The new Fisheries Bill - Whay's changed??

With the advent of a new government, a new Fisheries Bill has begun making its way through the Houses of Parliament. The previous version of the Fisheries Bill, intended to replace the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) following the UK’s exit from the EU, fell at prorogation in late 2019 and so did not complete its passage through Parliament.

The new Bill incorporates much from its previous iteration, fulfilling its primary purpose of allowing the UK to manage its fisheries as an independent coastal state. These main points are covered in our digest of the previous Fisheries Bill. This article covers the significant changes that the new Bill has introduced.

Core Objectives

The new Fisheries Bill has eight core objectives, two more than the previous Bill. Explanations of those that have remained the same can be found in our previous article.

The transition to a bycatch objective from a discards objective marks a change in emphasis in the new Bill. The discards objective focused on the gradual elimination of discards and ensuring that catches were landed. The bycatch objective, on the other hand, seeks to principally mitigate catching of fish below minimum conservation reference size and other bycatch, as well as ensuring that catches are recorded and landed.

The national benefit objective aims to ensure that the work of vessels registered in the UK chiefly brings social or economic benefits to the UK. For instance, by requiring catches to be landed in UK ports, or focusing on employing UK labour.

Defra described the climate change objective as “a new objective to move us towards ‘climate-smart fishing’ in UK waters”. It incorporates both the aim of mitigating fisheries’ contribution to climate change, as well as the promotion of the sector’s adaptation to the effects of climate change.

Joint Fisheries Statement

The main addition to the new Fisheries Bill is the requirement of a joint fisheries statement (JFS). This is a new piece of legislation that would require England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to jointly set out the policies intended to fulfil the Fisheries Bill’s eight objectives. The JFS is designed as a tool to ensure coordinated management efforts between England and the devolved administrations, in particular with regards to sustainability. According to Defra, the purpose of the JFS is “to recognise that, although fisheries is devolved, none of those authorities acting alone could achieve the fisheries objectives”.

Other Changes

• According to this briefing paper for the House of Lords, through which the Fisheries Bill is passing at time of writing, the other main additions are as follows:

• Expanding on financial assistance schemes to replace the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

• Greater regulatory powers to devolved administrations, in particular to Scotland. These include regulations to fulfil the UK’s international obligations towards areas such as conservation or the global fishing industry.

• Allowing Wales (and England) to sell quotas for a year to other vessels of the same nation. This is likely in anticipation of quota increases for Welsh and English vessels, which they may not immediately have the capacity to fulfil.

There is also one significant omission in the new Fisheries Bill. The original Bill included an amendment that required the Secretary of State to pursue two specific negotiating objectives when involved in post-Brexit EU negotiations. The objectives were to determine fishing opportunities through annual UK-EU negotiations, and to restrict access for EU fishing boats, unless UK fishing opportunities exceed what they would have been within the CFP. The previous government stated that this clause was included to “enshrine [a] commitment to secure a fairer share of fishing opportunities for UK fishermen”. The current government has not included the clause, saying that objectives such as these are “not necessary nor the constitutional norm”, in line with other Brexit-related negotiations.

The Future of the Bill

How the Bill will ultimately look when it comes into force depends on several factors. There will almost certainly be amendments, suggested by Peers and MPs, as the Bill progresses through the Houses of Parliament. It is also partly contingent on the results of negotiations concerning a new UK-EU fisheries agreement, which is scheduled to be completed by 1 July 2020. The APPG on Fisheries Secretariat is happy to address any questions concerning the Fisheries Bill and its developments; you can get in touch at secretariat@fisheriesappg.org

Please note that the APPG on Fisheries Secretariat is independently managed, and does not speak on behalf of the government. If you wish to quote any of the APPG’s publications, please get in touch.

Criteria for Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme shared for public consultation

Responsible Sourcing

Seafish, the public body that supports the £10bn UK seafood industry, has today (Wednesday 5 February) launched a public consultation on the Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme (RFPS) which has been updated to apply to all UK fishing ports.

The RFPS is a voluntary programme developed to promote and encourage responsible operating practices within UK fishing ports and harbours, to give greater assurance and transparency to buyers and users of seafood landed in the UK. It is independently audited and accreditation allows ports to demonstrate that they follow good practice across five core areas:

• Food Safety and Structural Integrity, 
• Port and the Working Environment, 
• Care for the Environment, 
• Care of the Catch, and 
• Traceability.

The first phase of developing the standard criteria was completed and approved in 2018, enabling large ports to be certified by the RFPS, with Peterhead Port being the first to achieve certification in 2019. The scheme closed a certification gap in the seafood supply chain, making the UK a world leader in responsible sourcing practices with certification schemes available to cover the UK catch from sea to plate.

Seafish has continued to work closely with members of the UK seafood supply chain to develop a draft of the standard that’s applicable for all ports i.e. one standard covering both large and small ports. Following a series of pilot audits on small ports, the RFPS standard has been updated and it can now be applied to all sizes of UK fishing ports.

