In December 2008 the Council of Ministers under the helm of Joe Borg implemented stringent measures to protect Cod, whiting and haddock in fisheries zone VIa, west of Scotland east of the shelf edge.  The International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) gave advice for zero catches in  all three which moved the Council of Ministers to agree  a prohibition on fishing activity for 2009.  The measures were contained initially in annex III of the annual TAC and Quota regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 43/2009) and subsequently rolled over to 30^th June 2011(Council Regulation (EC) No 1288/2009) and then again to 31^st December 2012 (Council Regulation (EU) No 579/2011).   The council failed at that time to introduce a replacement to the main technical conservation regulation 850/1998 and certain transitional measures contained in annex III because of issues relating to the European Parliament and the onset of co decision.

The prohibition is accompanied by a list of derogations one of which is for vessels using demersal trawls and seines who may continue to fish using minimum mesh size of 120mm (previously 100mm) vessels using this gear must also insert a 120mmm square mesh panel with the extra restriction that   no more 30% of the retained catch by weight is comprised of any mixture of cod, haddock and/or whiting.

One of these stocks, haddock, is recovering quickly; two years of decent recruitment accompanied by a level of fishing mortality (F) currently sitting around Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) means haddock no longer fits the restriction.  In its advice for area VIa haddock in 2012, ICES suggest that following the MSY framework and an aligned F=0.3, a course Commissioner Damanaki would seem  desperate to take, results in landings of 10,200t, an increase of 410% on 2011.  Applying the management plan, which contains a TAC constraint of 25%, would result in landings in 2012 of 2506t, this level of TAC infers a 77% reduction in fishing mortality. In other words the TAC would be set at a level that could only accommodate 25% of the current effort (broadly speaking), activity above and beyond that level would result in 100% discards.

The European Commission (Coin) are therefore faced with two options: either they set the appropriate level of opportunity which in this case is 10,200t, with the accompanying measure of removing haddock from the 30% by-catch provision, which I suggest wouldn’t have applied in the first instance had haddock been in its current healthy state. Or, apply the management plan which includes the TAC constraint of 25% although it would seem to make no sense to apply the management plan and a TAC constraint at a time when the biomass is increasing so dramatically. Management plans are traditionally applied when the biomass is relatively stable, not when recovering where biomass can increase so dramatically over short periods of time.  Invoking the plan now and setting the TAC at 2506t, with its inferred reduction in mortality, will only lead to huge regulatory discards in 2012 and thereafter for many, many years until such time as the slow alignment allows the TAC to match abundance on the grounds.

The facts speak for themself: The amount of adult haddock in the sea in 2012 will be at least double observed levels irrespective of whether we set the TAC at 10,200t or 2,506t. Fishing mortality of F=0.3 is used in both situations however; applying the management plan restricts the upward movement of the TAC to 25%.  ICES clearly states that setting the TAC at this level infers a reduction in fishing mortality to a quarter of its current levels; they state in their advice: “The improving stock condition and associated advice assuming the management plan or the MSY approach will lead to increased catches of haddock for which the current by-catch arrangements will be inappropriate”. 

The Scientific, Technical, and Economic, Committee for Fisheries (STECF), the Coin’s own advisory group body states in their analyses of ICES advice. “STECF notes that the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) 1288/2009 specifies that the percentage of cod, haddock and whiting that shall be retained on board by vessels operating in Division Via shall be no greater than 30% of the total catch on board. If the by-catch restrictions remain in place in 2012, it is likely that fishing at F=0.3 in 2012 will give rise to increased discarding of haddock. In an attempt to prevent any increase in discarding of haddock, it would now seem appropriate to permit a directed fishery for haddock in Division VIa”.

The facts are clear, and the body of advice and special comments from institutions, such as ICES and STECF that operate in the highest level of authority is quite deliberate.  In these circumstances, and taking account of the weight of informed comment, our fishermen ask no more of Commissioner Damanaki and her services than to be treated fairly and in line with the body of informed comment from experts.   This issue presents a real test for the Commissioner who would seem to be keen in resolving the issue of discards; it would be more than slightly embarrassing if her officials failed to deal with this situation appropriately. 

Mike Park

CEO

SWFPA