Government suffers heavy defeat on post-Brexit fishing policy as Lords push for more environmental protection

The Government has been heavily defeated in the Lords over demands to put environmental sustainability at the heart of post-Brexit fishing policy. Peers backed a cross-party amendment to the Fisheries Bill aimed at making this the prime objective to prevent over-fishing and damage to the marine environment. The Lords approved the amendment by 310 votes to 251, majority 59, in the report stage debate on the legislation and peers voted remotely and in Parliament. 

 
The Bill enables the UK to become an independent coastal state post-Brexit, with foreign fishing boats barred from fishing in UK waters unless licensed to do so. But independent crossbencher Lord Krebs said that, as currently drafted, it did not guarantee the protection of fish stocks and the wider marine environment. 

 
Take back control: A fisherman protests against an earlier Brexit withdrawal agreement(PA) To be absolutely sure the Bill “does what it claims to say on the tin, let’s get the commitment to protecting the natural environment written into it,” he said. Lord Krebs, a former chairman of the Food Standards Agency, said whenever there was a trade-off between short-term economic and employment considerations and long-term environmental sustainability, short-term factors nearly always won. 

“This is what has led to over-fishing and long-term damage to the marine environment in many of the world’s fisheries.” He said this was Parliament’s “huge chance to get the management of our fisheries on a genuinely sustainable footing and avoid the mistakes of the past”. 

Backing the move for the Opposition, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch said sustainability of Britain’s fishing stock must be the “number one priority”. Lady Jones said: “It leaves behind the deals and the compromises that were an inevitable part of the common fisheries policy and will put our fisheries on more long-term assured footing, with fish stocks to fish for generations to come.”

But Environment, Food and Rural Affairs minister Lord Gardiner of Kimble warned the amendment would undermine the Bill’s carefully balanced approach to sustainability. Lord Gardiner said peers were all seeking the same thing – a “vibrant and sustainable fishing industry with a greatly improved marine environment”.

The industry could only be viable if it was environmentally sustainable and this was why the Bill gave equal weight to environmental, social and economic considerations, he added. He said the amendment would create a “hierarchy” of objectives and mean that in any circumstances “short-term environmental considerations would need to override even critical economic and social needs”. 

Lord Gardiner warned the change could have a severe impact on parts of the UK fishing industry and could lead to the closure of mixed fisheries where most fish stocks were at a sustainable level but some were in recovery.

Full story courtesy of the Evening Standard.

A Path to a New Fisheries Management Agreement Between the EU and the UK

10 principles to guide talks to set terms for the post-Brexit relationship 

The official departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union in January 2020 started the clock on a transition period—outlined in the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement1—for the two parties to negotiate their future relationship. The end of the transition period, initially set for Dec. 31, 2020, will bring unprecedented changes to fisheries management in European waters, particularly in the plans for joint management of exploited fish populations in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. 

When the transitional fisheries provisions come to an end, some of the richest fishing grounds that have been managed under the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) will instead be managed by the UK because they fall within the nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). A new joint management framework will be required for around 100 stocks shared by the UK and the EU. In addition, the parties will need to update arrangements with the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Russia, none of which are EU members. 

In their 2013 reform of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, member states—including the UK—committed to ending overfishing by 2015 where possible and 2020 at the latest. More recently, the EU has bolstered its wider environmental commitments with the publication of its European Green Deal. Meanwhile, the UK government has said it wants to become a “world leader” in fisheries management following its departure from the EU. 

The negotiations now underway on a joint fisheries management framework offer a chance for both parties to adhere to the sustainability commitments they have made and demonstrate that they have learned the lessons from good and bad fisheries management around the globe. Moving further towards sustainable stewardship of these shared fish stocks, many of which are still being overfished, will provide more productive fisheries, more jobs, and better ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change and other threats. 

Principles for successful fisheries management Following these 10 proposed principles will ensure a solid foundation towards achieving sustainable and successful fisheries in Europe post-Brexit. In implementing the principles, the EU, the UK and the other coastal states involved in Northeast Atlantic fisheries should formally set the basis for future fisheries management cooperation in conventions, agreements, and memoranda of understanding. These arrangements on equitable resource management—including those for the transition—must be binding and reflect each party’s interest in shared fisheries, while maintaining a sharp focus on sustainability. 

