Pew response fails to address EU fishing sector concerns over misleading information

The response from Europêche:

It is disappointing that your response fails to address the issues that we have raised. We drew attention to the startling divergence between the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) view and Pew's claims about fishing pressure and the state of the stocks off North Western Europe.

To reiterate, ICES is unambiguous:

"Over the last ten to fifteen years, we have seen a general decline in fishing mortality in the Northeast Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. The stocks have reacted positively to the reduced exploitation and we're observing growing trends in stock sizes for most of the commercially important stocks. For the majority of stocks, it has been observed that fishing mortality has decreased to a level consistent with Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) – meaning levels that are not only sustainable but will also deliver high long term yields.”

Eskild Kirkegaard, Chair, ICES Advisory Committee

By contrast, Turning the Tide, makes the assertion that:

• Fishing in recent decades, in pursuit of food and profit, off  North West Europe has dramatically expanded
• Calls by scientists and environmentalists to reduce fishing pressure have been ignored
• Many fish stocks collapsed throughout the region
• The reformed CFP should prove a successful first step in restoring and maintaining the health of the fisheries and fish stocks

Both descriptions cannot be true.

It is not clear from your letter whether you consider that ICES science is wrong, or inadequate, or whether you think there has been a dramatic recovery in fish stocks since March. We still remain in the dark about your motivations for publishing such a misleading report.

The following graph representing 50 stocks is taken from ICES and illustrates that from the year 2000 there has been a dramatic reduction in fishing mortality in the North East Atlantic and this accounts for ICES’ conclusions that we are not only fishing sustainably but are on track to deliver high long term yields (MSY).

We look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Javier Garat                                                                                                  Pim Visser       

President of Europêche                                                                               President of EAPO         

Thank fish for #FishyFriday!

Despite the appalling weather for much of this week yesterday saw a number of hardy fishermen put to sea in order to keep the market at Newlyn supplied with fish...

among that handful boats was the New Harmony who managed to shoot and haul a few tiers of nets and pick up some bass...

and a colourful mix of individual species...

though it seems that the weather has also increased the hunger of the predatory local seal population who came looking for an easy feed like these monk tails...

luckily the bass gear used by the local Newlyn inshore boats were free from such interference...

instead the buyers were more than happy to pay up to £10 per kilo for the best bass on the market...

wrasses always come out in force in bad weather and yesterday was no exception...

as the last of the fish were haggled over...

by merchants desperate to supply their customers...

the fish soon taken away...

these grey mullet looked stunning...

with the wind now dropped the harbour is almost empty of boats...

with just those waiting for repairs held back in port...

it's time to head back to base.

Alive alive O!

Of a dozen boxes of bass on the market this morning - and some were still alive!

"Quay Issues" talks Discards and the LO - free from Seafish and out now!

QUAY ISSUES is a magazine for the fishing industry. It tells stories unearthed during our annual Survey of the UK Fishing Fleet. Quay Issues looks at the challenges facing the industry and the creative and innovative approaches vessel owners are taking to overcome them.

In this video, we examine how trawl manufacturers and fishermen are working together to reduce unwanted bycatch by developing selective fishing gear which conform with the new EU Landing Obligation - banning the discarding of fish at sea.

Read the full story in QUAY ISSUES, available for FREE from Seafish.

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Film and post production: Beard Askew Productions

Assistant Producer: Robyn Gollifer

Produced and Directed by Jade Beard

Executive Producer for Seafish: Kirsten Milliken

Don’t dredge up old arguments when it comes to fishing for scallops

This article by Anne-Margaret Anderson, Policy Coordinator for the Scottish White Fish Producer's Organisation appeared in The Scotsman this week:

"Every year, swathes of our countryside are tilled so that crops can be grown to feed a rising population. There is nothing remarkable about this – we have become accustomed to the sight of tractors and combine harvesters working the land for our collective benefit. Meanwhile, in the waters around our shores a similar technique is deployed by fishing boats to catch scallops.

Yet dredging – the use of mesh-­covered metal frames to gather these tasty, nutritious molluscs which are highly regarded for their quality around the world – is condemned in some quarters as a form of environmental vandalism.

MFV Albion, the UK's largest scallop dredger.

It may surprise you to hear that I’m not going to use this opportunity to claim scallop fishing is angelic in nature, leaving no impact on the seabed. I’d rather deal in facts and have a ­constructive debate on the issue of scallop fishing. I invite the ever-growing number of environmental groups and campaigners to join me in doing so. You see, it has been a rather long and frustrating year for hard-working scallop fishermen – they have faced the wrath of the Greens on what seems to have been an almost daily basis.

Golden Promise, typical inshore scalloper. 

From ludicrous claims that scalloping endangers the lives of dolphins to countless calls in the newspapers, on social media and in campaign letters to national governments to ban all scallop fishing, our fishermen have come under constant public attack.

I cannot think of any other profession in our society where employees need to continually justify their right to work. Scallop fishing isn’t perfect, but few human activities are. What we need to remember is that fishing is one of the most tightly regulated activities in the EU, with closely monitored rules in place to limit activity and ensure that substantial areas of important marine habitat are adequately protected. In many areas around our coastline scallop fishermen have fished the same patch of the seabed for generations – areas more often than not consisting of sand and gravel as it is these conditions that scallops like to settle in.

Of course the Greens, from the comfort of their city centre offices, will have you believe scallop fishermen prefer to trawl carelessly over a dense reef of living creatures, smashing oysters, fan mussels, soft corals, sponges and sea pen in a never-ending race to line their pockets. This sounds like a horrific form of environmental destruction. While I understand the need to sometimes not let the truth get in the way of a good story, we must focus on the facts and educate ourselves in the reality of this form of sustainable fishing activity.
Sensationalist propaganda can be unbelievably harmful when it jeopardises livelihoods. Our fishermen, who continually demonstrate their dedication to environmental sustainability, deserve more respect than that.

