SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC COMMITTEE FOR FISHERIES

Transcription

1 COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Brussels, SEC(2002) 998 COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC COMMITTEE FOR FISHERIES Ad hoc WORKING GROUP EVALUATION OF GALICIAN RECOVERY PLANS FOR SOUTHERN HAKE STOCK AND SARDINE STOCK Brussels, July 2002 This report has been approved by STECF through a fast-track procedure by correspondence

2 7$%/(2)&217(176 1 INTRODUCTION RECOVERY PLAN FOR THE SARDINE FROM GALICIA (SPAIN) DISTRIBUTION AND BIOLOGY THE FISHERY STATUS OF THE SARDINE STOCK IN VIIIC AND IXA RECOVERY PLAN COMMENTS Biological considerations; Stock status Reductions in fishing activity Fleet restructuring STECF OPINION RECOVERY PLAN FOR THE SOUTHERN HAKE STOCK, IN GALICIA (SPAIN) FISHERY Trawl fishery Artisanal fishery Economic value of hake to the Galician fishery STATUS OF THE STOCK RECOVERY PLAN COMMENTS Effort regulation Technical measures Other STECF OPINION...12

3 ,1752'8&7,21 Council Regulation (EC) No. 2792/99 lays down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector. In line with the provisions defined in Article 16.1.(c) of the above Regulation, the Commission requested the opinion of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) on scientific and economic justification for probable recovery plans submitted by Galicia (Spain) Regional Autonomous Government. The two proposed recovery plans were: Sardine (6DUGLQDSLOFKDUGXV) in Divisions VIIIc and IXa. Southern hake (0HUOXFFLXVPHUOXFFLXV) in Divisions VIIIc and IXa. STECF has adopted the fast-track procedure, agreed upon at its 12th meeting (SEC(2001)1581), to evaluate proposals for recovery plans outside the plenary session meeting. An DGKRF Working Group(WG) was specifically set up and convened in Brussels on 22nd to 24th July, The WG also worked by correspondence in preparing for the meeting and to finalise the report. The WG was composed of the following experts: Dr De Cardenas Enrique Dr Pawson Mike (chairman) Dr Abaunza Pablo Dr Oliver Pere 67(&)6HFUHWDULDW Dr Biagi Franco At the beginning of the meeting, the Commission explained the terms of reference for the meeting and the Commission s responsibilities in relation to proposals for stock recovery plans. Brief discussion took place concerning the criteria that should guide the experts and particularly the following: - diagnosis upon which the recovery plan is based: status of the resources and evolution of main fishery indices; - prognosis and expected results of the measures proposed, including benchmarks for recovery, appropriateness of the methodology to evaluate progress towards these objectives. -congruence of the plan with the targets (e.g. timeframe, appropriateness of management measures with conservation objectives, likely effectiveness of proposed measures, etc.) as well as with ongoing fishing practices and management measures already implemented/enforced -completeness of the plan: conservation, market, control, monitoring and research - short and long term socio-economic effects 1

