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Report: EU fishing rules reform could lead to legal challenges to overfishing

A new report published by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) says that reforms to the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) could pave the way for legal action by campaign groups if scientific advice on fish stocks is ignored.

The report, commissioned by ocean conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) , says that quota allocations for threatened fish stocks including sole, cod and sea bass could face legal challenges for the first time.

According to the report, previous practice by European politicians of routinely allocating fishing quotas over the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels recommended by scientific studies will become legally untenable under the revised CFP framework. Under the new regulations, the European Parliament has committed to ensuring sustainable fisheries in most cases by 2015, with a long stop of 2020. Crucially, the new CFP framework will also allow special interest groups including environmental campaigners from member states to mount formal legal challenges to fisheries legislation at an EU level – a practice that was previously impossible. These changes to the CFP come at a critical time for a number of iconic fish species, the long-term survival of which in European waters currently hangs in the balance.

For example, research by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), a key advisor to the EU, has highlighted the imminent threat facing Irish Sea stocks of Dover sole. Stocks are currently being exploited at 88 per cent above sustainable levels and ICES is pushing for a closure of the fishery. Similar threats face stocks of cod in the North Sea and Irish Sea, where fisheries regulators have historically set quotas at levels that have been both technically illegal and often far in excess of scientific advice. The threat to stocks in the Irish Sea is being exacerbated by the large numbers of juvenile fish (or bycatch) currently being discarded by prawn fishing operations.

Tom Appleby, a senior lecturer in law from UWE's department of architecture and the built environment, one of the authors of the report, said, "I have already spoken to a number of environmental groups and fisheries organisations that are considering court action if the reforms set out to the new CFP are not put into practice. The law requires effective management based on scientific evidence and this is what people are expecting."

The new CFP regulations come into force in 2014 and the first serious test comes this week as EU fisheries leaders meet to decide the following year's fishing quotas. The long-term survival in European waters of a number of the continent's most iconic and sought-after fish may well hang on the outcome of these discussions.

Charles Clover, chair of the UK-based Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE), which funded the UWE study, said, "This really is a pivotal moment – we could at last be witnessing the beginning of the end to overfishing in EU waters. The acid test will be this December's meeting of fisheries ministers, though. The fate of sole and other threatened stocks including cod and sea bass in European waters will be closely watched. If quota allocations continue to disregard scientific advice, there could be some real fireworks." Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-12-eu-fishing-reform-legal-overfishing.html#jCp

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-12-eu-fishing-reform-legal-overfishing.html#jCp

Can new EU legislation protect fish stocks?

Karl Mathieson is doing his best for the Guardian to cover the EU Fisheries Council as they hammer out this year's quota figures for over 120 species currently subject to a total allowable catch (TAC) set within the framework of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)

Here's an extract fron the events so far with a major contribution from Callum Roberts attempting to focus on new rules regarding discards:

LIVE! European diplomats meet in Brussels to decide Europe's 2014 fishing quotas, Karl Mathiesen, with your help, investigates whether recent reforms can create a sustainable fishing industry.

Post your views in the comments below, email karl.mathiesen.freelance@guardian.co.uk or tweet @karlmathiesen

11.35am GMT Scientific reaction

Callum Roberts is a marine conservation biologist at the University of York. He tells me that while many aspects of the reformed CFP look good on paper, there are significant challenges for the implementation and policing of the new regime.

He also says that many species will not benefit from simply reducing catch limits. Without marine protected areas, many species will not have safe breeding grounds and zones from which they can replenish their populations. MPAs are not mandatory under the CFP.

Roberts also says that countries are in fact not tied to scientific advice. I have contacted him for more detail on this because he seems to differ from the assessment of Liane Veitch from Client Earth.

Full story LIVE from the Guardian here:

Cousin Jack your country needs you!

On top of becoming the South West Sports Personality of the Year award, Exeter's Jack Nowell closes on England place after smart burst of form - and it could just be that the fishing community of Newlyn has the key to England's success! - here are just two examples of sideline talk doing the rounds as the selectors look to put a team together for next year's Six Nations - 

• He's a natural, says the Chiefs coach Rob Baxter
• Springbok Bryan Habana impressed by young Cornishman Share337

As England prepare to cast their net for fresh Six Nations wingers, it could be that a Cornish fishing community holds the answer. Jack Nowell, the son of a trawler skipper from Newlyn, is not yet a household name but another eye-catching game for Exeter Chiefs against Toulon on Saturday will further improve his chances of promotion to the senior squad in the new year.

Nowell, a member of England's victorious Under-20 World Cup winning side in the summer, has already received an admiring message from the prolific Springbok Bryan Habana after enjoying a fine game for the Chiefs last weekend. He has been a member of the Saxons squad since the summer and Exeter's coach, Rob Baxter, reckons the 20-year-old is emerging as a genuine Six Nations contender in the absence of several other injured wingers including Christian Wade, Marland Yarde, Ben Foden and Ugo Monye.

"I think England should pick their form players and believe their own eyes a little bit," said Baxter. "He's a natural rugby player. You could almost pick him anywhere.

"You get the impression he hasn't got express pace but you never see him get caught. Against Toulon he turned and caught their winger, Rudi Wulf, within five strides. There are not many wingers who are going to leave him for pace defensively. And the truth is he beats so many first defenders he doesn't have to kick too much. Sometimes there seems to be a little fear about pushing through with some of our guys, but all of them could drop into the England environment and perform. What are Jack's performances saying? They're saying he's a good player."

The athletic Nowell grew up overlooking Newlyn fish market and his father, Michael, now owns three trawlers. As a six-year-old, however, he did not immediately take to rugby at the local Penzance and Newlyn club. "I was a bit of a nutter in terms of running around when I was young and my parents thought they'd take me down to mini-rugby. I hated it.

