French fishing report - which is their bluest fishery?

It is at times like this, when the UK finds itself with a new Fisheries Bill setting out the terms for the future of the industry in a post-Brexit world that many UK fishermen would dearly love to have an organisation representing them with the depth and scale of the French CNPMEM - their National Committee for Marine Fisheries and Marine Livestock. Membership is compulsory for every organisation and operator in the French industry,

The National Committee for Marine Fisheries and Marine Livestock (CNPMEM) is a professional body governed by private law with public service missions. 

Bringing together all the professions of the fishing and marine farming sector, it represents and ensures the defense of the general interests of the fishermen with the national and Community public authorities. It participates in the management of fisheries resources in the framework of responsible fishing and sustainable development. 

Thus, the CNPMEM is consulted on regulatory measures for the management of fish resources (fish, shellfish, marine plants) or adopts its own regulations to regulate certain fisheries. These decisions are then binding on all the professionals concerned.
It also participates in the implementation of public policies for the protection and enhancement of the environment and the implementation of economic and social actions for the benefit of its members. 

It collaborates with studies and programs aimed at improving maritime safety and scientific programs that provide better knowledge of marine environments and species or improve fishing techniques (increase the selectivity of gear by, for example, changing mesh size on the nets or by providing "exit doors" for non-target species ...).
The CNPMEM is the national level of the professional organization of fisheries and marine farms which also includes regional (12) and departmental or interdepartmental (13) committees located along the metropolitan coast and domains. The committees are all autonomous and independent.

They have just helped fund a report into the environmental impact (within the Blue Economy) that the fishing industry has across a wide range of fisheries.

After two and a half years of work, the ICV Pêche project coordinated by the CNPMEM has just delivered its first results: the environmental performance of French fisheries is variable but, overall, very satisfactory compared to other terrestrial animal productions.

The study of the environmental impacts of French fishing does not stop there and continues with the project IMPECH,  launched in early October 2018. Still coordinated by the CNPMEM and funded by FFP, it brings together professionals and scientists and aims to continue and refine the an initiative initiated by ICV Pêche, focusing in particular on explaining the variability observed for certain fisheries.

The French fishery has made its ecological assessment, screening 15 fisheries. The most virtuous targets included sardine, mackerel and herring.

The ICV fishing survey (life cycle inventory) integrates all consumptions and emissions to produce one ton of fish or shellfish, reduced to its protein portion for comparisons. The materials - ship, gear, equipment - weigh little against the fuel consumption, determining. "The environmental impact is mainly related to fuel efficiency , " says Thomas Cloâtre, who led the project to the National Fisheries Committee (CNPMEM).

Thanks to good yields, the weakest impact can be seen in pelagic trawl, purse seine and ring-net: sardines, herring, mackerel, bluefin tuna, anchovies and tropical tuna. On the other hand, fisheries are penalized by the travel time to fishing areas or low tonnages: albacore tuna, Celtic sea gadids, sole. Behind the pan, champion all categories, the fishing is doing well against meat and aquaculture. The worst positioned: beef and gadidae.

The study incorporated pressure on stocks, targeted or caught accidentally. It is the lowest for single-species fisheries because the measures or quotas are then adapted to the state of the target stock. In contrast, multi-species fisheries increase the risk of threatened species. The impact on the ecosystem is not yet taken into account: it is a perspective, with the integration of other important species and downstream of the sector.

ICV Pêche was funded by Ademe and France fishing industry, and coordinated by the CNPMEM with other professional structures (UAPF, Anop, Fedopa, Sathoan, CITTPM and Aquimer), in connection with INRA, IRD and design offices. Its results will feed the Agribalyse base of the Ademe. They are consistent with those of a global meta-analysis of the environmental cost of various sources of animal protein.

Story courtesy of Solène LE ROUX



The actual report is titled:

ICV Fishing - Life cycle inventories for selected fishery products

Towards an assessment of the environmental performance of fishery products

For many years, the fishing sector has been mobilised to practice sustainable and responsible fishing, based on three pillars: environmental, economic and social. From this point of view, one of the major challenges is to acquire a better knowledge of the impacts of fishing activities on the environment in order to put in place the appropriate practices.

In this context, several stakeholders in the fisheries sector have wished to join the Agribalyse program (www.ademe.fr/agribalyse) proposed by ADEME. This program aims to quantify the environmental impacts of many French food products through the life cycle analysis (LCA) method.

