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LIFE writes to ICCAT’s Chair

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An invaluable opportunity for a more sustainable and fair BfT fishery

From the 12th to the 19th of November 2018 in Dubrovnik (Croatia) the 21st Special Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas will take place. The Meeting is the right time to draw the attention on the case of European small-scale fishers, the majority of the EU fleet, that since 2006 have been stripped from their rights to fish Bluefin Tuna.

It is in this framework that LIFE writes to Mr. Raul Delgado, Chair of ICCAT, welcoming the EU’s Draft Recommendation to ICCAT on establishing a Multi-annual Management Plan for Bluefin Tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean and making recommendations to ensure that small-scale fishers are allocated the fair proportion of the annual increase of quota which they deserve.

Access the official letter to ICCAT’s Chair here

Access the EU proposal here

 

The above-metioned letter has been sent to the following officials and decision-makers, plus widely disseminated to sector representatives, NGOs and stakeholders.

ICCAT:

Mr. Camille Jean Pierre Manel, Executive Secretary ICCAT; Dr. Miguel Neves dos Santos, Assistant Executive Secretary; Mr. Raul Delgado, ICCAT Commission Chair; Stefaan Depypere, First Vice Chair ICCAT

European Commission:

Mr Andres Jessen; Mr Franco Biagi; MR Francisco-Javier Vazquez-Alvarez

European Parliament

MEP Linnea Engstrom; MEP Gabriel Mato; MEP Norica Nicolai; MEP Ricardo Serrao Santos;

Spanish Ministry

Mr Rafael Centenera

 

malta

Great expectations in the Med & Black Sea

Deep Rooted Problems, Great Expectations: can the Ministerial declaration and regional plan of action signed recently in Malta turn the tide of fortune for small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea?

Brussels, 5th of November 2018

Brian O’Riordan

On 26 September in Malta, 18 Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal states committed themselves to developing “objectives, principles and concrete actions” to be applied across the region through a regional plan of action (RPOA) and thus “to ensure the long-term environmental, economic and social sustainability of small-scale fisheries”[1]. Such a political commitment was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and Black Sea (GFCM) and the European Commission.

Some history

The RPOA is the culmination over 5 years of steady joint work by these two bodies, initiated in 2013 at the First Regional Symposium on Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, held in Malta, and organized by the GFCM in collaboration with the FAO and other partners. In fact, small-scale fisheries have been on the GFCM agenda since 1980, rooted in a Resolution calling on its members for “the definition of a national strategy indicating in particular the place of artisanal fisheries in management schemes”.

Small-scale fisheries and the Mediterranean and Black Sea have for long been on the agenda of the GFCM, but it is only relatively recently that the EU seems to have woken up to their importance.

Until the launch of the reformed CFP in 2014, small-scale fisheries were considered a national issue and outside the purview of EU policy. Step by step, the socio-economic and strategic importance of small-scale fisheries as an integral component of European policy to sustain fisheries and fishing communities is gaining recognition. Europe’s forgotten fleet is being rediscovered, albeit late in the day!

EU Small Scale Fleet at a Glance

(Vessels under 12 metres in length, not using towed fishing gear)

Number of vessels (49,029):                              70% of the fleet

Tonnage:                                                            8% of the tonnage,

Fishing days:                                                     59% of the fishing days

Fuel used:                                                           6% of the fuel used

Fishers employed (78,304):                                 50% of at sea employment

Landed volume:                                                    6% by weight

Landed value:                                                      12% of the value

Revenue:                                                            13% of the revenue,

Labour costs:                                                      19% of the labour costs

Source: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF). The 2018 Annual Economic Report on the U Fishing Fleet (STECF 18/07).[2]

 

If small-scale fisheries are Europe’s rediscovered fleet, then the Mediterranean and Black Sea are its most neglected sea basins. Although the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was established in 1983, until 2006 the Mediterranean and Black Sea fell outside its purview. That is now changing through a process of steps. Launched in Catania in 2016, the MedFish4Ever process was designed to build political consensus among all Mediterranean stakeholders towards obtaining a commitment from all EU and non-EU countries to take concrete actions to address the dire fisheries situation in the region[3]. Within the framework of the CFP, a series of multi-annual plans are being developed to cover stocks in different regions, starting with demersal stocks in the Western Mediterranean and pelagic fisheries in the Adriatic[4].

What are small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean?

Under the RPOA, small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea are to be characterized “as soon as possible” according to a set of indicative criteria “reflecting their socio-economic relevance and specificities”.

Given the highly diverse nature of small-scale fisheries in the region and the lack of a simple cut off point between different fleet segments (small-scale, semi-industrial, large-scale, industrial, inshore, offshore, coastal, deep sea etc.) the GFCM proposes to apply a “matrix approach” being developed by the FAO. Such a matrix may include characteristics spanning across governance (policy, legislation, access and tenure), economic (taxation, subsidies, special preference) and management (regulation, gears, zoning).

A Matrix Approach to Characterizing Fisheries[5]

The matrix provides users with a tool to describe a fishing unit across multiple dimensions or characteristics of scale. The flexible nature of the matrix means that the fishing unit being assessed can either be an entire fishery/fleet, a part of it, or an individual vessel/ fisher. This flexibility allows the matrix to be applied to diverse types of fishing activity around the world. Applying the matrix generates an aggregate score for the given unit under assessment, with relevance for discussions of scale. A given fishing unit may have characteristics typically associated with both smaller-scale and larger-scale fisheries, so many will receive lower scores in some categories and higher scores in others. Scoring allows for an objective characterization of the fishing unit, indicating whether it tends towards small-scale or large-scale.

Once scores from all the categories are aggregated, an overall picture emerges that facilitates differentiation between larger- and smaller-scale fisheries. By analysing different scores for different fishing units, it is possible to determine if there is a clear cut off between distinctly small-scale fisheries and distinctly large-scale fisheries. In theory, if the matrix is working well, it should highlight those fisheries which may be on the edge of small-scale and large-scale (e.g. a small vessel with a high-powered engine and large-scale level of fishing effort), assigning them their own category. Furthermore, by incorporating multiple dimensions, the matrix approach seeks to avoid misleading or inappropriate characterizations of fisheries as small-scale or large-scale, which can sometimes occur when a single criterion, such as vessel length, is emphasized.

 

The Ministerial Statement highlights the strength in numbers of small-scale fisheries in the region (80% of the fleet by number, 44% of the capacity, 62% of employment aboard fishing vessels and 24% of the landed value), their socio-economic value, relatively low environmental impact and importance for food security. The statement also draws attention to endemic problems besetting the sector: the lack of a voice and lack of access to decision making processes; lack of access to resources, to markets, to credit and to support; and the limited capacities of the sector in terms of human capital.

These problems make the sector particularly vulnerable to the impact of other marine activities, such as marine pollution, habitat degradation, biodiversity and resource depletion, and to the encroachment of other activities in the areas it has traditionally occupied. In this regard, the RPOA highlights the need to both ensure that small scale fisheries are taken account of in marine spatial planning at national and regional level, and that the sector is specifically represented throughout the entire process.

A historic step

Although the RPOA is non-binding, it is a historic step, and places small-scale fisheries centre stage in the bid to reverse the declining fortunes of the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

The RPOA is the first instrument to be adopted by any Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) that goes beyond the management of fisheries to address such issues as social inclusion, decent work, social protection, the role of women, the participation of small-scale actors in management and decision-making processes, and the incorporation of traditional ecological knowledge. The RPOA builds on the foundations laid down by the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), and draws on and compliments other international instruments including the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; 2007 ILO Work in Fishing Convention; and 2015 UN General Assembly 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It is a significant step because thanks to the Ministerial statement and RPOA, small-scale fisheries have moved from the periphery to centre stage in the regions’ fishery policies and are now incorporated as part of the solution to the problems besetting the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Also, as highlighted by the European Union’s Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, “small scale fisheries (SSF) are the backbone of the fleet, the workers, and the community. They are also the first to feel the pain of collapsing resources. It is therefore important to build the future with them”.

Most Ministers highlighted the traditional nature of SSF, and their cultural importance. Few spoke about their importance to food security. Some highlighted the low incomes and poor capacity of the SSF sector to provide decent work. Some mentioned the problems of invasive species and the vulnerability of the fisheries sector. A few mentioned the need for improved data collection. One, Turkey, mentioned “legacy” – the importance of the heritage that we will bequeath to the next generation.

