Seminar “State of Fish Stocks and the Economics of Fishing Fleets”
The annual seminar “State of Fish Stocks and the Economics of Fishing Fleets” organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) took place at the European Commission premises on the 14th July 2015. The event was chaired by Director General for DG MARE, Lowri Evans.
The seminar can be watched online here.
Karmenu Vella, the European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, opened the session by pointing out the long-term benefits of reaching Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), and suggesting that this be achieved before the proposed 2020 deadline. Fisheries in the Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic are steadily moving towards MSY, although, he reminded, the situation in the Mediterranean remains bleak. Despite many still attributing the Mediterranean failure to poor management from developing countries, Vella noted that stocks being exploited exclusively by western nations are doing just as badly. Nevertheless, there are some stories of success, such as the recovery of bluefin tuna in this region. The Commissioner concluded by stressing the importance of delivering the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and of setting up multiannual management plans (MAP) based on sound scientific advice, paying particular attention to stocks, like those in the Mediterranean, that are not yet progressing towards MSY.
Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic stocks
The presentations kicked off with a description of the state of fish stocks in NE Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic Sea by the ICES ACOM Chair, Eskild Kirkegaard. Overall, the picture painted by ICES is a positive one for these regions: average fishing mortality (F) has been decreasing since early this century to meet FMSY, and stock sizes have started recovering in recent years towards healthy levels. In the NE Atlantic, for example, 32 of 62 stocks were fished sustainably in 2014, compared to only 14% in 2009. There are a few exceptions, however. Many stocks in the Celtic Sea are not growing as would be expected in response to the reduced fishing mortality, which suggests that factors other than fishing are driving population size. A similar scenario is found with crustacean stocks in the North Sea, where there is speculation that species interactions, namely increased predation, is reducing spawning stock biomass (SSB) of nephrop populations. Two representative stocks which are growing in response to decreased fishing mortality are North Sea cod and North Sea plaice – the latter of which is now at record high levels.
Mediterranean and Black Sea stocks
Following this presentation, Massimiliano Cardinale, on behalf of the STECF Expert Group on the Mediterranean Sea, explained the situation in the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. By STECF’s reckoning, close to 93% of the analysed stocks are being overfished. Not only are the majority of stocks depleted at levels well above FMSY (up to ten times above the sustainable limit, for some stocks), but in fact many, especially those in the central Mediterranean, show a trend towards increased fishing mortality, instead of away from it. The situation is particularly alarming for demersal fish such as hake, a charismatic and economically important species which nonetheless is showing an increase in fishing mortality and a decline in both recruitment levels and spawning stock biomass. This means stocks are not producing big enough year classes to maintain their populations. With some exceptions, such as crustaceans and a few single-species fish stocks (e.g. pelagic sardines and anchovies), this appears to be the trend in the Mediterranean. Cardinale noted that the reductions in fishing effort of the last five years have been ineffective in bringing about a downturn of fishing mortality. A quick estimation shows that fishing effort must be reduced by a further 55% on average (90% in the most extreme cases) to reach FMSY. Having said that, the recovery potential for Mediterranean stocks is still very high, as long-term catch rates could increase if fishing reaches MSY, and spawning stock biomass would, in time, reach previously unrecorded levels. In order to achieve this goal, good quality data is needed for the Mediterranean stocks. With regards to this issue, the STECF recommends that time series of assessments data are extended as far back as possible to integrate historical data with current figures. Also important to note is that the STECF considers each stock to belong to a distinct Geographical Sub-Area (GSA), whereas the STOCKMED project suggests bigger, clustered stocks throughout the Mediterranean – further analysis is needed to correctly define the stock units. As a matter of immediate action, the Expert Group suggests reducing fishing effort and/or catches to lower fishing mortality (urgently in the case of hake stocks), implementing a TAC system for small pelagics and management plans based on scientific evidence, plus collating historical data.