4 The Commission also emphasised that recovery plans under Art. 16(c) should be based on genuine conservation needs and not be used as an excuse to subsidise the fishing fleet, with the consequent high risk of eliminating the expected conservation results, as well as to delay other urgent conservation management measures. For each stock recovery plan, the DGKRF Working Group prepared a description of the fishery taking the species in Galician waters, an account of the status of the relevant stock, and a summary of the management measures as presented in the submission. Comments were made on this basis of the adequacy of the plan to achieve stock recovery, and any additional requirements according to the expert opinion of the DG KRFWorking Group. 5(&29(5<3/$1)257+(6$5',1()520*$/,&,$63$,1 2.1 DISTRIBUTION AND BIOLOGY Sardine is an important pelagic fish species with a wide distribution area in the North-east Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Its geographical limits seem to lie within the area where the average water temperature is between 10ºC and 20ºC. Several authors have recently hypothesized that sardine distribution and abundance are dependent on the oceanographic regime. A high abundance, wide geographic distribution, feeding/spawning migrations and high fishery productivity are all associated with favourable regimes. Information is presented from egg and acoustic surveys on the stock of sardine in Iberian Atlantic waters. The acoustic surveys are carried out by Spain (in spring) and by Portugal (in spring and October). It has been concluded from these surveys that recruitment in 2000 was high. In the Cantabrian Sea, sardine were mainly found on the continental shelf reaching to the slope edge and, in general, they had higher mean length (around 22 cm) than those found in Galicia and north of Portugal (around 15 cm). 2.2 THE FISHERY The sardine stock in ICES Divisions VIIIc and IXa forms the basis of an important commercial fishery in Spain and Portugal. Almost all landings (99%) are made with purse seines and discards are negligible. In 2000, the total estimated catch was around 86, 000 t (20,000 t from Spain and 66,000 t from Portugal). This level of catch is the lowest in the time series (since 1978), and has followed a decreasing trend which started in mid-1980 s. The decrease in catches is mainly due to the scarcity of sardine in the Spanish area, above all in Galician waters, whereas Portuguese catches have remained more constant. The seasonal patterns of sardine catches differ depending on the geographical region. In Sub-division VIIIc East (Cantabrian Sea), most of the catch in 2000 (7,500 t, similar to 1999) was taken during the first and the fourth quarters, outside the main anchovy and tuna fishing periods. In VIIIc West (North Galicia), catches were 4,150 t, similar to In IXa North (South Galicia), sardine catches were similar to 1999 (2,900 t) and much lower than the yields during the 1980s in this area (mean 52, 000 t). In IXa Central-North (North Portugal), landings between March until the end of the year fell by 35% compared with 31, 600 t obtained in In IXa Central-South 2

5 (Adjacent to Lisbon) and in IXa South (Algarve), catches were 23, 700 t and 19,100 t respectively, which represent a slight increase compared with those obtained in On the contrary, catches in the Gulf of Cadiz (IXa Cadiz, Spain) decreased from 7, 500 t to 5,100 t. The sardine fishery is important to local economies due to the large amount of direct employment. For example, in the Galicia area only (VIIIc West and IXa North), most of the purse seine fleet of 210 fishing vessels has the sardine as a target species. 2.3 STATUS OF THE SARDINE STOCK IN VIIIC AND IXA Using the assessment carried out in 2001, ACFM considers that the sardine stock in Divisions VIIIc and IXa is currently experiencing a period of low abundance. In view of uncertainty about the biological identity of this stock and the difficulty in estimating stock size historically, ICES has not proposed precautionary reference points for this stock. The spawning stock biomass (SSB) is estimated to have remained near its lowest recorded level since 1998, and fishing mortality (F) has recently declined from near its highest level in the time series. ACFM suggest that a combination of management measures, introduced by Spain and Portugal, may have contributed to this reduction in F, but the steady decline in landings since 1981 has continued and the level of recruitment since 1993 has been below average. As described above, the relative abundance of sardine in different areas has changed through time, and the stock definitions are unclear. As a consequence, it is difficult to predict the effects that local management measures would have on the stock s overall production. 2.4 RECOVERY PLAN The DGKRF WG reviewed the documents provided by the Commission, concerning the Recovery Plan for Galicia (Spain)Ã. These documents explain a series of measures that have been implemented in recent years to try to manage the sardine fishery in Galicia. Since January 2000, these measures have been considered as part of a recovery plan, which has been associated with a similar plan in Portuguese waters. Several measures have already been implemented for several years SULRU WR. These include: A closed list of vessels (210 or 232; unclear), which represent 24% of the total purse seiners in the Spanish fleet in Divisions VIIIc and XIa. The EU minimum legal landing size of 11 cm 1 Proyecto de Orden reguladora del Plan de recuperación de la sardina en el ano 2002; Informe sobre solicitud de información complementaria; Sardine- ICES Cooperative Research Report No.246; Sardine ACFM/WGREPS/WGMHSQ/REPORTS/2002/Sec-8; Orden de 8 febrero 2000, D.O.G. No 30, 14 de febrero 2000; Orden de 14 febrero 2002, D.O.G. No 52, 13 marzo 2002; Informe Medidas tendientes a la protección de los stocks de Sardina atlántica puestas en marcha por la comunidad autónoma de Galicia 3

