Executive Committee, Thursday 2nd July 2015 Kalvebod Brygge 39-41, 1560Copenhagen V, kindly provided by Espersen. Report

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1 Executive Committee, Thursday 2nd July 2015 Kalvebod Brygge 39-41, 1560Copenhagen V, kindly provided by Espersen Report 1. Welcome by the BSRAC chair Reine J. Johansson a) Apologies and adoption of the agenda The Secretary of the BSAC informed of the following apologies: Wendy Broadgate, Fisheries Secretariat, substituted by Edward Stern, Fisheries Secretariat Andrzej Białas, OCEANA, substituted by Agnes Lisik, OCEANA Andrea Giesecke, The Environmental Defense Fund Nils Hoglund, Coalition Clean Baltic Thomas Thomsen, mandate to Kim Kaer Hansen, Danish Fishermen Producer Organisation Glenn Douglas, European Anglers Alliance, substituted by Markus Lundgren, EAA Kenneth Rasmussen, Active Consumers, mandate to Edward Stern, Fisheries Secretariat Peter Breckling, Union of German Cutter Fishery, mandate to Lothar Fischer, German Cutter and Coastal Fisherman s Association There were 20 ExCom members or substitutes present and 4 extra mandates. There was a total of 24 votes. A list of participants is on the BSAC website. The agenda was adopted without changes, but two extra points c) and d) were added to item 2. b) Adoption of the minutes from the last meeting (7 th May 2015) The minutes were adopted without comment. c) Two ExCom members to check the minutes (from the rota) Pehr Eriksson (Swedish Fishermen s Federation) and Markus Lundgren (European Anglers Alliance) agreed to check the minutes. 1

2 2. From the Secretariat: a) BSAC year : Update on expenditure during The Secretary of the BSAC handed out to ExCom members a spread sheet showing the expenditure up to 30 June She explained that the expenditure was on track and amounted to 15.6% of the annual budget. The BSAC had received the first installment from the European Commission. She highlighted a few things related to certain budget items. As the BSAC ended its agreement for electronic book keeping due to rising costs, a new book keeping system has been set up. The ExCom took note. b) Other things to do with the Secretariat and office The Secretary of the BSAC informed the participants that in September the BSAC will move to a smaller office located at the same address, in the premises of the different fisheries organisations in Denamrk. The new office is located next to a meeting room, which could be used for small meetings. She explained that the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries has been asked by the BSAC to be flexible with respect to the contribution that they give for the office rental and hopefully will agree to use the savings made on lower rental costs for other activities. A reply from the Ministry is awaited. The Secretary informed the meeting participants that other savings will be made by cancelling the rarely used landline and relying on the mobile phone for communication, by sharing the WI-FI as well as lower cleaning costs. The Secretary informed the participants that following a proposal put forward by a representative of the other interest groups, she had asked the Commission to grant the BSAC flexibility on use of the budget for interpretation. She has also the Commission to agree to change the accounting year to start 1 st April and end 31 st March in order to facilitate budgetary operations. The Commission s reply on the former is awaited, but has confirmed the latter. The ExCom took note. c) Application for membership by a Polish fisheries organization: Darlowska Group of Fish Manufacturers and Shipowners fishing boats The Secretary informed that on 6 th June 2015 the BSAC formally received an application for membership from a Polish small scale fisheries organization, Darłowska Group of Fish Manufacturers and Shipowners fishing boats(darlowska grupa producentów i armatorów łódzi rybackich Sp. Z.O.O). The DGPR has 27 members and represents fishermen mainly from Darłowo and Ustka. The reason for joining the BSAC is to help its members and to work for the small-scale sector which they consider to be an important part of the social and economic community of this region. According to the BSAC Statutes (Article 27) the decision on membership of the BSAC is decided on by common agreement between the member states. The BSAC informed the Member States and the European Commission on this application and received positive replies from Estonia and Denmark. The ExCom took note. 2

