DG MARE Lot 2: Retrospective and prospective evaluation on the common fisheries policy, excluding its international dimension Ref.

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1 Ref. Ares(2014) /05/2014 DG MARE Lot 2: Retrospective and prospective evaluation on the common fisheries policy, excluding its international dimension Ref. No MARE/2011/01 Specific Contract No. 5: STUDY IN SUPPORT OF THE REVIEW OF THE EU REGIME ON THE SMALL-SCALE DRIFTNET FISHERIES Appendix 4.9: Sweden Case Study Report May 8 th, 2014

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3 Project no: ZF1455_S06 Issue ref: FinalV002 Date of issue: 08/05/2014 Prepared by: MS Checked/Approved by: RM Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden Case study report Page i

4 Contents 0 Introduction Case Study Consultations Previous driftnet fleets Fleet trends Fishery characteristics Social and economic characteristics Sustainability of fisheries Current driftnet fleets National Monitoring, Control and Surveillance of driftnet fleets...10 Literature cited...11 Annex 1 Stakeholders consulted...12 Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden Case study report Page ii

5 0 Introduction At the time of this study driftnet fisheries had not taken place in Sweden since 1 st January This case study regards the previous driftnet fishery for salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (Salmo trutta) in the Baltic Sea. The main information and data sources for driftnet fisheries in Sweden are fleet register data and landings data from The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, Statistics Sweden and data gathered in various studies conducted by scientific bodies, especially ICES. Detailed and precise information on basic data was unavailable as the database does not distinguish between vessels fishing with driftnet and vessels fishing with longline. Precise data regarding the inyear distribution of vessel effort in driftnet fisheries compared to other fisheries were not available either. The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management has the single national responsibility for management, statistics, control and advice. Interviewed persons could only provide sparse information in addition to the hard data gathered. The driftnet ban took effect in 2008 and since then no Swedish vessels have fished with driftnet. On this background, the fisheries organisations and the fisherman interviewed provided limited information on the data regarding the fisheries and limited information on effects of the ban implemented more than 5 years ago. 0.1 Case Study Consultations Initial information on driftnet fisheries in Sweden was provided by The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and Sweden Statistics revealing that salmon catches was reduced to about 10 % following the driftnet ban I In subsequent years it rose to a level of about 50%. Consultations were arranged with the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and the Swedish Fishermen s Association. This organisation furthermore provided contacts for relevant fishermen to be interviewed. Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden Case study report Page 3

6 Table 1: Breakdown of Stakeholder Consultations Case Study/Type of Organisation Research Control & Management Producer Organisation/ Fisher Association Fisher/Exfisher NGO/Other Total No of Organisations Consulted No. of Consultations with Individuals No. of Focus Group Consultations (Nos. involved in each) Page 4 Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden study report

7 1 Previous driftnet fleets The Swedish driftnet fishery stopped with the implementation of the EU drift net ban in the Baltic Sea 1 st January The target species were salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (Salmo trutta). The fishery for these species in the Baltic Sea continued as a long line fishery. 1.1 Fleet trends The size of the Swedish salmon fleet can be seen in table 2 and 3. Vessel length of the Baltic salmon fleet were typically 5-15 meters in the period from 2002 to The figures cover both long line and drift net. The fleet register does not distinguish between long lining and drift net fishery. The driftnet fleet ceased to exist from 2008, some vessels were scrapped, some vessels changed to fishing salmon by long line and some vessels changed fishery and fishing gear according to stakeholders consulted. Table 2. The fleet fishing for salmon in the Baltic with drift net and longline Length Number of vessels Number of vessels Number of vessels meter meter meter meter total Source: Hav och Vatten, Sweden Table 3. The fleet fishing for salmon in the Baltic with drift net and longline Max. kilowatt Number of vessels Number of vessels Number of vessels kilowatt kilowatt kilowatt Over kilowatt total Source: Hav och Vatten, Sweden Table 3 shows the number of salmon fishing vessels fishing from Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Latvia from according to the report from Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute Data analysis to support the development of a Baltic sea salmon action plan (SI , FISH/2007/03)2009). The fishery was conducted with drift nets as well as hook and long line. Fishing for salmon in the Baltic was conducted by 1-12 active vessels in the period 1997 to 2007 with the peak of 12 vessels in to 73 less active vessels participated in the period. Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden Case study report Page 5

8 Table 4. Number of vessels from Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Latvia fishing for salmon according to activity (SI , FISH/2007/03) The effects of the COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 684/2004 of 13 April 2004 forbidding salmon with high dioxin content to be sold for human consumption cannot be assessed; Sweden enjoyed a limited exemption from the regulation. An analysis of the gear efficiency in the Danish salmon fishery was made for 2001 by DTU Aqua (Danmarks Fiskeriundersøgelser, ISBN: DFU-rapport ). It showed an autumn catch ration of 26 salmon per 100 net and 66 salmon per hooks. The average amount of nets used for one set was 529, and the average amount of hooks for one set In 2001 there were made 290 sets of drift nets and 553 sets of hooks. There is no account of the reasons for the hook fishery, but as it is easier to change the fishing depths of hooks, these may be used more efficiently in periods or areas where the salmon swim deeper than 5 meters. It is assumed that the figures reflect the situation in the Swedish fishery too. In ICES : WGBAST REPORT 2012, the general conclusion of the effects of the drift net ban was the following: The disappearance of the driftnet fishery in 2008 initially had a considerable effect on the fishery. Driftnet fishery was conducted by vessels having specialized in using driftnets in the autumn and spring and some of them fished with longlines in the winter months The disappearance of the driftnet fishery in 2008 initially had a considerable effect on the fishery. Driftnet fishery was conducted by vessels having specialized in using driftnets in the autumn and spring and some of them fished with longlines in the winter months (ICES WGBAST REPORT 2012) Page 6 Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden study report

9 1.1.1 Fishery characteristics The target species were salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (Salmo trutta) in the Eastern Baltic sub area The fishery was managed by quotas for numbers of fish and controlled by the Swedish authorities according to EU guidelines. The national quotas were allocated by EU council decision on basis of the agreed management in the Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission and after the succession of most Baltic States to EU between EU and Russia. The management was based on scientific advice provided by ICES. The fishery was conducted from September to December with driftnet of a total length typically from 10 to 20 kilometres according to the consulted fishermen. The development in the Swedish catches and the price per kilo can be seen in table 4 for the period 1999 to Table 5. Salmon catches in kg., number and value Species Year Weight (kg) Number Price (Skr/kg) SALMON , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Source: Hav och Vatten, Sweden The drift net fishery was a clean fishery with no by catches. By catches of harbour porpoise were not registered. Due to the driftnet ban in 2008 the harvest rate of feeding salmon decreased to about one third. Since then the longline fishing has increased. The present offshore fishing of salmon takes place in the most southern part of the Baltic Main Basin. Previously important fishing took place also in the northern Baltic Sea at the Gotland Deep, and in the Bothnian Sea and Gulf of Finland. (ICES WGBAST REPORT 2012) The development of the entire Baltic driftnet and hook fishery for salmon can be seen from the figures below. Figure 1 shows the development in fishing effort from 1986 to Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden Case study report Page 7

10 Figure 1. Development in driftnet and hook fishery. Fishing effort is calculated as gear days (ICES WGBAST Report 2008) The development in Baltic catches for salmon can be seen from Figure 2 below. Figure 2. Development in tonnes of salmon caught for Baltic States (SI , FISH/2007/03) Social and economic characteristics Fishermen in general suffered an economic loss due to the ban and need to leave the fishery or invest in new gear according to the fisherman interviewed. He stated he had kept all his gear and would resume driftnet for salmon if the ban was lifted. Page 8 Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden study report

11 1.1.3 Sustainability of fisheries The Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS) was concluded in 1991 under the auspices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS or Bonn Convention) and entered into force in The aim of the Agreement is to promote close cooperation amongst Parties with a view to achieving and maintaining a favourable conservation status for small cetaceans in the entire Agreement area. In 2002 ASCOBANS declared the third Sunday in May of each year as the International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise in order to raise awareness of the critical situation of the populations of harbour porpoises native to the Baltic Sea. Following the discussions regarding the status and need for protection of the harbour porpoise, EU adopted COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2187/2005 which prohibited the use of driftnet in the Baltic from 1 January In the discussions on the basis for the ban Commissioner Joe Borg 22 nd February answered the European Parliament: In the past, Harbour porpoises used to occur in the Baltic Sea but the population has been declining significantly over recent decades and is today considered endangered. Harbour porpoises are now rare in the Baltic Sea. The incidental entanglement of harbour porpoise in fishing gear, particularly driftnets, has been identified as the main threat to the population in the Baltic Sea, inhibiting any possible recovery of this population. Significant bycatches of harbour porpoises in the salmonid drift net fishery along the Polish Coast were reported until the late 1990(1). The Subgroup on Fishery and Environment (SGFEN) of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) recommended a prohibition of drift nets in their report in 2002(2). Data for recent years indeed show that there have not been any cetacean by-catches reported in the years 2005 or later. This corresponds, however, to the low status of the population and the resulting limitation of its distribution to the Western Baltic.Harbour porpoises have full protection status under Community legislation and the drift net ban is considered an essential measure to allow for the recovery of the harbour porpoise population in the Baltic Sea. While a full drift net ban has been implemented in other European waters already since 2002, a gradual approach was accepted by the Commission for the Baltic Sea, Experts now estimate that the number of harbour porpoise in Baltic Sea amounts to just 100 individuals. They consider the conversation prospects very bad according to the workshop on The Harbour Porpoise of the Baltic Sea (Warzaw, October 2012). The workshop identified the main threats to the harbour porpoise as follows: by-catch, chemical pollution, noise, disturbances, collisions, climate changes and fluctuations impacting the environment, changes in the food source. An account of the sustainability effect of the drift net ban on harbour porpoise was not made. Sustainability in relation to salmon was somewhat reduced following the ban due to increased catches of undersized salmon (ICES) Due to the driftnet ban in 2008 the harvest rate of feeding salmon decreased to about one third. Since then the longline fishing has increased. The share of discarded minimum size salmon is most likely to be larger in the present offshore longline fishery than in the past driftnet fishery. In the Danish offshore fishing in undersized salmon in longline catches varied between 1.7% and 20.3% (mean 11.5%), whereas in the driftnet catch the mean percentage of salmon smaller than 60 cm was 3% (ICES WGBAST REPORT 2012) Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden Case study report Page 9

12 2 Current driftnet fleets No driftnet fleets exist in Sweden according to the Swedish agency (The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, SwAM) National Monitoring, Control and Surveillance of driftnet fleets Control of the driftnet ban takes place in context of other control duties, cost and number of controls is not accounted for. Information about possible infringements could not be obtained. Page 10 Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden study report

13 Literature cited COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 684/2004 of 13 April 2004 Danmarks Fiskeriundersøgelser, Afd. for Ferskvandsfiskeri, 8600 Silkeborg Dansk laksefiskeri i Østersøen 2001, Status for forsøg med forsinket udsatte laks ved Bornholm og Møn Af Frank Ivan Hansen og Stig Pedersen ISBN: DFU-rapport Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute DATA ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A BALTIC SEA SALMON ACTION PLAN (2009) SI , FISH/2007/03 Lot 6 ICES WGBAST REPORT 2008 ICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE ICES CM 2008/ACOM: 05 Report of the Baltic Salmon and Trout Assessment Working Group (WGBAST) ICES WGBAST REPORT 2012, ICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE, ICES CM 2012/ACOM: 08, REF. ACOM, PGCCDBS Summary report, WWF Workshop and Conference The Harbour Porpoise of the Baltic Sea. Warsaw, October 2012 Statistics Sweden Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden Case study report Page 11

14 Annex 1 Stakeholders consulted Organisation/name The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management Patrik Persson Organisation Type &/or Role in Organisation Management and control Type of consultation and assistance provided Questionnaire Salmon and Sea trout fisheries Date of Consultation July/August 2013 Swedish Fishermen s Association: Yrkesfiskaren Bernt Andersson The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management Sara Kihlgren and Jonas Ericson Statistics Sweden Olle Funcke Swedish Fishermen s Association: Fredrik Lindberg Vessel VY 247 fisher Lars Broman, Gotland Editor of the paper commercial fisherman Statistics Statistics Mail consultation Salmon and Sea trout fisheries Mail consultation n; Salmon and Sea trout fisheries and vessel register Mail consultation; Salmon and Sea trout fisheries and vessel register July/August 2013 July/August 2013 July/August 2013 Fisheries organisation Telephone and mail July/August 2013 typical salmon fisher telephone consultation; salmon and Sea trout fisheries July/August 2013 Page 12 Evaluation of driftnet fisheries Sweden study report