weathervane for the entire Parliament, as they are the MEPs in their party group who specialise on fisheries issues and thus influence their colleagues. Therefore their position will likely provide an indication as to how the plenary will vote in February or March next year.

Key issues will be what date is set for MSY in terms of reducing fishing mortality (F) and reaching a target population size (B), priority access to low impact fishing vessels, the discard ban and capacity measures.

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Peru slashes anchovy quota

In what used to be the world’s largest fishery, Peru has cut its anchovy quota by 68 %, to 810,000 tonnes, due to warmer water temperatures and high levels of discarding. This is the smallest allowable catch for 25 years and a fraction of 12 million tonnes caught in the early 1970s.

It is hoped that the lower quota will be just enough to allow the stock to remain somewhat stable. According to the government marine institute, IMPARPE, the stock has decreased 41% since last summer and is 28% smaller when compared to averages from the last 12 years.

Alluding to how depleted the stock has become, Production Minister Gladys Trevino stated “technically we would have said the quota is zero. That’s how bleak the panorama is”.

Fluctuations in the Peruvian anchovy stock have long been associated with the effects of “El Nino”. Anchovy thrive in nutrient rich colder waters, such as those provided by the Humboldt Current that flows north up the coast from Chile. Peru is currently experiencing mild “El Nino” effects, which lead to increased water temperatures. Therefore, if the temperatures continue to rise the government may enforce more restrictions and cut fishing quotas further.

In addition, discarding in the fishery has risen according to IMPARPE as industrial fishermen throw back juveniles which have been unintentionally caught in order to avoid fines. In order to avoid this wasteful practice, large vessels now have to operate further from the shore with coastal waters now being reserved from smaller boats.

Peru is the world’s top fishmeal exporter, producing about a third of worldwide supply. Last year it shipped abroad more than $2 billion in fishmeal and fish oil. Anchovy is usually dried and used as feed for livestock and farmed fish. However, with the anchovy quota being cut, the price of fishmeal, which has already doubled over the past decade and has increased by 20% just this past year alone, will likely continue to rise.

In the European Union, plans are in place for a significant increase in the aquaculture industry. Large subsidies are proposed in the subsidy package, known as the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The current fund is being negotiated and will be in place from 2014 to 2020.

Pushed by Commissioner Damanaki and supported by all Baltic Member States, fish farming will likely be subsidised heavily in the coming years, partly in order to reduce the reduce the quantity of imported fish to the EU, which currently accounts for 60% of consumption.

However, the Baltic Sea already has an overload of nutrients which have led to continuous algal blooms and a “fertilised sea”. Importing fish fodder from outside the Baltic to use on farms will also cause further problems for the local nutrient balance and exacerbate the eutrophication problem.

Plans to increase the aquaculture industry through subsidies, given the negative link to overfishing will harm the prospects of wild fish stock recovery and will in all likelihood create overcapacity in the farming business. The rapidly increasing price of fishmeal and the lack of a clear economic argument demonstrating that a market exists in the EU for such an expansion in farmed fish consumption, should be cause enough for scepticism that this is the right direction for the EU to move in.

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EP charts a sustainable course

The European Parliament has voted yes to new Baltic salmon management plan, to ban shark finning and gave overwhelming support to the report from Isabella Lovin (Greens/EFA, Sweden) on the external dimension of the CFP.

An EP session in Strasbourg with important votes and debates related to fisheries was concluded on Wednesday 22nd. The Parliament supported, by a vast majority, to stop shark finning by closing loopholes in the current regulations. This decision marks an end to a long NGO campaign to stop this practice.

An important part of the CFP reform was also finalised in Parliament. The report from Isabella Lovin on the external dimension of the CFP was supported, by 450 votes to 11, giving a large body of support for strong measures for EU fishing operations acting outside EU waters to act more responsibly. The report specifically targets issues to prevent illegal fishing, reflagging and to include a human rights clause in fisheries partnership agreements. Even though this report is non- legislative, it is an important signal of the Parliament’s position on international elements of the CFP Basic Regulation, scheduled to be voted on in March 2013.

The Parliament also supported the PECH Committee report and final position on the new long term management plan for the Baltic salmon stocks.  This means that a series of amendments to the Commissions original text were supported. For example, strengthening conservation targets, increasing control and improved management of recreational fisheries, setting up a number of clear guidelines for rearing and releasing reared salmon to the wild, adding wording about the need to phase out the open sea fishery and underlining the Polluter Pays Principle regarding the responsibility of power companies to restore and alleviate the problems caused by hydropower.

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Fisheries Committee in European Parliament vote to change the Baltic cod management plan

”Stop bankrupting our oceans” – WWF and 150,000 people demand sustainable CFP

At the European Parliament on 6-8 November, WWF handed over their peition to Ulrike Rodust (S&D, DE), rapporteur for the European Parliament on the basic regulation of the CFP reform.

The campaign attracted 150,000 signatures, calling for “political leadership from MEPs to build a healthy and prosperous future for our oceans and steer Europe’s fishing industry away from the path to bankruptcy.”

The “More Fish” petition was in the form of a cheque to highlight the economic benefits that would arise from sustainable management.

Commissioner Maria Damanaki has been vocal in her support for the campaign, stating that “it is important that citizens are aware of what is at stake…my hope is that the European Parliament will lead the delivery of a reform that meets the expectations of our citizens”.

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Swedish television examines the Baltic salmon crisis

The flagship investigative journalism series “uppdrag granskning” from Swedish public broadcaster SVT1 will show a film on the collapse of the Baltic wild salmon population and the management failures that have caused the situation ahead of Thursday’s European Parliament plenary on the salmon management plan.

The once thriving Baltic salmon, which flowed through eighty rivers in Sweden, is now threatened due to a combination of damming and poor planning of building projects, overfishing and lax management. The fishing industry is in continual decline and the anglers’ paradise has long since disappeared.

Sweden is often seen as “best in class” on fisheries issues within the EU. They are supportive of Commission proposals to rebuild fish stocks and strive to end subsidy dependence and overcapacity in the industry. However, according to the programme makers the “whole salmon policy is described as a failure”.

Instead they analyse how thousands of jobs in rural areas could be generated along with tens of millions of euros in revenue were the salmon stocks viable once again.

The salmon quota for next year in the Baltic main basin is 108,672 individuals, shared between the eight EU Member States. This is double what scientists from ICES recommended. Russia has a separate quota of less than 1,000 salmon.

Just last year though, the quota was over 300,000 individuals. Legal landings were significantly lower than this, although these figures masked the rampant illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing which has blighted the Baltic salmon.

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Over 800,000 people campaign to save the ocean

As of today, Thursday, November 29, 2012 over 838,120 people have signed a petition to stop wasteful discards.

Hugh’s Fish Fight which started in 2011 by Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall, has caught the attention of thousands of people all over the world, with over 700,000 signatories within the EU and the remaining sign-ups spread throughout the world. The campaign is aimed towards changing key aspects in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) that would ban discards. Discards refer to the fish that are retained by fishing gear and are then thrown back into the sea. They are often juvenile fish which are too small to be legally landed or can be thrown back so that fishermen can land higher value fish instead. These discards are usually dead or have little to no chance of survival. It is estimated that one in four fish caught in the EU are discarded back into the sea.

All the names that endorse the campaign will be included in a letter to Commissioner Maria Damanki, and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Commissioner Damanki has also pledged her support and wants to end “the nightmare of discards”. The discard ban which is part of the larger CFP reform will be voted on in early 2013.

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Upcoming Council meeting will focus on deep sea fishing opportunities

The Council on 28-29 November will fix fishing opportunities for certain deep sea stocks for 2013 and 2014 (COM(2012)579). Discussions on the annual consultation between EU and Norway will also take place and the Danish delegation will brief the Council on the Norway pout stock.

