New Technical Conservation Regulation is being introduced this summer by the MMO,

Forthcoming rule changes which will affect the fishing industry MMO provides advance information on changes to regulations affecting the UK fishing industry.

The MMO is providing an update on the upcoming changes to fisheries regulations to enable the fishing industry to prepare.

What is happening?

A new technical conservation regulation is due to be introduced this summer.
This regulation aims to reduce capture of juvenile fish and to minimise
environmental harm. The technical conservation regulation that is now in force
was launched in 1998 and will be superceded by the new rules following a review last year.

The new technical conservation regulation is much less prescriptive than the one
it replaces. It has also been changed to take into account Landing Obligation
rules. The amendments to the regulation now make rules regional – these are by area such as North Western Waters (Union waters of ICES sub-areas V, VI and VII) or North Sea (Union Waters of ICES divisions IIa, IIIa and IV).
The main effect of this change is to allow fishermen to work more flexibly. For
example, mesh sizes are now “minimum” sizes and do not prevent fishermen
from using larger mesh sizes if they want to. However, in some fisheries
fishermen may be required to use more selective gear, such as adding a square
mesh panel to their net.

The text of the amended technical conservation regulation has now been agreed
by European Member States and is expected to come into force during the
summer of 2019.

The MMO will be producing and promoting public guidance for fisheries affected
by changes in these rules.

 The MMO promoted the change in Landing Obligation rules for 2019 last autumn.
New gear requirements were introduced in the Irish Sea from 1st January 2019.
However, changes in gear requirements for some fisheries in the Celtic Sea area
only come into force on the 1st July 2019.

We would therefore like to remind fishermen working in this area that they need
to be aware of these rule changes. Guidance on the new rules for the Celtic Sea
is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/landing-obligation2019-rules-and-regulations, or you can speak to your local MMO office.

 The UK is currently working with other European countries to look at the possible introduction of “bycatch reduction plans”. Bycatch reduction plans are considered where zero catch (Total Allowable Catch) of a fish stock is recommended for a given year.

The aim of these plans is to reduce unavoidable bycatch and to help that stock to recover. Various measures to assist in reduction of bycatch are being considered and discussed with affected local fishing industry representatives. When these measures have been agreed, we will issue further communications on this.

What the Marine Management Organisation is doing

As explained in its compliance and enforcement strategy the MMO will provide
guidance and raise awareness of the rules as a first step to achieving compliance.

Work being carried out by the MMO so that it can support industry to understand and
comply with the changes includes:

- Working with the EC and Defra to gain understanding of the implications of legislation changes by location of fishing activity, sector and gear type
- Training staff so that they can provide advice and guidance to fishermen in person
- Working with fishing industry representatives to understand the best way to provide guidance to fishermen and help spread the word about the changes
- Producing tailored guidance and materials to help people understand how the changes may affect them
- Working with Devolved Administrations to send out clear and consistent information

UK House of Lords to hear evidence on realism of discard ban.

On May 22 the UK parliament's House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee will take evidence from the bodies responsible for enforcing fisheries legislation in England and Scotland.

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• Download the report: Fisheries: implementation and enforcement of the EU landing obligation (PDF) ( PDF 618 KB)
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• The committee will ask the enforcement agencies what steps they are taking to ensure compliance with the landing obligation and what challenges they face.

It is also likely to ask whether the agencies believe the new rules are being fully complied with, and whether they have sufficient resources to detect non-compliance. It will question Tom Robertson of Marine Scotland, and Phil Haslam, of the Marine Management Organisation.

Topics of discussion are likely to cover:

• How many cases of non-compliance have been detected since Jan. 1 this year and what penalties have been awarded?
• What steps have been put in place to monitor compliance with the landing obligation?
• How much fish that is suitable for human consumption but over a fisher’s quota has been landed since January?
• Are there concerns about the extent of the exemptions to the landing obligation, particularly from a conservation point of view?
• Earlier this year the House of Lords found the UK's fishing industry remained unprepared for full implementation of the common fisheries policy's landing obligation.