Marcus Jacklin, Industry Issues and Insight at Seafish said: “We’re extremely pleased to share for public consultation, the draft standard of the Responsible Fishing Ports Scheme. We’ve worked closely with industry on the criteria development process to make the scheme applicable for all UK ports. I’d encourage all interested stakeholders to take the opportunity to review the standard and submit any feedback now before the standard is finalised and released.”

The public consultation will run until Wednesday 8 April 2020.

A copy of the draft standard and the feedback form are available to download from our RFPS Public Consultation webpage.

How warming waters and an absence of cod could leave the British fishing industry high and dry after Brexit

If the cod are leaving and the hake are moving in, the political calculation around fishing waters may change

As the UK government negotiates a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, fishing remains one of the more politically charged areas.

In 1983, when member states finally signed the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), seven years of negotiations had preceded it, and yet, this time round, an agreement is expected to be completed in a matter of months. The UK is set to become an "independent coastal state", as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea puts it, by 2020.

The CFP has undergone two reformations - in 1992 and in 2002 - so as to better reflect changing fishing patterns and stocks, but Europe's waters are still largely governed by the original framework.

Simply put, while catch allowances change annually as dictated by scientific advice on fish stocks, the percentage each nation is allocated remains the same, all thanks to "relative stability".

Unsurprisingly, fishers in the likes of France and Spain want to keep their percentages and would likely close their markets to Britons if the figures agreed fall short of their demands.

But British fishers have been promised more.

It is a complicated situation already, but then we also have climate change to contend with. Not only do fishers want higher quota, but there is also increasing evidence to suggest Europe's waters are warming, and its fish are on the move.

How is the UK supposed to argue the case for greater catch allowances for fish that might not be in British waters in 30 years? And how should Europe respond when its traditional fish, its favourite dinner time staples, are moving north, to seas uncharted?

This issue is most easily recognised in cod and hake, two fairly similar white fish.

Relative instability

For decades, cod has been the British choice - flaky, tender and served in golden batter, it is a national pin-up and a Friday night icon.

Hake, meanwhile, is dished up in France and Spain regularly, and is so popular in the latter it is even cooked at Christmas as a main event.

A new report says cod might yet be forced out of British waters by as early as 2050. Hake is arriving. Let's hope it's welcome.

The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP), backed by the government, has assessed how fish will respond to warming seas. The analysis, first reported by The Telegraph, suggested British fishing communities may struggle to survive if they're unable to adapt to changing seas.

Cod is one of the species identified to move north - many fishers suggest it already is - while fish such as hake will move in. Again, reports say it already is. Catch nearly doubled from 2012 to 2016, according to Seafish figures.

"Hake is doing very well, it's booming, it's a success story" Andrew Clayton, who directs the charitable group Pew's Ending Overfishing in Northwestern Europe project, told i.

"But British boats have the quota to fish for cod - French and Spanish boats catch more hake. It's all down to historical rights, which were agreed in 1983. There were attempts to be fair.

"There is evidence to suggest stock patterns are changing. Readjustment to distribution might be needed; this is a political issue. It's historical fishing rights versus geography."

Trouble in the North Sea

There are British boats that fish for hake. One of the best-known is the Ajax, which lands in Newlyn, Cornwall, and supplies some of the top restaurants in the country. But they operate off the South West, where waters are warmer already.

Newlyn hake netter Ajax

More likely to be trouble is in the North Sea, where fishers from the east coast of England and from Scotland harvest, and where cod has long been the choice.

"By 2050 climate-driven changes in suitable available habitat could become a major constraint on some commercial species' distributions in the North Sea," the MCCIP report claimed.

Previous data revealed warming has been most pronounced to the north of Scotland and in the North Sea, where sea-surface temperature has increased by up to 0.24°C per decade, scientists say.

The report also predicted that UK seas will increase in temperature by up to 0.4°C per decade if emissions carry on unabated.

Samuel Stone, head of fisheries and aquaculture at the Marine Conservation Society, said to i: "It's clear things are changing and stocks are moving.

"It appears North Sea cod are moving north, but to what extent, and how quickly, we don't know. It's unclear."

Both Mr Clayton and Mr Stone said it is not only a matter of fish "moving north" that is the issue, but also fluctuating numbers and migratory routes. Juvenile fish may be spawning in new locations, for example, while adults might choose to breed in other areas. These complexities only serve to make legislation more difficult.

Decades-old agreements

"Populations are just as important," said Mr Stone. "Fish are found in different areas now, it's not just a case of north and south.

"This might be associated with climate change. More work is needed to understand what's happening. Allocations were decided decades ago, so political decisions need to be made to reflect what's going on now. We must respond to changes."

Of course all of this will probably have an economic slight on fishers - if a Brexit deal isn't made, British fleets could suffer. Especially if the relative stability model isn't updated.

"There are economic problems," Griffin Carpenter, from the New Economic Foundation, said to i.

"A lot of British fleets will have to travel farther to catch their fish, which means more days at sea, increasing crew and fuel costs."