The project "ICV Fishing" is part of this dynamic and aims to evaluate, via LCA, the environmental performance of some fishery products, in particular to show how they can contribute to a sustainable food.

Objectives of the program

The ICV Fishing project has been experimental and has pursued several objectives. First, it aimed to improve knowledge and methodologies for assessing the environmental performance of fishing through LCA. Such a study had never been conducted in France before. A second objective was the production and availability of objective and robust data on the different stages of production of seafood for the evaluation of different types of fishing practices. Ultimately, this project provides a basis for the development of good practices by the fisheries studied.

Case studies

A sample of products representative of the diversity of fishing activities and environmental constraints was sought by the group of project partners. Fifteen "triplets" resulting from the species / fishing area / fishing gear combination have been identified. It is listed below:

• Anchovy - East Central Atlantic - Seine
• Scallop - Bay of St Brieuc - Dredge
• Gadidae (cod, haddock, whiting) - Celtic Sea - Bottom
• trawling Herring - North East Atlantic - Pelagic
• trawl Black Sea - North Sea - Bottom trawling
• Mackerel - North East Atlantic - Pelagic trawl
• Sardine - Eastern Central Atlantic -
• Sardine Sennie - Bay of Biscay - Ring-net
• Sole - Bay of Biscay - Net
• albacore - North East Atlantic - Pelagic trawl
• Bluefin tuna - Mediterranean - Longline
• Bluefin tuna - Mediterranean - Seine
• Tropical tuna (yellowfin and Skipjack tuna) - Eastern Central Atlantic - Seine

The study area covers all fishing activities until the landing of the fish, including any on-board processing activities.

1. Surveys were conducted among the various professionals concerned.
2. An innovative project in contact with professionals
3. This project has been an innovative initiative in several aspects:

The field of study was an originality in itself, since the environmental assessment of French fishery products through the life cycle analysis method was never carried out;

• It involved actors in the sector: professionals and their representatives (UAPF, ANOP, FEDOPA, Sathoan, CITPPM) will ensure the collection of data - essential phase to carry out the analyzes;
• It has brought together scientific experts from several research institutes (INRA, IRD) and specialists in LCA (Cycleco). Providers have also been engaged on certain actions (Mauric, New Wave Innovation Platform, Xavier Joly Conseil).
• The project was coordinated by the CNPMEM over a period of 2 years (2016-2018).

It has been co-financed by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) and France Filière Pêche (FFP), in addition to the self-financing component of the partners. It is followed by the CGDD (General Commissariat for Sustainable Development) of the Ministry in charge of Ecology of MEEM (Ministry of Environment, Energy and the Sea).

First results that jostle the received ideas:

• Unsurprisingly, the main parameter influencing the impact on the environment is the fuel efficiency of the fishery (ie: consumption of diesel per quantity of product landed).
• Initial results suggest that fisheries targeting blue fish (sardines, anchovies, herring, mackerel, tuna, etc.) have the lowest overall environmental impact. This is explained by a lower fuel consumption compared to other trades (benthic trades in particular) and / or large quantities landed.
• Some fisheries could also be penalized because of long travel time and / or fluctuating yields (eg the case of the albacore tuna fishery). Others suffer from a rapid wear of their gear (example of sole fishery net).
• In general, these first results suggest that the environmental performance of fishery products is as good or better than that of meat products derived from terrestrial animal production.
• These results are consistent with other similar international studies (ex: Hilborn et al, 2018)
• However, our study shows a significant variability of these impacts, both between the different fisheries analyzed and between the vessels of the same fishery. Given this variability, it is therefore advisable to remain cautious.

A study that deserves to be deepened and completed to lead to an environmental improvement of tools and practices:

These first results, which will be more finely exploited during the new IMPECH program conducted by the CNPMEM from October 2018 to June 2019, already propose several avenues for improvement, for example:

• As mentioned, it is necessary to analyze and explain the important variability existing between the vessels of the same fishery. This variability could be explained by more or less virtuous practices and / or the heterogeneity of the characteristics of the fishing vessels. and / or fluctuating interannual returns and / or uneven data quality.
• The analysis of the impact on habitats and ecosystems (biotic impacts) appears complex but remains an important issue.
• Taking into account the downstream sector (fish auction, fish trade, etc.), certainly more complex, would make it possible to be more exhaustive in the environmental assessment of fishery products.
• It would also be interesting to analyze, in addition to the environmental aspect, the social and economic components of the sustainability of the fisheries studied.
• Beyond this innovative French initiative, the interoperability of results between the various life cycle analysis programs must also be sought.

Full story courtesy of the Committee National de Peche:

Cefas Inshore Fishing Activity Intensity data tool. (2010-2012)

Fishing activity intensity within 12 nm of the English and Welsh coast. Derived from sightings data from Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon & Severn, Southern, Sussex, Kent & Essex, Eastern, North Eastern, North Western and Northumberland Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authorities (IFCA), and sightings data provided by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). 

The Cefas data page can be accessed here:

Data are presented by gear classes: mobile, static, dredging, trawling, potting, netting and lining & commercial angling. Data from 2010 and 2012 and gridded onto a 0.05 deg. in longitude and 0.025 deg. in latitude cells (approx. 5.5 by 5 km). 

For more details please see the Cefas report to Defra associated with this work: 

Which can be dowloaded here: Cefas report to Defra.

Cefas, UK, 2010-2012. ArcGIS layer showing Inshore Fishing Activity Intensity as determined from fishing vessel sightings.

Flag ships post-Brexit - a Spanish perspective.

Galician boats of British pavilion will be able to continue fishing after "Brexit"

London says it will maintain rights and license conditions to operate in its waters


They are Galicians, but they sail through the waters waving the flag of the Union Jack. They disguise their ships (80 in particular) with British veils to fish in the fishing grounds of Gran Sol and the North Atlantic, where the European Union has limited entry to the Spanish fleet, hungry for quotas. In Galicia they are known shipowners in the ports of Vigo, O Morrazo, Burela, Celeiro or A Coruña, but for their Anglo-Saxon competitors they are pirates who, instead of raiding and looting in the old way, have adopted the strange habit of paying licenses. and taxes to the authorities of the United Kingdom to be able to fish with Galician staff in their territorial waters. And the British fishermen want them out of their seas. With the Brexit they have seen a golden opportunity to expel them and put an end to quota-hopping , as they have called this supposed pillage of their fishing resources. Despite the enormous pressure they have exerted on the Government of Theresa May, the negotiating team of the prime minister is not about the task of taking up arms against the twenty-seven to satisfy historical accountability of her fleet. Not even if the United Kingdom leaves the EU on March 29, 2019 without an amicable divorce agreement.


THE AGREEMENT:

Legal security to continue working. According to the latest working documents of Downing Street, the British Government would be willing to offer legal security to the Galician ships of the British flag to continue fishing after Brexit . "There will be no changes in the rights and responsibilities of vessels registered in the United Kingdom that fish in British waters. They will continue to abide by the respective legislation and the license conditions, including the linked economic criteria ", explained in those documents, without clarifying whether they will continue to issue new permits in the future. 

FIRST QUESTIONS:

What quotas will there be? Can they disembark in Galicia? Ships will be exposed to the arbitrary decision of the British fishing authorities. "We will communicate to the interested parties what their corresponding allocation will be," the document suggests. On the disembarkation in the Galician ports, in the absence of an agreement on Brexit , the EU will close the doors: "There will be no automatic access for British flag vessels to Community or third-country waters (...) British flag will no longer have automatic right to land fish in any EU port" And it will also be vice versa. So the Galician ships that work in the Falklands will have to look for alternative fishing grounds if the EU and the United Kingdom do not extend a truce. 

MARKETING:

The same standards. The United Kingdom expects a left hand from Brussels regarding the commercialisation of fishery products and the mutual access of vessels to ports on both sides of the English Channel, upon notification. London is willing, if it were not possible to close a global agreement, to submit to the same rules of EU control and labeling: "The standards will remain the same, including those that regulate quality, size, weight, packaging, presentation, labeling and minimum sizes of commercialisation ", they assure.

THE EXPORT:

Same certificates. British and EU exporters must request a catch certificate detailing all the information required by the EU today: name of the species, date, method of capture and conservation ... The document should be sent to the competent Port Health Authority to be checked at least three days before the estimated date of arrival at port. Despite the anticipation of the change of rules, the British presage a great impact on supply chains: "Trade is vital, including for aquaculture and the processing sector, so it is important that our new fishing regime allows the industry commercial with the current and new markets". The EU has made it clear that the exit will have a cost. There will be no exchanges if mutual access to the waters is not guaranteed.

Translated by Google from LavozdeGalicia

#FishyFriday in Newlyn.

