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February 2024

French Fishers and NGOs to Mount Legal Challenge to Prohibit Purse Seining for Meagre within 6 Nautical Miles.

Inshore coastal waters provide critical habitats for reproduction and key life stages for many commercial and non commercial fish species. This is not new to many small-scale fishers who include closed seasons in their operations to reduce pressure on fish species like sea bass and meagre which congregate in large banks to spawn. However, in many cases, for larger vessels using towed gears, these spawning aggregations are seen as a bonanza, and flawed regulations permit them to target vulnerable species as “unintended bycatch”, whilst rewarding them with generous quotas or carte blanche to do so.

One year ago we reported on the case of the War Raog IV, a 17 metre purse seiner that had hit on a large shoal of Meagre in the southern Bay of Biscay, off Saint Jean de Luz. Since then, LIFE has been working steadily with a number of French fishers associations and NGOs to press for larger vessels like the War Raog IV to be excluded from the 6 nautical mile zone. This alliance includes BLOOM, Défense des milieux aquatiques (DMA), Ligneurs de la pointe de Bretagne, and Plateforme de la petite pêche artisanale française.

Together we are calling on the authorities to prohibit fishing for meagre (Argyrosomus regius) with purse seines (“seine coulissante” or bolinche in French) in the 6 nautical mile zone, along with a ceiling on the quantity of fish permitted to be caught.

 

Copyright : Australian Fisheries Management Authority.

Fot. 2. Research cruise

Preliminary results – Development and use of trap fishing gear adapted to conditions in the Polish coastal zone of the Baltic Sea

The preliminary findings from the research project “Development and use of trap fishing gear adapted to conditions in the Polish coastal zone of the Baltic Sea” are now available. The main objective of the research was to reduce the impact of fishing on the marine environment, including avoiding and reducing, as far as possible, unwanted catches. The project did so by conducting a first of a kind research around the usage of alternative fishing gear: Baltic Fish Pots.

The research was carried out by a consortium consisting of a producers’ organisation – Darłowska Group of Fish Producers and Shipowners and a scientific partner – West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin. The study was carried out on both the species and length composition of fish present in the catch and the effectiveness of protecting the catch from seal interference. The study was conducted by a scientific team together with small-scale fishermen in the Polish Baltic coastal zone. The research fishing was carried out by 21 boats from the fishing port in Darłowo. The fishermen carried out research cruises between July and the end of November 2023. Fishing under the project was carried out on the basis of a research fishing permit issued by the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. As part of the implementation of the operation, 30 cruises were carried out with each of the fishing vessels. The research cruise consisted of fishing with passive gill  nets or hooks and the tested Baltic Fish Pots. In the catching, the fisherman placed bait in the cage and set it out for at least 16 h. In addition, one set of commercial gill nets or up to 1,000 hooks were set. While fishing, the fisherman, recorded the catch data and duly filled in the Baltic Fish Pots survey catch sheet (including the fishermen’s mark, number and location of fish pots set, characteristics of the comparison gear – gear type, set length, mesh clearance, fishing time, depth of the fishery, type of bottom, meteorological conditions – sea state, wind strength and direction, water temperature, number of fish, species of fish caught and their weight within species). In addition, observations and underwater documentation of the fish pots on display were carried out. Each time a cruise was made, the fisherman handed over a completed Baltic Fish Pots survey catch sheet in port and the fish caught from the fishing gear (gill nets or hooks and Baltic Fish Pots). All fish caught by fish pots and additionally cod caught by gill nets or hooks were measured (LT) and weighed (W). 

The research carried out allowed the following conclusions to be drawn:

  1. Three fish species dominated the cage fishery: cod (Gadus morhua), European flounder (Platichthys flesus) and devil hen (Myoxocephalus scorpius).
  2. Fish in the fish pots were alive and in good condition.
  3. Single catches of other fish species i.e. mackerel (Scomber scombrus), parr (Alosa fallax) and perch (Perca fluviatilis) were observed.
  4. Occasionally the simultaneous presence of two fish species in fish pots was observed; cod and flounder; cod and devil hen.
  5. Periodically a significant presence of jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) was observed in the fish pots, at which time no fish was detected.
  6. Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) were observed to be present and showed great interest in the research fishery being conducted. Damage to gill nets and entrapped fish was observed during fishing. No damage to the fish pots by grey seals was observed during fishing, but two cases of seals becoming entangled in the gill nets were found. It can be concluded that the fish pots meet the original intentions and are seal resistant and seal friendly.
  7. As a result of the study, the necessity to conduct further research, in other areas of the Polish Baltic coastal zone and over a longer period of time, taking into account the planned modifications of the Baltic Fish Pots cage design, was identified.