And British fishers might only be willing to travel so far.

Politics vs science

"I have heard warming waters are bringing in new species, which British fishers haven't caught traditionally.

"This is about tension between politics and science. We have a static political system and a dynamic ecosystem.

"Allowances need to be changed, but it took seven years to negotiation the CFP the first time round - we only have a few months to agree Brexit."

The report didn't only mention cod and hake. Warming waters could see a greater presence of sardines and sole - no bad thing, necessarily - while shellfish production could falter - which is less appealing and disruptive to the status quo.

There's also what fish feed on to consider. Sandeels are also at risk, the report said, which are a major source of food for cod.

Mackerel is another potential hazard because it is said to be moving increasingly into Icelandic waters, which means Icelanders have been emboldened to claim more of the fish for themselves.

i has contacted the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

By Josh Barrie for the inews.co.uk
Monday, 24th February 2020, 4:42 pm

'Gentleman' Jim Nixon 1950-2020

You don't happen to acquire the sobriquet, 'Gentleman Jim' for no good reason - Jim Nixon acquired that nickname as a mark of respect from fellow fishermen and others in the industry with whom he came into contact...

After fishing from Brixham and Plymouth Jim (middle) talking to Peter Neil (left) sailed with Newlyn longline skipper, Robert George (right) in the summer of 1978 to learn the ropes aboard the Scarlet Thread...

but they must have had one hell of a season because Jim went on to buy the boat the following year from Robert who then took command of the newly built seiner, Dew-Genen-Ny - both men putting their faith in seine netting as the preferred fishing method of the future...

mate aboard the Scarlet with Jim was Pete Bromley (now Plymouth Harbourmaster) the two of them seen here inspecting the exhaust...

of the Scarlet Thread, Jim continued to seine net and trawl from Newlyn in the 80s and early 90s until returning to commercial diving which took him all over the UK and well beyond on a wide range of jobs.  

One of the genuine good guys.

Jim Nixon passed away on Wednesday 5th February 2020 peacefully at home aged 69 years. Father of Katie, Kalim, Alexander and Justine and grandfather of Liam, Kaelyn, Henry and Alfie. The funeral service is at Treswithian Downs Crematorium on Monday 24th February at noon.

Spanish flag boat, Monte Mazanteu FD521 lands nearly 500 boxes of fish - but not one on Monday morning's market in Newlyn!

The ring netter Mayflower was the first boat to test the weather in the bay last night

 for shot of late season sardines...

while a few handliners also managed to land a few boxes of mackerel...

the netter Silver Dawn...

 landed top quality pollack...

the beam trawler Resurgam landed the usual beam trawl mix of fish like plaice...

and Dover sole...

as did the James RH...

at least the local fish shops will have fresh supplies to start the week...

though there won't be many of these JDs on their slabs...

big gurnards made excellent money...

and there are still shots of cuttles to be had working off the Devon coast...

both auctions were in full swing this morning...

with big smiles from one auctioneer in particular, young Ryan all smiles and in full flow...

there were a few big turbot...

and monk heads are now saved by the beam trawlers for bait...

while down the end of the Mary Williams pier the Fleetwood registered Spanish flag of convenience boat, Monte Mazanteu

which has been fishing over 100 miles south west of Newlyn in deep water on the edge of the Continental Shelf...

made ready to land to the back of a Spanish lorry...

under watchful eyes of the local MMO crew...

nearly 500 boxes...

of mainly monk fish...

that's around 17 tons of prime fish...

with no economic net benefit to the UK...

  other than payment of landing dues to the harbour...

all lit up, the Govenek of Ladram is taking advantage of the appalling weather to get the hull anti-fouled and overhauled while she is up on the slip.

One of our buoys is missing.

Weather data that records temperature, wave height, wind speed and direction etc is constantly transmitted from an array of buoys that surround the UK to help confirm forecast accuracy...

but despite the love shown, buoy 62039 would appear to have parted its anchor...

Buoy 62029 station large red triangle

and drifted a considerable distance from its intended station...

skipper Tristan and netting fleet owner Anthony finish up sorting nets from...

the netter Silver Dawn after landing 11 tons of fish and an 8 hour beam-on steam in poor weather...

despite a growth in the home consumption much of the fish landed in Newlyn is still exported to the EU, this lorry is bound for Spain...

warps are regularly replaced on the trawl fleet...

Mount view...

looks like the Sara Shaun is high and dry at low water...

with an ver-changing display of contemporary art, Coddiwomple, the latest gallery to open its doors in Newlyn.

Almost fishless #FishyFriday.

By 6:30pm there's not a single box of fish in the second grader chill room......

or left in the inshore fridge...

whichever end you look from - two local inshore boats landed a mix of mackerel and pollack, tope, whiting and herring this morning - you can see an up-to-date spreadsheet of what fish has been landed at Newlyn here...

meanwhile, the netters Ocean Pride and Joy of Ladram are about to make their way out to sea through the gaps.