Deep sea species tend to be slow growing, late maturing and have low reproductive capacity. They are therefore particularly vulnerable to overfishing, which makes the serious lack of scientific information on the deep sea stocks in the North-east Atlantic all the more problematic. Thus it is crucial that EU lives up to its international commitments and applies the precautionary approach when setting TACs for deep sea species, taking into account that the scientific advice is based on limited data and a single stock approach, while bycatch levels are high and catches contain a wide range of deep sea species, particularly in the bottom trawl fisheries.

FISH and Seas at Risk’s detailed recommendations on the proposals can be read here. A short summary is presented below:

Bycatch quotas
It is imperative to use the opportunity of the review of the access regime for deep sea fisheries for the adoption of measures that will minimise future levels of bycatch in deep sea fisheries.

Comments on specific species
In general, we support the Commission proposal where it follows scientific advice, but want to highlight our concerns for several stocks:

Roundnose grenadier: We strongly recommend a zero TAC for roundnose grenadier in area III, and a roll-over of the 2012 TAC – or at least a much more moderate increase in TACs – in areas V, VI and VII. The proposed 77 % increase in TAC to 4 500 tonnes is too large, considering the limited data on which the advice is based and the high levels of bycatch in the fishery.Deep sea sharks: We recommend that a zero TAC for both targeted fisheries and bycatch of deep sea shark species is maintained.Red (blackspot) seabream: In line with ICES advice, we urge you to stop all directed fisheries of red seabream in area VI, VII and VIII, and to urgently adopt measures to minimise bycatch.Alfonsinos: We recommend an immediate reduction of the TAC for alfonsinos to the level proposed by ICES of 280 tonnes and a prohibition of any exploitation of new aggregations.Blue Ling: We recommend that the targeted fishery for blue ling in areas II–IV is closed, and that closed areas to protect spawning aggregations are maintained and expanded.

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Deep sea quotas set – business as usual at the Council

The Council has agreed TACs for deep sea stocks for the coming two years. While most quotas will be reduced next year, a lack of caution has been exercised for these vulnerable species. There was more good news for sharks though, for which no quotas were assigned.

Swedish minister Eskil Erlandsson criticised the agreement, stating “I am very disappointed the Fisheries Council didn’t show responsibility for management of the vulnerable deep sea stocks”.

Deep sea species tend to be slow growing, late maturing and have low reproductive capacity, which makes them particularly vulnerable to overfishing. This makes the serious lack of scientific information on the deep sea stocks in the Northeast Atlantic all the more problematic.

For stocks which are data poor, the guiding principle for EU fisheries management is the precautionary principle. However, for several stocks this was ignored by the Council. Over half of the agreed quotas were either in excess of the scientific recommendation or Commission proposal, and three stocks will have TACs more than 200% higher than that suggested by ICES.

Species for which the Commission proposed no fishing opportunities, orange roughy and seventeen shark species, the Council agreed to a zero TAC.

One of the central problems that the agreed quotas for the coming two years will cause is that many of the (bycatch) species that are caught in large quantities in mixed deep sea fisheries have no TAC. This leaves them unmanaged and unregulated. Unfortunately, the limited number of species managed by TACs has also led to misreporting of the species in the catches to avoid counting them against the quotas. An example of this is the roundnose grenadier TAC off the west coast of the UK, where the agreed 69% quota increase will cause problems due to high levels of bycatch.

After 2014, it is supposed that new legislation will be in place regarding deep sea fisheries. There is a Commission proposal for a revised access regime on the table, and if this becomes EU legislation 54 species will be covered by TACs rather than the present 24. Moreover, the proposed new legislation will seek to regulate deep-sea fisheries; including measures to phase out bottom trawling and bottom gillnet fishing for deep-sea species. The European Council and Parliament will be debating the Commission beginning in early next year.

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Balanced Harvesting – an alternative interpretation of selectivity

At a workshop in the European Parliament organised by Struan Stevenson (ECR, UK), the theory of balanced harvesting was discussed. Its proponents argue that fishing across a range of species, stocks and sizes could increase yields, address food security better than selectively avoiding juvenile fish and bycatch. However, they warn that the state of fish stocks and scientific research would need to be greatly improved before such a management system could be implemented.

In the articles “reconsidering the consequences of selective fishing” and “on balanced exploitation of marine ecosystems: results from dynamic size spectra”, published earlier this year, academics suggests that fisheries management should focus more on the productivity of stocks.

They argue that as less energy is required to produce smaller fish, avoiding these through selectivity is wasteful and reduces yields. Instead the old, large, and fecund fish should be selectively left in the ecosystem as breeders, and all bycatch be caught and utilised.

The authors of the studies note there are several factors that need to be in place before it could be implemented. Most importantly, to negate the risk of fishery collapse, no stocks can be overexploited and improved scientific data would be required for potential catches.

Given that of assessed EU stocks, 63% in the Atlantic are overfished, 82% in the Mediterranean and 4 out of the 6 stocks for which scientific advice is available in the Baltic, considerable work is required to meet this criterion. In addition, Commission figures show that “scientific advice about overfishing is missing for about two-thirds of the total allowable catches” and this figure excludes data for bycatch of non-commercial species. Thus, the EU is a long way from managing stocks at the Bmsy (biomass that enables a fish stock to deliver the maximum sustainable yield).

As we have seen with the North Sea cod stock, where during the 1990s 93% of fish were caught before they had the opportunity to spawn, a combination of too high fishing pressure and poor selectivity causes stock collapse. This underlines the importance of achieving the MSY target as a prerequisite to increasing yields.

Stevenson argues that balanced harvesting “may be the answer to achieving the ‘Holy Grail’ of fishing above Maximum Sustainable Yield, so that fish stocks are able readily to replenish themselves and catches and profits rise accordingly”. However, producer organisation representatives have dismissed the concept because “targeting more small fish will reduce their revenues and promote a market for small fish”. They argue that minimum landing sizes allow fish to spawn at least once before they are caught, acting as an insurance against stock collapse.

Consumer demands for larger, high quality fish also encourage selectivity measures to protect juveniles. Although yields could increase under balanced harvesting, fishermen and consumers would be short-changed unless market demand for younger fish increased and prices rose accordingly.

The balanced harvesting theory may be counterintuitive and goes against much of current EU policy, which seeks to encourage selectivity and protect juveniles; however, it is correct that measures to protect the largest, most fecund females would be beneficial for the resilience of stocks.

There is also logic to the theory of increasing yields by focusing efforts on juveniles. In much the same way, farming could increase yields by producing more veal from calves rather than beef from cows. Yet, if these increased juvenile landings were used as fodder for the aquaculture industry it would be an even more inefficient use of resources than allowing fish to mature before being caught.

In the future there may be potential for balanced harvesting to be used in EU fisheries, although as the theory encourages landing a wider range of species, further research is necessary.  We would need to know the Fmsy for all stocks as well as their current biomass, while fishing would need to be highly selective so as to fish each stock, and each age class within each stock, at the correct rate. This would in theory lead to a more balanced age distribution within fish stocks, a commitment for the EU to follow under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

For now though, the EU needs to continue to focus on rebuilding stocks under the MSY principle.

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The Baltic Sea – a model for Low Impact Fisheries?

On 26-27 September, The Fisheries Secretariat (FISH) held a conference in Gdynia, Poland, looking at what further actions are needed in order to minimise the environmental impacts caused by fishing in the Baltic Sea. Solutions were discussed between stakeholders to facilitate the transition to low impact fishing, to pave the way for the Baltic to become a model region for low impact fishing practices.

Adapting fishing techniques has been given momentum by the CFP reform, with its focus on regionalisation (co-management), obtaining the maximum sustainable yield from fishing, the discard ban and efforts to improve selectivity, along with subsidy funding being made available for gear changes. These factors provide a clear context for the EU to shift toward low impact fishing, and it is hoped that the Baltic, with its clean fisheries and recovering stocks, can lead the way forward.

At the conference, the main conclusions on how to shift towards low impact fisheries were: more focus on regionalisation and co-management of fish stocks, information and knowledge sharing on best practices, incentives for fishermen to use best practices and techniques, better balance between different fleet segments within the industry and the flexibility to develop new gears. For this to take place there is a need for a clear political framework to be in place guiding the process.

The conference, held in partnership with WWF Sweden, was well attended with over 90 participants from a wide range of sectors; Fishermen, gear developers, scientists, NGO representatives, politicians and fishery managers. The first day included presentations of fishing gears and techniques that are currently used and possible shifts and modifications among these by Gustaf Almqvist (FISH). Gustaf gave an appraisal of currently used gears and their impacts upon the marine environment. He emphasised the need for more diverse fishing gears, a less rigid and more flexible approach to gear tests and development efforts and finally further studies on the ecological effects of different gears conducted in the Baltic Sea (e.g. bottom trawling habitat effects on the Baltic Sea floor).

Mike Park (White Fish Producers Association Limited) presented how Scottish fishermen, scientists and decision makers have cooperated to improve white fish stocks within the Scottish Conservation Credit Scheme. He highlighted the importance of fully documented catches, improved control systems (CCTV) and a aeward system with fishing opportunities (effort), that is related to the degree of compliance of fishermen to a set of measures aiming to mitigate the negative effects of fishing. Reine Johansson (Chairman of the Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council) presented his personal views on how to achieve a discard ban in the Baltic Sea and stressed that the same regulations had to be valid for all countries involved in Baltic fisheries, including Russia. He also stressed that there is a future need to improve the selectivity in the trawl sector and to increase the value of cod at the market, possibly by increasing the minimum size to 40 cm.

The coordinator of the LOT 1 project, an EU project on cod trawl selectivity, Hans Nilsson (Swedish University of Agricultural Science) gave an update on the latest developments within the project. The final presentations during the first day were given by Staffan Larsson (STPO) and Lars-Gunnar Lunneryd (Institute of Costal Research, SLU) who gave examples of low impact fisheries in action in the Baltic Sea. Staffan highlighted that by increasing the net mesh size to 128 mm, STPO fisherman catch larger sized fish of better quality (larger fish are more valuable and can be better utilised by the filleting industry), generating more money, their goal is to provide a stable supply of cod daily for the market. Lars-Gunnar presented his work on cod pots and seal safe pontoon traps illustrated by videos, emphasising their potential as a good complement to the current predominate fishing techniques. These fishing gears would likely improve selectivity within the target catch and also reduce bycatch. Cod pots may come to replace other gears, but they are most successful when the population is larger and found closer to coastal waters.

During the panel discussion, the panellists were asked, among others to explain what LIF means to them. For Eskild Kierkegaard (DTU Aqua) LIF is efficient fishing, where a better balance between different fishing techniques and less fishing pressure would lead to improved fish stocks, although this does not necessarily include improved selectivity (fishing on the whole size and age spectrum of fish). Christian Pusch (EMPAS) stressed that for him LIF needs to be in line with agreed marine directives, and not least the Habitat and Bird directives. For Jochen Bellebaum, expert on bird bycatch, LIF is to reduce the amount of gillnets in shallow waters during winter, and stressed the need to find bird safe gears that are efficient enough to be economical also in these areas. Sara Hornborg (The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, SIK) working with life cycle analysis and fuel consumption, for her LIF means that all effects of fishing activities are considered. She stressed that fuel efficiency and habitat effects of bottom trawling often go hand in hand and that, already today, several measures could be taken into consideration such as pelagic otter doors (reduced bottom contact) and electric pulse beam trawls. Vessels could further be improved by becoming more energy efficient (e.g. new engines), similarly much of the fuel consumption is dependent on the behaviour of the fishermen (e.g. speed of the boat)

On a direct question from the moderator on how much of the fuel consumptions can be reduced in future trawls and in what time frame, Eskild Kirkegaard replied that with gear modifications such as new netting, lighter materials, and flying otter doors a 50% fuel reduction could be achieved within 10 years. Jochen Bellebaum was asked to give his view on possibilities to seasonally close areas; he explained that it is not a valid alternative to close the whole area in the Southern Baltic Sea (needed from a LIF bird bycatch perspective) due to the sheer size of the area combined with that the closure would need to last for close to half the year (which would coincide with the period of the year that is most important for coastal fisheries), closed areas should instead be limited to areas where the problem is most serious. Krzysztof Skora (Hel Marine Station, University of Gdansk) was asked about the most important measures to be taken to reduce bycatch of harbour porpoises. He replied that controls need to be improved and that the usage of so called pingers (scaring devices) should be mandatory for all gill net fishers in areas where harbour porpoises are likely to be found. Besides fishing, factors as harsh winters, pollution and noise pollution also threaten the survival of the species in the sensitive Baltic Sea ecosystem.

Presentations and the panel discussion of invited experts during the first day formed the basis for the World Cafe during the second day, where participants interactively discussed and sought agreement on actions for how to move towards low impact fisheries in the Baltic Sea. The wide range of participants (fishermen, gear developers, scientists, NGO representatives, politicians and fishery managers) allowed for broad and fruitful discussions leading to a set of concrete actions.

Besides focus on gears and selectivity, which made up large parts of the discussion during the first day, the second day was all about ways forward. Next steps on how to move towards low impact fisheries in the Baltic Sea were identified, with the top five actions forward being; to educate and exchange knowledge (among the scientific community and fishermen but also among fishermen from different countries and regions); to create and/or improve structures for management and dialogue among stakeholders; to explore local seal regulation; to set overarching targets for both conservation and fisheries to operationalise at a regional/local management along with the need for more research. Regionalisation moving towards local responsibility and local management and responsibilities of the fishermen were buzz words during the conversations.

Our aim if for the conference to be a starting point for closer collaboration between regional stakeholders, which we hope will forge links to ongoing work in the Baltic Sea region. The outcomes of the seminar will further be described and included in a report on Low Impact Fisheries in the Baltic Sea that currently is being produced by FISH.

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BalticSTERN seminar: Public is willing to pay for a healthier Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea provides a number of ecosystem services to the inhabitants of the region. Hitherto, economic models have tended not to place economic values on them though. BalticSTERN work to integrate these values as well as public opinion into their analyses. With regard to fisheries, their research indicates that low fishing mortalities will generate the highest long-term profitability as well as being best for the long-term resilience of the ecosystem.

Yesterday, the Stockholm Resilience Centre hosted a stakeholder seminar to discuss BalticSTERN’s research with scientists, business sectors, NGOs, ministries. The aim of the workshop was to give an overview of the research carried out by BalticSTERN between 2009-2012 and to present unpublished published results so as to get feedback for a report due in December.

BalticSTERN, is an international research network that combines ecological and economic models to make cost-benefit analyses and identify cost-effective combinations of measures for reaching environmental targets for the Baltic Sea, stemming from the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP).

Johan Rockstrom of the Stockholm Resilience Centre opened the meeting by stating that one of the main pillars of BalticSTERN’s research is to try to illustrate the public value of the Baltic Sea and to stress the importance of achieving an improved environmental state of the Baltic Sea. BalticSTERN wants to deliver the message to decision makers that the Nordic countries are among the richest countries in the world and it would be a shame if they cannot their neighbouring Sea. Rockstrom also stated that one of the main ideas of the project is to bridge the gap between science and policy.

The seminar mainly revolved around cost-benefit scenarios of carrying out mitigation measures on eutrophication and overfishing, other environmental pressures such as oil spills were also discussed. Some very interesting results of the research conducted so far was presented, inter alia concluding that citizens around the Baltic Sea show a high willingness to pay for an improved environmental state of the Baltic Sea. Over 50% of the asked population would be willing to pay 50 euros annually as a specific Baltic Sea tax aiming to achieve the goals in the BSAP.

Concerning fisheries, some interesting results on multi species modelling were presented, concluding that a low fishing pressure on the main commercial species in the central Baltic Sea would generate the highest economic long term profitability. The ultimate fishing mortalities proposed was 0.2 for eastern Baltic cod and around 0.1 for sprat and herring. The modelling results provide valuable information in light of the current development on a multi species management plan for the Baltic Sea.