Contrary to popular belief, scallop fishermen aren’t rough environmental vandals. They’re hard-working men who risk their lives daily to go out to sea to feed their families and make a living, providing vital employment opportunities in fragile coastal communities.

Ask yourself who benefits the most from healthy and productive seas? It’s not those who sign petitions to ban fishing because they believe unless they do so our marine eco-system will suffer irreversible damage. Rather, it’s the fishermen themselves and the communities they support. They are the true custodians of the sea with the real vested interest in ensuring that the sea continues to provide a living for many more ­generations to come."

Scallop fishermen were incensed by the very narrow minded approach taken by the HFW FishFight TV programme that took a rather biased and exaggerated view of the fishing method to make a point. So it was no surprise to see some reaction on social media channels. The article provoked some robust exchanges, one of which is reproduced below - the semblance of a dialogue taking place between two opposing parties.

When the wind blows....

Despite a gale lashing the Western Approaches for the last 48 hours two boats landed for the market this morning...

with a selection of quality flat fish like these lemons...

Doversole...

and plaice...

along  with the beam trawler's favourite, monk fish...

giving one new recruit to the industry a chance to practice IDing fish by species...

with some rare for these days fish like these mackerel...

and bass which will soon be absent from the market should the proposed bass ban come into effect as planned in the new year...

at this time of the year many of the beam trawlers target cephalapods like these octopus...

but far more abundant species like these cuttlefish from the Cornishman...

and the St Georges...

not a single box of net fish on the market despite it being a neap tide when they would normally be landing part trips...

keeping the buyers very short of fish to share between them and pass on to their customers...

with the forecast possibly easing tonight a few of the bigger boats like the Cornishman might decide to stick their noses out through the gaps later this evening...

ID this fish by its fin...

caught by the Twilight...

with just a handful of boxes to sell...

even the port's biggest trawler has tied up for weather...

along with the rest of the fleet...

so it is likely that the market will be in darkness tomorrow morning...

while the fleet shelters form the passing gale...

giving Tom little to watch over other than fellow sailors in much bigger ships...

under dark and stormy morning skies.

Bass: "An immediate death sentence" for handlining

The platform of the small French artisanal fishing and trolling association of advanced Britain denounced the proposal from the European Commission to ban the bass fishing during the first six months of the year in the Channel and North Sea, sign "a death sentence" for these small-scale fishermen. The testimony of Michel Lesage fisherman is clear: since the transition to 42 cm, already, "the business is no longer viable". These measures will complete the ...

The French small-scale fishing platform on alert "the loss of hundreds of jobs and sudden withdrawal of an entire economic sector". It denounces "absolute nonsense". The bar is a vital species for small-scale fishing fleet of (netters and trollers), representing over 1000 boats and 2000 sailors for the whole northeast Atlantic. If they are highly dependent on this resource, they "are in no way responsible for the present catastrophic situation".

"The Commission does realize that with such a moratorium, fishermen we represent will not be around when the stock will be restored? Even their ships no longer worth anything ... They are, instead, large vessels, primarily responsible for the situation, and ability to refer to other species, which will once again be enriched through bar .. . An aberration! "

The platform emphasizes that the transition to 42 cm was extremely brutal for small businesses in the northern zone, some to reject the majority of their catch. She recalled the seasonal nature of fishing and the importance of spring for many ships.

Making the distinction between offshore and coast

Even in the position of content troll the tip of Brittany. They had anticipated the capture size to 42 cm and monthly limitations, but this moratorium "as a surprise that nobody had imagined even in the darkest scenarios". They depend on the bar to more than 80% without any possibility of diversification: no other species angling and mostly too small boats to consider a conversion to nets or traps. "Small boats are not responsible for the collapse of bar stock, and it is to them that we would pay full price?, Protest trolling. The large trawlers behind the looting of spawning grounds will with ease directing their fishing activities to other parts of Europe, target other demersal or pelagic species, and enjoy full restoration of bar stock when it will be effective. Trolling, they, unfortunately, will not be around to enjoy it. "

The association calls for introducing in the implementation of this moratorium, "a distinction between broad areas of vital for the reproduction of the species and coastal areas necessary for the maintenance of vital craft in the life of coastal communities ".

The totally incoherent European Commission

These two structures are reminiscent of the strong measures it had proposed, together with other small European fishermen (British, Dutch), through their organization Life (Low Impact Fischermen of Europe): a two-month moratorium for all areas of January 15 15 March and an additional moratorium of two months for the open sea, where the reproduction occurs (extending the prohibition of fishing on spawning from December 15 to April 15). "These measures, combined with the increase in size capture and monthly catch limits allow reasonable hope for a return to a satisfactory level of stock as early as 2020. "

Beyond stupor, incomprehension dominates. "What happened to the fine words of the European Commission: to preserve inshore fishing, giving priority access to resources to activities having the least environmental impact? There is a gap that no one understands. "The situation is" grotesque and delirious ". The fishermen are asking the seizure of STECF (Scientific Council, Technical and Economic Fisheries) to establish the socio-economic impacts on small-scale fisheries management measures proposed.

And why target the recovery of the stock in 2017 while the fisheries policy provides back later in 2020 when social and economic constraints are too strong? Simple political calculation, require much to hope that the European Council of Ministers compromise in December to an acceptable level? Fishermen also warn of the total lack of management of bar stock in the Bay of Biscay, that might lead to the same effects.

Extract from a Fench journal: