Stark figures over fish caught by EU vessels revealed in new report.

More than half of the fish and shellfish caught in Shetland waters is landed by EU fishing boats, while the local fleet gets less than one sixth. 

That is according to figures in a new report by Dr Ian Napier of the NAFC Marine Centre UHI. The report says a third of all fish and shellfish landed from UK waters come from Shetland’s so-called “Exclusive Economic Zone” (EEZ).

Drawing on official figures for an area of 127,000 km2 around Shetland, bounded by Faroese, Norwegian and the remainder of UK waters, Dr Napier calculated that local vessels landed 14 per cent of the fish and shellfish by weight and 21 per cent by value. But EU boats are said to have landed 56 per cent by weight and 38 per cent by value, with other UK vessels making up the remainder. Executive officer of Shetland Fishermen’s Association Simon Collins said: 

 “We’ve long known that Shetland’s waters are teeming with fish and that under the Common Fisheries Policy EU vessels are permitted to plunder our traditional fishing grounds.

“What this report does is illustrate in detail just how bad the situation has become, and how severe the imbalance is. It serves as a reminder, if one were needed, to the UK’s Brexit negotiators that they must resist all attempts by the EU to maintain the status quo. “The UK must have control of its own waters and have the power to determine who gets access to our stocks.”

In all, 450,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish worth £370m was landed from the “Shetland EEZ” by UK and EU boats annually from 2016 to 2018. On average, Shetland boats landed 120,000 tonnes worth £116m, 63,000 tonnes and £77m of which was caught in the “Shetland EEZ”. Pelagic fish dominated catches – four fifths (79 per cent) by weight and more than half (58 per cent) by value, with demersal fish accounting for 18 per cent by weight and 38 per cent by value. 

The “Shetland EEZ” accounts for 17 per cent of the UK EEZ and just over a quarter (27 per cent) of the Scottish part of the UK EEZ.

Full story courtesy of the S

The ecological disturbance caused by fishing in the North Sea.

Theoretical models linking species diversity to disturbance consider disturbance to be the alteration of population mortality rates caused by the specified perturbation. Current knowledge of the ecological disturbance caused by fishing to marine fish and benthic invertebrate communities is reviewed. This review considers the various components of mortality caused by fishing (eg landings, discards, trawl escapees, etc) and examines the information currently available, or required, to determine the importance of each component in assessing the mortality of fish and benthos caused by fishing.

Landings data provide an estimate of part of the mortality of fish caused by fishing activity in the North Sea. Thus international landings databases were compiled for seven key target species by fishing gear, rectangle and year over the period 1997 to 2004.

Data were provided by theUK (England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland), The Netherlands, Germany and Norway. Data were aggregated to the lowest common gear category.  Annual variation at the North Sea scale in the data supplied by these countries very closely matched similar data supplied to ICES for use in the annual stock assessment process, confirming the veracity of the MAFCONS dataset.

Landings data included in the MAFCONS data base represented a high proportion of totalNorth Sea landings, suggesting that fishing by these nations accounted for most of the fishing disturbance taking place in the North Sea. Of the seven main species, saithe and cod were the two with significant proportions of total North Sea landings taken by countries outside the MAFCONS consortium.

Spatial distributions of landings by all gears are reported by year, and by gear and country for two separate time periods.For components of the marine ecosystem beyond the targeted commercial species, landings data provide little indication of fishing disturbance  For these species, fishing disturbance must be modelled based on data that quantify levels of fishing activity; fishing effort data.

To do this, international fishing effort data bases were compiled for most countries participating in the MAFCONS project. Again these data were compiled by ICES rectangle, gear category, and year over the period 1997 to 2004 in terms of hours spent fishing.

For two countries, Scotland and the Netherlands, data, in terms of hours-effort, were not available and had to be modelled on the basis of days-absent from port.No landings or effort data were available for Belgian, Danish, French, and Swedish fishing vessels, countries that all prosecute significant fisheries in the North Sea. Landings and effort by these countries were therefore modelled.

Annual variation and spatial trends in these modelled data were examined and assessed by comparison with all available information.Generally the modelled output was deemed acceptable.

It was therefore considered advisable to include these data in the MAFCONS data base so as to examine variation in all fishing activity taking place in the North Sea, rather than simply just ignoring the significant components of fishing activity associated with countries that were not part of the MAFCONS consortium. MAFCONS reported and modelled total annual landings data closely matched landings data reported by ICES, suggesting that the MAFCONS database accurately reflected the actual fishing situation in the North Sea.

Total landings in the North Sea fell by 40% over the period1997 to 2004.

When this overall reduction in landings was taken into account, spatial distributions in the total landings of each species, and in the landings of each species by gear, were relatively consistent over time.

Total fishing effort declined by 28% since 1999, with some countries (eg England and Scotland) more affected than others. 

• Beam trawling was primarily asouthern North Sea activity. 

• Otter trawling occurred throughout the North Sea but was more prevalent in the northern North Sea.

• Seine netting occurred mainly in the northern North Sea.

These distributions were consistent over time.Models were developed for both the fish and benthic invertebrate communities to convert the observed patterns of fishing activity to indices of fishing mortality. The benthic invertebrate model utilised recent meta-analysis studies to determine “per fishing event” mortality rates for various benthic invertebrate fauna.

Recent studies of the Dutch beam trawl fleet have suggested that at small spatial scale, the distribution of fishing activity follows a Poisson distribution.

Knowing tow velocity, tow duration, and gear width for each fishing metier, the mean fishing frequency in each rectangle can be determined from the fishing effort statistics. Application of the Poisson distribution then enables the distribution of fishing frequencies in 900small sub-units of each rectangle to be determined, which, given the “per fishing event” mortality rates, allows the total benthic mortality in each ICES rectangle to be estimated.

Rather than being linear, the relationships between fishing effort and mortality were strongly asymptotically curvilinear. The model was applied to the observed fishing effort data assuming a “generic”benthic invertebrate community and using actual observed epibenthic species abundance data.The model indicated that rectangles of moderate fishing effort had mortality rates almost as hig has high fishing effort rectangles.

Consequently the area of high benthic impact from fishing was more widespread that might have been suggested by the fishing effort data alone.The fish mortality model utilised swept area estimates combined with estimates of local abundance (density), and making assumptions about catchability, determined the likely number of fish taken in each fishing event.

The number of fishing events in each rectangle was estimated from the fishing effort statistics, knowing mean tow duration for each type of fishing activity. The model was used to determine annual rates of fishing mortality for each species recorded in the Dutch beam trawl survey. Spatial distributions in mortality were presented.Estimates of fishing disturbance to the fish community were also derived directly from the landings data.

Estimates of discard levels for each commercial species are provided each yearby the stock assessments. These were used to raise landings to total catch, with corrections applied to account for the non-target species. Total catches in each ICES rectangle were converted to “exploitation” rate indices by dividing them by estimates of the abundance of fish present.

To read the full project paper download from here. 

Check with cameras for absolute red line.

Looks like Dutch fishermen are gearing up for a showdown with regard to using CCTV aboard fishing vessels as a means of monitoring caches. CCTV is one of several means by which the UK might seek to monitor fishing efforts of EU states within its territorial waters after January 1st when we 'take back control' of our waters:

"Many see Closed Circuit TV camera surveillance (CCTV) as an ideal system for perfecting the control of the landing obligation. This is and will remain absolutely unacceptable for VisNed, precisely because we have practical experience and see that cameras on board a ship cannot be an adequate form of control, certainly not for the landing obligation, for example.

In the monthly consultation on Implementation Agenda Landing Obligation, government, science, regulators and the sector consult on all kinds of policy and practical matters concerning the landing obligation.

All the parties mentioned are convinced that the landing obligation in its current form should never have been introduced because it is unworkable. This landing obligation is neither feasible nor enforceable (by the fishermen) and not enforceable (by the government).

The landing obligation has not yet come to a complete standstill in fishing practice, thanks to the series of exemptions and exemptions. For example, the beam trawl 80 - 119 mm does not have to keep undersized plaice on board and land thanks to an exception due to 'high survival', an exception granted because the Fully Documented Fisheries (FDF) project runs from VisNed.

This project, which involves research into camera registrations, in which seven beam trawlers in the Netherlands participate. The enforceability of the landing obligation remains a problem, but cameras are not a solution for this, at most they can be used as an aid to automate the mandatory registration.

The Netherlands is against the use of cameras as a means of control 

Within Europe (Member States, European Commission, European Parliament and also the European Control Agency), consideration is being given to the (mandatory) use of cameras to monitor what comes on board and whether or not it is stored in the fish hold or discarded.

There is rightly a lot of resistance against this, also from the Netherlands. The government, including the NVWA, sees many (practical) objections to the use of cameras as a means of control, but this should be communicated more clearly in Europe.

NSAC advises on on-board cameras

A focus group from the North Sea Advisory Council (NSAC) has started discussions about the use of cameras as a means of control. The NSAC wants to provide balanced and nuanced advice on this complex subject. An NSAC advice is important because it is a joint advice from fisheries and NGOs.

That is no guarantee for success, but it can make a contribution. In the meantime, Europêche and the European Association of POs (EAPO) are also working on a joint position paper on the subject of cameras on board. Based on our practical experience, VisNed can make a clear contribution to the discussion about what works and what certainly doesn't work.

Red line

During the last meeting of the Implementation Agenda, the VisNed representation drew a clear red line. If politicians, policy and/or supervision nevertheless make a move in favour of camera surveillance as a means of control, VisNed will pull the plug from the current FDF project with immediate effect, regardless of the consequences for the exemption for the supply of undersized plaice (which in principle runs until 2023).

VisNed wants to contribute with this project to look at improving data collection with the help of FDF, but we are definitely not going to howl with the wolves in the forest.

We are diametrically opposed to the NGOs, policymakers and politicians in Europe who, based on erroneous assumptions, believe that cameras are the ultimate means of monitoring and spying on fishing activities. There can be no doubt and/or ambiguity about this."

Full story from the Visned website.

Another Dutch Brexit related story appeared on the Trouw.nl website today.

Deep Sea - French inshore fishing initiative.

Too often we think that the problems we are dealing with are our problems and unique to us. More often than not if we take the time to look over the fence we see our neighbours are dealing with the same or similar problems. Fishing is no exception. 

Right now French inshore fishermen are dealing with the same issues as UK fishermen, Brexit, factory vessels in the Channel, offshore vessels working inshore, Covid-19 and of course, Brexit. All of which are making their businesses every bit as precarious as those of UK inshore fishermen. On top of this, French fishermen are very wary of the work many NGOs carry out on their behalf championing 'Blue Growth' - a brighter future where protecting fish stocks and the environment are seemingly top of the agenda.

The aim of the Deep Sea Association (Pleine Mer) is to protect the inshore fishermen of France - their raison-d'être is simple - to do what is necessary to ensure there is an industry to hand on to the sons and daughters of existing fishing communities.

Their aims are outlined below:

The Pleine Mer association wishes to contribute to a sustainable transition of fishing in favour of the men and women who practice it, citizens and the environment. Its purpose is the protection of the oceans as well as the support for the development of sustainable management methods and modes in fishing and aquatic farming. It aims to carry out actions in this direction with all possible means of action: awareness raising and training intended for the general public, State representatives in the economic world, advocacy, communication, legal actions, support for associative, private and public. The members of the association are professional fishermen, researchers, engaged citizens, or even fish consumers who identify with the projects carried by the collective.

Our purpose The Pleine Mer association wishes to contribute to a sustainable transition of fishing in favor of the men and women who practice it, citizens and the environment. Its purpose is the protection of the oceans as well as the support for the development of sustainable management methods and modes in fishing and aquatic farming. It aims to carry out actions in this direction with all possible means of action: awareness raising and training intended for the general public, State representatives in the economic world, advocacy, communication, legal actions, support for associative, private and public. The members of the association are professional fishermen, researchers, engaged citizens, or even fish consumers who identify with the projects carried by the collective.