It was stressed that improved EU policy coherence and the need to develop targets within the different policy areas fulfilling the descriptors of Good Ecological Status in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Water Framework Directive. BALTFISH, one of the flagship projects in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, was mentioned as a positive example of a regional governance initiative, and it was discussed whether it would be possible to develop a similar institution with a wider scope beyond fisheries, embracing all issues that have an influence on the Baltic Sea environment.

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European deep sea fisheries catching up to 3.5 times their allocated quotas – study says

Home » Article » European deep sea fisheries catching up to 3.5 times their allocated quotas – study says

A recent study published in Ocean and Coastal management reveals that on average the European fishing fleet catches up to 3.5 times more deep sea fish than the allocated quotas. In some between ten and twenty-eight times more fish is caught than what is allocated by the quotas. Deep Sea species, such as orange roughy, are often slow growing and long lived and are therefore very sensitive to overfishing.

The researchers behind the study conclude that the results illustrate the ineffectiveness in EU fisheries management and the lack of control ensuring compliance with the rules. Not only have scientifically proposed TAC levels been exceeded during Council negotations, but the agreed quotas have also not been complied with. They argue that this mismanagement has undermined the long-term sustainability of several stocks, with urgent management measures required to ensure the sustainability of these fisheries.

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Aphids - A Threat to Our Agricultural Crops

Study produced analysing global unassessed fisheries

A recent study, led by Christopher Costello, has attempted to provide insight into the status of “unassessed” fisheries from across the globe. By compiling the available data for such stocks, which comprise 80% of the world’s fisheries, the paper underlines the precarious state of the world’s fisheries and the benefits of rebuilding fish populations.

Costello argues that managing fish stocks so that they achieve Bmsy levels would have significant benefits, given that 64% of unassessed stocks could provide increased sustainable harvest if rebuilt. Their results suggest that global fishery recovery would simultaneously create an increase in both abundance (56%) and fishery yields (8%-40%), with these benefits primarily benefiting regions of the world facing food security challenges. This need is describe as pressing given the projected “increase….in human populations and wealth in the coming decades.”

According to the paper, with both small and large stocks continuing to decline in unassessed fisheries, the need to manage stocks in a sustainable manner would have both socio-economic and environmental benefits.

They pinpoint small unassessed fisheries as those being in the worst condition. However, they emphasise that recent advances in data poor assessment could be coupled with management instruments such as territorial user right fisheries (TURFs), no-take reserves and co-management approaches to achieve improvements in the status of fish stocks.

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Fisheries Committee delays key vote

The Rodust (S&D, DE) report on the proposed basic regulation on the CFP – a fundamental part of the reform – has attracted over 2,500 amendments. It was up for vote in the Fisheries Committee on 9 October, but this has now been delayed until 22 November. In turn, the mid-November Plenary vote will also be postponed.

The new basic regulation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was originally scheduled to become legislation at the start of 2013. It is clear, however, that when this deadline passes no final agreements will have been made. To date, only the Council has made significant progress, with their June General Approach, in which key proposals concerning the recovery of fish stocks and a discard ban were watered down.

The reform process is the first major test of the new co-decision procedures on fisheries policy in the EU, and an opportunity for the European Parliament to really influence the long-term future of the EU’s fisheries, as well as the health of our seas.

It is hoped that these delays provide time for a greater depth of discussion within the Parliament. Last week’s Plenary, which featured votes on the Common Market Organisation and the overarching communication on CFP reform, found a very small majority of MEPs voted to water down the MSY target proposed by the Commission. However, several MEPs subsequently realised they had not voted as they intended and changed their position as a result, giving the “above MSY” camp a majority.

The fine margins involved in this decision and the novelty of the CFP being voted on in the Parliament have contributed to the delays that have beset this reform. However, the Parliament has a crucial role to play, and a second reading agreement with Council will be beneficial for a more thought-out fisheries policy with a long-term perspective to emerge from the EU.

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Models are not religion – it´s ok to cheat

Dr. Christensen, the lead developer of both the Ecopath and Ecosim modelling software, widely used for ecosystem-based management of marine systems, held a seminar at the Swedish Royal Academy of Science last Friday.

The seminar began with Dr. Christensen giving a short overview of the use of ecological network theory for fisheries management and continued by describing how ecosystem models have been developed to be used for making predictions.

The main message Dr. Christensen sought to convey with his seminar was that we cannot expect a single model to give all the answers, the models are not sophisticated enough to alone provide accurate answers. Instead, to be able to grasp the complexity of ecosystems, several models should be used to make reliable predictions. Dr. Christensen used his own work to illustrate the need to combine several models, in which he uses three models simultaneously.

Dr. Christensen currently facilitates workshops on Ecopath around the world. One of his core projects for many years is the Sea Around Us Project a “database-driven, ecosystem model construction”, with the aim of using ” global, spatial databases to parameterise, balance and fit ecosystem models“.

Ecopath is a static, mass-balanced snapshot of the system while Ecosim is a time dynamic simulation module for policy exploration. Both Ecopath and Ecosim have been used when developing the multispecies plan for the Baltic Sea.

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European Parliament plenary undermines efforts to rebuild fish stocks

In this week’s European Parliament plenary, several votes that will shape the future of fisheries management took place. The first reading of the Common Market Organisation (CMO) has been completed and voted through by the Parliament, along with the overarching communication of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Significant changes concerning consumer information have been put forward by the Parliament, within the CMO. Mandatory information on labels should now show both where and how the fish has been caught, including the gear type used. Moreover, the date landed will also be included along with information on what stock the product is from. These changes will enable consumers to be more discerning with their choices.

Under the overarching communication however, the Parliament rejected proposals by the Commission and the ENVI committee to rebuild fish stocks above their maximum sustainable yield, by a narrow margin of five votes. Amendment two, introduced by over 70 members of the centre-right EPP group, the largest in the Parliament, sought to water down ambitions to increase fish populations in the medium-term.

The proposed amendment changed the text, replacing “above” with “at levels close to” MSY. Such a change would however fail to guarantee a revival of European fish stocks, which have long been blighted by overfishing and mismanagement. Increasing stocks to above their MSY level would enable populations to grow and help to safeguard the future of the fishing industry. Much responsibility has been placed in the hands of the European Parliament since the Lisbon Treaty, yet optimism in their ability to secure a sustainable CFP reform is perhaps misplaced. However, it is the November plenary that will be crucial in determining the direction of European fisheries policy for the coming decade.

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What lies ahead – Baltic Sea Future Scenarios

Last week WWF Sweden hosted their tenth annual Baltic Sea Seminar, as part of the Baltic Sea Festival.  During the seminar WWF launched the report, “Counter Currents”, which presents a range of possible futures for the Baltic Sea leading up to the year 2030.

The exploration of the future is told in four story lines, entitled Clear Waters Ahead, Dangerous Currents, Islands in the Stream, and Shipwrecked. In each scenario, WWF presents a different combination of possible developments, and what sort of impacts those combinations of forces might have on the health of the Baltic Sea and the populations and businesses it supports.

The report outlines and explains in detail how decisions made today may impact what will happen in 20 years’ time.  The message to the audience, managers and practitioners is to read the report, to start making decisions based on which scenario we want to achieve.

There is still time to “save” the Baltic Sea if the right decisions are made today.

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Council General Approach labelled “irresponsible”

A joint NGO response to the General Approach, which was agreed to by a majority of Member States at the June Council, has called on MEPs to reject their approach for the CFP reform and “fix Europe’s broken fisheries policy”.

Central to criticisms of the Council are the watering down of targets to recover European fish stocks, through the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) approach. In June, Ministers agreed to the unambitious target of reducing fishing pressure by 2020 for all stocks, while failing to address the need to increase the biomass and abundance of stocks. Moreover, there are loopholes in place for mixed fisheries (GA Art. 9.3) and stocks shared with third countries (GA Art. 2.2bis) which may threaten several vulnerable and data-poor populations. By contrast, the ENVI committee in the European Parliament have stated that stocks should be managed above their MSY level by 2015, with further improvements to be made by 2020.