Despite the long lead-in time, when the committee examined the issue in November and December 2018 they found little evidence of the landing obligation being followed to date, and an almost unanimous view that the UK was not ready for full implementation, said the committee.

"It cannot be right that, five years after legislation is agreed, the UK is in a position where it cannot enforce the law -- both because it does not have the tools to monitor compliance and because doing so could cause significant harm to the fishing industry," the committee wrote as part of its summary.

Full story courtesy of Undercurrentnews.

Has the EU’s fish discard ban worked? Lords' Committee questions the fishing industry

Watch the Lord's Select Sub-Committee on EU Energy and Environment as it sought industry feedback on its 2019 report on the impact of full implementation of the EU Landing Obligation:





The EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee takes evidence from fishing organisations and the British Ports Association on the impact of the EU landing obligation.

Inquiry: Implementation and enforcement of the EU landing obligation
EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee
Witnesses
Wednesday 8 May in Committee Room 2, Palace of Westminster, at 10.30am

Bertie Armstrong, CEO, Scottish Fishermen’s Federation
Pete Bromley, Harbourmaster at Sutton Harbour and member of the British Ports Association’s Fishing Ports Group
Barrie Deas, CEO, National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
Jeremy Percy, Director, New Under Ten Fishermen’s Association
Jim Pettipher, CEO, Coastal Producer Organisation

Background

The EU landing obligation aims to put an end to the practice of discarding fish. 1.7 million tonnes of fish were being thrown back into the sea each year, because fishers were catching species they did not want or weren’t allowed to keep. Spurred on by a public petition (championed by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall) that attracted 870,000 signatures, the EU agreed to legislation in 2013 that would require fishers to land everything they caught. The rules have been slowly phased in since 2015, and came into force in full on 1 January 2019.

In November and December 2018, the Sub-Committee took evidence from fisheries researchers, environmental campaign groups, the fishing industry, enforcement agencies and the Government on what had happened during the phasing-in period, what the impact of full implementation might be and how ready the UK was for implementation. The Sub-Committee published its report in February, in which it set out a number of concerns.

Areas of discussion

Sub-Committee Members will ask the attendees what impact the landing obligation has had, since it came into force in full in January 2019. In particular, Members are likely to ask:

• Whether fishers are complying with the new rules
• Whether the industry’s concern that the new rules would result in people quickly running out quota (and so having to stop fishing) have been realised
• Whether ports have seen significant amounts of additional fish landed, that would previously have been discarded
• Whether fish buyers and retailers are asking for proof that the new rules are being compiled with

Fishermen's representatives head for today's Discard Action Group meeting.

Today's Discard Action Group meeting is at Friends House in London and will run from 10.00am to 4.00pm.

Stay in touch with the meeting on Twitter using the hashtag #SeafishDAG

AM Compliance with the landing obligation

• Three months in - how is 2019 going? Mike Park, SWFPA and Jaswinder Kaur, Defra.
• MSC consideration of the Landing Obligation in fishery assessment. Tim Davies, Marine Stewardship Council. 
• Discussion between Government and the supply chain on evidencing full compliance with the LO. Jaswinder Kaur, Defra.

AM Ways to evidence, map and monitor compliance and aid spatial avoidance.

• Electronic monitoring as a compliance tool. Norman Fletcher, Marine Scotland.
• Norwegian use of reference fleets. Tom Clegg, Norwegian Marine Research Institute.
• Shetland Fishermen’s Association paper on reference fleets. Simon Collins, SFA.
• A new mapping app to identify discard hotspots. Julia Calderwood. Marine Institute.

PM Showcasing how far industry has come in improving selectivity.

• Overview of DiscardLess. Kenny Coull, SWFPA.
• Showcase/case studies of new selectivity devices and how they are being used. The session will include recent video footage and will be an opportunity to quiz the skippers themselves. We will have footage of David Milne, Jimmy Buchan, James Stephen and Paul Robertson.