The objectives for joint fisheries management must include provisions regarding abundance of fish populations, limit reference points for mortality, and precautionary and ecosystem considerations. In addition to objectives to maximise yield in the long term, coastal states must act with urgency to conserve biodiversity, considering the impact of fishing activity on both fish populations and on the whole ecosystem. 

This requires integrating other policy objectives and processes into fisheries management. That would ensure fisheries’ decisions contribute to ecological recovery, protect vulnerable species, maintain ecosystem structure and functions, and promote resilience in the face of other threats to the marine environment, such as climate change. Management under an EU-UK framework agreement must implement a genuine precautionary approach as defined by the United Nations Fish Stock Agreement2 (UNFSA). When the available data and information are uncertain, unreliable or inadequate, decision makers should engage in more cautious management. 

The absence of adequate scientific information cannot be used as a rationale to postpone or fail to take conservation and management measures. In particular, decisions on fisheries measures should aim to bolster the resilience of fish stocks and ecosystem functioning to withstand climate-related changes and be based on the most recent scientific methods and models for dealing with risk and uncertainty, as required by the UNFSA. The EU and the UK should demonstrate ambitious leadership and foster a “race to the top” in settingtheir purposes and goals, using the most robust approaches as a baseline for all to follow. 

The shift to a new system of shared management must be seized as an opportunity for upgrading the conservation and sustainability objectives that drive current management in European waters and beyond. The objectives of the EU’s CFP should constitute a baseline from which to build. The EU and the UK’s responsibilities for conservation and sustainable joint management of fish populations must take priority over other issues in the negotiations on fisheries. 

The new framework must deliver sustainable stock management for the long term, and not be dependent on the status of negotiations on issues such as trade of fish products or levels of reciprocal access to specific waters. The framework agreement for fisheries management should strive for balance and fairness, respecting the obligations and rights of coastal states that were set out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea3 (UNCLOS) and in the UNFSA. 

Existing international agreements set out objectives and obligations for equitable joint management and dispute resolution, not just technical fisheries aims. These provisions should be reflected in the new framework for cooperation designed by the EU and the UK. Multi-annual management should be the underlying approach by default.

Although details will need to be revisited regularly, all stakeholders benefit from agreeing to and working towards long-term sustainable management objectives. That includes stable sharing arrangements, predictable and automatic harvest strategies, a robust monitoring and evaluation scheme, a periodic review process, and any necessary mechanisms to transition from previous arrangements to a new system. Talks on joint management should be comprehensive, including all relevant coastal states and stakeholders, and unilateral decision-making processes on shared stocks should be avoided. 

In line with UNCLOS requirements, collaboration on management must be multilateral when more than two coastal states have a stake in a given fish population or fishery in order to ensure transparency across all relevant states. The role of regional fisheries management organisations such as the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission must be considered in this context. The EU, the UK and other coastal states should set explicit standards for the scientific advice on which decisions will be made, using the best available peer-reviewed advice from independent institutions recognised at the international level. 

Published scientific advice from independent scientific institutions such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) should be used as the basis for management, rather than unpublished or lastminute submissions from individual states. The new framework should be consistent with the obligations and rights under the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters4. Management proposals, negotiations and decisions should be made transparently, with access guaranteed for all stakeholders, including the fishing industry, civil society organisations and other interested parties. 

This means the involvement of all concerned stakeholders in the development of proposals, participation in meetings where decisions are made, and accountability for those making the decisions through clear responsibilities and communication with all interested parties. Citizens of the EU and the UK—and those of other coastal states involved in the shared fishery— must be able to scrutinise management decisions. 

Management objectives and all other elements of negotiated harvest strategies and annual decisions must be clear and available to the public. The joint management measures, the scientific advice underpinning them and the positions of the different parties involved must be made available to those interested in reviewing them. Conclusion The negotiations on a joint framework for management of fisheries shared by the EU and UK offer an opportunity to deliver on the policy goals that both parties agree are important: sustainable fisheries that provide food, jobs, and a future for the fishing industry, while safeguarding fish populations and the resilience of the marine environment. 