Palestine, not a contracting party, although Israel is, made the most passionate speech. The gradual encroachment of Israel as an occupying state into Palestinian waters has reduced its fishing area from 20 nautical miles in 1994 down to 3 NM today. In 2017 there were over 200 unlawful shootings on Palestine fishermen with one fisherman killed and an overall policy of suppression of the sector and the coastal community. The Minister invited everyone to visit his country, to witness “one of the most vulnerable SSFs” and in the “interests of justice”. He reminded that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were designed to leave no-one behind. He pleaded for the Palestinian SSFs not to be left behind.

Spain’s was one of the most supportive speeches of SSF, emphasising its special characteristics, freshness of the product, low environmental footprint, and the important role of women.

Deep rooted problems require a joined-up approach

Of course, the problems besetting the Mediterranean and Black Sea go way beyond fisheries. The semi enclosed nature and large catchment areas of these sea basins make them highly vulnerable to human impact. The Mediterranean is a hot spot of biodiversity with a great variety of marine and coastal habitats including wetlands, lagoons, dunes, reefs, seamounts, canyons, sandy and rocky coasts, which are all important fisheries grounds.

The ever-increasing human population, with the coastal population doubling during some tourist seasons, along with expanding economic development has resulted in increased environmental degradation. These vulnerable marine environments face a worrying combination of pollution from land sources and ships, including plastics and litter, from aquaculture production, with impacts on biodiversity and coastal degradation, along with climate change related impacts. These are considerable challenges that such an RPOA alone can’t address on its own. Furthermore, a large proportion of the marine areas are in international waters and fall outside national jurisdictions, making fisheries and the human impact on fisheries even more difficult to manage and control. Therefore, this RPOA needs to be fully integrated into the wider maritime policy spheres, especially the development of the blue economy.

It is significant that Malta was chosen as the venue for this historic signing. Over 90% of the Maltese fleet is comprised of small-scale coastal fishing vessels (under 12 metres using non-towed gears), numbering some 950 vessels. Traditional Maltese fishing boats are made of wood, and use a wide variety of gears – nets, traps, hook and line, along with ancillary equipment like fish aggregating devices (FADs) made from palm fronds, and lampara vessels to attract shoals of fish at night.

However, as with small-scale fisheries across the Mediterranean and Black Sea region, this once vibrant fishery sector is facing a number of big challenges. These challenges were discussed at an informal gathering of Maltese, Cypriot and Italian (Pantelleria island) small-scale fishers hosted by the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) ahead of the Ministerial summit, and attended by the Maltese Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government.

These challenges include:

  • IUU fishing and organized fishing crime, a transnational activity with well-organized and equipped criminal gangs. This was highlighted by the Europol led Operation Tarantino, which led to arrest of 79 people involved with IUU fishing tuna, fraudulent trade and marketing of illegal tuna across France, Italy, Malta and Spain[6]
  • Cheap labour of migrant workers in fishery operations.
  • Encroachment into SSF of larger scale interests, such as feed fisheries for aquaculture and tuna fattening;
  • Unregulated sports fishing across the Mediterranean.
  • Climate change and invasive species ;
  • Pollution, notably from plastic waste (marine debris and mirco-fibres and micro-particles);
  • The promotion of “Blue Economy” activities (tourism, aquaculture, energy generation, bioprospecting, seabed mining, oil and gas extraction etc.) that impose themselves in areas traditionally occupied by small-scale fisheries[7].

A particular problem across the Mediterranean highlighted by all the fishers is the rapid colonisation by invasive species from the Red Sea, along with the displacement of traditional species. Two of the main culprits are the rabbit or toad fish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), and the lionfish (Pterois miles). The toad fish can grow up to 1 metre in length and weigh as much as 7 kgs, with sharp teeth that cause extensive damage to fishing nets. Additionally, it has no commercial value as it is highly poisonous. The lionfish is a voracious predator with highly venomous spines that can inflict severe pain and even death. Both fish are also hazardous to the environment; the toad fish is a bottom feeder and can cause extensive damage to seabed habitats, and the lion fish is highly predatory. The lion fish makes good eating but is difficult to handle and is not well known to consumers. In other parts of the Mediterranean the Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus), native to the Eastern seaboard of the Americas and a voracious predator on shellfish, has become a cause for concern in the South of France and East coast of Spain.

Last but not least, across the Mediterranean the unregulated fishing activities of leisure boating, both through displacing fishers from their harbours and through their fishing activities impacting on stocks, be it for sport or their own consumption through their sheer numbers.