The Council also weakened the discard ban that has been proposed by the Commission, and is a cornerstone of Commissioner Damanaki’s vision for the CFP. Certain fisheries have been excluded and several derogations from the ban have been proposed in the General Approach. By contrast, concrete measures to improve selectivity and to handle unwanted catches have not been addressed convincingly. Sweden and the Netherlands voted against the Council majority because of reservations regarding the undermining of the MSY principle and the discard ban.

In a surprise move, conditionality clauses for EU financial assistance which would have prevented vessels that have broken the rules from receiving subsidies have been weakened (new GA Art. 50). This was coupled with a watering down of provisions which require Member States to comply with the rules of the new CFP in order to receive funding (new GA Art. 51). The NGO coalition called on MEPs to address these failings, stating that “far too often, EU funds have been abused and given to Member States and operators that have failed to comply with the rules of the CFP. We urge you to ensure that this misuse of public money will no longer be tolerated.”

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BALTFISH continues to evolve under its third presidency

The first BALTFISH meeting to take place under the Estonian presidency took place in Tallinn yesterday. There was also a technical working group focused on implementation of the discard ban, which will most likely come into force in 2014 as well as discussions centred upon TACs and quotas for 2013 and the multispecies management plan for the Baltic.

At the Council meeting in June, a General Approach was agreed to by a majority of Member States which included a three step process to bring a discard ban into being, concluding in 2018. This agreement was however roundly criticised by NGOs and the Swedish and Dutch governments rejected it for being too unambitious. The mornings technical working group session sought to bring consensus on how the discard ban in the Baltic could be more far-reaching than that agreed to in Brussels. Implementing with shorter timeframes, including more species, exempting those with high survival rates and identifying choke species such as species caught as bycatch like plaice in the cod fishery and salmon in the pelagics for which some Member States have insufficient or no quotas for.

Representatives from Poland and Latvia were keen to emphasise the importance of selectivity. For them as well as NGOs the key goal should be to avoid unwanted bycatch, juveniles and thus discards. The Latvian delegation also argued for all catches to be landed, with provisions for mandatory releasing, rather than for the landing obligation to merely include regulated species. Several Member States also highlighted the necessity for sea trout to be included on the list of species due to its proximity to salmon.

During the discussion regarding the minimum landing size (MLS) or minimum conservation reference sizes on cod, two groups were clearly defined. Denmark, Latvia and Germany want to remove or lower the MLS and Sweden, Finland, Poland together with NGOs and a unanimous BSRAC support keeping the MLS at 38 cm.  In his concluding remarks the Danish representative leading the discard discussion, sought to explore at future meetings a Baltic-wide agreement for a two step discard ban; in 2014 for pelagics, salmon and industrial fish, with all other EU regulated species such as cod, flatfish and sea trout to be in place for the start of 2015. No reference was made to non fish species or mammals.

Regarding TACs and quotas for 2013, which will be finalised at the October Council, Member States limited themselves to preliminary reactions to the recommendations provided by ICES, STECF and the Commission. They were though broadly in favour of the proposals and sought to follow scientific advice for all stocks to reach their MSY levels. Discussions will also take place on whether or not to continue following the management plan for western Baltic cod. In the plan, the fishing mortality target is set at 0.6, which is far in excess of that needed to bring the stock to its MSY. The Danish delegation and NGOs both recommended lowering this, with ICES evaluating Fmsy to be 0.25, STECF estimate 0.33 and Dr.Rainer Froese has suggested a value of F=0.2.

On the multispecies management plan for the Baltic, Stuart Reeves from the Commission presented a preliminary “state of play with the Management plan for Baltic stocks of cod, herring and sprat”. DG Mare is currently working on a proposal for a long-term management plan which will cover the three main species. The main discussions concerned the target fishing mortality to be used in the model, what stocks to include in the plan and what TAC constraints to include in the plan. The Commission presented a paper that used the same F values as those currently used in the single-species model, except for Gulf of Riga herring, and the paper also gave several options on what to include or not. A majority of the meeting favoured to keep a TAC constraint of +-15% and to keep the plan focused on the eastern Baltic fish stocks.  NGOs underlined that several scientific models implicate lower F values than in a single species management and referred to  Pikitch et al. (2004) that states that modelling for ecosystem-based multispecies management at MSY levels, Fmsy needs to be lower than for single species.

The proposals are still in their infancy and there was agreement that the scientific basis for the model is not where it needs to be in order for it to be used as a basis on which to managed stocks and set quotas. An increase in the EMFF funding allocation for data collection could help to redress this balance.

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Regionalisation and discards on the agenda at the 11th Polish Fisheries Roundtable meeting

Home » Article » Regionalisation and discards on the agenda at the 11th Polish Fisheries Roundtable meeting

The CFP reform, with a focus on regonalisation and discards were the priorities during the 11th Polish Fisheries Roundtable meeting.

The Roundtable meeting, held on 2nd of July, was devoted to the Common Fishery Policy reform (CFP). Utilisation of the Polish TACs for 2012 in the context of the present fishing capacity was also discussed. Among others the Fisheries Minister Kazimierz Plocke attended the meeting.

The meeting was well attended, with over 50 participants, with representatives from the fishing sector, NGOs, scientists and the Fisheries Department. Another two Polish Fisheries Roundtable meetings to discuss the CFP reform are planned for 2012, to which the Polish Minister has been invited.

The Polish Fisheries Roundtable was established by WWF Poland in 2009. It is a forum which encourages exchange of information and discussion between all stakeholders engaged in the management of Polish Fisheries i.e. representatives from the fishing sector, non-governmental organisations, scientists and fisheries administration. The number of participants of the roundtable meetings is increasing every year.

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An attack by sea – an art happening has moored in Stockholm

“Among the beautiful veteran ships and resplendent yachts in the harbour a peculiar vessel suddenly appears:  A boat crammed with refugees. In one of the masts is hanging a 3 meters face of bronze. A banner hung up between the masts displays the number 2015. The ship moors alongside the quay, and the refugee sculptures are spreading in the harbour in the streets of the town and in the shops. An art happening has been launched, an attack by sea on the town with the aim of highlighting our moral obligation towards our fellow humans in the south, who have been born into unfathomable poverty.”

Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot in cooperation with Living Sea, and PATC (The Project Advice and Training Centre) consisting of 250 development NGO’s have transformed the Living Sea’s cutter M/S Anton into a floating art installation with more than 70 bronze sculptures.

When coastal areas around the world are depopulated and impoverished, it is often due to tremendous pressure from capital heavy international industrial. The refugee boat is a work of art and a political manifestation that brings the feel of the world’s refugee problems all the way into the city port to create reflection and debate.

The art installation aims to put attention on the issue of why people flee. The refugees speak about the problem they have to find a place to stay and live their lives – and the problems which have driven them from their homes. One of the causes and issues raised in the installation emerges from the problems associated with the European fishing fleets, which empty the waters of fish off the cost of developing countries. As a consequence, people on land are forced to find food elsewhere and too often find no other option than to escape their country – becoming a refugee travelling the seas on a boat.

M/S Anton is moored at berth 17 on Strandvagen in Stockholm, Sweden, as a visiting art installation during the 2012 Stockholm Cultural Festival which takes place around the city between the 12th – 19th of August.

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Greenpeace calls for action on the EU fisheries reform

Greenpeace’s inflatable fishing boat takes over the city Centre in Gdansk, Poland, in a call for Poland and the EU to take action and support a sustainable CFP reform.

On Wednesday, 11th July, the Greenpeace inflatable fishing trawler, on tour through Europe, sailed from Germany to Gdansk city center. The vessel features an exhibition and information sessions, which draw attention to overfishing and the EU?s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Residents of Gdansk and the tri-city area were invited to learn more about the threats to our shared fish resources. The CFP reform is, according to Greenpeace, “the last chance to halt the demise of the European fish populations and the EU fishing sector”.

In their Call for Action Greenpeace highlight five steps which they see needs to be included in the reform: i) recovering fish stocks and reducing the risk of depletion, ii) transitioning toward sustainable fishing practices, iii) reducing fishing power to sustainable levels, iv) protecting the marine environment by limiting impact and v) making the allocation of quotas and subsidies conditional on conscientious environmental practices.

