BSAC Executive Committee, Thursday 11 th May Report. The BSAC Chair welcomed the ExCom members and observers to the meeting.

Transcription

1 BSAC Executive Committee, Thursday 11 th May 2017 Brunkhuvudet, Malmtorgsgatan 3, Stockholm Report 1. Welcome by the BSAC chair The BSAC Chair welcomed the ExCom members and observers to the meeting. a) Apologies and adoption of the agenda The Secretary of the BSAC informed that there was a quorum for the meeting (and 22 votes represented). The following apologies had been sent to the Secretariat: Andrzej Białaś (Oceana) (mandate to Jan Isakson), Erik Lindebo (The Environment Defense Fund) (mandate to Nils Höglund), Thomas Thomsen (The Fishermen's Association of Bornholm and Christiansø) (substituted by Michel Andersen). The participants list is on the BSAC website. 1 The agenda was adopted without changes. It was decided to discuss items 4 and 5 (additional compensation to small scale fishermen and translation / interpretation) together with item 2 (a) (the draft estimated budget). b) Adoption of the minutes from the last meeting (31 st January 2017). There were no comments to the minutes. c) Two ExCom members to check the minutes Kim Kær Hansen (Danish Fishermen Producer Organisation) and Stefan Spahn (German Angling Association) agreed to check the minutes. 2. From the Secretariat and ExCom Chair (a) The BSAC year : Draft BSAC Annual Report and the Financial Statement, plus the Final Technical Report for DG Mare The Secretary of the BSAC explained that the draft annual report (Annex 1) was the public record of BSAC activities and followed the same form as in the past. She invited the ExCom members to comment. 1

2 Referring to the section on the Salmon Management Plan, a representative of OIG drew attention to the fact that the European Commission had put forward a draft plan, but it had not been adopted. Another representative of OIG requested that the names of the BSAC members who took part in the external meetings be added. His request was supported by other OIG members. After a short discussion, the ExCom, for reasons of transparency, decided to continue providing the names of the BSAC members who took part in the external meetings in the annual report. The Secretary went through the draft financial statement (Annex 2REV) and informed that the auditor had approved the eligible expenditure. She went through the specific budget items and explained the respective levels of expenditure in terms of percentages. In reply to questions, she explained that the Participation in Meetings Item B had not been fully utilised, but members had held all the meetings they had wanted. She pointed to the high number of external meetings attended by members. The unspent funds will be returned to the European Commission. According to the Commission rules, the unspent part of the funds, corresponding to the member contributions can be kept by the Advisory Councils. The draft eleventh annual report and the draft financial statement were approved by the ExCom for submission to the General Assembly. The Secretariat explained that the draft Annual technical report (Annex 2a) is an internal document for the Commission and she asked for comments. In response to a question from an IOG representative about comments from Russia to the BSAC programme results, the Secretary replied that none were received. There were no comments to Annex 2a and the ExCom approved it. b) BSAC year : work programme and draft estimated budget The Secretary of the BSAC informed the ExCom that the work programme and the draft estimated budget had already been adopted by the ExCom on 31 st January 2017 and approved by the Commission. She invited the ExCom members to make further comments. The draft estimated budget was discussed together with the items referring to the additional compensation to small scale fishermen and translation / interpretation. (See items 4 and 5 below.) The ExCom did not reach agreement on additional compensation to small scale representatives and decided to revert to this at its meeting in June The ExCom decided to use resources allocated for translation for whispering interpretation.