The association develops projects along the following lines:

• LOCAL FISHING - development and promotion of short circuits and direct sales in French fisheries, production of tools to facilitate the establishment of “community supported fisheries”

• COASTAL COMMUNITY - participatory action research with coastal communities in order to understand the issues that specifically affect them

Pleine Mer creates links between fishermen and consumers, for a transition to sustainable fishing. Thanks to our constant presence on the coast, we understand the expectations of communities in the context of fishing. We have published a map of inshore fishing suppliers, which has received excellent feedback from fishermen and consumers now directly linked: the development of a mobile application for smartphones would allow this link to be deepened, for local fishing and a living coastline.

Within various projects, the association pursues the following strategic objectives:

Link fishermen and civil society, two worlds which are often ignored and would benefit from working together towards more sustainability 

• analyze fishing as a complex and contextual system that deserves to be better known to the general public, thanks to a strong presence in the field (on land and at sea) develop sustainable and fair food systems in the fishing industry, via short circuits 

• enhance the existing and give citizens the means to develop innovative systems take a position on subjects related to fishing: pollution control, coastal preservation, gender issues, adaptation to climate change -> produce in-depth action research work in order to stimulate the dynamics of change.

 

The association is also facilitating inshore fishermen to sell their fish direct to the public as France, like the UK, enters a second Covid-19 lockdown.

Local fishing in Dieppe 

The fishing port has about forty boats, mostly shellfish gillnetters and shellfish trawlers. You want to buy your fish direct from Dieppe fishermen: you have the choice between two traditional direct sales places:

The stalls of the fishing port, Quai Trudaine: this place is very dynamic during the scallop season (in winter): the fishermen work there to sell this delicious shellfish caught by dredge on multi-purpose boats that work trawl the rest of the time. The rest of the time, only two fishermen promote their production on the stalls.

You will find there, for example, the ship L'EQUINOXE of Pierre and Emilie Villeneuve. You can contact them on 0699 406 326 to order.

• - “Les Barrières”, a place managed by the municipality where the Sté Lorient and the M'alizé sell their produce directly, and in particular delicious whelks. This place is also located on the port, but a little closer to the tourist area, opposite the restaurants. You will find the following boats there:

• The P'tit Roi boat: direct sale at the stall and at the barriers, Coquilles-Saint Jacques and fish The Sté 'Lorient and M'Alizé boats : direct sale and delivery of whelk, do not hesitate to visit their Facebook page to order The boat l'Nain, which you can find on its Facebook page the Princess of the Seas boat the Unicorn boat

The direct sale of fish in the port of Dieppe has the particularity of being seasonal: it is very dynamic during the summer tourist season and during the shell season in winter. Direct sales have the reputation of being a little less active during the off-season it's up to you to change that, fish have fishing seasons… but we fish all year round: the species are just different!

A small idea of ​​the species that you will find on the fishermen's stalls: sea bass, black bream, red gurnard, monkfish, plaice, turbot, whiting, surmullet, herring, lobster, scallops, sole, dab, pollack, cod, whelk , mackerel, live, conger, crab, squid, cuttlefish and… scallop, which we have already spoken about!

The fishermen of Dieppe told us that they were very interested in the “Local Fishing” project, in particular the new owners who did not yet practice direct sales but wanted to get started as soon as possible. So don't hesitate to go and support them by buying their fish directly!

Visit the Deep Sea website here - use your web browser to translate.

French fishermen are also becoming increasingly concerned over the growth of what has become known as the Blue Economy - reported on Through the Gaps as far back as 2012 and more recently.

Below is another page from the Pleine Mer website oitlining why the fishing industry needs to become more aware of who is in the driving seat of 'Blue Growth' and where it is being driven.

The Blue Fix: What's driving blue growth?