These sustainability aims, lauded by both sides, can be achieved only if objectives, strategies and policy tools are based on the best available science. In addition, decision makers must apply a precautionary, long-term approach that draws from best practice in fisheries management worldwide. Successful joint management also will depend on transparency regarding aims and outcomes, the participation of all stakeholders in decisions, and ambitious leadership that puts sustainability at the heart of fisheries management. 

Endnotes European Union, “Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community,” Official Journal of the European Union (2019): 1–177, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:12019W/TXT(02)&from=EN.

United Nations Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 Relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (1995), 

https://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/fish_stocks_agreement/CONF164_37.htm.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), 

https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/closindx.htm.
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) (1998), https://www.unece.org/env/pp/treatytext.html.

Full story courtesy of PEW here:

Download the paper here:

Gucci launches a new sustainable 'Off The Grid' collection - what has that to do with fishing?

Alessandro Michele’s first collection from Gucci Circular Lines stars veteran actor Jane Fonda, musicians Lil Nas X and King Princess in the campaign 'Off The Grid' by Garima Gupta.

Fantasy, inclusivity and gender-neutrality are just some of the tenets that inform creative director Alessandro Michele’s vision for Gucci. Now, for the first time ever, the Italian luxury house is launching an all-sustainable collection, Gucci Off The Grid using only recycled, organic, and sustainably sourced materials. A large part of the collection is designed using Econyl—a regenerated nylon made from abandoned fishing nets and gear left salvaged from the oceans—which the brand first began to use in 2016. 

The debut collection comprises ready to wear outerwear, pants, tote bags, backpacks, mini bags, footwear and other accessories. The rest of the line-up is crafted from other conscious materials such as metal-free tanned leather, recycled polyester thread and linings, recycled brass and gold, and solvent-free adhesives. Beyond the implementation of sustainable raw materials, the brand has also incorporated low-impact alternatives to sourcing, manufacturing and distribution to reduce carbon emissions, as part of its annual carbon-neutral commitment.

For the full story, click here:

Fisheries Bill amendments considered by the Lords. Some technical, but others that have wider importance - read on

From his Twitter feed: Richard Barnes, professor of Law at Hull and maitime expert focussed his attention on the amendments to the Fisheries Bill going before the Lords today:

"A list of amendments to the the Fisheries Bill will be considered by the Lords. Some technical, but others that have wider importance.... services.parliament.uk/Bills/2019-21/… 

First is to designate fish ‘a common resource owned by the United Kingdom on behalf of its citizens.’ This will frame future policy on how quota rights are held and distributed... and marks a stand against ‘accidental privatisation’. Although this did not constrain Iceland.. 

This is complemented by an innovative provision on distribution of fishing opportunities that actually contains allocation principles, and another that seeks to create allowances for new entrants.

Several amendments seek to elevate sustainability concerns, for example by giving primacy to sustainability objective, or requiring stocks to be managed beyond sustainable level, or to require pursuit of sustainability objective even if decisions not to follow JFS or plan made. 

Amendment of the bycatch objective would focus on outcomes rather than process, which could avoid perverse incentives.. And to take account of shared stock issues through cooperation with neighbouring states. Another clause aims to require Government’s to sustain UK fishing industry workforce. 

A national landings requirement would further shore up the economic base of the sector. Several provisions seek to tighten up the management plans, including specification of consultees. 

Although non-sector voices such as environmental groups or anglers might want a mention Effort to shore up monitoring and compliance through clear requirements to introduce remote electronic monitoring.. 

Overall some really valuable scrutiny and options to enhance the Bill. This risk is that some of these will be left out to ensure maximum flexibility in the framework."

Busy mid-week market in Newlyn.

