April 2022

Historical injustices have deprived 70% of the European fishing fleet of fair and secure access to fishing quotas and fishing grounds. This fleet segment accounts for 50% of the fishing jobs at sea. Due to these injustices, the sector has to fall back on “non-quota” species and so is restricted to only 5% of the EU’s fish catch.

In times of famine, historically the European aristocracy were reputed to say about the protesting poor: “If they have no bread, then let them eat cake”. Similarly, today, those with quota privileges are all too often quick to say, “the quota is legally ours, let them fish for non-quota species”, when the small-scale fishers demand a fair share.

The issue of fairness is a central plank of the EU’s CFP (Regulation (EU) 1380/2013). Article 2 f) states that the CFP shall contribute to a fair standard of living for those who depend on fishing activities, bearing in mind coastal fisheries and socio-economic aspects.

However, for those with privileges and entitlements, what is fair and equitable may feel like oppression.

Last week, on Friday 22 April, a webinar with the title: Preventing Conflict in EU Waters, was organized by 2 European research groups. The event, organized by the European Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Organisations i MARE gathered around 80 participants. The keynote presentation was given by Dr Marloes Kraan from MARE. She gave an overview of the main areas of conflict in European fisheries, focussing on management aspects of large and small-scale fisheries in Europe, in the context of change (climate, blue economy, and policy (Brexit)).

“Given that there is only one policy framework (CFP) for many, diverse fleets and much change ahead, there is pressure on governability, which if not addressed in time provides much basis for conflict”, said Dr Kraan. There are aspects of allocating space to several diverse activities (Marine Spatial Planning) but also dealing with a rather broad policy framework. “How can we get ahead of this, and what do we need to know?”, she asked.

The issues addressed by her presentation were mainly about allocating access to a public resource and managing the activities of those with the privileges and entitlements to exploit them. It also touched on the threat to the fisheries sector from climate change and the development of the blue economy, where other economic interests are increasingly competing with fisheries for access to marine areas.

In such a context, conflict is inevitable, given that the fisheries resources and marine areas are public property, and given that a privileged minority have concentrated a lion’s share of the entitlements. Conflicts arising must be managed, and just solutions sought.

One just solution would be for the CFP to adopt a differentiated approach to small-scale and large-scale fisheries. This was a suggestion put forward in the 2009 Green Paper on CFP Reform but was not taken up.

The Low Impact Fishers of Europe are calling for “fair fisheries”, i.e. an equitable allocation of access rights and a say in how the access is managed. Article 17 of the CFP could provide a mechanism for achieving fairer fisheries. However, the “big industry” reject the proposal to introduce the necessary alternative allocation mechanisms for fishing opportunities through Article 17. “We are legally entitled to these privileges” say the multinational Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association (PFA).

“No bread (quota species) for the small-scale fishers? Well, then let them eat cake (non-quota species)”, says the PFA.

Where there is such an imbalance in power relations and concentration of fishing rights, conflict is inevitable.

As well as concentrating the entitlements to fishing opportunities, the “big industry” also controls the functioning of the democratic bodies set up to resolve conflicts and provide a voice for the sector. They preside the Advisory Councils, the Producer Organisations and the National Fisheries structures, and claim to represent both small and large fishing companies.

The Cornelis Vrolijk, a Dutch multinational fishing company now controls the French National Fisheries Committee and one of the largest French POs, for example. How can a Dutch multinational corporation represent the interests of the small-scale fleet?

It’s all about the market

A key element missing from the presentation concerned the fish market and supply chain. Fishing clearly does not exist in isolation but is an integral part of food production and supply (value chain) systems, delivering a high value internationally traded commodity.

Here in Europe, our fisheries provide only about one third of what our consumer markets demand. The rest comes from aquaculture and imports. Nearly 50% of what we eat comes from 5 species: Tuna, Cod, Salmon, Alaska pollack, Shrimps

Access to markets is also a key factor, and a source of much conflict – current and future – and must be part of the discussion on managing our fisheries. The trade, processing and retail industry are also determining the future shape of European fisheries, and from where we source our fish supplies.

“Blue Food” is now seen as the way forward, in the marketplace and on the consumer’s plate. Just as the Blue Economy is displacing fisheries, Blue Food will replace seafood and fish as we know it. It includes all aspects of food production from marine organisms – plant and animal, harvesting and aquaculture, and industrial production. Blue food will bring mass produced blue food products from algae, single celled proteins and other non-traditional industrially produced marine products.

Small is bad, big is good?

Dr Kraan also highlighted that there are no universal definitions of small-scale fisheries, and that whilst catch and effort data are more available for larger scale fishing activities, socio-economic data is more available scarce for smaller-scale fisheries.

Whilst there may not be any universal definition, it is quite simple really. If you want to know what small-scale fishing is, just go down to the fishing quay and ask.

Seriously though, small-scale fishing is carried out by thousands of nano- or very small household enterprises, fishing with relatively small vessels and passive gears, going to sea daily, catching 10s of kilos of fish and earning hundreds of euros. These enterprises are critically dependent on unpaid labour for many of the shore based administrative and maintenance activities – tasks often done by women family members. They provide the possibility for many low-income families to live on the coast, with reasonably comfortable lifestyles, and supporting a wide range of ancillary activities.

Unlike the larger scale fleets which are able to achieve economies of scale by landing several tonnes of fish at a time and earning tens and hundreds of thousands of Euros, these small enterprises depend on higher margins from their lower landings. To be viable, they need to benefit directly from the value addition of their daily caught fresh products. They depend on being price makers, not price takers in the marketplace. Bulkier catches from the larger scale fleets have a depressing effect on market prices, which undermines the viability of these enterprises. Small-scale products need to be differentiated in the marketplace. Afterall, they come from a different kind of production system.

The Catch with Data

Whilst it may be true that there is a lot more catch and effort data available for larger scale fisheries, just how reliable is this data? Just how are catches, landings and fishing effort measured? Closer inspection reveals many holes in a leaky system. In Denmark engine capacity fraud is known to take place on a wide scale, and in the Netherlands there are only 2 inspectors to check the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fish landed in Dutch ports every year. How representative are these cases in Europe, where Member State governments are having to trim budgets, and fisheries is not a priority?

Another issue raised by Dr Kraan was the relative impact of smaller scale and larger scale fleets. She cited a recent WWF report (The Untrawled Truth) that states: “vessels of less than 12 metres overall length have the highest value of catch per weight and small amounts of space onboard, while catching high value and potentially sensitive, threatened, and endangered species, such as bluefin tuna, swordfish or marine mammals and seabirds.”

A little knowledge would show that this statement is just not true. The small vessels referred to simply do not have access to bluefin tuna and swordfish quotas. They are not allowed to catch either bluefin tuna or swordfish, as the larger scale purse seiners and long liners have a quota monopoly. They have the highest value of catch per weight because they are catching mainly demersal, higher value species – including crustaceans. Their catch is also more valuable, because it is fresher, caught and sold on a daily basis.

In terms of impact, there is little comparison between the impact of these passive gear vessels which catch only 5% of the entire EU catch and the larger scale trawler fleet, which they are never going to replace. 5% after all is well within the margins of error on the mass landings of fish from the larger scale fleet segments.

Nevertheless, small-scale fishers have a right to exist, and to earn their livelihoods in the manner they choose – providing a healthy product locally, in season, supporting a wide range of ancillary activities including tourism, and anchoring communities on the coast. If they were to disappear, our coastal areas would be much poorer places, devoid of fresh locally caught fish, colourful fishing boats, small-scale socio-economic activity, and traditional cultural events associated with the sea.

That would be an irreplaceable loss in terms of local knowledge, cultural heritage and socio-economic opportunities.

One of the problems facing the small-scale fishing sector is a lack of dedicated representation in the official bodies of the profession. This is particularly the case in France where small-scale fishers are struggling to unite to defend their interests. For Bertrand Cazalet, Secretary and Legal Adviser of the Syndicat professionnel des pêcheurs petits métiers d’Occitanie (SPMO – Professional Union of Small Scale Fishers of Occitania), Fisheries Producers’ Organisations (FPOs) provide a tool that European small-scale fishers would do well to invest to secure their future, and particularly so in the Mediterranean to better defend their traditional management methods based on polyvalence and strong territorial linkages. Interview.

This interview was conducted by LIFE as part of the Foodnected project and originally published on the Foodnected website.

What is a Fishery Producer Organisation? What role do FPOs play in the EU?

A Producer Organisation (PO) is a specific European tool created within the framework of common European policies, first the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), then the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). POs bring together producers (fishers, farmers, etc.) in a given area, often in cooperatives, but also as other organizational and legal structures.

The recognition of a PO is done at national level through a process overseen by the EU. FPOs are seen as key to achieving the objectives of the CFP, and the management of their production and marketing activities is delegated to them:

– Production: includes the general organisation of fishing activities, the allocation, management and monitoring of catch quotas and fishing effort, the management of licences, elaboration and implementation of internal rules, the control and sanction of FPO members;

– Marketing: includes the organisation of the first sale (in conjunction with fish auctions and port markets), the improvement and monitoring of traceability and the application of sanitary measures, and the implementation of initiatives to enhance the value of the products throughout the value chain.

Each PO must produce an annual or multi-annual production and marketing plan that determines all the elements necessary for the PO to achieve its objectives under the conditions defined by the European regulations.

Are Mediterranean small-scale fishers represented in the POs? Are there any POs specific to small-scale fishing in the region?

When we talk about small-scale fishing, we are talking about relatively small boats using passive or non-towed gears. In France small-scale fishing is synonymous with “petits métiers”, and in Spain “artes menores”. For the European Commission, small-scale fishing is carried out by fishing vessels of an overall length of less than 12 metres and not using towed fishing gear.

There are a few examples of POs dedicated to small-scale fishing in Europe[1] but no specific PO for small-scale polyvalent fishing exists in the Mediterranean. In France, POs are either composed of industrial fisheries only or are mixed POs with different fleet segments represented. However, even the latter were originally created and controlled by larger fishing companies. In both cases it is very difficult for small-scale fishers to have their interests recognised and defended. In the Mediterranean more than 80% of small-scale fishers do not belong to POs. This is due to historical reasons and to the Mediterranean fisheries management system, where fishing access is not based primarily on licensing and quotas.

And what is the situation outside the POs in the Mediterranean today?

Small-scale fishers in the Mediterranean are mainly individual skippers whose activities are seasonally polyvalent and carried out close to shore. With 80% of them not associated into POs, they are undermined by 1) the weakening of the Prud’homies (traditional community-based management structures specific to the French Mediterranean), some of which no longer function at all; 2) the difficulties faced by some Fisheries Committees, particularly at departmental level, which are struggling to maintain their capacity to represent and act for their members; 3) the reduction in the means available to the State and its administration, which is tending to increasingly delegate the management, monitoring and control of fishing activities to POs.

Similarly, there is increasing political and professional pressure on fishers outside POs to join existing POs: they are informed that they will have fewer rights, that they will lose their track records, their licences, that they will not be entitled to European funds. This is absolutely false from a purely legal point of view because there can be no discrimination in the rules of access to fishery resources and financial support. The French State also recognises that it needs to rebalance the system of fishing rights that is very largely favourable to POs, but which, given that fisheries resources are a public good, is questionable from an equity perspective[2].

The organisation “Golion” has initiated a process to be recognised as a PO: why?

Golion has been operating officially on behalf of a group of small-scale Mediterranean fishers (“petits métiers”) for 10 years, with a structure (GIE) recognised by ministerial decree to manage species subject to quota (bluefin tuna and swordfish). The structure is associated with a professional union but it is limited in its scope (bluefin tuna and swordfish), in its powers to manage fishing rights (licences), and in its duration (because its structure must be renewed every three years).

To get out of this legal insecurity and to act across all the small-scale fisheries, we decided to initiate a process to recognise the association Golion as a PO. Launched in 2014, Golion is the owner of a group “own-label” under which the products of its members are marketed. As Golion’s structure includes an economic dimension, it meets the necessary pre-conditions to launch a PO process, a process that was initiated without any form of public or private financial support.

