This document sets out the initial intentions of the European Commission concerning the
fixing of total allowable catches (TACs) and effort levels in European waters and for
European fishers in 2014. Member States and Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) are invited
to provide their views to the Commission for consideration before a final decision is taken on
the Commission's proposals.
The state of fish stocks in European Atlantic and nearby waters continues to improve. More
stocks are exploited within their maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels. Knowledge about
the state of stocks in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea is also improving.
Overfishing should continue to be phased out. The main instruments to do this are
adjustments in levels of fishing opportunities, with adaptations to the permitted structure of
fishing gear to improve selectivity.
Following the expected adoption of the reform of the
Common Fisheries Policy, based on a proposal from the Commission1, it is anticipated that
from 2014 obligations to land all fish caught will gradually come into force on a fishery-byfishery basis. This should also improve fish stock conservation.
Ending overfishing will mean greatly reducing the risk of commercial fish collapses,
improving the profitability of fishing fleets, lowering carbon emissions and fuel consumption
and ensuring a more stable and reliable supply of fish to consumers. It also means reducing
the impact on the marine environment and on vulnerable species such as dolphins and corals.
These actions will contribute to achieving good environmental status by 2020 as provided for
by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive2
.
Ending overfishing is also part of the solution to ending discards as more fish will have a
chance to grow to a valuable size and it will be much easier for fishermen to take catches of
good-sized fish without taking the smaller fish.
For the full paper click here.
Thursday 13 June 2013
Waterford in Ireland - sea tragedy claims 3 brothers
A small coastal community in Co Waterford is shrouded in tragedy this morning following the deaths of three brothers who drowned when their fishing boat capsized.
The bodies of Shane, 44, Kenny, 47, and Paul, 49, Bolger were recovered from the water about half a mile off Brownstown Head near Tramore yesterday evening after a local fisherman in Passage East raised the alarm when the men failed to return from an early morning excursion.
The tragedy has left three children fatherless, including 4-year-old Martha-Kay and 15-year-old Calum Bolger, the children of Shane, as well as Rachel, 12, Paul’s daughter. Kenny was single and lived in Passage with his mother Margaret Bolger. The men are survived by two brothers, Anthony and Michael, and two sisters, Lynda and Paula.
Paul, whose twin sister Paula lives in Amsterdam, was due to celebrate his 50th birthday on Jul 17 and it is understood Paula intended to travel home for the occasion. Shane was living in the Crooke area of Passage and Paul in nearby Cheekpoint.
Last night, Paula wrote on Facebook “What a tragedy in my family today, my three brothers lost doing what they loved their whole lives, fishing for a living. I am devastated.”
There were numerous Facebook tributes posted to the brothers from Ireland, the US, Germany, and Turkey.
The tragedy was compounded by the fact they were experienced fishermen. A relative said they were well known across the whole area and “considered really nice decent lads”. The men’s fishing boat, the Dean Leanne, remained anchored, and is due to be recovered today.
Parish priest Fr Brian Power last night extended his sympathy to the Bolger family on behalf of the parishes of Killea, Crooke and Faithlegg. “I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the families of the men that drowned — Paul, Shane and Kenny — and also to their mother Margaret. The community is in deep shock at the enormity of this tragedy and we wish to assure the families of our prayers and our full support at this very sad time.”
The scale of the tragedy began to unfold after 5pm when the Irish Coast Guard Centre was alerted after the men had not returned from an early morning fishing trip out in Tramore Bay where it is understood they were securing lobster pots. After the emergency call was made to the coastguard, the Tramore Lifeboat and Dunmore East Lifeboat as well as the Coast Guard Search and Rescue helicopter went to the scene, but the men were dead by the time they were recovered from the water. They were wearing lifejackets at the time.
Autopsies are due to be carried out at Waterford Regional Hospital this morning. It is believed they died from hypothermia.
Waterford county councillor Pat Fitzgerald, who is from Dunmore East and whose wife is related to the Bolger family, was at the harbour in Dunmore East as the bodies were being taken ashore. The Sinn Féin councillor said the community was angered and saddened. “We have had more than our fair share of these deaths down here and these people are being found in situations where they are forced to go to sea with equipment that is only suitable for the [Waterford] Estuary.