3 A representative of anglers proposed to restrict the discussions on recreational fisheries to cod recreational fishery. A fisheries representative noted that recreational fisheries include several overlapping issues and the discussions in the BSAC should also cover other species exploited by anglers such as plaice. Another fisheries representative proposed to establish a Focus Group to deal with recreational fishery of the western cod stock. It was underlined that in Germany commercial and recreational catches of cod are almost equal and the issue requires deep discussions. The BSAC Chair proposed to set up a group on recreational fisheries. A representative of the Danish government informed the meeting that a workshop on recreational fisheries, to be organised together with the BSAC, has been foreseen in the preliminary workplan of the Danish presidency of BALTFISH. A representative of OIG noted that all relevant stakeholders, among others water owners and HELCOM, should take part in the workshop. The representative of the European Commission stated that scientific advice suggests that for some fish stocks, recreational fisheries may have a significant impact on their conservation and their management may therefore come into discussions. With the new data collection framework, the Member States have a legal obligation to provide validated data on recreational fisheries. The discussion on recreational fisheries should also cover the socio-economic parameter. The ExCom adopted the work programme and the draft estimated budget for submission to the General Assembly. With reference to the network on gear development, established to secure proper development of the selection of the fishing gear, Staffan Larsson informed the ExCom that information on the progress of the network s work will be available on the BSAC web page to share experience and best practices among fishermen, scientists and gear makers. c) Reports from relevant meetings for the information of the ExCom The Chair referred to the EFCA Advisory Board meeting (3 rd March 2017) and noted that written reports from the Agency and the BSAC Chair are already available 2. He also referred to the Baltic Check Point meeting 3 held in November The report from the EMODnet meeting held in February 2017 is pending 4. 2 Reports from EFCA Advisory Board Available from BSAC Secretariat 3 Baltic Check Point Report Available from BSAC Secretariat 4 Now available:

4 The ExCom took note. 3. Amendments to the statutes: Extension of ExCom from 25 members (Statutes Item 13); requirement for payment of membership fees by a deadline (Statutes Item 30) and election of the Statute Bearers of the BSAC (Statutes Item 38) The Secretary of the BSAC informed that the proposal to amend Statutes Item 38 concerning election of the Statute Bearers of the BSAC had been withdrawn by the Honorary Chair of the BSAC. The ExCom decided to recommend to the General Assembly to amend the BSAC statutes to have the possibility to extend the ExCom to 30 members and to include the requirement to pay the membership fee by a deadline. 4. Additional compensation to small scale fisheries representatives With reference to the compensation to small scale fisheries, the Chair noted that at its previous meeting, the ExCom had not reached agreement and had decided to revert to this at its next meeting. A representative of OIG proposed to rephrase option 4 in Annex 6 so as to grant extra compensation to all active fishermen. An observer proposed to allocate extra compensation to all active fishermen who are invited to support meetings with their technical expertise. Some fisheries representatives appreciated the proposals to avoid any preferential treatment of one segment of fisheries, but underlined that, if needed, fishermen should seek support in their organisations. They drew attention to the fact that that the BSAC has kept the membership fees low to allow unrestricted access of all segments of fisheries and therefore there is no reason to introduce preferential treatment of one segment of fisheries. The Honorary Chair noted that fishermen can get support from EU Operational Programmes, which are at the disposal of each Member State. A representative of OIG noted that additional compensation to small scale fishermen could help to make Advisory Councils more diverse in terms of stakeholder participation. The representative of the European Commission underlined that the article in the Delegated Regulation was meant to encourage all the ACs to provide additional compensation for small scale fishermen to secure their participation, but was not an obligation. The ExCom did not reach agreement on additional compensation to small scale representatives and decided to revert to this at its meeting in June 2017.