What do you expect from getting Golion recognised as a PO?

The advantage of being recognised as a PO is first of all institutional, as it allows you to organise yourself better, to be better represented and supported (administratively, technically and financially) and therefore, in the end, to better defend your rights. Faced with the growing demands of the CFP and its management rules, we, as POs, would have a structure that would give us official weight as well as the right to be heard by the authorities and the administration. It is also a way to assure our organisation’s future as an officially approved organisation.

Small-scale fishing is going to face increasing pressures on its fishing areas, including due to the conditions imposed by the Western Mediterranean (West Med) plan and the implications for trawlers,[3] resulting notably in a transfer of fishing effort towards the coast. European regulations as a whole will continue to be tightened and the most fragile fleet segments will be the first to disappear. The “petits métiers” will not be able to overcome the constraints and costs imposed by monitoring, control and surveillance rules, unless they manage to unite. In the French Mediterranean, there are still 1,000 small-scale vessels outside POs, a fact that fully justifies the recognition of a dedicated small-scale fishing PO. Such an initiative is also in line with France’s commitments to the regional fisheries body – the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) – and the Regional Plan of Action for Small Scale Fisheries (RPOA SSF) the GFCM adopted in 2018.

What other benefits could the creation of a small-scale PO have for the fishers themselves and for fishing in general?

Within the PO, we want to defend our Mediterranean management methods, which adopt an approach not by species but by territory, the use of polyvalent techniques and seasonal diversity. In this type of management, the rules are established according to the context, the areas and the local practices. These are in fact the management principles of the Prud’homies, age-old bodies that are not recognised either at state or European level. These bodies could be revitalised and re-legitimised through being associated in a small-scale fisheries PO.[4]

Small-scale polyvalent fishing is generally a headache for managers and scientists, who find it easier to model a specialised, monospecific system of catch quotas or effort per boat. We are often criticised for a lack of monitoring of small-scale fishing effort: with a dedicated small-scale PO, we could document fishing operations, process catch, effort and commercial data, support the fishers and better integrate them into the monitoring systems. Only a dedicated small-scale PO would be able to do this, as the existing POs in the Mediterranean could not offer the thousand or so non-PO associated vessels such a framework that is geared solely towards the great diversity of the practices and characteristics of small-scale fishing.

What is the procedure for creating a PO? Are there any particular conditions to be met?

You need to have an already established economic structure of producers, such as our economic interest grouping (GIE), and to prove its representativity, particularly in terms of the volumes and value of catches, or in terms of the number of vessels. Our application is based mainly on the criteria of the number of vessels (85% of small vessels in the Mediterranean) and on the value of production rather than on volumes produced. We have put together an application that meets the requirements of the French state for the recognition of POs. Ours is more than 70 pages long and includes the statutes, the internal regulations, the presentation pack, the production and marketing plan, the data of all the fishers (licences, catches), etc. It must then be submitted to the DIRM (Mediterranean Regional Authorities), which is the branch of the French administration that examines applications at the Mediterranean level. It then formulates an opinion, which it sends to the DPMA (Department of Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture), the national level administration on fisheries and maritime affairs, which takes the final decision.

And have you managed to mobilise the fishers around the need to create a small-scale fishing organisation?

This is the main difficulty we face. We have only our very limited means to achieve our goal and no form of public aid. As mentioned above, our representativity will not be evaluated on the volume of catches because we have few landings and quotas, but on the number of boats. What makes us special is that we represent many boats in one area, the French Mediterranean. In our initial file submitted to the DIRM, we have 112 boats, which would make us the leading French Mediterranean PO in terms of the number of small-scale vessels. But this is not enough, we need to reach 150 vessels to fully meet the recognition criteria. We therefore need to attract new members and to do this we need to mobilise people in the ports, in the Prud’homies, etc. Our lack of means gives us a long-term disadvantage.

Are you confident about the future?