6 6LQFH, additional measures introduced in the Galicia area include: A closed season to protect the spawning stock: from February 15 March 30 (45 days) in 2000 from February 1 st April 15 (75 days = 21% of the available fishing time) in2001 plus 68 hours a week in harbour (Friday 16:00 Monday 12:00) A maximum landing of 7 tonnes per vessel per day, to be landed only in 19 designated harbours in Galicia, as a means of better monitoring and regulating landings. It should be noted that after 15 th of April, part of the purse seine fleet moves to fish for anchovy and tuna. Also that the use of trawling for sardine, (anchovy and tuna and like tuna species) is forbidden. Similar measures have been implemented in Portugal and the Cantabrian Sea (north of Spain). The 5HFRYHU\ 3ODQ IRU was implemented with the objective to recover the sardine stock by means of protecting the spawning stock and by reducing overall fishing mortality in The measures included a closed period from February 1 st to April 15 2 (75 days = 21 % of the fishing time), plus 68 hours a week in harbour, as in However, according to the draft of the Orden reguladora del Plan de recuperación de la sardina en el ano 2002 the temporary ban should have lasted from 15 February to 31 March (45 days instead of 75). It is anticipated that these three concepts: closed season, weekend resting and worktime reduction, would provide an important reduction in the fishing pressure. The Galician Government s submission considers that the above measures contribute to the recovery of the sardine stock. 2.5 COMMENTS %LRORJLFDOFRQVLGHUDWLRQV Sardine (6DUGLQDSLOFKDUGXV) is considered to be relatively short-lived (up to ten years old), and the success of recruitment is crucial to further increase the size of the population. Sardine shows a high variability in the recruitment process and hence, in population size. Variability in recruitment is related to the environmental conditions, and there is no clear relationship between SSB and recruitment. Sardine spawn in two main areas in the Iberian Atlantic waters between October and May: off the coast of Portugal with a peak in winter; and in the Cantabrian Sea with a peak in spring. Recruits at age 0 are found in greatest abundance off the northern 2 Orden de 8 de febrero 2000 (DOG N 30, 14 February 2000) 4

7 coast of Portugal during summer and autumn. The presence of sardine in Galician waters depends not only on the existence of a resident population, but also on immigration that mainly occurs in summer. There appears to be an age gradient from the Spanish/Portuguese border, where most of the fish are young, to the Cantabrian Sea where the bulk of the population belongs to older age groups. 6WRFNVWDWXV The decline in SSB observed since the mid-1990s has been accompanied by a diminishing spawning area, chiefly off North Portugal and in the western part of the Cantabrian Sea. Associated with this reduction, there was a considerable decline in Galician catches in the late 1990s, whilst there was a fairly stable yield off South Portugal and in the eastern part of the Bay of Biscay. Recent studies suggest that the failure of the Galician sardine fishery may be better understood in the context of local depletion due to the low size of the stock, with the bulk of the distribution remaining off the southern area (Portugal). Hence the lack of adult fish in Galician waters. On the other hand, the coastal spawning behaviour resulting in the higher retention of earlier life stages (from eggs to recruits) in the same area where they were hatched may explain the lack of juveniles off south Galicia. 5HGXFWLRQVLQILVKLQJDFWLYLW\ Although the closed season and other restrictions on fishing activity are claimed to result in a 55% reduction in available time for fishing sardine, this does not take into account the seasonal movements of some vessels into métiers that do not catch sardines. There is, moreover, no quantitative evaluation of the impact of this measure on the exploitation level of sardine. Nevertheless, it seems that these measures have had a positive impact on the fishing mortality observed during 2000 and 2001 (ACFM Report No 246). )OHHWUHVWUXFWXULQJ The closed list of fishing units operated by the Galician Government will limit entry to the sardine fishery, but reductions in vessel numbers do not necessarily translate to fishing power, and it is that which controls exploitation rates. 2.6 STECF OPINION 1. The measures presented in this submission do not represent a recovery plan in its strict sense, but are a continuation of regulations introduced to better manage the sardine fishery in Galician (and Portuguese) waters. Quite correctly, they are aimed at providing as much protection as possible for the spawning stock so as to reduce the probability of stock failure. There is no clear evidence that the sardine stock in VIIIc and IXa as a whole is outside safe biological limits. 2. There is no statement of conservation targets in the Galician Government s submission (other than to reduce and maintain F below 0.25, as recommended by ACFM), nor is there any information provided that allows STECF to judge the effectiveness of the plan nor whether such targets might be achieved. 5