“These men would have been trawler men and when their jobs disappeared they were forced back into small boats again. It is almost impossible for them to make a living; it’s a shocking state of affairs.”
Gardaí in Tramore are investigating the cause of the tragedy and an inquiry will also be mounted by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board.
Story courtesy of the Irish Examiner.
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Nephrops, langoustine, prawn and scampi - Cefas Endeavour goes to the prawns!
This year we are heading out into the calmer waters of a warming June in contrast to the usual bracing October swells. This change of timing means that we survey before the start of the main trawling season and hopefully avoid the murky conditions caused by the fishing gear stirring up the fine sediments where the nephrops construct their burrow systems. The revised strategy has paid dividends so far, with smooth camera sledge towing conditions and lovely clear waters to count burrows in.
Nephrops (scientific name Nephrops norvegicus) are also known as langoustine, Dublin bay prawns, Norwegian lobsters or the more familiar scampi. They have a wide area of distribution across European waters, from Iceland to the southern coast of Portugal, Morocco and throughout the Mediterranean. As well as being one of the most valuable catches for the UK fishing industry, Nephrops are the only crustacean fishery in European waters subject to EU quotas. These are decided acting on the advice of ICES (the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas) member countries with interests in the fishery, who perform standardised surveys to obtain an index of the Nephrops population status. Our Nephrops TV survey contributes population estimates for the biggest Nephrops fishery in English waters in the Farn Deeps, off the NE coast in the North Sea.
Nephrops excavate burrows in soft muddy sediments. Their burrow entrances have a distinctive appearance, with a semi-circular "arched" entrance and a "driveway" formed from excavated material and usually showing their tracks. With training and practice, it is possible to distinguish between the burrows of Nephrops and those of other bottom-dwelling creatures. So that is our task for the next 10 days; staring at a TV screen, counting holes in the seabed, and taking pictures of mud, 24/7. Ah the glamorous life of a fisheries biologist!
With thanks to Karen aboard the Cefas Endeavour.
Nephrops (scientific name Nephrops norvegicus) are also known as langoustine, Dublin bay prawns, Norwegian lobsters or the more familiar scampi. They have a wide area of distribution across European waters, from Iceland to the southern coast of Portugal, Morocco and throughout the Mediterranean. As well as being one of the most valuable catches for the UK fishing industry, Nephrops are the only crustacean fishery in European waters subject to EU quotas. These are decided acting on the advice of ICES (the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas) member countries with interests in the fishery, who perform standardised surveys to obtain an index of the Nephrops population status. Our Nephrops TV survey contributes population estimates for the biggest Nephrops fishery in English waters in the Farn Deeps, off the NE coast in the North Sea.
Nephrops excavate burrows in soft muddy sediments. Their burrow entrances have a distinctive appearance, with a semi-circular "arched" entrance and a "driveway" formed from excavated material and usually showing their tracks. With training and practice, it is possible to distinguish between the burrows of Nephrops and those of other bottom-dwelling creatures. So that is our task for the next 10 days; staring at a TV screen, counting holes in the seabed, and taking pictures of mud, 24/7. Ah the glamorous life of a fisheries biologist!
With thanks to Karen aboard the Cefas Endeavour.
Tuesday 11 June 2013
Gannets defend their exclusive fishing rights!
Colonies of gannets maintain vast exclusive fishing ranges despite doing nothing to defend their territory from rival colonies, scientists have discovered.
A team of researchers led by the University of Exeter and the University of Leeds observed that northern gannets, which can fly hundreds of kilometres on a single fishing trip, avoided visiting the fishing grounds of gannets from neighbouring colonies.
The findings, published in the journal Science, could transform our understanding of animals' foraging patterns because individual gannets do nothing to enforce this territory or communicate its boundaries when out at sea. A bird entering from a neighbouring colony would be free to fly and fish unhindered. Researchers from more than 14 institutions in the UK, Ireland and France tracked the flights of nearly 200 northern gannets flying from 12 colonies around the British Isles. Rather than seeing criss-crossing flight paths as the birds headed out from their colonies, they found themselves plotting a strictly segregated map. The most striking example was seen off the west coast of Ireland where gannets from two colonies, Bull Rock and Little Skellig, are within sight of each other yet head off in different directions.