I’m fairly confident because we meet the criteria, and I don’t see any legal or technical obstacles to our application. I also think that the administration has understood that there is a professional interest in structuring the “petits métiers” in a PO. There are going to be fewer and fewer resources and more and more constraints, so anything that can encourage the autonomy and capacity of the fishers is a good strategy to have with the administration. Finally, I am hopeful that the professional representatives will in turn become aware of the basic need to structure the “petits métiers” into POs. With the forthcoming elections in the Fisheries Committees (which also represent the “petits métiers”), we could garner a more favourable interest for our project and establish some concrete collaborations to enable us to quickly finalise this vital process for the “petits métiers”.

To find out more, click here:

Report

Cazalet, B and O’Riordan, B. 2020. ” The Pros and Cons of Creating Producer Organisations (PO) for Mediterranean Small-Scale Fishers” Low Impact Fishers of Europe. 41 pages.

https://lifeplatform.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/LIFE-Producer-Organisations-PO-Guidelines-EN.pdf

Online article:

https://lifeplatform.eu/the-pros-and-cons-of-creating-producer-organizations-for-mediterranean-small-scale-fishers/

[1] The “Organizacion de Productores Artesanales de la Lonja de Conil” in CONIL de la Frontera in Andalusia (Spain), which brings together around 50 artisanal fishing boats using passive gears (“artes menores”); FSK (Low Impact Inshore Fishing PO), one of LIFE’s members in Denmark, a PO which brings together 45 vessels belonging to a number of inshore fishing associations; and the PO Estuaire in France, which is a single-species PO and is solely dedicated to managing the elver (juvenile eel) fishery activity. See in: Cazalet, B and O’Riordan, B. 2020. ” The Pros and Cons of Creating Producer Organisations (PO) for Mediterranean Small-Scale Fishers” Low Impact Fishers of Europe. 41 pages

[2] The new government action plan presented in March 2022, although very general, plans to “encourage technical support for small businesses by reforming the rules for distributing quotas”, including “increased attention to the production outside POs”. https://mer.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2022-03/Plan-action-peche-durable_DP.pdf

[3] European management plan within the CFP which envisages a 40% reduction in fishing effort over five years (2021-2025) in a defined area of the Western Mediterranean.

[4] Prud’homies date back to the Middle Ages, they have been listed as part of France’s intangible heritage since 2021 and a process of classification as part of UNESCO’s intangible heritage is underway.

The Cofradías (fishing guilds) of Ibiza, Sant Antoni & Formentera, staff from the Ibiza and Formentera Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs), and staff from Councils of Ibiza and Formentera recently announced the creation of the “Comisión de Pesca Pitiusa” or Piyiusic Fisheries Committee.

The Pityusic (or Pine) islands (or Pityuses) form part of the Balearic archipelago in the Mediterranean and include Ibiza and Formentera. Annya Crane from LIFE is an anthropologist supporting small-scale fisheries in the Balearic islands. “The Pityuses fishing sector  is rooted in deep social and cultural traditions.” she explains. “Fishing is mostly small-scale, run by family firms i carried out as a daily inshore practice. There are three fishing guilds in the Pityuses: one in the town of Ibiza, one in Sant Antoni and one in Formentera. Small-scale or artisanal fishers represent the majority of fishers in these islands and focus on species such as lobster, groupers, sea bream (Dentex dentex), greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili), rockfish, red scorpionfish amongst others.”

In a statement, the Pityusic fishing guilds explained that they established a joint fisheries committee to improve local fisheries management and to guarantee the future of the professional fishing sector. They plan to analyse the current state of the fishing sector, exploited resources and regulations, and to provide a space to discuss the various projects that affect the fishing sector in the Pityuses. This committee will also foster greater coordination amongst fishers and promote measures and initiatives towards more sustainable fishing.

Marga Serra from the Cofradía of Ibiza, and a consultant for LIFE will be providing technical support. According to her “The creation of this committee seeks to be one more step on the path towards improving sustainability. The objective is to have a strong sector, capable of facing the new challenges and difficulties that arise. These local Cofradìas have already achieved a number of milestones, including the implementation of the Peix Nostrum brand (a pioneering label in the Mediterranean with an individual tag for certain species), and the creation of reserved areas for  low impact fishing . To date, the Pityuses have 3 such marines reserves and will soon include two more on the West side of Ibiza.”