Setting Baltic Fish Pots out in the Baltic Sea.

Cod in the Baltic Fish Pot.

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Partners gather to kickoff the Round Goby project in Latvia

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LIFE participated in a kickoff meeting to launch the Round Goby project in early February, in Latvia. This new project is led by a consortium of partners with the goal of developing a commercial fishery for Round Goby – an invasive species – in the Baltic. The main partners are scientific research institutes from across the region, together with local government agencies, fish processors and fishing organisations such as Danish FSKPO, the Latvian Fishermen’s Federation, Polish Darlowska Group and Swedish SYEF. Over the life of the project, LIFE and its members will participate in developing fishing gear to target the round goby, conducting test fishing in different areas of the Baltic, as well as engaging in policy work with civil servants and local government officers, discussing what is necessary for the development of the fishery. During the kickoff workshop, project partners had the opportunity to meet in person, go over the project planning and learn from Latvia’s experience, which is the only country in the region with a commercial Round Goby fishery.

Find more about the project here:  https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/roundgoby/

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LIFE responds to the public consultation on the European Commission’s proposal to modify the Multiannual Plan (MAP) for the Baltic Sea.

A feedback period was opened between December and January 2024 to provide comments on the European Commission’s proposal to amend the Baltic MAP. LIFE together with many other organisations provided comments and shared their opinion on  the proposal put forward by the Commission. The document and all responses, mostly in disagreement with the Commission’s proposal, can be found here. 

In its proposal the Commission explains that Article 4.6 of the Baltic MAP can lead to situations where it is inconsistent due to other rules of the MAPs governing the fixing of fishing opportunities and have potentially severe socioeconomic implications. On the one hand, the 5% rule may mean that fishing opportunities cannot be set and the targeted fishery must be suspended. On the other hand, the safeguard provisions in the MAPs require the adoption of remedial measures to bring the stock above Btrigger, based on a case-by-case assessment on the appropriateness for choosing such measure, in accordance with the criteria set out in the MAPs. Moreover, the MAPs refer to the possibility, and not the obligation, to suspend the targeted fishery.  Therefore, the Commission proposes to delete the MAP Article 4.6 (fishing opportunities shall in any event be fixed in such a way as to ensure that there is less than a 5 % probability of the spawning stock biomass falling below Blim). The Commission proposal also states that in 2023, the Commission discussed the 5% rule with stakeholders, notably the Baltic Sea Advisory Council and BALTFISH: “The majority of stakeholders expressed their deep concerns about the consistency of the 5% rule with the other rules of the MAPs governing the fixing of fishing opportunities and its potentially severe socio-economic implications”.

LIFE’s response can be found below:

“The Commission proposal is disappointing. The question of what to do once stocks are under MSY Btrigger and Blim is unresolved and the proposed amendment leaves us in a worse position than before. The proposal undermines the socio economic viability of the fishing industry, in particular the small-scale fleet segment, by removing a key fish stock recovery mechanism. There are clearly issues with the 95% rule, which are highlighted in unselective mixed fisheries. If fisheries are selective and do not require bycatch quotas then it is less of an issue. Ensuring fish stocks are above Blim is essential for the viability and sustainability of fishing companies, and Article 4.6 therefore has positive benefits. A key issue is the scientific calculations upon which Blim, Fmsy, and the associated reference points are based on. We note with concern and disappointment that the ICES does not use BMSY as the baseline for assessing which level of fishing mortality corresponds with MSY. This is a key problem and one of the reasons why so many stocks in the Baltic have fallen below reference levels. The key is to ensure that stock biomass is at healthy levels (above BMSY). The MAP has failed to achieve it but the amendment will likely worsen the situation. It certainly does nothing to ensure that the socio economic possibilities for the fishery are improved. As such Article 4.6, the Baltic MAP and other management plans should be amended to specify that BMSY is the target reference point and subsequent fishing mortality reference points are derived from this.”

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