The explanation has nothing to do with territorial behaviour, but instead seems to be a matter of mathematics reinforced by the culture of colonies. Dr Thomas Bodey, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Exeter and joint-lead author of the study, said: "Gannets get their chance when shoals of fish are forced to the surface, often by predatory whales and dolphins, but when the gannets start plunging into the water and feeding on a shoal, the fish start diving. You have to be one of the first gannets to get there and that is where the maths comes in: if you go into an area that is being used by birds from a closer colony, there is a higher chance that individuals from that colony will be there first. The same applies when waste is being thrown off the backs off trawlers, another key feeding opportunity for gannets. Cultural transmission within the colonies then seems to reinforce the geographical calculus. "
Gannets readily follow each other when at sea. Finding such separation between colonies, even when visible from each other, indicates that competition for food cannot be the only explanation and suggests cultural differences between colonies may be important. As with humans, birds have favoured routes to travel, and if new arrivals at a colony follow experienced old hands then these patterns can quickly become fixed, even if other opportunities potentially exist," Dr Bodey said.
The northern gannet is Europe's largest seabird, with a wingspan of around 2m, and nests on steep cliffs and rocky islands. Attaching the matchbox-sized satellite transmitters and GPS loggers used to track the birds was sometimes a major challenge. At the biggest mainland UK colony at Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire, a military abseiling team from the Joint Services Mountain Training Wing was called in to help.
Professor Stuart Bearhop, Professor of Animal Ecology at the University of Exeter, said: "We understand an awful lot about what these seabirds do on land, but until recently we knew shockingly little about what they do at sea. The technology is now allowing us to leave the coast with them and we are discovering more and more of these amazing and unexpected patterns." The UK supports between 60 -70 per cent of the world's northern gannets and the discovery that colonies depend on particular sea areas has implications for the location of marine protected areas and offshore energy development.
The research also has wide ranging implications for our understanding of animal behaviour. Co-author Dr Keith Hamer, Reader in Animal Ecology in the University of Leeds' Faculty of Biological Sciences, said: "How many other species that we assumed would not show segregation actually do? There is no reason to believe that gannets are unique."
Read more: Full story courtesy of the Cornishman
The findings, published in the journal Science, could transform our understanding of animals' foraging patterns because individual gannets do nothing to enforce this territory or communicate its boundaries when out at sea. A bird entering from a neighbouring colony would be free to fly and fish unhindered. Researchers from more than 14 institutions in the UK, Ireland and France tracked the flights of nearly 200 northern gannets flying from 12 colonies around the British Isles. Rather than seeing criss-crossing flight paths as the birds headed out from their colonies, they found themselves plotting a strictly segregated map. The most striking example was seen off the west coast of Ireland where gannets from two colonies, Bull Rock and Little Skellig, are within sight of each other yet head off in different directions.
The explanation has nothing to do with territorial behaviour, but instead seems to be a matter of mathematics reinforced by the culture of colonies. Dr Thomas Bodey, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Exeter and joint-lead author of the study, said: "Gannets get their chance when shoals of fish are forced to the surface, often by predatory whales and dolphins, but when the gannets start plunging into the water and feeding on a shoal, the fish start diving. You have to be one of the first gannets to get there and that is where the maths comes in: if you go into an area that is being used by birds from a closer colony, there is a higher chance that individuals from that colony will be there first. The same applies when waste is being thrown off the backs off trawlers, another key feeding opportunity for gannets. Cultural transmission within the colonies then seems to reinforce the geographical calculus. "
Gannets readily follow each other when at sea. Finding such separation between colonies, even when visible from each other, indicates that competition for food cannot be the only explanation and suggests cultural differences between colonies may be important. As with humans, birds have favoured routes to travel, and if new arrivals at a colony follow experienced old hands then these patterns can quickly become fixed, even if other opportunities potentially exist," Dr Bodey said.
The northern gannet is Europe's largest seabird, with a wingspan of around 2m, and nests on steep cliffs and rocky islands. Attaching the matchbox-sized satellite transmitters and GPS loggers used to track the birds was sometimes a major challenge. At the biggest mainland UK colony at Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire, a military abseiling team from the Joint Services Mountain Training Wing was called in to help.