8 3. The ad hoc Working Group agrees with ACFM s concern that a better description of the stock structure of sardine is required, and in particular the biological relationship between spawning fish and recruits in the different geographical components of this stock. 4. In preparing a stock recovery plan, it is essential that objectives for recovery (such as an appropriate level of fishing mortality to enable spawning stock biomass to be sustained within safe limits) are clearly presented and a time-scale and method for monitoring progress towards such recovery are described. It is also important to explain how actions taken within the recovery programme will result in an exploitation capacity (both fleet capacity and technical measures) that will enable the stock to remain within safe limits. This was lacking in the Galician Government s submission on sardine. 5(&29(5<3/$1)257+(6287+(51+$.(672&.,1*$/,&,$63$,1 3.1 FISHERY The demersal fishery in ICES Divisions VIIIc and IXa ICES Divisions is a multigear fishery in which each gear targets a particular composition of species with a particular age distribution for each species. The activity of fishing units within these gear and species combinations (métiers) have a strong seasonality. This fishery is prosecuted by Spanish and Portuguese trawl and artisanal fleets. The trawl fleet is quite homogeneous and uses two gears, bottom trawl and pair trawl. In contrast, the artisanal fleet is heterogeneous and uses a wide variety of gears, traps, nets, long-lines etc, according to target species. The average catch composition of each gear used by the Galician fleet for the period , is presented in Table 1. 7UDZOILVKHU\ Bottom trawl catches are dominated by six species groups: horse mackerel, blue whiting, mackerel, hake, anglerfishes and megrims. These species are caught throughout the year with some fluctuations depending on season and sea conditions. The great majority of the landings are used directly for human consumption. Pair trawls are mainly directed to blue whiting, but hake is an important part of the bycatch The majority of the hake in trawl landings are below 40 cm, with the peak length range between 25 and 30 cm (NB minimum landing size 27 cm). 21% of the catch by weight and 70% by number is discarded, chiefly because the fish are below 27 cm. The 133 Galician trawlers fishing in 2001 had an average Hp of 450 and, in 1998, caught 35% of the international catch of southern hake. 6

9 Table 1: Average landings ( ) of the main species caught by demersal fisheries in the Cantabrian and North-East fishing grounds. Artisanal Species Longline&handline Volanta Betas Rasco 7RWDO Bottom trawl Trawl Pair trawl 7RWDO 7RWDO Megrim Anglerfish Hake Blue whiting Nephrops Mackerel Horse Mackerel Total