Facing up to the Landing Obligation

With the full implementation of the Landing obligation in force from January 2019, fishers face a huge challenge to adapt. Promoting the adoption of affordable, more selective fishing gears would be a huge step in the right direction.

THE LANDING OBLIGATION - A HUGE CHANGE IN EUROPEAN FISHERIES

Introduced under EU legislation as part of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP, EU Reg. 1983/2013) The Landing Obligation has been described as ‘the biggest change in European fisheries since the introduction of quotas in 1983’.

With up to half a million tonnes of fish estimated to be thrown overboard in Europe each year, the so-called ‘discard ban’ is designed to end the practice by fishers of throwing non-target and undersized species back in the sea. From now on, all catches of regulated species will need to be landed in port.

Its introduction represents a huge change in fishing practices for fishers across Europe, and full implementation and compliance represents a major challenge.




THE FISHING INDUSTRY IS NOT PREPARED TO MEET THIS CHALLENGE
Despite the incremental introduction of the Landing Obligation over the last four years, the fisheries industry remains woefully underprepared for its implementation, and complying fully will cause real difficulty for fishers both economically and logistically.

The requirement to land all catches of regulated species will have a real financial impact, with increased handling costs both at sea (sorting, storage) and in port.

These costs are not the only issue; dealing with the landings itself will be problematic. As fish that would have been discarded cannot be sold for human consumption, they must be disposed of in other ways - for example as food for pets or aquaculture - but the facilities, logistics and markets for dealing with this are not in place. Fishers could find themselves having to pay for the destruction of these fish, as special waste of animal origin.

In addition, as of January 1st 2019, any fishers not complying with the landing obligations could be considered as acting illegally, with the EU Commission coming under increasing pressure to ensure the rules of the CFP are enforced.

BETTER SELECTIVITY IS THE BEST APPROACH - ELIMINATE DISCARDS AT SOURCE

Faced with this situation, we need to find a practical and constructive approach to the implementation of the Landing Obligation that helps fishers to adapt.

Firstly, we should encourage fishers to face reality: ultimately they will have to abide by the landing obligation. Secondly, we should provide the tools, information and funding that helps them do so.

Through our work over the last two years we have seen the willingness of fishers to collaborate and look for solutions to the discard problem. Our experience has been that they were quick to see that greater selectivity - and eliminating the problem of discards and bycatch at source - was the best way to comply with the new rules.

“It’s interesting to see the willingness of fishermen to collaborate in finding solutions to discards as they are now feeling the pressure of the landing obligation”
Sergio Vitale, CNR (MINOUW)

More selective fishing gear can bring many additional benefits to fishers, and is an affordable, practical and effective action for fishers to consider. Information about more selective gears, where and how they can be used, and funding to help fishers switch to using them will be key to a successful implementation of the landing obligation.

Research at the University of York (UK) found that the introduction of a discard ban in Norwegian cod and haddock fisheries in 1987 ultimately encouraged fishers to install more selective fishing gear. Despite some short-term economic costs, the Norwegian and Barents Sea fisheries are today among some of the most prosperous in the world.




WHAT ACTIONS SHOULD POLICY MAKERS TAKE?

1. Make selectivity the priority

The best option to eliminate discards is to avoid unwanted catches in the first place, by increasing the selectivity of fishing gears. Additionally, when unwanted catches do occur, the survival rates of the discarded fish can be improved by adapting techniques.

2. Provide funding

The more selective fishing gears successfully tested by MINOUW are inexpensive, and the use of European Maritime Fishery Funds (EMFF) could help scale up the adoption of more selective gears at regional scale, e.g. in the Mediterranean.

For more details visit our policy recommendation page.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
https://thefishsite.com/articles/europes-smallscale-fisheries-and-the-landing-obligation
https://www.seafoodsource.com/features/will-the-landing-obligation-change-eu-fisheries
https://gearingup.eu/resources/
http://theconversation.com/discard-ban-can-benefit-fish-and-fishers-but-sustainability-must-come-first-26769
https://www.slu.se/en/departments/aquatic-resources1/selective-fishing/

Landing Obligation and other crucial EU fishing regulation debate.

