How the discards ban could spell the end of family owned fishing vessels

The following article by Bertie Armstrong, chief executive, Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, was published in The Buchan’s Observer’s annual Fishing Review for 2014. In it, he warns that if the forthcoming discards ban is implemented badly, it could spell the demise of traditional family owned fishing vessels.

There is no business quite like fishing, and as each year passes, the challenges facing our crucial sector seem to gather pace with frightening speed.

The next few years are likely to be particularly fraught, most notably because of the introduction of the discards ban, or ‘land-all obligation’. For our mackerel and herring fishermen it will come into force on 1 January 2015, and for most other fishermen it will be gradually phased in over the following few years, with all species covered by 1 January 2019. Those representing our interests supported and signed up for this – and now we have to face the consequences.

The challenges of making the discards ban a reality in the timescale will vary by fishery. A few, like the creel sector and some specific areas in the prawn fisheries already have low discards and will encounter less difficulty. The real struggle will be in the mixed fisheries pursued by the whitefish fleet and most of the North Sea prawn fleet. Here, the question of what to do with “choke species” – the point where an individual vessel runs out of its lowest quota in the mix and has to stop fishing altogether – is no closer to an answer than it was when first posed six or seven years ago.

We have several mitigating factors – some progress on selectivity, the prospect of quota uplift, various flexibilities in the new Common Fisheries Policy regulation, but we still have no clear vision about how the ban can be implemented without radical changes in the worst-affected fleets. If we do nothing, the default radical change will be very significant consolidation of those fleets, moving away from the present Scottish model of family and small consortium ownership of vessels with a strong local attachment. Instead, there will be a much smaller number of much bigger vessels, each coping more easily with the discard ban given the flexibility of a proportionally greater access to quota and under a different ownership model. It may be that a degree of consolidation is simply unavoidable, but now is the time when the choices facing the industry must be urgently addressed to make sure that we drive those choices rather than the other way round.

A recent tripartite agreement between the EU, Norway and the Faroese brought at least a partial agreement on the long-standing mackerel dispute and this in turn finally brought around an agreement between the EU and Norway on catching opportunities in the North Sea, including a 5% increase in the cod quota.

Many of the quota allocations just agreed for the North Sea are in line with long-term management plans. We had hoped that there would have been a bigger increase in the North Sea cod quota, but at least the proposed cut has been successfully fended-off. A cut in the cod quota at this stage would have made a mockery of the European Commission’s commitment to end discarding as it would only have led to fishermen dumping good quality marketable fish overboard, given the abundance of the stock. The science shows that a 5% increase in the cod quota will lead to a significant increase in the stock over the coming year.

The recovery of North Sea cod is a remarkable success story but there needs to be a sensible long-term approach to the management of the stock that recognises that biomass is increasing, fishing pressure is falling and that the stock is being harvested sustainably.

But against this complicated and difficult background, there is also much to be encouraged by. Take the public perception of fishing as an example. In recent years it has come under unprecedented attack by ill-informed journalists and armchair environmental experts. We’ve all seen the headlines about their only being ‘100 adult cod left in the North Sea’, when the actual figure was over 20 million. And then there was ‘Hugh’s Fish Fight’ on Channel 4, which again vilified fishermen.

Of course the truth is very different, and indignant fishermen rose up against these inaccuracies, and guys like Peter Bruce of the Budding Rose and many others Tweeted and Facebooked their way to putting the record straight. The SFF also launched our own website, www.fishingforthetruth.co.uk, which contains a whole host of information on fisheries and how our fishermen are working towards a sustainable future. And all these actions are working, with the most recent ‘Hugh’s Fish Fight’ programme providing a much more balanced picture, recognising the hard work of our fishermen.

The truth is that the majority of our fish stocks are recovering, thanks in large part to the pioneering efforts of our fishermen to develop selective gear, observing closed areas to fishing to protect spawning and juvenile fish, along with many other measures. This is all positive news, but there also needs to be a structure put in place that ensures there is a future for fishing, and which encourages youngsters to enter our great industry.

For that to be achieved, there needs to be much greater recognition from the EU and our national governments of the complexities of fishing and the need to develop much more sensible and coherent fisheries management measures that actually work in practice, rather than just look good on paper. And how do you do that? Well, there is only one way – work and consult closely with the people who understand fishing the best – the fishermen themselves.