3 d) Letter to the EP Rapporteur Jarosław Wałęsa concerning the multi-annual plan for the Baltic The Secretary of the BSAC informed the participants that in the light of the deadlock on the Trilogue negotiations on the multi-annual plan for the Baltic on 25 th June 2015, the BSAC chair, vice-chair and Working Group chairs have written a letter to the EP Rapporteur Jaroslaw Wałęsa to express serious concern about the lack of agreement on the plan and invite him to the BSAC ExCom to explain what has gone wrong. Due to other obligations, the EP Rapporteur had not been in a position to attend the ExCom and invited the chair, vice-chair and WG chairs to Brussels on 13 July. This meeting will give the opportunity to explain the different positions and to discuss how the deadlock can be overcome. Recognising the importance and urgency behind having in operation a multi-annual plan for the Baltic, the ExCom unanimously supported the proposal. 3. ICES advice and adoption of the BSAC advice: Presentation by the WG chairs of the results of the work and discussions at the working group to deal with advice for the fishery for 2015 and discussion and adoption by ExCom. Michael Andersen, Demersal WG chair presented the draft set of recommendations produced on the basis of the discussions at the Joint WG on 10 th -11 th June 2015 and reflecting the views of the majority of BSAC members. He also referred to the recommendations sent by the minority of BSAC, representing the European Angler s Alliance, the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, the Fisheries Secretariat, Oceana, the Polish Ecological Club and WWF. The purpose of the ExCom s agenda point was to deal with the stocks in the order presented in the text and aim at merging the majority and the minority recommendations into one paper. On Western cod (SDs 22-24), the ExCom could not agree on a consensus text. The German fisheries representative informed that Germany is against setting a separate TAC for recreational catches for Western cod as recommended by ICES due to the fact that data on recreational catches are only available for German fishery. The German fisheries representative stated that Germany is in favour of setting the Fm for the western stock at the level of It could only accept the roll-over of the Fm (0.37) if the ban on this fishery is applied to areas deeper than 20 metres. The majority of BSAC agreed that inclusion of recreational catches in the ICES assessment is justifiable, if and when they have a significant impact on the stock, but recreational catches should not be entered into the quota system. The BSAC could not accept that management of the commercial fisheries which is done on the basis of fishing mortality is linked directly to a perceived level of recreational fishery. The BSAC is of the opinion that the 2016 TAC for cod in Subdivisions should be set as a rollover of the TAC for 2015 as from the ICES figures, it is evident that a rollover of the TAC will in no way jeopardise the continued growth of the stock. A minority group, representing the European Angler s Alliance, the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, the Fisheries Secretariat, Oceana, the Polish Ecological Club and WWF supported setting the TAC in accordance with the ICES advice. 3

4 Given the stock overlap in subdivision (SD) 24 and the need to prevent overfishing on the WB cod stock, this group supports a separate sub-tac for SD Referring to Eastern cod (SDs 25-32), the Chair underlined that the low catch rates experienced in 2013 and 2014 have changed for the better and the condition and quality of cod are improving. Information from the fishermen, as well as from the processing industry indicates that during 2014 and so far in 2015, the negative development has been reversed. He also stated that the recent major inflow of saline water into the Baltic will be positive for the recruitment of cod. He also underlined that the industry has suffered under a reduction in the TAC despite the introduction of a landing obligation. The BSAC recommended that the TAC for cod in 2016 in the Eastern Baltic is set as a rollover of the TAC for Due to the lack of an analytical assessment, it is not possible to describe the expected consequences for the stock, but it appears that all conditions for a further increase in stock size have been met. A minority group 1 pointed to the fact that ICES has categorized this stock as data-limited and applied the precautionary approach. This group supports the use by ICES of the precautionary approach in view of the current uncertainties in the assessment. The group calls for coordinated scientific assessments for the entire Baltic Sea region to be undertaken in order to address concerns identified in the advice. It supports the ICES advice for the total catch of Eastern Baltic cod, with a corresponding TAC reduced by any amount used in subdivision 24 to account for stock mixing with Western Baltic Cod. BalticSea2020 and EDF provided a text stating that catch accountability is a CFP priority. They recommend that the TAC solution for cod in 2016 should be accompanied by measures to ensure accurate documentation of catches and adequate quota deductions for those Member States that are not able to meet this requirement. In this context they find that a rollover minus 15% is acceptable. This would allow the SSB to rebuild and fishers to adapt. On western herring (SDs 22-24), the BSAC agreed to follow the advice from ICES and set the TAC at tonnes. The BSAC welcomes the proposal to allocate 50 % of the catch opportunities on this stock to the management area in question. On central herring (SDs 25-29, 32) the BSAC agreed to recommend a 8% increase of the 2016 TAC compared to the 2014 TAC ( tonnes). On the Gulf of Riga herring, the BSAC recommends following the advice of ICES and setting the 2016 TAC at the level of tonnes (-15% compared to the 2015 TAC). On Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay and herring (SDs 30 and 31), the BSAC recommended that the 2016 TAC for herring in this management area should be set as a 1 The European Angler s Alliance,the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, the Fisheries Secretariat, Oceana, the Polish Ecological Club, WWF 4