The need for the Polish government to focus on responsible fisheries management is especially pertinent at the moment. Ahead of the July Council, they signed a declaration along with France, Spain and other Member States associated with unsustainable practices, calling for further subsidies for fleet modernisation and decommissioning. Both of these practices had been excluded from the Commission CFP reform proposals, as they seek to reduce overcapacities and balance the European fleet with the availability of fishing opportunities.

The tour fills an important role, as we move toward the conclusion of the CFP reform. The inflatable fishing trawler continues its tour and is now sailing towards Central and Eastern Europe.

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Commission report on EU overcapacity branded “inadequate and lacking clarity”

In their evaluation of national efforts during 2010 to achieve a sustainable balance between fishing capacity and fishing opportunities, based on reports submitted by Member States, the Commission concluded that “it will be difficult to eliminate overcapacity in the short term if no changes are made to the current policy”.

The Court of Auditors was particularly scathing in its response to the report. They argued that “the rules under which Member States report are inadequate and lack clarity…with the consequence that it is impossible to derive conclusions regarding fishing capacity”. Previously the Court has identified overcapacity as the key problem for EU fisheries management.  Moreover, the Commission concluded that despite commitments to reduce overcapacity, Member States have failed in their obligation to do so. Member States reported a decrease in the number of vessels of 0.96%, coupled with reductions in tonnage and power of 3.8% and 2.5% respectively, however, the Commission criticised these efforts as being “hardly sufficient to compensate an estimated technical progress of 3% per year”.

Reports submitted by Denmark, Estonia and Sweden seem to indicate that their respective ITQ system have led to a concentration of fishing effort on fewer, more efficient vessels. In these cases, the reduction in tonnage and power outweigh the decreases in number of fishing vessels. However, due to the narrow definition of capacity used, we are unable to understand whether fishing capacity, in terms of the number of fish that can be caught by the available vessels, has actually decreased.

The Commission states that it “is difficult to verify whether the engine power is stated correctly” and that the measures used are too static and fail to capture technical progress. This is not an acceptable situation and it is hoped that future reporting addresses these issues under the framework of the new CFP. As the Court of Auditors criticism suggests, using the data to understand whether capacity and fishing opportunities match is not possible.

This report on capacity provides further evidence that Member States are failing to manage European fisheries effectively. Overcapacity has long been identified as one of the key problems driving overfishing, however, subsidies and quotas exceeding scientific advice have kept a bloated fleet in business.

Currently, several capacity regulating measures are already in place in EU fisheries management, namely long-term management plans, the entry-exit system, scrapping schemes and capacity ceilings. However, these measures are quantitative and fail to provide a vision for the type of European fleet we wish to see in the future. A policy of access criteria, which has been pushed to be included in the CFP by NGOs, would use the incentive of quota allocations to provide a structure to shape the fleet in a sustainable direction, without the need for taxpayer funding through subsidies or privatisation.

On a positive note though the General Approach, agreed by a majority of Council members in June, has acknowledged that where overcapacity is identified as a problem, action plans should be put in place to eliminate overcapacity (new GA Art.35). Moreover, the Council agreed to reinstall annual reporting requirements on the development of fishing capacity. These developments followed on from the Rodust (S+D, DE) draft report for the Fisheries Committee (PECH) on the basic regulation, that more stringent capacity evaluations would need to be submitted by Member States in the future. These recommendations are commendable, and it is hoped that future evaluations are specific enough to draw conclusions from.

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Members of the Polish President´s office joins the Clean Up the Baltic Sea march

Our Planet Foundation is marching for a cleaner Baltic through their sixth educational program “See the Baltic…”, for the International Clean Up the Baltic campaign. The most important event of the program is the march along the Baltic Sea which started on July 16th and ends later this week on July 28th .

The march along the Baltic Sea from Miedzyzdroje to Hel, organized by the Our Earth Foundation and the Clean Up the World Foundation – Poland, is the cumulative event of the program. During the march the Our Earth and Clean Up the World Foundations are monitoring the health and cleanliness of the beaches along the Baltic Coast. Several local businesses, organisations and local residents have joined the walk along the coast. With members of the Polish President’s office joining the marchers at the end of the march in Hel.

The march and its opening and closing events are part of Polish celebrations of the European Fish Weeks, an event coordinated by the international coalition OCEAN2012. It is an opportunity to show policy makers that the Common Fisheries Policy needs to be reformed. Currently the campaign is focused on stopping overfishing; the object is to inform policy makers of the problems in the Baltic and demand that the fish population be allowed to rebuild and the ecosystem restore balance.

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Commission proposes Baltic quotas for 2013

Today, the Commission has proposed quotas for Baltic Sea fish stocks for 2013. These will be negotiated at the October Council by national fisheries ministers, and concern five species; cod, herring, sprat, salmon and plaice.

The Commission has recommended TACs which are broadly in line with scientific advice, although suggested cuts for all species were slightly less than those put forward by ICES. Suggested salmon quotas have been the most controversial though, after ICES advice for a TAC of “not more than 54,000 individuals” for the main basin stocks was ignored, with the Commission putting forward a recommendation of 108,762 pieces or an 11% cut.

In their evaluation of the quota advice, STECF have presented data to show that a catch of 108,762 salmon would equate to a fishing mortality of F=0.1, which is the figure that the Commission have put forward to the Council. Yet, given that a significant proportion of mortality is derived from angling and unreported catches, which are not covered by the quota, in reality catches of salmon will be higher than those recommended. With some salmon rivers in a vulnerable state, this could exacerbate problems for some local stocks.

Part of the Commission’s rationale has been improvements in control and enforcement, which have meant that previous estimates for unreported catches can now be added to the TAC. This is true to an extent, however, unreported catches and discarding have been estimated at 40% of the total catch, and these have been reduced rather than eradicated.

If improvements in control and enforcement continue to be made, and if the Council agrees to this 11% cut and continues to reduce fishing pressure in the coming years, then real improvements in Baltic salmon populations may be seen. However, given that Member States such as Finland and Sweden have already exhausted their 2012 quotas by August, there is pressure to persevere with an overly high level of fishing pressure for short-term gain.

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Commission film on TFCs brings discard ban into the spotlight

With their film released over the summer, the Commission have given a final show of support for TFCs and put them in the CFP reform spotlight just months before the European Parliament plenary votes on the Basic Regulation package. Despite being rejected by both the Council and the ENVI committee in the Parliament, Commissioner Damanaki has continued to be a strong proponent of the system.

Commission staff have sought to connect the implementation of TFCs with their proposed discard ban. TFCs enable fishermen to haul a catch with fish they do not have quota, and then trade with their colleagues. Such a system is in operation in some fisheries in Denmark, Sweden and Estonia, with other countries in the Baltic also planning to implement.

If the Commission’s proposals for a discard ban are voted into the CFP legislation, all landings will be counted against quotas and fishermen may only receive a level of financial compensation for landing juveniles that would cover their costs. It is hoped that the landing obligation will force all catches to be landed and put an end to the wasteful practice of discarding, while providing a financial incentive for fishermen to become more selective. Subsidies will also be made available to enable fishermen to buy more selective gears.

In the film, a Danish Ministry representative makes the claim that “discards are reduced to very very low figures” under the TFC system. This has been the source of heated discussions within the Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council (BS RAC), where fishermen from across the region, operating in the same waters with the same gear have reported markedly different discard rates.

ICES reports on the regional fisheries have not found significant differences between fishermen from different countries. Moreover, in their annual report on the Baltic cod fishery, WGBFAS – the Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group, they state that “the total Danish discard estimate in FishFrame at present is an underestimate of the real discard”. This is because they “decided not to provide discard estimates through FishFrame…Denmark is not prepared to use this facility in general”.

In 2011, 12 million cod were discarded in the Baltic Sea, mostly juveniles. Approximately 95% of these discards were attributed to the trawl fleet, which is also responsible for just over 70% of catches.

