LIFE Platform

Given the title of the hearing, one would have expected a more interesting and informative meeting. However, we were fed with more of the same old, same old.

Alain Cadec set the stage by stating that he hoped that the meeting would outline the major challenges left, the state of play, and that it would offer some solutions to problems faced in implementing the Landing Obligation (LO). He was to be disappointed.

Disappointing too for the majority fleet segment of small-scale low impact fishers, comprising over 70% of the fleet, providing over 50% of the jobs, and landing 8 to 10% of the commercial catches. Despite being significantly affected by the LO, there was no mention of the fleet, let alone what is being done to mitigate the impact of the LO for those tens of thousands of vessel owners who have no quota, and for whom the zero discards policy implies a zero fishing policy that will outlaw their activities.

Mr Jean Porcher, a Breton shipowner, and President (CEO) of “Armement Porcher” provided an industry perspective. He manages the activities of 17 25 metre trawlers and employs 240 staff. His fleet operates for around 6 months of the year in the Western part of the channel, and struggles to generate a 10% return on their capital.

For his fleet discards are impossible to deal with. He explained that there is no room on board to store all the unwanted catches in boxes; the entire hold space is given over to storing the fish catch on ice. Furthermore, strict hygiene requirements mean that catches destined for human food consumption must be kept apart from catches destined for industrial, non-human food purposes. How do you motivate crews working on a catch share basis to apply the LO when the work on discards is unpaid but significant?

Dr Lisa Borges, from the Discardless project gave a review of the evolution of the discard policies up to now, starting in 1992, when DG Mare had decided that a discard ban was not the best idea. She failed to mention the so called “Fish Fight” campaign led by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. This had been instrumental in bringing huge public pressure to bear on the Commission during the reform process, and this had moved discards from zero to hero, and to the top of the CFP agenda from nowhere. She highlighted that in the Baltic no significant changes in practice (to avoid discards) were perceptible, and that at EU level there was no project to monitor and evaluate the handling of unwanted catches at sea.

Heather Hamilton from ClientEarth highlighted that progress has been much slower than expected, and as highlighted by the STECF evaluation of the LO, exemptions decrease effectiveness. She stressed the importance of accurate monitoring of catches and the high risk of non-compliance due to lack of effective MCS, with a need to move to fully documented fisheries.

Elisa Roller gave a review of the state of play, noting the high percentage of catches under the LO (66% in the Mediterranean) but without any assessment of the effectiveness of its implementation. In answer to MEPs questions, she said that there had been plenty of time to prepare, money has been spent, tools have been developed and put in place, so there should be no reasons for any surprises.

She highlighted that it has taken Norway decades to reap benefits from its discards policy, so we should not expect that on January 1 2019 we “will go from 0 to 100”. The amendment of the Control regulation would be important in tackling the problem of discards, and she felt that the progress shown against MSY targets was good news.

The only person to mention that the LO presented particular problems for small and medium operations was the MEP Werner Kuhn, who also highlighted the need to separate fish for human consumption from the catch destined for industrial use and feed not for direct human consumption.

Alain Cadec summed up by reminding that he had voted against the LO. As it has been approved by a legitimate democratic process, we must work with it. He predicted stormy political weather ahead, referring to the Spring elections.

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October 11 2018

Meet Alicia Said, our Project Manager for Malta

LIFE Platform News malta, Staff

Brussels, 11th October 2018

Claudia Orlandini

In the framework of its three years project “Mainstreaming small-scale low impact fisheries in the Mediterranean” funded by the MAVA Foundation, LIFE is reinforcing its presence on the ground in order to provide increased support to the small-scale fishing communities in the region (click here for more information on the project). Alicia Said was selected to help LIFE in this important task across Malta .

Dear Alicia, welcome to LIFE! With an academic background in human ecology and many years of experience working with fishers on the ground, including through the Too Big To Ignore network, we can say that you have been “hooked” to small-scale fisheries for some time now. What is the driver behind your passion for supporting the small-scale fishing sector?

I was brought up in a rural community surrounded by farmers and fishers, my father being one of them, and I have some nice memories of my childhood at sea. In the past 10 years, I started noticing a disappearance of what were vibrant fishing communities, and I really wanted to understand what was happening and why the thriving coast was slowly becoming only a cherished memory. Therefore, I decided to pursue my studies in this field to delve into what was driving these major changes. So the past five years have been dedicated to understanding the Malta small-scale fishing sector, and more recently, I have looked the issues from a global perspective through my post-doctoral research with the Too Big to Ignore Global Partnership for small-scale fisheries research.