 Co-management: not a panacea but a management tool in the box

For the Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) one of the principle benefits that the RPOA could deliver on is improved governance through co-management. An entire section is devoted the “participation of small-scale fishers in decision making processes”. Linked to this is the call of the RPOA “for fisheries management plans with specific rules designed to ensure preferential access for sustainable and low-impact fisheries along the coastal band.” Such preferential access will only bring benefits if coupled to a system of genuine co-management where both responsibility and decision-making power are devolved to co-management committees, and where small-scale fishers are empowered to form and run their own autonomous organizations.

For LIFE, the top down model of command and control fisheries management as applied in the Mediterranean has become dysfunctional. Small-scale fishers have been alienated from management decision-taking processes, and, combined with a lack of capacity and political will at national level to enforce regulations, this has encouraged overfishing, habitat destruction and Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishery activities.

In such a context, new forms of governance are required that build trust and cooperation between national authorities and fishery stakeholders, promote co-responsibility, and which unite them in the common purpose of sustainable fisheries and in the fight against IUU fishing and organized fishing crime. This requires a paradigm shift away from a top down command and control approach to a bottom up approach based on co-management.

Around the Mediterranean there are examples where relatively small, localised, and often informal co-management projects have successfully brought state and non-state actors together and facilitated a dialogue and collaboration between them, establishing a basis for co-responsibility and improved acceptance of legally binding regulations, which in turn is contributing to addressing IUU practices and social conflict.

Of course, co-management is not a panacea, but could provide an important management tool honed for managing small-scale fisheries, to be used alongside others (including closed areas reserved for small-scale fisheries, effort control, etc.). In this regard, co-management has the potential to empower fishers and build their capacities to become responsible and competent actors in fisheries management.

There seems to be a critical mass of efforts in co-management that are now coming together: the recent incorporation of co-management into fisheries law in Catalunya through a decree, putting co-management alongside MSY, MCS, technical measures etc. is an inspiring example. There are also many relatively small local initiatives associated with MPAs that are beginning to reach a critical mass and joining up through networks and scaling up initiatives.

The Ministerial commitment to supporting small scale fisheries through the RPOA is both timely and necessary. We hope the positive political will fostered over the last 5 years will ensure that the necessary resources are invested in putting the RPOA into practice, and to transform the ink on paper into action at the grass roots.

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[1] Regional plan of action for small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea: a common commitment for the future http://www.fao.org/gfcm/news/detail/en/c/1154586/

 [2] Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF). The 2018 Annual Economic Report on the U Fishing Fleet (STECF 18/07). https://stecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu/documents/43805/2262384/STECF+18-07+-+AER.pdf

[3] DG Mare webpage on the Mediterranean https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/mediterranean_en

[4] DG Mare webpage on the rules in force in the Mediterranean https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/mediterranean/rules_en

[5] Workshop proceedings on Improving our knowledge on small-scale fisheries: data needs and methodologies, June 2017  http://www.fao.org/3/a-i8134e.pdf

[6] Europol Press Release: How the illegal bluefin tuna market made over EUR 12 million a year selling fish in Spain  https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/how-illegal-bluefin-tuna-market-made-over-eur-12-million-year-selling-fish-in-spain

[7] LIFE calls for inclusive Blue Growth at the Our Ocean Conference https://lifeplatform.eu/life-calls-inclusive-blue-growth/

 

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BFT: from recovery to fair management

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Bluefin Tuna: the move from recovery to management

must directly benefit coastal artisanal fleets.

It is high time that coastal artisanal fisheries were included in the strategy to manage fishing effort, conserve stocks and distribute the benefits from the recovering Bluefin tuna resources in an equitable manner.

Brussels, 25th October 2018

Brian O’Riordan

 

LIFE welcomes the European Commission’s recognition that coastal artisanal fishing fleets should benefit from the reallocation of Bluefin tuna quota in a fair manner across all European fleets, and the proposal to reintegrate this marginalised sector into the Bluefin tuna fishery.

DG Mare unveiled plans to move from a recovery to a management plan for Eastern Bluefin tuna last Wednesday 17 October 2018, in Brussels, at a meeting with industry and NGO representatives to prepare for the annual meeting of the ICCAT – the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna. This year the 21st Special Meeting of the ICCAT will be held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, from 10-19 November (for details see https://www.iccat.int/com2018/).

The plan is to be constructed around 3 broad objectives of management and conservation, socio-economic inclusion, and inspection and control. DG Mare officials highlighted that in strengthening the recovery of Bluefin tuna, controls need to be improved, especially the sale and laundering of illegal catches.

Overshadowing the ICCAT preparations was the announcement of criminal proceedings by Europol against 79 individuals involved in the illegal catching and trade of Bluefin tuna all along the value chain from catching through transhipment and fattening to marketing, across Italy, Malta, France and Spain. With an estimated illegal trafficking of 2,500 tonnes per year, equivalent to 50% of the quota allocated to the EU for 2018, and worth 12 million Euro per year, this organized crime illustrates how the “most regulated fishery in the world” suffers from a lack of effective control. For more details see: https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/how-illegal-bluefin-tuna-market-made-over-eur-12-million-year-selling-fish-in-spain

Despite such significant and unquantified decades long criminal activity across the Bluefin tuna industry, the Eastern Bluefin tuna has staged a remarkable comeback in the last 10 years. This provides solid grounds for moving from a recovery plan to a management plan. However, DG Mare noted that there was still a considerable risk of overfishing due to black markets and a lack of transparency in the transhipment of fish between catching and intermediary vessels and tuna fattening units.

LIFE is happy to note that DG Mare is ready to grasp the opportunity provided by the recovery of Bluefin tuna stocks and the increase in the TAC allocated to Europe from ICCAT to end the unfair discrimination against small-scale low impact fishing activities, to alleviate the economic difficulties experienced by many small-scale fishers, and to take the pressure off other fish stocks in the Mediterranean.

The strategic importance of Bluefin tuna to alleviate the general state of overexploitation in the Mediterranean, in line with the 2017 MedFish4ever Declaration and the 2018 Regional Plan of Action for Small-scale Fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea signed by 18 Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal states, can’t be underestimated. Central to these new instruments are the “equitable access to living marine resources based on sustainable fisheries and their socioeconomic role” and the granting of “preferential access for sustainable and low impact small scale fisheries along the coastal band”.

The Mediterranean small-scale fishing fleet (vessels under 12 metres using non-towed gear) is by far the largest fleet segment, with just under 70% of the active fleet in 2015 according to the 2017 STECF AEP report. Although producing only 25% of the overall catch in the Mediterranean, the fleet accounts for 65% of the fishing days, and 42% of employment. Until 2006, the Mediterranean and other small-scale fleets were permitted to catch Bluefin tuna, which provided a significant seasonal source of income for them, and an important opportunity to reduce their efforts on other stocks.

Since 2006, under the ICCAT Bluefin Tuna recovery plan (the BfT plan), small scale fishers have been effectively stopped from catching Bluefin tuna, with the consequent loss of an important source of income. This has meant that they have had to fall back on other, lower value species, with a consequent decline in their incomes and an increase in pressure on other stocks. Despite Article 17 of the CFP, and Article 8 of Bluefin tuna multiannual plan regulation which call for a fair distribution of national quotas across fleet segments and for incentives to be provided for selective and low impact fishing, this unfair situation is repeated across EU Member States. The EU’s Bluefin tuna multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna (Regulation (EU) 2016/1627) also stresses the importance of promoting coastal fishing activities, including in traditional and artisanal fisheries.

The small-scale fishers are ready to play their part in implementing the necessary management and control measures needed to assure that their activities contribute to achieving social, economic and environmental sustainability. For more details see:  https://vimeo.com/240133802

LIFE calls for a fair proportion of the annual increase of quota to be allocated, directly from ICCAT and ring-fenced, to small scale and low-impact fisheries that comply fully with the current Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) framework.

For this to happen, it is first necessary to define artisanal coastal fisheries. LIFE insists that such a definition must first and foremost be based on the use of low impact gears, specifically hook and line techniques using hand lines and/or pole and line; “hand line and pole and line” gears have the lowest impact on the environment and least by-catch compared to other gears that target Bluefin tuna.

LIFE is in favour of a multi-parametric definition so long as this includes an obligatory criterion which restricts the definition to these gears. If the activity complies with this, then it must then comply with three out of four of the following characteristics: a) overall length of the vessel is less than 12 metres; b) the vessel is fishing exclusively inside the territorial waters, or out to 25 nautical miles, of the flag Contracting Party Country (CPC); c) the fishing trips are of a duration of less than 24 hours, and d) the maximum crew number is established at four persons.

LIFE also welcomes the elimination of the 5-tonne cap on the small scale fleets as this will provide a more inclusive basis for these to benefit from the increased tuna quotas distributed to Member States. However, this does not fully protect small-scale fishers from the negative impacts of tradeable quotas and their marginalization resulting from market-based quota allocation mechanisms. Hence, a specific clause to prohibit transferability should be included to ensure that new quota transferred to Member States for coastal artisanal fishing is non-transferable to other fleet segments including purse seiners and large-scale long-liners.

LIFE is also concerned that allowing a variation of 20% in the adjustment of fishing capacity for purse-seiners is too high and strongly recommends maintaining fishing capacity in line with the TAC. The proposed extension of the purse seine season must also be taken into account in this regard. Projections from the 2017 assessment indicated that quota reductions will be required in the future if a F0.1 strategy is continued, and it wouldn’t be prudent to increase fishing capacity, only to have to reduce it again in the coming years.

LIFE does not agree with the proposed measure to extend the purse seine season. This should not be permitted since many vessels catch their quotas in less than a week, and such an extension opens the possibility to significantly increase the fishing effort from this segment.

LIFE advises that the minimum size provisions shouldn’t change from the previous recommendations and should not be weakened by any minimum size derogation, to prevent targeting of smaller juveniles.

Finally LIFE would like to stress that there should be no increase of allowed bycatch from 5% from Rec 14-04 up to 20%, such an increase is tantamount to allowing a targeted catch of Bluefin tuna.

LIFE looks forward to working with the European and national institutions to level the playing field of opportunities between large and small-scale operators, and to ensure an equitable flow of benefits across the fleet segments, whilst maintaining healthy Bluefin tuna stocks.

♦ ♦ ♦

 

 

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News from the Deck – September 2018

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September 2018

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Landing obligation: state of play in the EP

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Calm before the storm: hearing in the European Parliament on the state of play of the landing obligation before its full implementation in January 2019 proves lack lustre.

Brussels, 11th october 2018

Brian O’Riordan

 

Full agenda: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2014_2019/plmrep/COMMITTEES/PECH/DV/2018/10-08/ProgrammeHearingLandingObligation_EN.pdf

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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Meet Alicia Said, our Project Manager for Malta

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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 3rd 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.

♦ ♦ ♦

 

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WestMedMAP – amendments

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Barcelona, 17th of september 2018

Marta Cavallé

The Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) Platform shares its input on the regulation establishing a multi-annual plan for the fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea (WestMed MAP) that should be voted by the Parliament during this autumn.
LIFE members agree that the main focus of the WestMed MAP should be the regulation of trawling activities. However, they feel that all fleet segments, both commercial and recreational, need to be addressed. The amendments below incorporate those fleet segments and address those issues that will have an impact on the lives and livelihoods of our constituency, the small-scale passive gear coastal fleets.

Access the document in English here

Accédez au document en Français ici

Acceda al documento en Español clicando aqui

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Action Plan for Eastern Baltic cod

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Action Plan for Eastern Baltic cod stock

following the discussions on ICES advice for 2019

Warsaw, Monday 3rd of September 2018

Marcin Ruciński

The situation

The Eastern Baltic cod stock, for long the cornerstone stock supporting the livelihoods of many Baltic fishers, and a key element of the Baltic ecosystem, has been in a downward trend for about the last 5 years. This year, ICES’s stock size indicator is the lowest observed in the time series, and the TAC of 16.685 tons, less than a half of this year’s TAC, is advised for 2019 fishery.

The TAC decreases, applied since 2015, have not brought about any visible improvement of the situation. Indeed, the TAC has not been fully taken since 2011. The causes of the current situation lie both within and outside the fisheries sector.