5 15% reduction of the 2015 TAC. This implies a 2016 TAC of tonnes. The same minority group as in footnote 1 advised that the herring TAC is set according to the biological advice of tonnes. On sprat (SDs 22-32), the BSAC expressed concern with the quality of the assessment. The attention was drawn to the fact that the retrospective analysis of stock size shows changes of more than tonnes from year to year, and the suggested value of FMSY has constantly been reviewed and revised, without any convincing explanation. The BSAC recommends setting the 2016 TAC for sprat in the Baltic as a rollover of the TAC for This would result in reduction in fishing mortality from 0.36 to 0.32, which is the value of the precautionary mortality. The same minority group as in footnote 1 asked to include a minority statement in the BSAC recommendation stating that priority should be given to the improvement of the condition of cod. A spatial management plan for clupeid stocks should therefore be considered. It supports a sprat TAC of tonnes, which corresponds to the ICES advice and the MSY approach. On salmon in SDs 22-31, the Chair of the Demersal WG referred to the fact that the advice of ICES is an unacceptable mixture of biology and management. ICES added a section on unwanted catches in 2014 and some speculation on unreporting and misreporting. However, he pointed to the fact that the magnitude of the misreporting has decreased and that Poland has made an official objection to the huge unreported catches included in the advice in the past. The Commission has accepted the arguments behind the objection, pointing to the fact that in recent years Poland has significantly improved its fisheries control system. The BSAC agreed that the TAC for salmon in Subdivisions should consequently be set at specimens. There is a clear statement in the ICES report that a commercial catch of specimens is in agreement with MSY fishery. The same minority group as in footnote 1 recommended following the ICES advice and MSY, which corresponds to a TAC of individuals. It emphasized the need for longterm stock specific rebuilding measures, including habitat restoration and the removal of physical barriers in rivers and fisheries restrictions for weaker stocks in estuaries and rivers. On salmon in SD 32, the BSAC recommended setting the TAC for salmon in the Gulf of Finland to specimens, whilst keeping the mortality on wild salmon at the lowest possible level. The same minority group as in footnote 1 supported a TAC of individual reared fish with a zero catch of wild salmon, which corresponds to the ICES advice and to the precautionary approach. For both plaice stocks affected by the Baltic fishery, ICES describes a significant increase in abundance. The ExCom was in agreement with the ICES advice and decided to support the proposed 20% increase for SD