Industry representatives and researchers give evidence on EU fisheries regulations

The EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee asks fisheries researchers and representatives of the fishing industry for their views on the implementation and enforcement of the EU landing obligation.

• Parliament TV: Implementation and enforcement of the EU landing obligation
• Inquiry: Implementation and enforcement of the EU landing obligation
• EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee

Witnesses

Wednesday 28 November in Committee Room 2, Palace of Westminster

At 10.15am

• Hazel Curtis, Chief Economist, Seafish
• Dr Tom Catchpole, Principle Fisheries Advisor, Cefas

At 11.15am

• Barrie Deas, Chief Executive, The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
• Mike Park OBE, Chief Executive, Scottish White Fish Producers Association Limited

Background

The EU landing obligation seeks to gradually eliminate discarding (throwing unwanted fish back into the sea) by requiring all catches of specified types of fish to be landed. It has been implemented in stages, beginning in 2015; by 1 January 2019 it will apply to all fish stocks for which the EU sets a Total Allowable Catch.

Implementation presents challenges, particularly in relation to 'choke species'. These are species with a low volume of quota, that when reached will cause fishing operations to halt, even if quota is still available for other species, because fishermen will no longer be able to discard fish they catch over-quota. How enforcement agencies will monitor compliance with the landing obligation is another challenge that will need to be addressed.

Likely areas of discussion

• The scale of the problem 'choke species' is likely to pose.
• Whether changing fishing methods, or swapping quota with others, can alleviate this challenge.
• How enforcement agencies can best monitor compliance.
• Whether the landing obligation could result in increased levels of illegal discarding.
• What the UK could learn from other countries.

There will be a post to the live broadcast on Through the Gaps at 10:15am tomorrow - put it in your diary!

As the Landing Obligation looms - the Lords to investigate.

How effective is the landing obligation in tackling the wasteful discarding of fish?  

See the dull extent of the problem in this booklet.

The House of Lords will debate the coming calamity of the Landing Obligation on December 13th 2018. It might seem a little late in the day as full implementation of the LO will hit the statute books and full implementation come January the 1st, 2019. Happy New Year fishermen.

Below is just a small example that highlights the scale and severity of the situation - namely, Haddock, Sole and Cod in ICES Area 7

Written evidence can be submitted online using the form found here. The deadline is 11:59pm on Thursday 13 December 2018.

Lord Teverson, Chairman of the Committee, said:

“Reducing discards is vital to protecting the health of our oceans. Discarding is not only a waste of finite resource, as many fish do not survive, it also makes it difficult to accurately measure how many fish are actually caught.  The landing obligation requires a shift in how we monitor and enforce fishing regulations but there is a lack of clarity within the industry over its implementation and how its requirements will be managed.

“The Committee want to understand the challenges that will need to be overcome, and potential solutions to those challenges. We would really encourage those with experience or interest in these issues to share their views with us.”

Presentations from the Discard Action Group meeting 10th October 2018.

The Discard Action Group is a forum for the discussion of industry-wide problems relating to discards.

The Discard Action Group (DAG) was set up by Seafish in 2009 in light of the many initiatives being adopted by the fishing industry to reduce discards. It is a prime example of an integrated, interdisciplinary, co-operative approach to the issue, and is the only UK cross-industry group addressing the discards issue from all perspectives.

The group is indicative of the whole seafood supply chain with representatives from the catching sector, environmental non-governmental organisations, legislators, regulators, technologists, scientists, retailers, foodservice and, where appropriate, the media. It is a key forum to allow individual interests to have a voice in the debate and to explore means by which discarding can be reduced to the minimum level practicable.

The group is chaired by Mike Park, Seafish Board member and Chief Executive, Scottish White Fish Producers Association Limited. The group meets twice a year.

The Discard Action Group Terms of Reference can be read here.

All the presentations and minutes from DAG meetings are below. We have archived presentations from previous meetings and the minutes prior to 2013 but these are available from Karen Green.