"To begin at the beginning: It is autmun, moonless night in the small town, starless  and bible-black, the cobblestreets silent and the hunched, courters'-and-rabbits' wood limping invisible down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboatbobbing sea. The houses are blind as moles (though moles see fine to-night in the snouting, velvet dingles) or blind as Captain Cat there in the muffled middle by the pump and the town clock, the shops in mourning, the Welfare Hall in widows' weeds. And all the people of the lulled and dumbfound town are sleeping now."

but not so on Newlyn fish market this fine #FishyFriday morning...

where the netter Govenek of Ladram's hake is up for auction...

along with a inshore trawl fish from boats like the Harvest reaper...

and the beam trawler William Sampson Stevenson...

with her trip of turbot...

and bream...

a few handliners braved yesterday's uncomfortable seas to land a few boxes of mackerel...

as the inshore boats harvested a handful of late season John Dory...

and ray...

more than enough to put smiles on the faces of some buyers...

as others like Sam from Iceberg makes another morning call back to the office to check on prices and weights...,

before joining the bidding war for the best quality flatfish like Dover soles...

plaice...

lemon sole...

monk tails...

and Dory...

outside the market it looks like the freshening weather has forced the Godfather of mackerel handling to knock it on the head early and share a few words of frustration with a younger protegé and market boss young Mr Cripps...

who will be glad to see the back of these red mullet...

big red tub gurnards...

and stacked flats with floor space at a premium yet again this morning...

thanks to all the inshore trawlers like the Elisabeth Veronique making a landing...

forklifts whisk fish away past the yet-to-land netter, Karen of Ladram...

as the Rowse crabber takes a drying out berth for a tide (that's 12 hours to a landlubber)...

looking out between potters and netters...

you can see why Dennis decided not to venture out through the gaps in his 16' punt this morning - one of those days when it's "better to be in looking out than out looking in" as the old saying goes.

GOVE LAUNCHES FISHERIES BILL TO TAKE BACK CONTROL OF UK WATERS

GOVE LAUNCHES FISHERIES BILL TO TAKE BACK CONTROL OF UK WATERS

Camborne (Cornwall) MP for Fishing, George Eustice spoke on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning before the Fisheries Bill was published.




Whatever Defra or the Government says, of all UK fisherman, it is the inshore Under 10m fishermen (who make up over 80% of the workforce) who will most likely to feel the consequences of Brexit and the new Fisheries Bill - and yet, even their collectively fishing effort, which was mostly never taken into account, has little consequence on the overall state of NE Atlantic ICES areas fish stocks.


Defra posted this summary of the Bill:

• The Fisheries Bill is a major milestone in delivering our promise to take back control of our waters, so that we decide who may fish in our waters and on what terms
• It creates the powers to build a sustainable and profitable fishing industry, in the best interests of the whole UK and future generations
• The Bill delivers a Green Brexit by extending powers to protect and enhance our precious marine environment
• Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland to get more decision powers than ever before

Legislation creating the powers the UK needs to operate as an independent coastal state after leaving the EU is being introduced into Parliament today (25 October 2018).

For the first time since 1973, the Fisheries Bill will enable the UK to control who may fish in our waters and on what terms.

The Bill also gives the UK the power to implement new deals negotiated with the EU and with other coastal States and manage fisheries more effectively and sustainably in future.

At its heart the Bill delivers on the UK government’s commitment to sustainable fishing and marine conservation as set out in the 25-Year Environment Plan by:

• Controlling access – by ending current automatic rights for EU vessels to fish in UK waters. In future, access to fish in UK waters will be a matter for the UK to negotiate and we will decide on the terms – foreign vessels would have to follow our rules. These negotiations with the EU are continuing and the Bill will provide us with the powers to implement the agreement
• Setting fishing opportunities – by proposing powers to ensure that the UK can set its own fishing quota and days at sea, which it will negotiate as an independent coastal State. As now, the UK government will consult the Devolved Administrations.
• Protecting the marine environment – by ensuring fisheries management decisions are taken strategically for the benefit of the whole marine environment. The Bill extends powers to the Marine Management Organisation and the Devolved Administrations to protect our seas.

The new legislation also proposes ways in which the UK government and the Devolved Administrations will work together to adopt common approaches to fisheries management in certain areas - including preserving UK vessels’ right to fish across the four zones of UK waters and creating a consistent approach to managing access of foreign vessels. The four fisheries Administrations will set out in a joint statement how they will work together to achieve the Bill’s sustainability objectives.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

“This new Fisheries Bill will allow us to create a sustainable, profitable fishing industry for all of the UK. It will regenerate coastal communities, take back control of our waters and, through better conservation measures, allow our precious marine environment to thrive.