10 $UWLVDQDOILVKHU\ Although there is a great variety of artisanal gears working in this fishery, the most important for hake are: Long-line and hand-line, for which hake comprise about 75% catch, with a wide length composition from 25 to 75 cm. Volanta, is a gillnet gear (mesh size >80 mm) which also takes about 75% of hake in the catch, with a length distribution between 30 and 70 cm and a peak around 50 cm. Another gillnet gear, betas (mesh size about 60 mm), is used seasonally inside the rias, in which hake comprise 50% of the catch with a length range from 17 to 38 cm and a peak at 25 cm. (FRQRPLFYDOXHRIKDNHWRWKH*DOLFLDQILVKHU\ First sale data for 1998 suggest that, for that part of the fishery in the Galician and Cantabrian Sea and the main 7 species groups, the total annual incomes are more than 72 million ¼7KHPRVWLPSRUWDQWVSHFLHVE\YDOXHLVWKHKDNHZKLFKPDGHXS of the total. Blue whiting, horse mackerel and mackerel constituted 80% of the total landings in weight, but amount to only 20% by value. For bottom trawlers, 82% of the value of the catch comes from hake, angler fish, megrim and 1HSKURSV. Blue whiting is an important species for Galician pair trawlers, ranging 64% to 73% of the total value of its catch, but is less important for Cantabrian and Basque pair trawlers, making between 15 and 25% of the total value. For the artisanal fisheries, hake and anglerfish constituted more than 90% of the total income. 3.2 STATUS OF THE STOCK Using the assessment carried out in 2001, ACFM considers that the Southern hake stock is currently outside safe biological limits. The spawning stock biomass (SSB) is estimated to have improved in 2000 from near the biomass limit (since 1994) to just below the precautionary biomass reference point (Bpa), though it is noted that the assessment has a tendency to over-estimate SSB in the final year. Similarly, fishing mortality (F) has recently declined to a level in 2000 that is slightly above the reference point (Fpa), though this is also likely to be under-estimated in the assessment. The preliminary results of the ICES assessment in 2002 confirm this stock situation, pointing to a less rapid decline in F in 2001 and a relatively small recovery in SSB, which remains well below Bpa. Given the continual decline in landings since 1983 and the generally low level of recruitment throughout the 1990s, the DG KRF Working Group considers that management of the southern hake stock would benefit from a recovery plan. It is relevant that ICES advice for this stock since 1999 has been to reduce F below Fpa, and that the agreed TAC has been set only slightly above the advised level, but 8

11 the fishery s landings (as used by ACFM) have been below the predicted catch corresponding to the advice 3.3 RECOVERY PLAN The STECF DG KRF WG examined and reviewed the documents provided by the Commission, concerning the Recovery Plan for Galicia (Spain) 3. These documents explain a series of measures that have been implemented in recent years to try to manage the hake fishery in Galicia. These measures have been introduced in two periods, i.e. before January 2002 and from this date onwards, when the Recovery Plan started. In the ILUVW SHULRG (before January 2002) and taking as reference the closed list of trawlers compiled by the Spanish fishery administration, the trawl fleet in the area (which is around 80% of the Spanish fleet operating in VIIIc and that part of IXa north of the Portuguese border) has been reduced by 24% in numbers of vessels and 25% in GRT in the last 8 years. The Plan now includes 133 trawlers (14 of which are in process of being scrapped), the average characteristics of which are: 183 GTR, 450 HP, 23 m in length and 20 years old. Since 1991, the activity of this fleet has been reduced to 5 days a week (they are required to be in port for 48 hours during each week end), which represents a reduction of up to 30% of the time at sea. A series of technical measures have been implemented since 1983: a permanent ban of trawlingin waters less than 100 m depth; more recently, two areas between 100 and 200 m depth have been closed to trawlers in some months; higher minimum mesh sizes in the cod-end; and stronger enforcement of the minimum landing size of 27 cm. In the VHFRQGSHULRG5HFRYH\3ODQ (since January 2002) the closed areas have been extended out to 200 m depth during the period October 1 st January 31, equivalent to 25% of the area that can be trawled. Simultaneously, the maximum fishing time allowed each day at sea has been limited to 18 hours (stopping for 6 hours during night); and, from end January to end of April 2002, the fishing time was reduced to 9 hours. The minimum mesh size of the trawls has been increased to 55 mm, as well as a limitation on the use of rock-hopper devices. 1) Advisory Committee on Fisheries Management (ACFM- 2001) referente a la merluza -stock sur- en las divisiones VIIIc y Ixa; 2) Advisory Committe on Fisheries Management (ACFM) 2001 referente a otras especies afectadas en las divisiones VIIIc y IXa. Especis demersales y pelágicas como los gallos, rapes, y cigala; y especies pelágicas como el jurel; 3) ICES Working Group on the assessment of Southern Shelf Demersal Stock 2001; 4) IEO report La pesquería demersal en el caladero nacional del cantábrico y noroeste de ; 5) Real Decreto 1441/1999, de 10 de septiembre por el que se regula el ejercicio de la pesca con artes de arrastre defondo en el caladero nacional del Cantábrico y Noroeste; 6) Orden Ministerial de 25 de julio de 2001 por la que se establecen determinadas vedas de arrastre de fondo en el caladero nacional del Cantábrico y Noroeste,; 7) Orden Ministerial de 2 de enero de 2002, por la que se establece un plan de pesca para la pesquería de arrastre de fondo en el caladero nacional del Cantábrico y Noroeste; 8) Orden autonómica del 22 de enero de 2002 por la que se fijan los horarios del periodo de parada diaria de la pesca de arrastre previsto en el plan de pesca del Estado; 9) Medidas tendentes a la protección de los stocks de la merluza del stock sur puestos en marcha por la Comunidad Autónoma de Galicia y el Estado Miembro; 10) Draft decree of recovery plan for the year