Spring is still coiled ready for action it seems as the sun hides away in Mount's Bay

The netting fleet have a few days of the neap tide left before one of the biggest tides of the year hits the coast...

less than sunny skies make for a foreboding look as the boats head out at first light...

with boats like the Ajax facing a long steam to the grounds...

on the market the fish are fast moving after each sale...

putting pressure on the collection of data for Cefas to be completed before the auction reaches the boat in question...

not so heavy megrim fishing at the moment...

but the lemons are best at this time of year with them at their meatiest in the body...

a set of open gills display the gill filaments fully red with the blood near the surface which allows for easy transfer of oxygen from the water...

beamer bass by the box...

and best tub gurnards all surely head for a top restaurant...

keep an eye on the auction in progress…

just a couple of trips from the net fleet including best Cornish hake...

and a big selection of roes...

early morning workout for some...

there is still good fishing to be had at the end of the cuttle season...

the harbour staff will be pleased when its over so the buildings can become sepia ink free...

tons of cuttles lined up and ready to go...

looks like the old lugger Children's Friend may get to be saved yet...

after this morning the tide takes a big jump each day.

Don't miss the The International Film Festival "Fishermen of the World" 2014

The International Film Festival « Fishermen of the World » 2014 is soon opening. On show, 38 full and short length films, all dedicated to fishermen and filmed all around the world.

The Festival will sail towards 20 countries and all around the planet and 18 films are of foreign origin. They all offer a great cinema experience with many movies nominated in international film festivals. Several films are being shown for the first time. 13 films are competing including 8 full length films and 5 short length films.

In Preview and with free access, the Festival's 6th several film festivals « Les Grandes Marées » : the poetic story of a father and son both fishermen in Brittany and a documentary, the adventurous « Au cœur de la Tourmente » on the risks taken by fishermen in the South Pacific. 

The opening film of the Festival is the renowned icelandic film“  The  Deep” by Balthasar Kormakur. It tells the story of a fisherman surviving a shipwreck against the odds. Then the Festival will show 24 films in the “ Selection Reflet du Monde “ from the 27th of March in the Paul Ricoeur auditorium in Lorient.

These films are 24 works of art. The selection shows the beauty and violence of the oceans and informs the public on the injustice of globalisation and the difficult condition of living of fishermen. The environmental questions including fish stocks management are also important. The Festival is happy to show several short movies made by fishermen themselves and by fishing organisations to explain to the general public what the fisherman's job is.

A selection “La Boite  à Films” is also on show with several documentaries on fishing with free access to the public. Two photos exhibitions on fishermen will take place during the Festival. The Festival has 2 jurys, one made of professionals and one made of high school students. Each jury will give its own award. The professional jury is made of international film makers and sea professionals.

Discover the 2014 films on our web site : http://www.pecheursdumonde.org

Illegal fishing activities: trade measures decided by the EU Council

The Council today triggered a series of measures affecting the trade in fisheries products and other fisheries- related activities with Belize, Cambodia and Guinea in order to put a stop to commercial benefits stemming from illegal fishing activities.

Ultimately, fisheries products caught by vessels from these countries will be banned from being imported into the EU (6262/14). The adoption of the implementing decision establishing a list of non-cooperating third countries in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing pursuant to regulation 1005/20081 is the first decision of this kind and follows a formal warning made in November 2012. This decision marks an intensification of the EU's fight against illegal fishing by identifying Belize, Cambodia and Guinea as non-cooperating third countries. 

Despite the EU working closely with the national authorities to set up fisheries management and effective control measures, the three countries have still not addressed structural problems and have failed to show real commitment to tackling the problem of illegal fishing. Fisheries products caught by vessels flying the three countries' flags will be banned from being imported into the EU. EU vessels will have to stop fishing in these waters. Other forms of cooperation, such as joint fishing operations or fisheries agreements with these countries, will no longer be possible.

Yesterday, EU member states fishing ministers backed the European Commission in their efforts against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. Agreement was absolute to support the fight against perceived widespread abuses.

The decision is consistent with the EU's international commitment to ensuring the sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources at home and abroad through compliance with IUU rules adopted by the United Nations and the FAO. All of the identified countries have failed to fulfil their duties as flag, coastal, port or market states - for example, by not complying with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) or the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement. 

The EU's approach towards combating illegal fishing reflects the fact that IUU fishing is a global criminal activity which is harmful not only to EU fishermen and markets but also to local communities in developing countries. Fiji, Panama, Sri Lanka, Togo and Vanuatu also received formal warnings in 2012. The remedial actions introduced by those countries are being monitored continuously through bilateral dialogue, and a progress report is due shortly. In addition, formal warnings were given to Korea, Ghana and Curacao in November 2013. The EU is also continuing the dialogue with the three countries listed as non-cooperating, as some of them have initiated attempts to address IUU fishing. 

Regulation 1005/2008 establishes a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing. This key instrument in the fight against illegal fishing aims to allow access to the EU market only to fisheries products that have been certified as legal by the flag state or the exporting state concerned.

Belize, Cambodia, and Guinea have all been blacklisted. Fish caught by their fleet or from their waters will no longer come into Europe.