LIFE staff are supporting the creation of the “Comisión de Pesca Pitiusa” in partnership with Marilles Foundation.

 

Brussels 1 April 2022

The European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius responds quickly to another crisis in the fisheries sector but stresses that mitigating rising fuel and energy costs must not conflict with achieving Green Deal climate neutral targets.

Increases in fuel and energy prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have hit the viability of the fishing sector hard. The whole European seafood value chain is affected by the unfolding crisis – fishers, aquaculture farmers, processing and marketing companies. This is also causing higher prices for consumers and adding to the cost of living crisis.

EU dependence on Russian fuel is also indirectly financing Ukraine’s destruction by Russian hands. The EU has spent 35 billion Euros on Russian energy since the start of the invasion, compared to 1 billion Euros in support of Ukraine.

That said, the European Commission was quick to react, providing emergency funding under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) to mitigate the impacts of the crisis to the fisheries sector – across the board.

At a second meeting with fishery sector representatives last week on April 1 to discuss the developing situation, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius reminded the sector that given the current grave situation, the Green Deal transition to climate neutrality by 2050 is even more imperative. Measures to alleviate the current crisis must not detract from achieving longer-term climate objectives he said; there must be no conflict between taking short term measures to mitigate the crisis and the EU’s longer-term climate ambitions.

The European Green Deal envisages a climate neutral Europe by 2050, with greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. Climate neutrality includes off-setting greenhouse gas emissions against funding greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere.

However, as yet there are no commercially available off the shelf solutions for the fishing fleets to invest in to seriously reduce their carbon footprints.

Fishing is an energy intensive extractive industry. However, it uses energy only to extract what nature has already produced. Therefore, compared to livestock production, fishing is able to put animal protein on our plates with a relatively low carbon footprint. But that is only one side of the picture. Fishing also impacts the food chain and marine biodiversity, reduces resilience of marine ecosystems, distorts predator-prey relations, and disrupts carbon sequestration.

These issues are to be addressed in the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy, which aims to restore the “good environmental status” of marine ecosystems.  An action plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems will include measures to limit the use of fishing gear most harmful to biodiversity, including on the seabed.

The larger scale sector has responded by forming a European Bottom Fishing Alliance to lobby against reforms that may prejudice their interests.

More pain, but little gain for small-scale fishers from fisheries aid

Another takeaway from the meeting was that whilst some considerable support is being channeled to the European fisheries sector, relatively little is finding its way directly to the smaller scale fleet. The focus of the Commission’s and Member States efforts is on larger scale fishing which provides the bulk of the catch and economic benefits. However, there are no specific mechanisms in place to support the struggles of the smaller scale low impact fishing fleet in the face of this crisis.

These are nano- or micro-enterprises, with comparatively low business turnovers – cottage industries if you like. In many cases they do not qualify for VAT rebates or tax-free fuel, and have to buy their fuel straight from the pump. Many vessels too use petrol outboard engines. In most cases small-scale fishers do not belong to Producer Organizations and so can’t access Storage Aid and other State Aid provided to the fisheries sector as part of the emergency measures.

Small-scale fishing provides 50% of the employment in EU fishing sector, and 70% of the fleet. It relies extensively on unpaid labour, mainly from women family members, to ensure economic and functional viability. Although restricted to only 5% of the catch, small-scale landings provide high quality fresh fish on a daily basis to local communities, hotel and restaurant businesses, local tourism, and providing jobs and economic and cultural activities where few alternatives exist.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater

These hard-pressed family businesses and the many thousands of direct and ancillary workplaces they provide could easily go to the wall if the current crisis continues without any respite.

That would be unforgiveable. Small-scale low impact fisheries could provide a vital part of the necessary transition to the climate neutral future sought by the EU’s Green Deal – low in environmental impact, low in fuel consumption, high in social and cultural value, and providing a top of the range product.

We urge the Commission and Member States to adapt mechanisms to support this vital sector through the crisis and support it to innovate hydrocarbon free propulsion and energy alternatives.

photo: Annya Crane