August 2019

August 28 2019

Looking for cod in the Baltic

Whither Cod: where have all the codfish gone?

Brussels, 28 September 2019

Brian O’Riordan

What are the future prospects for fisheries in the Baltic Sea following the collapse of this keystone stock?

The time to act is past. LIFE said this in March. We say it again.

We now live effectively in a post-cod era as far as the Eastern Baltic cod stock is concerned. The very survival of cod in the Baltic, the cornerstone for the livelihoods of thousands of fishers for centuries, is under threat.

In October last year LIFE spelled out the essential elements of an Action Plan which went unheeded (https://lifeplatform.eu/action-plan-for-eastern-baltic-cod/). In March this year LIFE called for establishing a biological rest period for the cod pre-spawning and peak spawning time, with a complete closure for all the fisheries targeting cod and pelagic species, the main food for cod, as well as all other fisheries known for significant cod by-catch risk, in subdivisions 25 and 26, between 1 May and 30 September (https://lifeplatform.eu/final-call-for-eastern-baltic-cod/). This also went unheeded.

The stark advice from ICES in May 2019 that there should be zero catch in 2020 of the Eastern Baltic cod stock was quickly followed by the imposition of emergency measures from the European Commission. These measures prohibit European fishing vessels “to fish for cod in ICES subdivisions 24, 25 and 26, and to retain on board, transfer, tranship, process on board or land cod and fisheries products from cod caught in that area” up to December 31 2019. LIFE fully supports these emergency measures.

The preamble to the emergency measures justifies them in grim fashion: “the biomass of eastern Baltic cod is at such a dangerously low level that the stock is no longer able to replenish itself and is hence threatened with collapse, secondly, any continued fishing on that stock increases the risk of its collapse, and, thirdly, the peak spawning season is ongoing.”

Meanwhile, for the Western Baltic cod stock, ICES recommended commercial catches in the range of 3 to 5 tonnes for 2020. With the exception of 2017, recruitment has been low since 1999, with 2018 and 2019 the lowest in the time series. The entire fishery depends on a single year class – 2016 – the estimated abundance of which ICES has significantly revised downwards – by 54%. This year class is the most important year class contributing to the catch and the revised estimate is largely responsible “for the 52% decrease in the 2020 catch”, says ICES.

So, what happened to all the cod that ICES reckoned were there last year, when they did their survey?

Wherever they went to, the future prospects for fisheries are not good, given that, according to ICES, the low growth, poor condition, and high natural mortality of cod are related to changes in the ecosystem. These include

Poor oxygen conditions that can affect cod directly by altering metabolism and indirectly from a shortage of benthic prey, while also affecting the survival of offspring;
Low availability of fish prey in the main distribution area of cod; and
High levels of parasite infestations; this is related to an increased abundance of grey seals.

In short, nothing short of an effective ecosystems approach, a fundamental pillar of the CFP, will help the cod. Closing the fishery is a drop in the ocean. In any case, the fish simply aren’t out there for anyone to catch in economic quantities or quality.

In light of this critical situation, Wolfgang Albrecht, a small scale fisherman who is also a founding Director of LIFE, Member of the BSAC /EXCOM , First Chairman Fischereischutzverband Schleswig-Holstein, provided this response on the reform of the CFP. This is one of the inputs informing a theme discussion on the future of the CFP at the ExCom of the Baltic Sea Advisory Council next Tuesday 3 September in Helsinki, at the HELCOM headquarters.

Albrecht calls for significant fleet reductions to be made, for fishing intensity to be reduced, and for the use of non-selective gears like trawling to be substantially reduced. In framing fisheries for the future a new regional policy for the Baltic based on inshore fisheries should be developed, with resource allocation prioritised for those operations that comply with criteria of an environmental, social and economic nature, that go beyond catch history.

Public money for public good, not individual gain!

He calls for a halt to any new finance for new builds from public sources, and a cessation of ongoing subsidies for three consecutive years.