The last meeting was on Wednesday 10 October 2018 in London. The presentations are below and the minutes will follow in due course. The next meeting will be in Feb/March 2019.

Seafish is undertaking a lot of work with regards to the introduction of the Landing Obligation (which will be introduced gradually, between 2015 and 2019 for all commercial fisheries (species under TACs, or under minimum sizes) in European waters. We are providing valuable services to industry and government and our coordination role in communicating about ongoing projects is limiting duplication of work. Key work areas for Seafish are: economic implications; gear selectivity; the Seafish Discard Action Group; briefings and guidance; outreach; a project to assess the impact of the LO on the UK supply chain; sectoral support; and marketing and communications.  See

For more information about the Discard Action Group contact Karen Green. To be added to the DAG mailing list to receive our monthly news update and details on the meetings please register here.

PDF versions of the presentations from 10 October 2018 meeting:

The landing obligation and the path to compliance. Barrie Deas, NFFO
Defra update on discard plans. Stella Bartolini Cavicchi, Defra
Impact of North East Atlantic Multi Annual Plans. Line Groth Rasmussen, DH MARE C1
Discards survival probabilities of flatfish and rays in North Sea pulse-trawl fisheries. VisNed/Cefas
REM scheme in the North Sea and scientific data collection. Martin Arris, Marine Management Organisation
Perspective on the introduction of cameras. Helen McLachlan, World Wildlife Fund
The Take Up of Selective Gears by Industry. Mike Montgomerie, Seafish
Overcoming Economic Barriers: The case for economic data collection. Ana Witteveen, Seafish

The Discard Action Group meets again today.

The Discard Action Group is a forum for the discussion of industry-wide problems relating to discards.

The Discard Action Group (DAG) was set up by Seafish in 2009 in light of the many initiatives being adopted by the fishing industry to reduce discards. It is a prime example of an integrated, interdisciplinary, co-operative approach to the issue, and is the only UK cross-industry group addressing the discards issue from all perspectives.

The group is indicative of the whole seafood supply chain with representatives from the catching sector, environmental non-governmental organisations, legislators, regulators, technologists, scientists, retailers, foodservice and, where appropriate, the media. It is a key forum to allow individual interests to have a voice in the debate and to explore means by which discarding can be reduced to the minimum level practicable.

The group is chaired by Mike Park, Seafish Board member and Chief Executive, Scottish White Fish Producers Association Limited. The group meets twice a year.

The Discard Action Group Terms of Reference can be read here.

All the presentations and minutes from DAG meetings are below. We have archived presentations from previous meetings and the minutes prior to 2013 but these are available from E: Karen Green.

The last meeting was on Tuesday 13 February 2018 in London. The next meeting will be on 10 October 2018 in London.

Seafish is undertaking a lot of work with regards to the introduction of the Landing Obligation (which will be introduced gradually, between 2015 and 2019 for all commercial fisheries (species under TACs, or under minimum sizes) in European waters. We are providing valuable services to industry and government and our coordination role in communicating about ongoing projects is limiting duplication of work. Key work areas for Seafish are: economic implications; gear selectivity; the Seafish Discard Action Group; briefings and guidance; outreach; a project to assess the impact of the LO on the UK supply chain; sectoral support; and marketing and communications.  See

For more information about the Discard Action Group contact Karen Green. To be added to the DAG mailing list to receive our monthly news update and details on the meetings please register here 

A full breakdown of Seafish's involvement with the implementation of the Landing Obligation is here:

Landing Obligation

How to introduce the landing obligation is one of the most difficult issues facing the fishing industry under the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.

In 2009 the Commission launched a wide-ranging debate on the way that EU fisheries are managed. The new CFP came into effect 1 January 2014. A key element of the reformed CFP is the progressive elimination of discards in EU fisheries through the introduction of a landing obligation. This is being introduced progressively from 1 January 2015.

This constitutes a new regime in European fisheries management and making this work for every part of the fleet will require a great deal more work - for both industry and government - to prepare to implement the landing obligation.