6 However, the BSAC is concerned about how a landing obligation for plaice can be introduced. Unless the TAC setting reflects the actual abundance of plaice and includes detailed knowledge of discards, there is a great risk that the species will become a choke species. ExCom members took note that the text of the BSAC recommendations on the 2016 TACs would be finalised by the Secretariat and sent out for final adoption before being sent to the Commission and Member States Responsible Fishing Scheme, Libby Woodhatch, Seafish In her power point, Libby Woodhatch (Seafish), presented the Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS), which was developed by Seafish to improve operational standards in the UK fishing sector. The RFS initial programme was launched in 2006 and was designed to allow skippers of RFS certified vessels to demonstrate their compliance with good practice and hence to access markets which value third party assured responsible practice. The RFS is the only global vessel programme certifying responsible catching practices and crew welfare. Seafish worked with the industry, NGOs and decision-makers to raise standards on board fishing vessels. RFS has now been fully revised and focuses on social responsibility requirements, complementing environmental certification schemes, to enable buyers to source sustainable seafood. The ExCom took note. 5. Presentation by Piotr Prędki (WWF and BSAC vice chair) of the Ghost Fishing project Piotr Prędki showed a power point. He referred to the outcome of the derelict fishing gear retrieval project, carried out by WWF Poland in Almost 28 tonnes of lost gears were removed from the Baltic in 82 days in the Polish and Lithuanian waters. In the course of the project, retrieval methodology was developed and tested. But the problem still remains. According to estimates made by an expert for WWF Poland, solely in the Polish exclusive economic zone of the Baltic Sea, there could be around 800 tonnes of derelict fishing gears. These nets continue to catch fish. As proved by Swedish research, the fishing capacity of lost nets varies from 6 to 20%. This uncontrolled catch of fish and other species, including birds and marine mammals, may affect the populations of these marine species and have a negative impact on the stability of the ecosystem. In 2015, the Kołobrzeg Fish producers Group in collaboration with WWF Poland started the world's largest derelict fishing gear removal project. From May to August this year, dozens of fishing boats and a team of divers plan to remove up to 350 tonnes of derelict nets from the Polish part of the Baltic Sea. An electronic net tagging system will be also developed under the project. The hope was that in the future, this system will make it possible to identify the owner of a lost or abandoned fishing gear. In consequence, the practice of throwing the old fishing nets 2 The discussions reported are not the final recommendations per se from the BSAC. These have subsequently been finalized and released and can be found here: 6

7 directly into the sea will be minimised. The action is supported, among others, by the Ministry of Environment, National Water Management Authority, and the Polish MEP, Jarosław Walesa. Mr. Walesa declared his willingness to organise in partnership with WWF a special conference to present the project to the members of the European Parliament on 14th July this year. He further informed the BSAC that the Marellit project, presented to the ExCom on 29 th October 2014, a Baltic-wide continuation of the previous ghost net retrieval project, has passed the first selection in the Baltic Sea Interreg Programme, financed by the European Regional Development Fund. The Municipality of Simrishamn, WWF Poland and Keep the Estonian Sea Tidy have formed a project consortium to implement MARELITT Baltic, a project to reduce the impact of derelict fishing gear (DFG) in the Baltic Sea. The lead organisation of the project is WWF Poland. The overarching aim of the MARELITT project is to help Member States reach Good Environmental Status by 2020 as described in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with its specific goal of reducing the impact of marine litter on the coastal and marine environment. The project has now 9 partners and 27 associated partners. Piotr Prędki invited the BSAC to become an associated partner and actively participate in the project. Participants applauded the lost gear retrieval actions, highlighting constructive cooperation between fishermen and WWF in the framework of the project. As to the electronic net tagging system, the participants suggested that the system should be used to locate lost gears, and not necessarily to identify their owners. The ExCom decided that the BSAC will become an associated partner of the Marellit project. Piotr Predki will represent the BSAC in the project. 7