Great to see the punt, PZ584 landing alongside the fish market...

skippered by local hero Cod who, despite having artificial legs still puts in many long hours at sea handling for his fish...

while aboard the beam trawler Resurgam her latest trip was landed...

four boxes at a time...

this morning's market included these prime haddock from the netter Ocean Pride...

plenty of quality flats from the beam trawler Trevssa IV...

and the usual mix of quality fish from Tom on the Harvest Reaper...

including top drawer fish like John Dory...

and flats like brill and turbot...

while the Stelissa piled in with hake

plenty of big turbot from the Ocean Pride...

and more MSC Certified hake from the Silver Dawn...

though this morning's dawn was far from silver...

more closely matching the hull colour of the mini-scalloper on the hard opposite the fish market.

Bringing together fishermen and experts in the seafood supply chain to champion innovation

Fisheries Innovation Scotland: “Bringing together fishermen and experts in the seafood supply chain to champion innovation”

Fathom podcast, in conversation with Kara Brydson from Fisheries Innovation Scotland and Paul Macdonald from the Scottish Fishermen’s Organisation, share some exciting industry-led innovations for the Scottish fishing fleet.

In the latest episode from the UK’s only commercial fishing podcast, the Fathom team welcomed Kara Brydson, the Executive Director of Fisheries Innovation Scotland (FIS) and Paul Macdonald from the Scottish Fishermen’s Organisation (SFO). Fathom took this episode ‘on the (virtual) road’ to learn more about fishing innovations in Scotland, and how an unprecedented collaboration by Scottish fishermen will trial bespoke technology and data sharing to help avoid unwanted catches of cod and whiting.

Kara Brydson describes FIS as an organisation that ‘brings together fishermen and other experts along the seafood supply chain, to champion innovation and try new things – to make Scottish fisheries more prosperous and sustainable.’ Speaking on Fathom, Kara Brydson explains that FIS projects must be practical and impactful, to add value to fishing businesses and with fisher expertise built in from the start - from ‘how to best use industry self-sampling to improve trust in fisheries science’, to ‘building capacity within fishing communities and investing in people’.

When asked by Fathom host Paul Trebilcock of the Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation (CFPO) what innovation means to FIS, Brydson said: ‘Innovation is not just about bits of kit. Innovation can be quite a scary word, and often people say ‘what do you mean?’ But really it’s about doing things better and thinking about things in different ways.’

Paul Macdonald from the SFO detailed an exciting joint project between FIS, fishing organisations and the University of Aberdeen, where fishermen on the west coast of Scotland are piloting a software system to share information on unwanted catches of cod and whiting in ‘real-time’. Macdonald says that the inclusion of skippers in the design and development process ‘[By holding] regular meetings with [them] to get their ideas on how [the mobile app] is developing, and to get their ideas on what things they would find useful’ has been a key part of the project development. 

Macdonald says that this collaborative process is helping to create an app built around what fishermen want so it has more potential to be ‘something that is of use and of value to the ones who will actually be using it.’ 

Trebilcock remarked upon the success of this project – praising FIS for its inclusion of the fishing industry in the development of this app – and sparking deeper conservation about the importance of true collaboration in successful fisheries science projects. Macdonald agreed: ‘We have certainly felt all along that you need to bring fishermen along with you. [The app] needs to be something that’s useful to fishermen, as well.’

Trebilcock said FIS’ project perfectly highlights what the Fathom podcast is all about: ‘Shining a light on good practice and sharing it, so hopefully others will be able to use it…and make it applicable to their fishery, to their challenge.’ 

Fathom hosts Paul Trebilcock and Chris Ranford agreed that the west of Scotland pilot – an example of best practice innovation – could offer opportunities to fisheries beyond Scottish waters.

Listen to the episode in full here: https://cfpo.org.uk/the-fathom-podcast/

or subscribe by searching ‘Fathom fishing’ in your podcast provider app.

Brexit: EU preparing to row back on rights to fish in British waters

Brussels is preparing to back down over a Brexit fishing deal and acknowledge for the first time that European fleets do not have an automatic right to fish in British waters. In a concession to help to unlock negotiations, Michel Barnier is understood to accept that the UK will have to be treated as an independent coastal state and have annual negotiations with the bloc over fishing quotas from next year. The EU’s chief negotiator told European diplomats that the compromise would have to wait until other parts of the deal were closer to being finalised. 