Other countries are under investigation by the European Commission. South Korea, Ghana, Curaco have all be warned to address their fisheries. And Panama, Fiji, Togo, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu have been given until the spring of 2014 to implement the measures they have told the EU Commission they would introduce.

It seems a few countries thought the EU was bluffing. They have just learned the EU is very serious about taking and beating Pirate fishing.

Around $10 billion a year of fish caught is from IUU fisheries. Europe has learned from its on battles taking on illegal fishing in its own waters. Taking on the Blue Fin Tuna illegal fishing in the Med took years and tens of millions of euros of taxpayers money to bring an out of control fisheries back into line.

Sometimes people may forget that the EU is established on the idea of the “rule of law”. This means that no country, person or industry is above the law. 3 countries yesterday were reminded of that very simple idea.

Story courtesy of Aaron McLoughlin

Have your hake and eat it - part II #eatmorefish

After finding hake to be the UK's current most sustainable fish, the NFFO organised a tasting evening with journalists, retailers, fishermen and leading seafood chef Mitch Tonks at the well-regarded Wright Brothers Oyster & Porter House in Soho. Celebrity fishing fans can spot skipper Phil Mitchell, Fishing News International assistant editor Ruyita and Barry Deas from the NFFO amongst others all enjoying a hake fest washed down with a few oysters.

Let's hope in a few months time big supermarkets like Waitrose will rally to the cause and put fresh Cornish hake on the wet fish counters!

New research from the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations has found hake to currently be the UK’s most sustainable fish. The NFFO conducted an evaluation of stock and catch data of the UK’s most commonly caught species against a criteria of 10 industry sustainability markers and #hake, against very stiff competition from other species, currently meets more of the standards than any other species. However, of the 12,000 tonnes of hake caught by British fishermen last year, just 1.5 per cent was consumed in the UK.

Fine-scale diel and gender-based patterns in behaviour of Atlantic cod

A selected Editor’s Choice article from the latest issue of the ICES Journal of Marine Science is now freely available. This month, read more about the fine-scale movements of Atlantic cod as they return to the same spawning grounds over multiple seasons.

Diel usually refers to a 24 hour cycle involving day and night

​Atlantic cod is one of the most commercially sought-after and socio-economically important fish species in the world. Despite inordinate attention on stock assessment and fishery management, most cod populations have experienced steep declines in abundance with limited success at rebuilding. In each case, a suite of contributing factors can be pointed to, including overfishing, climate change, and predator-prey relationships; yet, there appears to be an element to the population dynamics of this species that is currently misunderstood to allow for such pervasive stock depletion and recovery failure to occur.

Recent research suggests that ignoring fine-scale population structure is a contributing, if not a leading cause. There is ample evidence that many cod stocks function as a metapopulation, containing multiple subunits comprised of semi-discrete spawning components. By managing stocks as a single homogeneous group, we ignore this fine-scale population structure and risk the serial depletion of unique sub-components, thereby lowering stock productivity.

Spawning behaviour is at the heart of a metapopulation; it provides not only the mechanism by which population structure is developed and maintained, it also influences whether lost or depleted components will recover. Understanding the 'where', 'when', and 'how' of spawning allows for the more effective management of cod stocks by providing the necessary information with which to design conservation measures that prevent the loss or depletion of spawning components.

Using an acoustic telemetry positioning system, Dean et al. describe the fine-scale movements of spawning cod in situ as they return to the same spawning location over multiple seasons. This unprecedented view of natural spawning behaviour challenges the conventional wisdom about cod's mating system and underscores their vulnerability to disturbance and depletion while spawning. Their findings are particularly relevant to the design of spawning closures and the influence of behaviour on stock assessments as well as general reproductive ecology. ​

You can read the full article here:

Fisherman with head injury airlifted from the Western Chieftain off the Irish coast.

A fisherman has been admitted to hospital in Sligo after being airlifted from the "Western Chieftain" on Mar 23, 2014, by an Irish Coast Guard helicopter some 260km off the Mayo coast. An emergency call was received from the vessel by the Marine Rescue Centre in Malin in the morning. After discussions with doctors at Medico Cork, which provides medical support and information for vessels in Irish waters, a decision was made to carry out an emergency airlift. 

The Rescue 118 helicopter was dispatched from Sligo just before 10am, and made its way to the scene with support from an Air Corps CASA plane. The man — an Irish national — was taken safely from the vessel and flown back to shore. He was admitted to Sligo General Hospital at 1.31 p.m. The Air Corps plane ‘Charlie 252′ arrived on scene at 11.50 a.m. and remained with the trawler, providing a communications relay between it, the Coastguard and ‘Rescue 118’ during the Mission.

Courtesy of Timsen on VesseltTracker