The discard issue is heavily connected to various trawl fisheries; however, the landing obligation alone will not be a workable solution. Improved selectivity mainly through new gear and improved fishing techniques are key to solving the discard problem at sea. If selectivity does not improve, fishermen might find themselves in a situation where they have to reduce the amount of non target fish or juveniles in order to remain profitable. For example there is a chance that discarding will continue at sea by simply slacking a trawl before lifting it up.

If a discard ban is to be effective and controllable it should cover all species, rather than merely certain commercial stocks as has been proposed. From a distance it is not possible to see if a boat is discarding cod or a flatfish species, which makes control problematic.

The Baltic fisheries are operating in a non-complex environment with 3-5 possible species being caught, depending on the target species and gear used. If the discard problem cannot be solved here it will be far more difficult in more mixed fisheries. Therefore a complete discard ban for certain gear types is the best solution.

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The king of the Polish rivers inspires children and youth to care for clean rivers

Klub Gaja took over the streets of Katowice, Warsaw and Hel together with a school of salmon and children who came to learn about why the salmon needs clean waters to live in.

As a part of the “Adopt a River” programme, Klub Gaja – one of Poland’s oldest NGOs – organised a series of educational workshops and happenings for children in three cities around Poland; Katowice, Warsaw and Hel. Around 600 children and youths attended the workshops where they learnt about the life of the salmon -the king of the Polish rivers and the Baltic Sea – that needs clean water to live in.

The children were encouraged to seek answers to questions related to the protection of clean rivers and the Baltic Sea. The grand finale of the “Adopt a river” tour took place in the city of Hel on the 8th of July, where young and old, as part of the Big Jump, leapt hand in hand in the water to express their concerns about keeping rivers and lakes clean. The “Adopt a River” workshop is a fantastic example of Klub Gaja?s innovative way of achieving public environmental awareness.

About “Adopt a River”
“Adopt a River” is one of Klub Gaja’s main work programmes. It started in 2005 and is a country-wide programme aimed at raising awareness of river environments. It consists of a mix of broader, long-term efforts such as a school programme, which involves educating children in over 4,000 schools about ecology and environmental issues, and more immediate, targeted activities such as river clean ups, often engaging local politicians, businessmen and decision-makers.

Big Jump reconcile people with their rivers
Big Jump aims at reconcile people with their rivers, to reclaim their environment and demonstrate their wish to have clean and living rivers again. The Big Jump project aims to capture the essence of current EU water protection legislation into one single public act: at one date, at one time, people will jump hand in hand into rivers all over Europe.

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Improving selectivity on Baltic cod trawlers

On 24-25 May, a seminar on how to develop more selective gears in the Baltic demersal trawl fishery was held in Karlskrona, Sweden. The seminar was hosted by the EU funded LOT 1 project which aims to develop more selective trawls through collaboration between fishermen and scientists.

Scientists from Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Poland are responsible for running the project, and the main objectives are to minimise discards and bycatch by developing solutions to improve selectivity in cod trawls without increasing mesh sizes.

At the seminar, the projects two main results were presented. A survey among fishermen about views on protected areas, regulations, discards and gear selectivity and secondly a desktop study trying to compile available knowledge and data about discards.

In the survey most fishermen saw a need for fishing gear regulations, and expressed different opinions on the magnitude of how much is discarded and the possibility to minimise discards (most of them thought that discard rates in the order of 5-10% were acceptable).

The desktop study of the Baltic cod trawling fishery showed that the bulk of the Eastern cod population constitutes of smaller individuals (72% are between 30 and 48 cm) and that discards are significantly higher in so called hot-spot areas, in which 25% of the fishing occurs.

Results from the project could help to assist the transition to discard-free fishing, which is foreseen in proposals for the CFP reform. The proposed landing obligation has been much negotiated during the reform, and it is clear that without improved selectivity fishermen will lose money by having to land undersized juveniles, while they also may not have enough quota to legally land all that they catch. For example, plaice quotas are not held by several countries in the Baltic, but these will have to be landed by fishermen once a discard ban is in place.

In the Baltic, increases in flatfish populations, particularly flounder, have caused problems for trawl selectivity by blocking the cod ends. This prevents juvenile cods from escaping the nets and large numbers are discarded as a result. It is hoped that the LOT 1 project finds solutions which will improve trawl selectivity and enable fishermen to adapt to the discard ban.

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CEQA - Agriculture and Forestry Resources

Council General Approach published

The General Approach, which provides the Council with an orientation position on key issues in the CFP reform but has no legal standing, has been published.

Despite six Member States voting against the policy position, which represents a compromise on key issues such as regionalisation, the discard ban and setting quotas that will rebuild fish stocks, a majority of Member States support the position. They believe this will strengthen their hand against the European Parliament who will complete their first reading in November.

MEPs, NGOs, and some Member States have been outspoken in their criticism of the General Approach, with the Swedish Ministry stating that “it is of great importance that living biological resources are being rebuilt to levels that guarantee maximum sustainable yield in fisheries by 2015.”

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Damanaki warns Council: end overfishing or CFP reform will fail

The Commissioner argued that none of the endemic failings of the CFP: overfishing, overcapacity and discarding, will not be solved by the General Approach that has been proposed by the Danish Presidency.

Damanaki lambasted Member States for attempting to water down measures that would rebuild fish stocks, stating that “this is not a new commitment, we agreed to (maximum sustainable yield (MSY)) 30 years ago, then 10 years ago and once again 6 years ago…it looks like procrastination is an irresistible temptation”. Having proposed fish stocks being rebuilt by 2015 through a MSY approach, the Commission has found that several European states have attempted to undermine such efforts and continue overfishing.

She stressed that the proposed General Approach will delay the recovery of stocks until 2020 and thereby harm the economic prospects of fishermen, who would not be able to reap the benefits of larger stocks. The Swedish Minister, Eskil Erlandsson, shared this sentiment and emphasised that the deal on the table was not ambitious enough. Rather, fish stocks should be managed above MSY by 2015, as the faster we get there, the faster we give fishermen the opportunity to increase their income.

On discards, the Commissioner was pleased that the principle of banning the practice was shared by the Council, but that efforts to attach the discard ban to multiannual plans (MAPs) was not acceptable. Currently, no MAPs can be agreed by the EU due to a political deadlock between the Council and Parliament. As such, sceptical Ministers thought they could agree to a discard ban, in the knowledge that it would not be implemented in the near future. Damanaki stated that “the discard ban is the heart of the reform. Without this there is no sustainability in fisheries….it must be in the Basic Regulation”.

One further criticism related to measures dealing with overcapacity. The European Court of Auditors identified this as the key failing of the CFP, and several Member States have failed to fulfil their capacity evaluation obligations. As such, the Commission had proposed a mandatory transferable fishing concession (TFC) system, which would have led to the quasi-privatisation of fishing access. This was however rejected by a majority of Member States, NGOs and parliamentarians. The Commissioner responded to this by emphasising the need for an effective and binding fleet management tool to be agreed in place of TFCs.

By agreeing its General Approach position before the European Parliament, who according to the protocol for EU legislation after co-decision have the first reading, it seems the Council are laying down the gauntlet and attempting to pre-empt and water down the Commission proposals. This tactic has been condemned by several NGOs, who have requested Member States to reject the process. This evening we will know the outcome from the Council meeting, and learn whether a General Approach has been agreed by the Council.

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And we have a bedside rug…June Council: Reaction to the General Approach

Early this morning, the EU Fisheries Council came to an agreement on a General Approach to the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. Some countries voted against the heavily watered down compromise, but not sufficient to block an agreement.

The Fisheries Council has agreed to a General Approach to the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, specifically on the proposed basic Regulation (COM(2011)425) and a new Common Market Organisation (COM(2011)416), despite opposition from Sweden, the Netherlands, Malta, Greece, Slovenia and Portugal. A disappointed Commissioner Damanaki responded to the General Approach, stating that “it is a fact that the Commission proposal for CFP reform is more ambitious than the [Council] text we have now”. Even though the details of the deal are not yet available, it is clear that further compromises were being made during the night and that some text still need to be hammered out in technical working groups, particularly with regard to the discard ban.