He advocates the following measures:

Restriction of industrial scale fishing of sand eel and sprat.
Displacement of these fishing activities to fishing areas which lie further North.
Reintroduction of seasonal and area-specific Spawning Time Closure (STC) for trawlers
Exception from the STC for small scale fishing activities with vessels up to 12m in length, which deploy only passive gears in water depths of up to 20m.
50% reduction in the length of nets (passive gear) permitted during the STC to contribute to stock protection.
Scientific involvement and evaluation of these measures.
Abolition of rock hopper fishing to protect rocky grounds and reefs.
Limitation of engine power in trawler fishing to 221KW in the exclusive economic zones of the member states (minimum 12 nautical miles from the coastline).
Same data recording standards for all member states.
Halt all fishing methods which produce more than 2% by-catch.
Replacement / access for bottom-set net fisheries only after tasking existing operations with passive catch equipment 1:1.
Hardship compensation by means of temporary financial support of affected vessels by means of he EMFF.
Research into the damaging effects of trawl fishing during the cod’s spawning season on reproduction levels including the results of studies which are already available.
When imposing any restrictions “the polluter pays principle” should be the guiding principle applied.

MORE INFORMATION:

Proposal for a reform of the CFP by Wolfgang Albrecht (German)

Proposal for a reform of the CFP by Wolfgang Albrecht (English)

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August 28 2019

Expulsion of Beam Trawlers from the Skagerrak (DK).

LIFE Platform News denmark, protest, trawlers

Danish Low Impact Small-scale Fishers

Call for the Expulsion of Destructive Beam Trawlers from the Skagerrak.

Protestors occupy Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen over the invasion of the destructive Dutch beam trawl fleet.

Copenhagen, August 28, 2019: This morning a group of small-scale coastal fishermen from Hanstholm, Thorupstrand, Løkken, Hirtshals and Skagen in northern Jutland occupied the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen, the national authority responsible for fisheries. Their goal is to draw attention to an environmental disaster taking place in the Skagerrak, and to demand the expulsion of the destructive Dutch beam trawl fleet that is causing it.

Normally the Dutch beam trawl fleet fishes in the Southern North Sea, but they started to invade the 3 years ago. This year their numbers have been increasing due to poor catches of sole further South along with the banning of electric pulse fishing. Some pulse vessel owners decided convert to twin rig beam trawling and relocate to the Skaggerak in search of better fishing. The status of plaice and sole stocks in the southern North Sea is a cause for concern, with Dutch pulse vessels and beam trawlers only able to catch between 60% and 70% of their quotas.

The Danish fishermen are calling for an immediate halt to the destruction of the marine environment and their fishing grounds; they demand that the Skagerrak is closed to beam trawling.

Having depleted resources in the Southern North Sea, Dutch beam trawlers have now shifted their attention to the Skagerrak. The twin rigged trawls may measure up to 12 metres wide and weigh up to 9 tonnes. These trawlers are systematically ravaging the seabed in the Skagerrak, making it impossible for local small scale fishermen to fish and transforming the fishing grounds into a desert.

“We simply can’t make a living any more. The seabed is being destroyed and the fish are gone. Now the responsible authorities must act, “ says Jesper Olsen, fisherman from Thorupstrand and spokesperson for the fishermen.

“Beam trawlers must leave Skagerrak for good. Neither the fish and the marine environment nor the small scale fishermen will survive if they stays”, says Henry Fjord, fisherman from Hanstholm. CONTACT:

Jesper Olsen, 0045 3092 3656

Thomas Højrup, chairman of the Co-operative Thorupstrand Costal Fishing Guild: 0045 5129 9049

Notes:

Beam trawling is one of the least selective and most destructive fishing methods. Using heavy chains to dig through the seafloor to force the fish into the net. After prolonged dragging only starfish and small dabs are left alive, leaving the fishing grounds covered with wounded and dead fish, and causing a major loss of biodiversity. The Dutch government, backed by EU subsidies, encouraged the beam trawl fleet to convert to electric pulse fishing without any prior impact assessment. In January 2018, the European Parliament voted to ban pulse fishing, and this should have been phased out.

A ban on the use of electric pulse gear and overfishing on plaice and sole in the southern North Sea has prompted these vessels to convert to twin rig beam trawling and relocate to Skagerrak.

The fishermen also suspect the beam trawlers of fishing above their quota. Therefore, they demand that a checkpoint is set up in Hanstholm so that authorities can check whether the trawlers’ catches are within the allowable quotas. Danish small-scale fishermen also believe that the quota for plaice in Skagerrak should be reduced.

The coastal fishermen plan to remain in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until they have been promised that a checkpoint will be set up in Hanstholm. They have a meeting with the Minister of Food, Fisheries and Gender Equality Mogens Jensen (S) at. 15.00 today, and have also invited the Minister of the Environment Lea Wermelin (S), other members of parliament, the press and NGOs to visit the delegation of fishermen.