Professor Stuart Bearhop, Professor of Animal Ecology at the University of Exeter, said: "We understand an awful lot about what these seabirds do on land, but until recently we knew shockingly little about what they do at sea. The technology is now allowing us to leave the coast with them and we are discovering more and more of these amazing and unexpected patterns." The UK supports between 60 -70 per cent of the world's northern gannets and the discovery that colonies depend on particular sea areas has implications for the location of marine protected areas and offshore energy development.
The research also has wide ranging implications for our understanding of animal behaviour. Co-author Dr Keith Hamer, Reader in Animal Ecology in the University of Leeds' Faculty of Biological Sciences, said: "How many other species that we assumed would not show segregation actually do? There is no reason to believe that gannets are unique."
Read more: Full story courtesy of the Cornishman
Cornish sardine fishery (Sardina pilchardus) conducted by the Cornish Sardine Management Association (CSMA) Year 3 Surveillance Audit
MacAlister Elliott and Partners Ltd. (MEP) hereby announces that the third annual
surveillance audit for the above fishery is scheduled to take place on the 18th July 2013 in
Newlyn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. All surveillance activities will therefore be completed by
the 16th August 2013, 9 weeks past the certificate anniversary date. A variation request
regarding this matter was sent to the MSC on the 7thMay 2013. For the variation request and
the subsequent MSC approval, please visit this link: http://www.msc.org/track-afishery/fisheries-in-the-program/certified/north-east-atlantic/cornwall-sardine/assessmentdetails
The Cornish sardine fishery (Sardina pilchardus) conducted by the Cornish Sardine
Management Association (CSMA) received MSC Certification on the 18th June 2010 from the
Certification Body, MRAG Americas. The surveillance audit will examine whether the Cornish
Sardine Management Association (CSMA) is satisfactorily addressing any certification
conditions and whether any significant changes have occurred either in the physical
environment or in the management of the fishery.
The proposed auditing team will be composed of Dr Jo Gascoigne (Assessment Team
Leader) and Miss Charlotte Tindall, who both also conducted the 1st and 2nd annual
surveillance audits.
MEP is happy to receive comments from stakeholders on the surveillance audit at any time
during the comment period. Please note that comments should be factual and should be
supported by data or other evidence.
Any stakeholder who wishes to submit comments
should contact Chrissie Sieben at MEP or Dr. Jo Gascoigne. Comments should be received
by the 15th July 2013.
Chrissie Sieben
Email : chrissie.sieben@macalister-elliott.com
Tel: 00 44 (0)1590 679016
Jo Gascoigne
Email: j.gascoigne@orange.fr
Tel : +33(0)296 25 51 08
It's cod news week - the lunacy of legislation!
"Always happy to see fish but the harsh reality is these cod we are taken in to port will give me and my crew absolutely ZERO pay for our efforts and that is fac...t with no exaggeration, it costs us £1800 to rent a tonne and that is what the cost of them are in the market so we are doing this for free as we dont want to discard fish., how long can this madness go on? theres alot of people who will make money off these but i can only tell my crew 'thanks'"
Cod is expected to become sustainable again in the coming years after decades of overfishing left populations in the North Sea on the brink of extinction.
Consumers have been urged for many years to avoid eating the fish but a report by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) last week found that numbers are recovering as a result of careful management. Although the survey found that British cod will not be classified as sustainable for at least a year, the signs suggest it could soon make a welcome return to menus.
Richard Benyon, the Fisheries Minister, said: "We should not be complacent, there is still a long way to go, but this is really good news. "People can eat cod without feeling guilty because there are large quantities being caught further north, and our cod stocks in the North Sea are recovering. "Much of the credit for this must rest with the fishermen who have introduced a vast number of [sustainable fishing] measures."
Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, said there had been evidence of cod populations rallying since 2000, due in large part to reducing of fleet sizes. He said: "This is part of a general trend right across the north eastern Atlantic. For all the main species groups, all of them have shown a dramatic reduction of about 50 per cent in fishing mortality, which is the percentage of a stock that you take out each year."