"I sat by my mum's leg and didn't let it go. I was crying for the first three sessions, saying I didn't want to do it and wanting to go home. But as soon as I started scoring tries and running round the whole team, it was different. My dad used to offer me a quid for every try I scored."

Both boys got a heroes welcome after demolishing Wales in this years Under 20s Rugby World Cup - Jack Nowell (R) with proud parents Louisa and Michael Nowell

Both he and his childhood friend from the same Penzance under-six side, Luke Cowan-Dickie, have come a long way since, the pair having shared in England's first Junior Rugby World Cup triumph. Nowell has also overcome his fair share of injuries and could scarcely believe Habana's encouraging words on Twitter this week, the Springbok World Cup-winner stressing he would be following the youngster's progress with considerable interest. "It was faintly surreal. I've been watching him on the television since I was very young and then you see him out here."

An Exeter victory in the south of France would arguably be even more remarkable given the depth of the Toulon squad, but failure will curtail the Chiefs' hopes of qualification from Pool Two. Baxter, however, is taking a longer-term view and has been recalling his maiden speech to the club's supporters after taking over in 2009, with Exeter still in the Championship.

"I said then that being part of an ambitious club is always going to hurt because you want to win. I remember telling them that in a few years' time we might lose to Leicester and it would feel disappointing.

"There were people in the bar saying: 'Rubbish, we'd love to lose to Leicester.' But last week, after we'd lost to Toulon, people were coming up to me going: 'That was disappointing, wasn't it?' We were disappointed because we want to win those games but we think we'll win them one day."

Story courtesy of the Guardian

Joy of Ladram in stormy rescue towed in by Lizard and Penlee lifeboats

Dramatic video footage has been released of an operation in which lifeboat crews worked in darkness to rescue the crew of a broken down fishing boat. The volunteers from The Lizard and Penlee stations worked together in difficult conditions to tow the 20-metre Joy of Ladram to safety. ​

The vessel, which was struck by a gear box failure, was first helped by The Lizard RNLI 33 miles due south of Lizard Point on Thursday. The rescuers responded to their pagers at 4.15pm and by 5.45pm were on scene onboard the Tamar class all-weather lifeboat Rose and started to tow the Newlyn-based gill netter. An RNLI spokesman said the conditions were demanding with a southerly wind of force six to seven and a "big, lumpy sea". 

The team from Penlee lifeboat station, onboard the Severn class all-weather lifeboat Ivan Ellen then launched at 9pm, meeting up with The Lizard lifeboat just after 10pm four miles South West of Lizard Point. The tow was transferred and the Penlee team, which arrived back at its home port of Newlyn at 1am.

Patch Harvey, RNLI coxswain at Penlee lifeboat station, said: "Both lifeboat teams did a good job in tricky conditions. "The big lumpy sea and strong winds made it really uncomfortable getting to the point where we met up with The Lizard lifeboat, but between us we were able to assist the fishing vessel and the five crew onboard, and get them safely in to port for repairs. "It was a good call by Falmouth coastguard to call The Lizard out to start the tow and then for us to take her in to our home port and it meant the volunteer crews could share the work and the time spent at sea overnight."

Read more: 

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New Look CFP 2013 - reactions and comments

Britain will have to “hold the feet of the European Commission to the fire” if the discards ban is to work, the fisheries minister has warned.

George Eustice, said there is a risk of “back-sliding” by Britain's European neighbours on the reforms introduced by the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and that care must be taken to ensure the changes are enforced effectively.

The re-written CFP has now been formally approved by the European Parliament and will come into force in January 2014. But Mr Eustice considers the battle to reform the CFP is only half-won and that implementing the changes, some of which faced stiff resistance before they were agreed by European Union member states, will be just as hard. Getting the reforms agreed meant, he said, that “one of the big hurdles” has been cleared but there is no certainty that Europe’s fishing nations will put them into practice.

Among the reforms are a ban on discarding more than five per cent of a catch back into the sea – current levels can be in excess of 40 per cent, with 1.3 million tonnes of fish being thrown back into the sea dead or dying each year in the North East Atlantic. The ban will be phased in from 2015. Other reforms include a legal requirement for quotas to be set at sustainable levels and a decentralisation of management powers.

“I think we’ve got a good settlement, but I’m under no illusions - there’s a lot of work to do to make sure there’s no back-sliding,” he told Fish2fork. “We’ve got to make sure the rules are enforced in the other countries. We will have to hold the Commission’s feet to the fire to ensure there is compliance. “There’s a lot of work to be done to get the discard ban working and to make sure regional decision-making really does work and is a success. “I think all the right principles are there, but occasionally, as we are all aware, European policy can fall down in the detail.”

Among the details that have still to be decided are what happens to undersized fish that are landed once the discards ban comes in, and how much fishermen should be paid for them, if at all. It has yet to be determined which fish should be exceptions to the discards rule on the grounds that they are likely to survive being caught and tossed back. Enforcement will also be an issue. Mr Eustice, who replaced Richard Benyon fisheries minister in October, is optimistic that the reforms, which he described as “transformative”, will bring huge benefits to Europe’s fisheries but he cautioned that there is a need “to make sure we aren’t the only country that is enthusiastic”. He warned against any fear that the UK will follow the rules more closely than other European countries.

In the past, such as with rule changes to how abattoirs operate, there have been widespread claims that while the UK enforces the rules rigorously – so-called ‘gold-plated’ adherence to the regulations - other nations pay them only lip service. “I’ve always felt the gold-plating allegations are exaggerated. Britain is one-third down the table. We aren’t the best, we aren’t the worst. We are somewhere in the middle,” he said.

Story courtesy of Fish2Fork.