This article explores the politics behind the promise of ‘blue growth’. Reframing it as a ‘blue fix’, we argue that the blue growth discourse facilitates new opportunities for capital accumulation, while claiming that this accumulation is compatible with social and ecological aims as well. The blue fix is made up of three underlying sub-fixes. 

First of all, the conservation fix quenches the social thirst for action in the face of climate change. Here we see how protecting marine areas can be an important part of mitigating climate change, but in practice, gains at the national level are overshadowed by the ongoing expansion of offshore drilling for oil and gas. 

Second, the protein fix satisfies the growing global demand for healthy food and nutrition through the expansion of capital-intensive large-scale aquaculture, while ignoring the negative socio-ecological impacts, which effectively squeeze small-scale capture fishing out, while industrial capture fishing remains well positioned to expand into as well as supply industrial aquaculture with fish feed from pelagic fish. 

And third, an energy fix offers a burst of wind energy and a splash of new deep-sea minerals without disturbing the familiar and persistent foundation of oil and gas. This dimension of the blue fix emphasises the transition to wind and solar energy, but meanwhile the deep sea mining for minerals required by these new technologies launches us into unknown ecological territories with little understood consequences. 

The synergy of these three elements brought together in a reframing of ocean politics manifests as a balancing act to frame blue growth as ‘sustainable’ and in everyone’s interest, which we critically analyse and discuss in this article.

Blustery day in Newlyn.

 

The three crabbers...

two netters...

and a beam trawler...

plus the Sapphire II...

closely followed by the Joy of Ladram heading in through the gaps...

to a berth alongside the iceworks.

UK sees goodwill for Brexit trade deal, open to 'sensible' fishing compromise

  

Britain said on Monday it was open to a “sensible” compromise on fishing and that there was goodwill on both sides to progress towards a Brexit trade deal, with the European Union saying it was redoubling its efforts for an accord. Slideshow ( 4 images ) The United Kingdom left the EU in January but the sides are trying to clinch a deal that would govern nearly 1 trillion dollars in annual trade before transitional arrangements end on Dec. 31. 

“There are still differences, there are still some obstacles to overcome,” British Environment Secretary George Eustice told Sky News. “But I think there is now some goodwill on both sides to progress things.”

After congratulating Joe Biden on his U.S. presidential election win, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday an EU trade deal was “there to be done” and that the broad outlines were clear. 

Back in Britain on Monday for another round of talks, EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said: “Happy to be back in London today, redoubling our efforts to reach agreement on the future partnership.” 

Barnier said there remained three keys to unlocking a deal: respectful enforcement mechanisms, guarantees of fair competition, and stable access to markets including fishing. FISH Fishing contributed just 0.03% of British economic output in 2019, but many Brexit supporters see it as a symbol of the regained sovereignty they say leaving the EU brings. Combined with fish and shellfish processing, the sector makes up 0.1% of Britain’s GDP. 

“On fisheries we’ve always been open to doing a sensible approach, looking potentially at agreements that might span a couple, three years for instance,” Eustice said.

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“The issue will become what are the sharing arrangements, how much mutual access do we allow in one another’s waters and that’s obviously a discussion that will happen annually, but there may also be a partnership agreement that sets out the ground rules as to how we will work on that.”

The prospect of securing a longer-term deal with the EU on sharing the fish catch is important for getting a compromise. 

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Monday Biden’s election win in the United States could have an impact on this week’s Brexit negotiations, noting the president-elect’s support for Ireland’s position. 

However, the European Commission said the question of who is U.S president would have no bearing on the talks. 

Biden, who is proud of his Irish ancestry, has criticised Brexit in the past and said it must not be allowed to harm peace on the island of Ireland. By contrast, President Donald Trump has spoken out in favour of Brexit. 

The upper house of the British parliament, the House of Lords, was due later on Monday to debate Johnson’s Internal Market Bill, which would allow Britain to undercut parts of the 2020 Brexit divorce deal and has alarmed the EU. 

Eustice said the government would reinstate certain clauses if they were removed from the bill by the House of Lords.

Full story by Guy Faulconbridge, Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - 

Cornwall with Simon Reeve - bit of an eye-opener for some it seems.

Simeon Reeve's first, in a two-part series on Cornwall last night had many found their finger hovering on the channel-changer in the first ten minutes devoted to all things pasties and cream - then things changed. What followed was, at times, a hard to watch insight into a side of Cornwall well hidden from the quiet queues for a table at our Michelin-starred restaurants and second-homes where some owners used courier companies to ferry their luggage down during lockdown so as to avoid detection when travelling.

Fishing also featured earlier Countryfile, both programmes covering small-scale fishing with a sense of belonging for those involved, looking to secure the long term viability of shellfish, be it lobster or oyster. While Countryfile looked at 'saving Ester' (Cornish for oyster) a very noble cause to preserve the native oyster fishery Simon Reeve, set on discovering a different world dug deeper, from the depths of world's largest China clay pit then, literally as he drove down South Crofty tin mine under Camborne Tesco he then cut to Camborne foodbank hero, Don Gardner, a man selflessly helping to preserve people's lives. In that short time there was more than a touch of irony juxtaposing Chris Ranger's huge effort to preserve a traditional, totally eco-frendly, way-of-life oyster fishery to feed the Duchy's well-heeled visitors with a man's solo effort to save 500 families from starving within an area that once was home to more millionaires than any other place in the world - which was not lost on social media:

If nothing else, the programme brought home the reality of life living in an area where the English obsession with home ownership has allowed house values to appreciate out of all proportion to their affordability in areas where the average wage is way below the National average. Although all are free to choose to whom they sell your house, home owners in Cornwall are bound by the free-market economy - no-one in their right mind is going to sell their cottage in Mousehole to that young local couple for an affordable price when they can get £320,000 for their tiny 2 bedroom end-of-terrace cottage. On a winter walk though Mousehole's narrow streets you can count the number of homes with lights on with one hand, as harbourmaster Steve Basset said in Ghost Town, a film about second home ownership in St Ives, often even less.

Roger Bryant's song, 'Cornish Lads are Fishermen' sums up the dilemma faced by the young, and not so young, people of Cornwall.,

"Cornish lads are fishermen and Cornish lads are miners too. But when the fish and tin are gone, what are the Cornish boys to do?"

The BBC's description was thus:

Simon Reeve travels through glorious Cornwall during a summer like no other, as the county emerges from lockdown and businesses are in a race to survive. 

Cornwall is hugely reliant on tourism and the pandemic has highlighted how precarious people’s livelihoods are. In this first of two programmes, Simon journeys through some of the most beautiful coastal locations Britain has to offer and meets the incredible Cornish characters who make the county unique.

For the Taco Boys, a group of enterprising young entrepreneurs selling their homemade food on the beach, lockdown has been a disaster, and they must now put everything into earning enough money to make it through the winter when all their work dries up. Like many of the young people Simon meets, they are forced by the precarious tourist economy to live in temporary accommodation to make ends meet. Later in his journey, Simon meets a woman who lives in a shed and who blames the thousands of outsiders who own second homes and have forced housing prices to almost London levels in one of the poorest parts of Britain.

Before tourism became so huge, this was a county built on mining. Britain’s biggest mineral export after North Sea oil is still china clay mined in Cornwall, but just like the better known coal mines in the North of England and Wales, the collapse of Cornwall’s tin mining industry in the 1980s left whole communities bereft. Simon visits one of the poorest estates in Britain to see what hope locals have for the future and meets an ex-mining engineer who has set up one of Britain’s biggest food banks.

The pandemic has brought into focus just how reliant Cornwall is on tourism and seasonal work, but Simon learns how new industries and even a return to mining could promise a better future. Going back to Cornwall at the end of the summer, Simon learns how the people he’s met up with have fared and whether fears that the tourist influx could bring Covid-19 with it have come true. 

Where will episode two take us next Sunday?