The Danish Presidency compromise proposal that was on the table at the start of the meeting left a lot to be desired from an environmental point of view. It contained a revised objective on Maximum Sustainable Yield, delaying implementation of even fishing mortality (FMSY) for some stocks until 2020 – meaning that rebuilding of some stocks may take years or decades depending on their fecundity. Baselines also shifted regarding implementation in mixed fisheries, where the state of vulnerable stocks would no longer guide management but instead be subject to other conservation measures, with only “significant stocks” being restored to MSY levels [N.B. we do not know if the wording on this remains the same in the final agreement].

It seems that most of the discussion last night was focused on the proposed discard ban, another section that had already been weakened by earlier discussions in the Council. France, in particular, is pleased with delaying it further and the text is now so full of loopholes that both Sweden and the Netherlands oppose the General Approach altogether. The Council also agreed on text to enable increased regionalisation of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Even though the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund was not included in the General Approach, it was clearly debated and rather worryingly it seems that a majority of countries are calling for fleet subsidies to be reintroduced. Further negotiations on this will take place in the autumn during the Cyprus Presidency.

The Council agreement has been met by disappointment from both Parliamentarians and the environmental movement. Chris Davies (ALDE, UK) responded to the Council by stating that “for governments to say that we should stop overfishing but perhaps not for another eight years is little short of madness”. While Markus Knigge, advisor to OCEAN2012, criticised Member States, arguing that “EU fisheries ministers have continued their record of mismanagement by delaying the ending of overfishing in the EU and by its fleet globally. We are now looking to the European Parliament to support a Common Fisheries Policy reform that delivers a healthy marine environment and viable fisheries dependent communities”.

“This is another opportunity lost for EU fisheries. In the Green Paper, we were told of the great inadequacies of the current EU fisheries policy and the need for a radical reform to transform it. Well, with the Council it may have started out a tiger, but ended up a bedside rug. Our hope now lies with the European Parliament, but it will be an uphill battle after last night’s deal”, says Niki Sporrong, Director of the Fisheries Secretariat (FISH).

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An Introduction to Biodynamic Agriculture

European Fish Weeks launched

On 8 June, to coincide with World Oceans Day, the coalition OCEAN2012 launched their annual European Fish Weeks campaign. This year’s theme is a call to “End Overfishing”.

Events will be taking place across the EU throughout the summer, and a calendar of events can be found at the link below. In Sweden, an exhibition will be held outside the National Museum in Stockholm from 28 June.

One of the features of this year’s activities will be for citizens worried about the effects of overfishing to form a human fish shape. These images will be collected from across Europe to serve as a reminder to politicians involved in the CFP reform that increasing fish stocks is a priority for the reform.

The coalition argue that overfishing would be ended if fish stocks were managed at their maximum sustainable yield, in terms of biomass (BMSY), by 2015 where this is possible. However, for stocks where this  is not possible, quotas should be set at a level of mortality which enables the stocks to grow toward their BMSY level.

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WWF Sweden film calls for “more fish”

In their new video, “for or against fish?”, WWF Sweden call on the European Parliament to end overfishing and solve the problem of discarding when they vote in plenary on the CFP reform Basic Regulation in November.

WWF raised their concerns due to long-term fish stock decline and argue that the fishing industry can be revived by measures which are also beneficial to the environment.

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Department of Agriculture

Fish Fight Poland: decision-makers disappoint

On Friday, April 23, Fish Fight launched its Europe-wide discards ban campaign in Poland. The event took place in front of the Polish Parliament (Sejm), and was led by a Polish celebrity chef, Robert Maklowicz. Polish decision-makers had disappointed by not attending the main event, however the launch was enjoyed by a healthy crowd including environmental organizations, youth, scientists, and the public. Despite the lack of political representation, a fruitful debate with Polish NGOs was featured and sustainable fish dishes were served, including sustainable sprat sushi.

The main purpose of the event was to raise public awareness about the wasteful and unselective fishing practices taking place in the Baltic Sea—and  generally in the European Union waters—and  to garner support to ban discards under the currently reformed  Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). According to latest scientific assessments, the current rate of discarding in the Baltic Sea is estimated to be between 6 to 8%.

Prior to the event, OCEAN2012 Poland, Greenpeace Poland and WWF Poland published a press release calling for the application of selective fishing practices in order to avoid unwanted catches in the first place. ‘If these measures (of selective fishing practices) are unsuccessful in reducing bycatch levels’, said Piotr Predki of WWF Poland,’ a complete discard ban should be introduced’. Justyna Niewolewska of OCEAN2012 added that ‘our goal should be to decrease bycatch so that juvenile fish and unwanted catches are left alone to grow and reproduce, so that there is an overall increase in the resource pool’. She added that ‘a decrease in discards, therefore, should be treated as an investment in the future’.

Discarding of unwanted catches (or bycatch) leaves 1.3 million tonnes of perfectly good fish thrown back to the sea each year – often dead or badly damaged. Bycatch is defined as fish (commercial or non-commerical species) caught unintentionally while trying to catch other fish. Bycatch includes untargeted catch, which means catching undersized/ juvenile individuals or protected species.

The focus on the wasteful practice of discarding was tabled by the European Commission already under the previous Commissioner for Maritime Affairs & Fisheries, Joe Borg. Since then the issue has been influenced by the Fish Fight campaign, which has helped the current Commissioner, Maria Damanaki, highlight the problem of discarding among the general public across Europe. So far more than 800 000 people in the European Union and beyond actively support the cause through Fish Fight.

The lack of political representation at the Fish Fight launch provided some food for thought. Political engagement at the public level is not only desirable but necessary in Poland. We should all work together to protect our resources, and political decisions should reflect the voices of its electorate. This means showing up, and stepping up to the challenge!

Join the fight! Sign up here!

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Sustainable Agriculture - Is it in Your Future?

Obtaining Farm Finance and Agricultural Loans

Boost Your Productivity With Agricultural Tractors

Recreational sea fisheries to be included in the CFP?

In a letter to the European institutions, the European Anglers Alliance (EAA) and the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA) have requested explicit mention of recreational fisheries in the CFP. This would represent a significant change in the way that inland and coastal waters, currently the preserve of national jurisdiction, are managed.

The recreational fishers have requested full “sector” recognition under the CFP, which would give them the same status as commercial fisheries and aquaculture. This would also bring the EU into line with the USA. They argue that this status would help to ensure management coherence for stocks such as salmon, which cross between rivers and the sea.

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Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act

Regional Fisheries Management in focus

At a presentation given to the Swedish Green Party congress, Isabella Lovin (Greens/EFA, Sweden) discussed international issues such as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs).

Lovin published a report on combatting IUU fishing globally for the Fisheries Committee in the European Parliament last year. She has called for loopholes such as dubious reflagging to be closed and for product traceability to be improved.

The Swedish politician also called on the EU, which participates in many RFMOs, to support an obligatory independent review of RFMOs under a UN mandate. Moreover, she argued that an international framework of criteria for functioning RFMOs should be established. This would aid full transparency in their decision-making processes to be developed. When these developments are met, the EU should then support an expanded mandate for these regional management organisations.

The FAO fisheries committee, which published its “code of conduct for responsible fisheries”, is seen by Lovin as providing a template for fisheries management. She argued that “overfishing would end in a year” if these policies were applied and followed.

As ice coverage around the Artic melts, and the EU fleet expands into waters further afield, there is a need for RFMOs to be robust institutions which enable fishing to take place within the limits of the ecosystem. There are numerous examples of fish stocks being driven down and top predators being fished out. In new waters, international cooperation will be essential for ensuring that stocks are managed in a sustainable manner.

Today, the Commission have also organised a conference on RFMOs. Commissioner Damanaki stressed the need for improving science and research. Moreover, compliance with regulations to prevent IUU fishing was identified as a point of weakness for RFMOs presently. She also echoed Lovin’s calls for these regional bodies to be more transparent and accountable for the decisions they take.

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