12 In addition to this strengthening of existing measures, the Galician trawler fleet is also required to tie up for a total of 4 months during a three year period ( ) within the period October 1st-January 31 (simultaneous with the closure of the two boxes established to protect the juvenile hake). Also, the closed list of vessels will no longer allow units to move into other métiers catching hake. The Galician Government s submission considers that all the above measures contribute to the recovery of the Southern hake stock. 3.4 COMMENTS The STECF ad hoc WG considers that the main aim of a recovery plan is to help a severely depleted stock to return within safe biological limits. This should be achievable with the measures proposed and in a time frame that is biologically meaningful. As regard the Southern hake stock, the available information shows that it is outside safe biological limits, due to its low spawning biomass and high fishing mortality. Given the continual decline in landings since 1983 and the generally low level of recruitment throughout the 1990s, the DGKRF Working Group considers that management of the southern hake stock would benefit from a recovery plan. In April 2002, the STECF evaluated a previous proposal of a recovery plan for southern hake submitted by the Galician Government in March In this proposal it was proposed to tie up the Galician trawler fleet for a total period of 4 months during the three year period , to coincide with the seasonal closure of the two hake boxes, which had been established to protect the juvenile hake. This reduction of 40 days per year corresponds to a reduction of 11% of the fishing time by each unit of the Galician trawl fleet, but suggests an overall reduction of only 3% in F on the stock. STECF therefore considered that this proposal would have negligible conservation benefit for the southern hake stock. Taking into account the new information made available, this DGKRF Working Group, considers that the combination of measures may have some beneficial effects given the poor exploitation pattern of the trawl métier in relation to hake (and its considerable discards), and that the period of reduced fishing corresponds to that in which juvenile hake are most abundant in Galician waters. However, these benefits have not been quantified in the submission. Whilst the new proposal contains a number of measures aimed at reducing F on hake (and associated species), the DGKRF Working Group believes that the current structure and components of the Recovery Plan need to be improved, not least to demonstrate how it will achieve its objectives, by taking into account the following considerations: It should be made clear what part of the distribution of the stock the Galician Recovery Plan is relevant to, and whether these measures should be extended to include areas where other fisheries affect the Southern hake stock. The Recovery Plan should aim towards having a fishing capacity in the Galician fleet directed at hake that is equivalent to the product of that fleet s proportion of the total Southern hake landings and the fishing mortality required to sustain SSB above Bpa. Measures should be introduced to reduce and maintain the effort at that sustainable level. 10

13 Considering that the age of first maturity of female hake is around 4 years, the Recovery Plan should be implemented for not less than 5 years to be fully effective, and to allow for any possible amelioration in the status of the stock and fishery to be detected during this period. A monitoring programme to measure the progress in fishing capacity reduction and recovery of SSB should be included as part of the Recovery Plan. With respect to the elements of the proposed recovery plan, the DG KRF Working Group has the following comments: (IIRUWUHJXODWLRQ Fleet restructuring. The closed list of fishing units operated by the Galician Government will limit entry to the hake fishery, but reductions in vessel numbers do not necessarily translate to fishing power, and it is that which controls exploitation rates. There is a need to consider and quantify the inevitable improvement in catching efficiency of individual units through time (technical creep), especially true engine power in trawling fleets. Activity at sea. The weekend fishing ban has been in place for over 10 years, during which time there has been a reduction in F but no significant recovery of the stock. It appears that regulations on fishing activity within the existing fleet are not sufficient by themselves to bring about stock recovery. The further reduction in fishing time at sea may help this situation, but there is no information on the relative catchability of hake by day and by night and the likely impact on F is not presented. In the context of fishing activity reductions, the DGKRF Working Group notes that equivalent reduction in effort must remain in place after the recovery plan period. 7HFKQLFDOPHDVXUHV Closed areas. The ban on trawling in water less than 100 m deep, plus the extension of the existing hake box to encompass the equivalent of 25% of the total trawlable area, undoubtedly affords protection for juvenile hake. However, there is no consideration of whether the displaced vessels will continue to fish elsewhere for (adult) hake, nor whether the seasonal closure could usefully be extended to more fully cover the area and period when juvenile hake are most vulnerable. Minimum mesh size. It is unclear from the submission what is intended to be achieved by an increase in mesh size for trawlers targeting hake, but even a cod-end mesh size of 55 mm is not likely to be selective against hake under 27 cm. In order to protect juvenile hake and boost SSB, a mesh size of at east 80 mm has been adopted as part of the recovery plan for Northern hake. Nevertheless, the DGKRF Working group recognises the difficulty in setting selectivity targets for hake in the mixed species fisheries in Divisions VIIIc and IXa. 11

14 2WKHU It is unclear whether a limitation on the use of devices such as rock-hopper gears, that allow trawling in areas previously reserved for static gear, may act to conserve hake. It is possible that effort could be moved into rather than out of nursery areas by banning these gears. 3.5 STECF OPINION 1. Given that the Southern hake stock continues to be outside biologically safe limits, as defined by ACFM, and the generally low level of recruitment throughout the 1990s, the DG KRF Working Group considers that management of the southern hake stock would benefit from a recovery plan. 2. The Galician Government s proposals to strengthen hake conservation measures and to introduce new restrictions on fishing for hake, particularly the juveniles, are welcomed. 3. However, there is insufficient information provided in the submission to enable us to evaluate whether these measures will achieve a recovery of the Southern hake stock to safe biological levels. The DG KRF Working Group is of the opinion that further measures to reduce fishing effort and improve the exploitation pattern are required to effect the required increase in SSB. Some suggestions are given above (section 3.4) as to how this might be achieved. 4. It is recognised that fishermen s perception of the state of this stock in Galician waters is more pessimistic than is reflected in the ACFM advice on management of the Southern hake stock as a whole. 5. In preparing a stock recovery plan it is essential that objectives for recovery (e.g. Bpa and Fpa as set by ACFM) are clearly presented and a timescale and method for monitoring progress towards such recovery are described. It is also important to explain how actions taken within the recovery programme will result in an exploitation capacity (both fleet capacity and technical measures) that will enable the stock to remain within safe limits. This was lacking in the Galician Government s submission on hake. 12