Economic Report on the EU fishing fleet
Finally, Anton Paulrud, chair of the STECF Expert Group for Annual Economic Report, presented the preliminary results of the 2015 Annual Economic Report on the EU fishing fleet. Working on adjusted data from 2013, and with a representative sample of 16 Member States to analyse trends, the report shows that revenue in the EU’s fleet is decreasing (although there is large variation), as are costs and gross value added (GVA). Revenue in 2013 added to a sum of €6.86 billion, with Spain generating the highest revenue and GVA, followed by France, UK and Italy. When it came to net profit, however (totalling €506 million), the UK came on top, while three Member States made losses (Belgium, Finland, Portugal). Paulrud reminded that profit may not always be the incentive behind commercial fishing and therefore it is not uncommon for the activity to persist even if unprofitable, especially for small scale fleets, which account for 74% of the total EU fleet in number (although only 8% in gross tonnage and 32% in engine power). As highlighted by the report trends, gross profit appears to be increasing slightly, as is net profit. The authors of the report consider economic performance in the long run as the main indicator for success, since fishing is an economic activity. In this light, the overall trend appears to be positive for large scale fleets and negative for small scale ones. Notwithstanding, there is large variation in economic performance throughout the EU and small fleets cannot automatically be considered to be “failing” as their objectives may not be economic.
The presentation slides can be viewed on the European Commission’s website.
Advisory Councils Interventions
Representatives from several Advisory Councils were then invited to speak, including the North Sea, Baltic, North-Western Waters, South-Western Waters, Pelagic and Mediterranean ACs. Several of these bodies agreed on the need for better scientific advice based on good quality data, and on the need to consider ecological interactions and mixed stocks in the implementation of the MAPs. It was noted that a majority of factions within the Baltic Advisory Council are against the drastic reduction in fishing quotas advised by ICES, although they agree on the need to meet the MSY goal. The same group also made a call for the adoption of technical regulations that will facilitate fishermen’s compliance with the new landing obligation.
Giampaolo Buonfiglio, Chair of the Mediterranean Advisory Council, underscored the inefficiency of the EU’s fishing effort reductions in lowering fishing mortality in the Mediterranean thus far. The Commission has plans to reduce fishing capacity and activity further, but he suggested contemplating additional measures such as the closure of sensitive areas during certain times. Key to the management success of the Mediterranean within the next years is acting in a timely manner – Buonfiglio doubts that the first MAPs for the Mediterranean will be in place soon enough and encouraged immediate adoption of emergency measures, at least for stocks which are on the verge of collapse. He stressed the importance of identifying these high risk stocks and any associated stocks which may be affected by species interactions, as variability within the Mediterranean makes a general diagnosis and approach inappropriate.
Views from stakeholders
Attendees took the floor to raise various issues with the speakers. A number of interventions focused on the need for better scientific data, to which the ICES Chair replied that there is a bottleneck in the processing capacity of raw data, rather than the collection of data, which is in fact sufficient. It was also emphasised that effort should be placed on communicating the positive message regarding stock recovery in the Atlantic, Baltic and North Sea in order to conciliate the conscience of EU consumers. Other comments included the importance of taking into account the landing obligation when dealing with scientific recommendations, the need for updated economic data and the relevance SSB/BMSY data (stock size in relation to the ideal sustainable size) to show compliance with the CFP.
Director of DG Mare’s Unit on Policy Development and Coordination, Ernesto Penas Lado, requested that the scientific advisory bodies explain the variability in delays from the time when sacrifices are first made to when benefits are first observed. It is important to note that this scenario is different for the Atlantic, Baltic and North Seas, where the link is between decreasing fishing mortality (F) and increasing stock size (SSB), and the Mediterranean, which is one step behind as no relationship is yet observed between reduced fishing effort and lower fishing mortality. STECF spokesman Cardinale suggested that the theoretical reduction in fishing effort is perhaps not translating into an actual reduction of fishing capacity, which would explain why F is not declining. This may lead us to rethink using effort as a management strategy and start coming up with new solutions. In any case, he pointed out that it is crucial to distinguish between specific and multispecific fisheries, since single-species stocks in the Mediterranean can be adequately managed by the existing TAC system, as is demonstrated by the current data.
The Commission closed the session by stressing the importance of identifying high-risk stocks in the Mediterranean and addressing the weakness of advice for this region. It is not realistic to assume that long-term management plans will be enforced soon enough in the Mediterranean so in the meantime the Commission will trust present systems like TAC, while reminding Member States of their responsibility to take urgent action.
Bruno Martin de la Llama (bruno@martindelallama.com) is a Biological Sciences student at the University of Durham, UK, with an interest in science communication. He completed an internship with EBCD during July 2015. Prior to that, he studied in Spain, and wrote about science, technology and the environment. Bruno is now Science and Technology Editor of Palatinate, Durham’s Independent Student Newspaper.
Photo credit: European Commission