There are a number of documents and links below which explain generally what is meant by the landing obligation and the legislative framework, and the issues it is raising for the seafood industry.

General guidance

At EU and regional level

• Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF)
• North Sea Advisory Council
• North Western Waters Advisory Council
• Pelagic Advisory Council
• European Parliament Research Service briefing - Adapting EU fisheries to the landing obligation
• EU Guidance
• DiscardLess

Discard Atlases:

• Discard Atlas of North Sea Demersal Fisheries 2014
• Discard Atlas North Western Waters Demersal Fisheries 2014
• Discard Atlas North Western Waters Pelagic and Industrial Fisheries 2014

 General guidance at UK level:

• MMO/Defra
• Marine Scotland
• DAERA
• Welsh Government

We have also created a number of pages which look at more specific aspects of the implementation of the landing obligation.

• Pelagic Landing Obligation
• Demersal Landing Obligation
• Onshore Implications

Seafish Best Practice Guidance for Assessing the Financial Performance of Fishing Gear

Although there has been significant investment in new gear design, and research and analysis of gear effectiveness, very few studies have addressed the financial impacts of the Landing Obligation for vessel operators. Uncertainty surrounding the costs and benefits of gear modifications may make vessel owners reluctant to make gear changes due to potential losses in time and revenue during trial periods. Before gear modifications are adopted, it is important to assess the financial effectiveness of gear modifications to make sure fishing operations remain profitable with new gear.

Seafish has developed Best Practice Guidance for industry and scientist-led gear trials to help vessel owners choose the right gear for their business. Seafish has also developed a Financial Assessment Spread sheet for vessel owners and trial supervisors (to use alongside the Best Practice Guidance), to provide a straightforward, standardised way for users to collect, analyse and compare gear trial results and assess the financial effectiveness of fishing modifications.

Seafish Landing Obligation panel in Malta, February 2016.

Seafish facilitated a Landing Obligation panel at the Seaweb Seafood Summit in Malta on Monday 1 February 2016. The aim of this session was to share the impacts of the LO on fisheries and fishers and to describe some of the tools that have been developed to minimize any adverse impacts. The session was facilitated by Mike Park, Scottish White Fish Producers Association. There were three additional speakers: Liane Veitch, ClientEarth; Hazel Curtis, Seafish; and Helen Duggan, Seafish. The presentations can be downloaded below.

Seafish briefing notes can be found below. For further information contact Karen Green

Just what our boats are up against in the annual TAC carve-up

Earlier this year - and in an attempt to pre-empt the Landing Obligation debacle where, in the South West, a single species (haddock) will disproportionately affect the trawling fleet the MMO put out a call for participants in fishing data and research programme - roll on nine months to the annual December Fisheries Council meeting to settle TACs for 2018....

and the 2018 TACs announced in Brussels yesterday and some detail specifically for the South West (ICES areas 7b-k) were quickly passed on by the CFPO on Twitter - where there was an immediate response from the one (award winning) boat Crystal Sea that has worked so hard (with video surveillance technology and more) to redress the quota imbalance for the single most crucial discards ban species - haddock.

If that was not enough, while the Crystal Sea and the Tranquility (the only trawlers over 18m working in Area 7b-k)...

were both sheltering in Newlyn overnight as stormy weather passed through the Western Approaches...

wind speed and air pressure as the Sevenstones lightship weather station recorded over the last 24 hours...

and, courtesy of WindyTV, with much worse to come...

so it's no surprise to see that there were two similar-sized french trawlers dodging all night east of the Scillys...

and 18 of them east of the Lizard deep off Falmouth Bay. With the huge SW fleet of French boats drastically reduced since 2000, their substantially larger haddock quota no longer poses a threat to them when the LO kicks in next year - perhaps if they had taken part in the research collaboratively - or even been encouraged to provide their own data things might have been different for Area 7 haddock overall.  Much of the data collected by ICES is fundamentally flawed by virtue of how it is obtained.

More recently the website Gearing Up has been launched to showcase innovative and informed fishing projects that seek to reduce discards and increase efficiency,