British and European leaders authorised Mr Barnier and David Frost, the UK’s negotiator, to scope out the parameters of a compromise privately. 

Speaking after a video call with Ursula von der Leyen, the European commission president, Boris Johnson said that the time had come to put some “oomph” into the negotiations, adding that there was a very good chance of securing a trade deal by the end of the year. Both sides pledged to inject “new momentum” into talks. 

Significantly, in their joint statement both sides said that they had authorised their chief negotiators to find “an early understanding on the principles underlying any agreement”. Until now one of the sticking points has been fishing: the EU maintains that Britain must respect the right of EU member states’ fleets to access UK waters on the same terms as the present common fisheries agreement. Under those rules European boats operating in UK waters catch about five times the value of fish that British fishermen catch in EU waters. 

In a significant change in position Mr Barnier accepted the British principle of so-called zonal attachment. EU fishing fleets would have no automatic right to fish in the UK’s exclusive economic zone, which encompasses the sea around Britain stretching in places up to a distance of 200 miles from the coastline. 

Both sides would negotiate reciprocal access to each other’s waters every year, however, as the EU does with Norway. This would give the government leverage to increase the share of the total allowable catch that can be caught by the UK fishing fleet. Mr Barnier is understood to have hinted at the concession during a recent round of negotiations but has so far not tabled a concrete offer.
EU sources said that he was holding off to ensure that it was part of the wider trade deal to make it easier to sell to EU countries such as France and Holland that also have powerful fishing lobbies.

“To dilute the influence of France and the other coastal states, Barnier needs to have the whole trade deal, which stands or falls on fishing,” a senior EU diplomatic source said. A UK government source added: 

“There have been signals that this is an area where Mr Barnier wants to move, but as yet there are no firm proposals on the table.” Mr Johnson said yesterday that there was a very good chance of securing a trade deal “provided we really focus now and get on and do it”. He added: “I don’t think we’re actually that far apart, but what we need now is to see a bit of oomph in the negotiations.” 

After the joint statement from both sides Mr Barnier now has the authority to discuss areas of compromise with Mr Frost even if they are not strictly within the negotiating mandate set down by the EU 27 leaders. 

Fishing talks: who wants what and who is right?

How important is fishing to Britain?

It employs about 24,000 people and contributes about £1.4 billion to the economy, 0.12 per cent of GDP. The industry says this has declined since Britain joined the EU and the common fisheries policy.

Does the UK have a bad deal as an EU member?

Yes, because under the common fisheries policy the fishing quota for individual species of fish, which each member state receives, is based largely on how much they fished in the 1970s. Then the UK fleet spent much of its time around Iceland, which is not a member of the EU. This meant it received a smaller quota than other countries that fished in European waters. This means today the UK has a poor share of the total allowable catch. In 2015 the UK was able to catch only £114 million of fish in EU waters, whereas EU vessels were able to catch £484 million of fish in British waters. 

How does leaving the EU make it fairer?

At the end of the transition period Britain will be able to make use of its exclusive economic zone extending 200 miles out to sea. This means that other EU states will have no right to fish in these waters unless an agreement is reached. What does the EU want from Britain?
Broadly it wants the trade deal to be as close as possible to the status quo. The fishing industry is an emotive issue in other European countries; if French, Dutch and other EU nations were “locked out” of UK waters their industries would suffer. 

What does Britain want?

It wants to attach its 200-mile exclusive fishing zone to that of the EU in return for a bigger portion of the total catch. This is known as zonal attachment. These quotas would be negotiated annually. 

Who has the stronger argument?

Undeniably the UK, but given fishing is such a small proportion of the economy the EU hopes that the government will trade better access for concessions from the EU in other areas. Brussels expects the government to trade fishing for access for the City of London to the single market. European governments are prepared to trade single market access for fishing rights but believe Britain is asking for too much in return. 

Full story courtesy of Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Oliver Wright, Policy Editor Tuesday June 16 2020, The Times