Figures produced by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) show that spawning stock of North Sea cod increased by 250 per cent between 2006 and 2012. Ices predicted last year that stocks could soon reach the minimum desired level of 70,000 tonnes for the first time since 1998, less than a decade after warning that the number of young cod in the North Sea was the lowest for 20 years.
Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall told The Guardian he was "more keen than anyone to see British cod back on the 'fish to eat' list" but said he would not do so until population levels are considered safe. The MSC report found that fisheries of North Sea herring and cockles from the Thames Estuary are now sustainable and well-managed against its official standards, while cod is recovering well. But other species such as red gurnard, which is often recommended to consumers as an alternative to the "big five" of cod, haddock, salmon, tuna and prawns, may themselves be at risk.
The MSC said there is an "urgent case" for research into the sustainability of red gurnard after identifying a lack of data on fish stocks and "limited" management of catches. Red gurnard is often fished using "beam trawling", where fish are caught by dragging a metal beam with nets attached along the sea bed, with few restrictions on where it can be done. Other fisheries including brown crab, English Channel cuttlefish and sole caught with beam trawls also need further information before they can meet the criteria of the MSC's eco-label.
Claire Pescod, who chairs the MSC advisory group for Project Inshore, said: "There's been a significant interest in underutilised species over the past few years. "When those fish suddenly become commercially popular, we need to put a lot more effort into providing the appropriate information for their management to make sure that they are managed sustainably. In many cases there are gaps in understanding of the fishery that will need to be filled."
Story courtesy of the Daily Telegraph.
 |
| The lunancy that is the current quota system coupled with the inequity of the licence system - two wrongs have served to create this bizarre situation. |
Cod is expected to become sustainable again in the coming years after decades of overfishing left populations in the North Sea on the brink of extinction.
Consumers have been urged for many years to avoid eating the fish but a report by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) last week found that numbers are recovering as a result of careful management. Although the survey found that British cod will not be classified as sustainable for at least a year, the signs suggest it could soon make a welcome return to menus.
Richard Benyon, the Fisheries Minister, said: "We should not be complacent, there is still a long way to go, but this is really good news. "People can eat cod without feeling guilty because there are large quantities being caught further north, and our cod stocks in the North Sea are recovering. "Much of the credit for this must rest with the fishermen who have introduced a vast number of [sustainable fishing] measures."
Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, said there had been evidence of cod populations rallying since 2000, due in large part to reducing of fleet sizes. He said: "This is part of a general trend right across the north eastern Atlantic. For all the main species groups, all of them have shown a dramatic reduction of about 50 per cent in fishing mortality, which is the percentage of a stock that you take out each year."
Figures produced by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) show that spawning stock of North Sea cod increased by 250 per cent between 2006 and 2012. Ices predicted last year that stocks could soon reach the minimum desired level of 70,000 tonnes for the first time since 1998, less than a decade after warning that the number of young cod in the North Sea was the lowest for 20 years.
Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall told The Guardian he was "more keen than anyone to see British cod back on the 'fish to eat' list" but said he would not do so until population levels are considered safe. The MSC report found that fisheries of North Sea herring and cockles from the Thames Estuary are now sustainable and well-managed against its official standards, while cod is recovering well. But other species such as red gurnard, which is often recommended to consumers as an alternative to the "big five" of cod, haddock, salmon, tuna and prawns, may themselves be at risk.
The MSC said there is an "urgent case" for research into the sustainability of red gurnard after identifying a lack of data on fish stocks and "limited" management of catches. Red gurnard is often fished using "beam trawling", where fish are caught by dragging a metal beam with nets attached along the sea bed, with few restrictions on where it can be done. Other fisheries including brown crab, English Channel cuttlefish and sole caught with beam trawls also need further information before they can meet the criteria of the MSC's eco-label.
Claire Pescod, who chairs the MSC advisory group for Project Inshore, said: "There's been a significant interest in underutilised species over the past few years. "When those fish suddenly become commercially popular, we need to put a lot more effort into providing the appropriate information for their management to make sure that they are managed sustainably. In many cases there are gaps in understanding of the fishery that will need to be filled."
Story courtesy of the Daily Telegraph.
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