8 6. Project GOHERR on integrated governance of Baltic herring and salmon, Alyne Delaney, Innovative Fisheries Management, Aalborg University Alyne Delaney, from the Innovative Fisheries Management, Aalborg University, presented a project on integrated governance of Baltic herring and salmon stocks involving stakeholders. The project will be carried out from April 2015 until March 2018 and is financed by BONUS: the joint Baltic Sea research and development programme. The project covers 4 case studies, carried out in Estonia, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The aim of GOHERR is to involve stakeholders in building a novel integrated governance framework for Baltic salmon and herring that responds to the challenges of the ecosystem approach, analyse the consequences of the biological dependence between Baltic salmon and herring, and their consequences for bioaccumulation of dioxins, build a decision support model for an integrated risk analysis and governance of Baltic salmon and herring with the aim of reducing dioxin concentration in these fish species, improve the quality of salmon and herring management by searching for synergies and coherence across sectors. The project will also investigate the socio-cultural and political prerequisites for successful integrated fisheries governance, and what kind of institutional, organisational, structural and attitudinal flexibility is needed, if and how integrated fisheries governance can benefit the sector based management of Baltic herring and salmon, the stakeholders, and finally consumers in terms of reduced dioxin content in fish, and how integrated governance at the regional level can be linked to governance at the national and international level. The project is expected to increase the understanding of integrated governance. The GOHERR workshop will take place in February 2016 in Copenhagen. The ExCom took note. 7. Suggestion from the NSAC to hold a seminar / workshop on minimum conservation reference sizes The Secretary of the BSAC recalled the letter sent on 20 th February 2015 to the Commission by the North Sea, Baltic and Pelagic ACs, requesting to organise a seminar / workshop on minimum conservation reference sizes (MCRS), to provide greater clarity and understanding on the issue following the introduction of the Landing Obligation. The Commission responded that it will consider the organisation of a seminar on MCRS once the technical measures proposal has been adopted. The representatives of the fisheries sector found the proposal to hold a seminar constructive and underlined the importance of considering and discussing without delay the different approaches to the MCRS within the Landing Obligation in different regions of Europe. The ExCom decided to come back to this matter. 8

9 8. Letter of support for the project: SeaFacts (Ecosystems, Aquaculture: Forecasting and anticipating effects of climate change trajectories) The Secretary informed that the BSAC sent a letter of support to the project SeaFacts (Ecosystems, Aquaculture: Forecasting and anticipating effects of climate change trajectories). The ExCom recognized the importance of the SeaFacts project in order to better understand the processes involved in climate change and consequently, in adjusting the fisheries to follow the project implementation. It was decided that Michael Andersen from the fisheries interest group and Wendy Broadgate or Edward Stern from the Fisheries Secretariat from the other interest group will represent the BSAC at meetings of SeaFacts. 9. Letter from PELAC about MSY ranges Michael Andersen, the Chair of the Demersal Working Group informed the meeting that the Pelagic AC has approached the BSAC to share concern about how, when and where biomass and fishing mortality reference points, including MSY reference points, are being calculated. A draft letter to ICES was prepared. He pointed out that in recent years ICES has encouraged stakeholders to participate in the advisory process by allowing stakeholders to participate as observers in workshops, benchmarks and advice drafting groups. This decision by ICES has been highly appreciated by the Advisory Councils and greatly facilitated mutual understanding resulting in a more validated scientific advice. This positive development is now being challenged by the recent decision of changing Fmsy reference points for selected North Sea and Baltic Sea stocks in an untransparent process. Therefore, in the draft letter the PELAC and the BSAC ask ICES to discuss the reference points at the next benchmark meeting. The ExCom shared concern about the transparency of the process of setting reference points and decided that a BSAC representative should take part in the next benchmark meeting of ICES. 10. AOB Tapani Veistola, from the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, informed the meeting on the ruling of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, referring to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. The ruling represents a great step forward for the protection of freshwater bodies in Europe. Article 4(1)(a)(i) to (iii) of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy must be interpreted as meaning that the Member States are required unless a derogation is granted to refuse authorisation for an individual project where it may cause a deterioration of the status of a body of surface water or where it jeopardises the attainment of good surface water status or of good ecological potential and good surface water chemical status by the date laid down by the directive. 9

10 11. Confirmation of the date and venue of the next ExCom meeting The ExCom decided that the meeting of the Working Group on technical measures will take place on the 31 st August 2015 in Warsaw, back to back with the BALTFISH Forum on 1 st September The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has kindly offered the BSAC a venue free of charge. In view of the upcoming decisions concerning the multi-annual plan for the Baltic, the ExCom decided to hold a meeting in the autumn. The date and the venue have yet to be decided. All presentations made at the meeting are on the website: 10