5 5. Translation/interpreting - paying for it Referring to the discussions during the last ExCom meeting on linguistic support for the ExCom members, a representative of OIG noted that some additional resources should be foreseen for interpretation. Some fisheries representatives proposed to use the money already allocated for translation to linguistic support during meetings. They referred to the fact that the real demand for such services is not known and it is thus difficult to set the right appropriation for this budgetary item. The representative of the European Commission noted that translation and interpretation are part of operational costs and are therefore subject to flexibility rules in terms of transfers between budgetary items. The Secretary referred to the 10% and 20% flexibility in the budget, and which allows for transfers between budget items. There is also a 5% reserve, which should more suitably be used for unforeseen items. After some further discussion, the ExCom decided to use resources allocated for translation for whispering interpretation. If needed, the Secretariat will apply to add 20% flexibility to the budget item. 6. Nominations for and election of vice chair The BSAC Secretary stated that one nomination (Andrzej Białaś, OCEANA) had been received by the Secretariat and the supporting documentation was included in the Annexes. The representatives of OIG noted that the nomination of Andrzej Białaś had the unanimous support from all the members of the OIG group. Several fisheries representatives stated that they could not support the nomination of a representative of OCEANA to the post of vice-chair. They underlined that they had nothing against the person nominated, but could not agree to what they perceived as a discrepancy between the aims and goals stated by OCEANA and the objectives of the BSAC, which is to enhance fisheries. The Chair noted that further discussions on the election of the Vice-Chair should take place with the nominated person present. The ExCom did not reach a decision on the nomination of Andrzej Białaś (OCEANA) as vice chair, and will revert to this at a coming meeting.

6 7. Confirmation of Nils Höglund as chair of the BSAC ecosystem based sub-group The ExCom unanimously approved Nils Höglund (CCB) as chair of the BSAC ecosystem based sub-group. 8. Aquaculture to the BSAC? The Secretary of the BSAC informed the meeting that the Secretariat has been contacted by a representative from Danish Aquaculture, who sought the possibility of them becoming member of the BSAC. The representative of the European Commission noted that the Aquaculture Advisory Council is now operational and interactions between aquaculture and fisheries should in principle be discussed in this forum. However, if an aquaculture organisation has interest to join the BSAC, it is up to the Member States to make a decision. An aquaculture organisation would then become member of the OIG. She suggested that the Danish Aquaculture could also be accepted as an observer to the BSAC. The ExCom concluded that the organisation Danish Aquaculture was represented through the newly created Aquaculture Advisory Council External representation at meetings The Chair reminded that the ExCom decided to continue the point from the ExCom meeting of so as to have the presence of Jan Isakson, who submitted the proposal. Jan Isakson, the Fisheries Secretariat referred to the proposal for a protocol guiding BSAC representation in external fora and explained its contents. The Secretary of the BSAC presented the BSAC Secretariat table and graphic of external meetings and the explanatory notes. Steve Karnicki, the Honorary Chair was of the opinion that it is up to the BSAC Board composed of the Chair, Vice-Chair and chairs of the working groups to decide on external representation at meetings. Several representatives of the fisheries interest group underlined the need to create a climate of good co-operation in the BSAC, based on mutual respect. It was stated that so far, external representation has always been based on good practice. They underlined that the BSAC Chair is neutral and represents the entire BSAC at external meetings. 5 The BSAC Secretariat has been in touch with Danish Aquaculture. Its representative has confirmed that it would like to participate as observer and be informed about the relevant work of the BSAC. The sub group on ecosystem based is a possible forum for this.

7 The representation at meetings should be based on qualifications. BSAC representatives to external meetings represent the BSAC and should speak on behalf of the entire BSAC. Conspiratorial opinions should not undermine the good practices currently in use. A representative of OIG stated that problems with external representation sometimes derive from the fact that the BSAC does not have a position on a given issue. He sympathised with the rules to secure balanced representation proposed by the Fisheries Secretariat and noted that some rules have already been used, such as the rule that the Chair and the Vice-Chair are asked first to represent the BSAC and then appoint a replacement if they cannot attend a meeting. Another representative of OIG underlined the need to have good co-operation between the Chair, the Vice-Chair and the Secretariat. The ExCom concluded on BSAC external representation at meetings to continue good practices and dialogue. The ExCom did not reach agreement on the protocol in Annex 9a. 10. AOB The ExCom thanked the Chair, the Honorary Chair, the outgoing Vice Chair and the Secretariat for their work during the year. 11. Confirmation of the date and venue of the next ExCom meeting The ExCom decided to hold its next meeting on 29 th June 2017 in Copenhagen.