You are Maltese and have a deep knowledge of the sector in your home country. Can you tell us more on the current situation of small-scale fisheries in Malta? What are the main challenges Maltese fishers have to face locally?

As a researcher, I focus on small-scale fisheries sustainability, as I believe it is the way forward to engender viable fishing communities, especially in small island states like Malta. Maltese small-scale fisheries are vulnerable to the incremental implications deriving from policy changes dawning onto the endogenous Maltese fishing patterns since EU accession in 2004. Access to fisheries resources and quotas, competition with other marine users, as well as declining fish stocks, and issues relating to access to decision-making fora are few of the challenges of Maltese fishers. Moreover, these issues are complex and interlocked, and thus resolving them needs careful attention and inclusive participation from the fishers themselves.

By recruiting you as Project Manager for Malta, LIFE wants to give Maltese small-scale fishers the opportunity to have someone on the ground to help them reinforce their local networks, to support them in designing local projects and solutions but also in making their voice heard at the European Institution and international level. What are, according to you, the most urgent messages that need to be brought to the attention of these decision-makers from a Maltese perspective?

I believe that that fishers need to be given a voice, more support, solutions and alternatives. You have a sector where the number of small-scale fishers is constantly declining, and reviving it needs a good policy that actually caters for the small-scale sector. The sector has different fishers with distinct needs, thus understanding such complexity is necessary to ensure that the policies fit the multifaceted nature of the small-scale fisheries. Incentives to improve the access to fisheries resources and quotas, and market systems such as adding value to their catches are measures that can have long-term benefits. More studies on the socio-ecological systems need to be pursued to ensure that fishers livelihoods continue in to the future. Moreover, catering for the regeneration of the sector is crucial. Perhaps making space for young fishers who would like to join the sector and are unable to afford the start-up investment, can secure the continuity of the sector.

It is well-known that Malta is a key player in industrial aquaculture, especially for the fattening of Bluefin Tuna. In your view what are the consequences of such massive investments for a just and equitable maritime spatial planning that ensures that the interests of local coastal communities are taken into account?

According to a study which we carried out in 2016, tuna ranching in Malta has changed the economy of the small-scale fishing sector, as the transferability of the quotas has allowed the concentration of fishing rights into fewer hands, leaving little opportunity for the small-scale sector to participate in this fishery. In the past year, there has been a positive change as the government has allocated 25 tonnes for non-permit holders, which is a good sign of equitable distribution. Nonetheless, the way by which those 25 tonnes have actually benefitted the small-scale sector is something that needs to be looked into. With regards to marine spatial planning, fishers are increasingly undergoing spatial squeezing within the inshore fishing grounds. Competing for space is something they have to do on a daily basis, and the advent of the marine protected areas as a new layer in the congested sea calls for urgent measures to ensure that fishers’ livelihoods are safeguarded.

Through the Too Big to Ignore (TBTI) network you had the opportunity to get in touch with a number of fishing communities from different parts of the world. Are there any best practices that you have seen abroad that you think would bring positive benefits in Malta?

With TBTI I have been able to learn about the different challenges and opportunities of small-scale fisheries around the world. For example, in South Africa, TBTI along with Masifundise Development Trust, the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape, has developed a small-scale fisheries policy handbook to inform fishing communities about their rights and obligations. I believe that such strategies empower communities to improve their negotiating power to influence policies that determine their futures. Another highlight which I think deserves to be acknowledged is the planned gathering of scientists, policy-makers and fishing communities during the 3^rd world small-scale fisheries conference, which will be held in October 2018 in Thailand. I look forward to attending and being part of the conversation that will give a voice to fishers.

We hope you are excited to officially join the LIFE Mediterranean team for this new adventure. What are the priorities you plan to tackle in your new role?

I will be looking forward to support the Malta Small-scale Fisheries Network (MSFN) which has been launched recently to bring together fishers and other stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities for the sector. I will, of course, continue pursuing further research about the sector to be able to inform the policy-making spectrum, both at the national and regional levels. All in all, it’s all about bringing back the fishing communities, and making them something of the future and not a memory of the past.