  1. There is widespread but as yet informal knowledge within the sector that illegal mobile gear modifications (BACOMA, T90) are commonplace in the cod fishery. This is a response to the uneconomical, small rates of marketable large cod in catches, caused in turn by a truncated size structure of the stock. The causes of the truncated stock size structure should be better investigated.
  2. The practice described above has an obvious consequence of drastically increased discards, which ICES themselves point to in a number of annual advice papers. Their discard estimates range between 10 and 15%, with a hint that the numbers may be an underestimate, an issue of concern that LIFE has been bringing to managers’ attention since 2016. The more difficult access to gain observer data, observed by the scientists since the introduction of Landing Obligation in the Baltic since 2015, is a very worrying signal for the managers.
  3. The body condition of Eastern Baltic cod individuals has significantly decreased over the last years. There are a few causes for this, amongst which the relatively low abundance of sprat and herring, the main prey species for large cod, in sub-divisions 25-26 (where most cod occur), is of particular concern. Therefore, ICES have since 2014 been advising a spatial management plan to restrict the pelagic catches in the main area of cod occurrence. Furthermore, there is evidence[1] that the “skinny cod”, if provided with proper food, can quickly increase body condition, which i.a. makes it more resistant to seal-induced parasites.
  4. The spawning of Eastern Baltic cod is not optimally protected, especially in the Bornholm Deep, where the most significant spawning takes place. The coordinates of the spawning closure do not cover some of the most significant areas where spawning concentrations, eggs and larvae occur. Some fishers have, through their contacts with Members of European Parliament, tried to help managers address this situation a few years ago[2], to no avail however. There is science[3] supporting our view that spawning disturbance must be avoided for a successful recruitment.
  5. The Eastern cod stock is also significantly and negatively affected by a number of factors over which fisheries management has no or very limited influence and which cannot be addressed in this Action Plan. These include (and are not limited to):
    • Strong increase in the grey seal population in the Central Baltic Sea, resulting in both direct predation and increased occurrence seal-induced parasites in cod, further compounding declines in body condition (see p. 3 above)
    • Climate change resulting in a water temperature increase in the Baltic Sea;
    • Lack of major saline and oxygenated water inflows from the North Sea since 2014;
    • Unfavourable changes in the zoo- and phytoplankton structure;
    • Underwater construction works, especially those undertaken in the Bornholm Deep – the main Eastern cod spawning area.

Elements of the Action Plan

  1. It is long overdue that the widespread illegal mobile gear modification practices leading to currently high, and largely unreported, level of cod discards, as well as the discards themselves, are properly dealt with by the competent control and inspection authorities with all available means (on-board observers, electronic surveillance, etc.). We have already extensively written about these matters[4]. Both must quickly come to an end! Almost 4 years after introducing the Landing Obligation in the Baltic, it is a sine-qua-non-condition for Baltic managers to retain their credibility.

Without stamping out the illegal gear modifications and discards, further TAC decreases (except a zero TAC which we do not support) will not bring about the expected results.

  1. It is high time that the long-standing ICES advice about a spatial management plan for pelagic fisheries be properly recognized by the managers. That said, LIFE would want to minimize the ensuing difficulties in implementing this measure for our pelagic fleet colleagues. Potentially, it could be applied seasonally, taking account of cod feeding and spawning patterns, to the largest fleet segments which, technically speaking, can easily reach the rich pelagic fishing grounds in the Northern Baltic. Quota bonuses could also be used in various ways to ensure that at least a good part of pelagic fishing effort moves North to release the much-needed sprat and herring for the cod – and is the better for it financially.
  2. LIFE puts many hopes in the ongoing ICES efforts to evaluate the applicable conservation measures for Eastern Baltic cod, in particular the spawning closures and other spawning protection measures (WKCONGA). The enhanced cod spawning protection, whilst not directly addressing the key question of the truncated size structure, can possibly help improve recruitment, thus minimizing the risk of stock collapse.
  3. LIFE would also encourage the managers and scientists to look deeper into the possible importance of recreational fishing on Eastern cod. This would be particularly relevant for its possible impact on the global fishing effort on the largest cod size cohorts in the stock.
  4. All the fishers negatively affected by the much-needed innovative management and conservation measures for the Eastern cod stock should have the possibility to access the EMFF funds to compensate any losses.

LIFE looks forward to discussing with DG Mare officials, directly concerned Member States, Members of the European Parliament and other stakeholders on how these measures can be incorporated concretely into the new framework for allocating fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea in 2019 and the regional Technical Measures.

♦ ♦ ♦

[1] The initial results of a project led by SLU Aqua are accessible here https://www.slu.se/ew-nyheter/2018/6/stodutfodring-av-vildfangad-torsk-kan-ge-lonsammare-kustnara-yrkesfiske/

[2] Amendment 163 of the then-draft multispecies plan for the Baltic Sea, 2014, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2f%2fEP%2f%2fNONSGML%2bCOMPARL%2bPE-551.757%2b01%2bDOC%2bPDF%2bV0%2f%2fEN

[3] Van Overzee, Rijnsdorp, Effects of fishing during the spawning period: implications for sustainable management https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11160-014-9370-x

[4] https://lifeplatform.eu/jeremy-percy-writes-danish-minister-karen-ellemann/

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