“The Common Fisheries Policy has damaged the UK’s fishing industry and our precious fish stocks. The Bill will deliver a sustainable fishing industry, with healthy seas and a fair deal for UK fishermen.”

The Bill also provides powers to reform fisheries rules. To ensure legal continuity, the EU (Withdrawal) Act transferred CFP rules into UK law. This Bill allows government to amend fisheries legislation to respond to scientific advice and innovation quickly - something the CFP failed to do - and to meet our international obligations.

In addition, the Fisheries Bill introduces powers to create new schemes in England to help seize the opportunities of Brexit. These include:

• a new scheme to help the fishing industry comply with the landing obligation to end the wasteful discarding of fish, and
• powers to tender additional English quota

Forthcoming CFPO video series - meet skippers!

Time to #MeetTheMembers of the @Cornishfpo. Delighted to share this second teaser for our latest creative project - a series of stories fresh from the Cornish coast, exploring what #fish & #fishing mean to this beautiful region.

Stay tuned, the full film series launches from the 29th of October.

Breton fishermen fear the worst - Brexit

The Brexit deadline is approaching and the fishermen are still in the fog. This Saturday, in Quimper, the meeting of the fishing and aquaculture sector in Brittany was an opportunity to recall the major risks expected next year for Breton fleets deprived of access to British waters.

"A hard Brexit is looming. How to anticipate it, what consequences? ". The first dossier debated this Saturday at the BreizhMer conference by the fishing and aquaculture sector in Brittany did not allow to know more about the negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom. On the other hand, the consequences of the recovery of their exclusive economic maritime zone by the British, which could be catastrophic for the Breton fishing industry, were illustrated. It is no coincidence that 92% of anglers across the Channel voted for Brexit (according to academic Mark Wise, quoted on Sunday by France Inter). They consider that the interests of British fishermen were originally sold to facilitate entry into the European Union.

"A vital issue"

It is Jacques Pichon, director of the armament La Houle de Saint-Guénolé (120 employees), which was the most concrete. "50% of the activity of our eleven offshore trawlers is in British waters. In Saint-Guénolé, we are the last armament present, we make live the activities of landing, mareyage, mechanical workshops. The stakes are therefore vital. If there is a failure of negotiations, the first thing we will do to save our business will be to postpone it to other fishing areas. Then there will be the problem of allocation of fishing rights. There will be boat stops, a drop in the supply by auction, job losses "(*).


Uncertainty

The worst, a "hard" Brexit, is not yet sure. Philippe de Lambert des Granges, Brexit project director at the Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, emphasized that we were heading towards a "negotiated Brexit" before the deadline of 30 March 2019.

This would mean that a "withdrawal agreement" from the UK would be worked on for a transitional period of two years until 2021, when a treaty of relationship between the two entities would be signed. Currently, this "negotiated Brexit" is still bogging down on the issue of Northern Ireland.

Shellfish growers too

"At the Breton level, there were 170 boats that at least fished a kilo of fish in British waters," said Philippe de Lambert des Granges. At the national level, they are 520. Of the seven European Union countries concerned by British waters, this activity represents nearly one billion turnover. A closure of these waters would therefore have a very important economic impact with less input (26,000 tonnes at stake estimated at the French level), less trading, trading and ultimately employment ". And not only for the fishing industry. "We have a lot of exchanges with Northern Ireland and Scotland, mainly on oysters," said Philippe Le Gal, chairman of the regional committee for shellfish farming in southern Brittany.


Loser in all cases

The challenge is to limit the damage for the Breton sectors. "Even with a negotiated Brexit, there will be a renegotiation of European quotas, says Jacques Pichon. This will involve new losses for French fishermen, while there is already a shortage of some stocks. This loss of quota will also affect the inshore fishery.

The coming years are therefore very dangerous for the Breton fishermen. No wonder the Bigouden Ambroise Guellec, former secretary of state for the sea under Jacques Chirac from 1986 to 1988, one of the great witnesses invited, wondered about the real political consideration in France of the dangers of Brexit for fishing.

(*) It is estimated that 120 Breton boats, which frequent the waters of the south of England and around Wales, will be impacted by the Brexit (90 deep-sea and about thirty coastal). That's about 50,000 tonnes of fish, which is one-third of the tonnage at auction.


Full story courtesy of Le Telegramme: