2. From the Secretariat and ExCom Chair a) BSAC year : Update on expenditure [information for ExCom members]

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1 BSAC Executive Committee Tuesday 31 st January 2017 Sea Fisheries Division, Fisheries Department Ministry of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation Nowy Swiat 6/12, Warsaw Meeting report 1. Welcome by the BSAC chair Reine Johansson, the BS Chair welcomed all the participants to Warsaw. Justyna Szumlicz (Polish Ministry of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation) welcomed the participants and wished them a fruitful debate. a) Apologies and adoption of the agenda The Secretary of the BSAC informed that there was a quorum for the meeting. The apologies are attached to the list of participants (on BSAC website). The agenda was adopted without changes. Katarzyna Wysocka (Darlowska Group of Fish Producers and Shipowners) proposed to discuss under AOB linguistic support (on-demand whispering interpretation) during the BSAC meetings. b) Adoption of the minutes from the last meeting (15 th November 2016) The minutes of the last meeting were adopted without any comments. c) Two ExCom members to check the minutes Peter Breckling (Union of German Cutter Fishery) and Glenn Douglas (European Anglers Alliance) agreed to check the minutes. 2. From the Secretariat and ExCom Chair a) BSAC year : Update on expenditure [information for ExCom members] The BSAC Secretary handed out to ExCom members a spread sheet showing the expenditure up to 31 st December Responding to a question posed by an ExCom member on the allocation for interpretation, she said that two years ago, the BSAC had decided not to allocate any money for interpretation. 1

2 The BSAC Honorary Chair noted that, although a full range of interpretation was not feasible due to the number of different languages, whispering translation could be discussed if there is a demand. The ExCom took note of the expenditure in the current financial year. b) BSAC year : Draft estimated operating budget and work programme for ExCom to consider, comment on and adopt Annex 1 and Annex 2 The BSAC Secretary explained the timeline followed: 2 nd December 2016 a letter signed by the BSAC Chair requesting payment was sent to the Member States and members, with a deadline of 9 th January The draft budget and work programme were submitted to the ExCom for approval. The aim was to send the application to the Commission by mid- February A 10% contribution of own resources must be secured in order for the EU contribution to be paid. The contributions from the Member States and members remain unchanged. She informed the ExCom that there were outstanding payments from 6 Members. Referring to the budget, she drew attention to some budgetary items that have been slightly adjusted. She also informed that the contract for the new BSAC office is almost ready to be signed. The Danish government will continue to cover the rental costs. A representative of the OIG noted that any requests for interpretation could be covered from the money allocated to translation. The ExCom adopted the draft estimated budget (Annex 1). Referring to the work programme and recreational fishery, the BSAC Chair indicated that the future engagement of the BSAC in this issue required further discussion and exchange of views with the Member States, ICES and recreational fishermen, if the BSAC is to produce reliable advice to BALTFISH. A representative of German fisheries stated that the management of recreational fishery is at present far from satisfactory. It needs to be modified to avoid further conflicts between professional and recreational fishermen. The BSAC should be proactive with regard to the management of recreational fishery so as to minimise the problems and he highlighted the need for a focus group; otherwise the management of recreational fisheries in the Baltic would be further developed without advice from the BSAC. A representative from Swedish fisheries reminded the group that it is important to take into account that recreational fisheries is not only angling, but also small scale hobby fishing with commercial gears in some parts of the Baltic Sea. A representative of the European Anglers Alliance declared that he was ready to discuss the issue and come up with ideas to improve the management of recreational fisheries. 2

3 A fisheries representative from Poland noted that the scale of the conflict between professional and recreational fisheries varies according to the country. Member States do not comply with the obligation to report data on recreational catches according to the standards of the Data Collection Framework. He hoped that the new regime for data collection introduced under regional coordination groups will substantially improve this data. The ExCom decided that the BSAC will consult internally and investigate the creation of a working group to deal with recreational fisheries With reference to ecosystem management, the ExCom decided that the BSAC will deal with this under a specific sub-working group. The following issues are anticipated: management of fisheries in marine protected areas, further work with ecosystem based fisheries management, implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in the Baltic, integrated sea use management/maritime spatial planning, marine litter. The ExCom went on to discuss control measures and the implementation of the landing obligation and the role of the BSAC. With reference to the text proposed by the Fisheries Secretariat, it was noted the proposed actions focusing on regional co-ordination already fall under the EFCA obligations and should not be part of the BSAC work programme. The BSAC should not enter into discussions on how the Control Agency or the national control authorities carry out their work. It was decided that the point should read: Control measures and the landing obligation and what the BSAC can do to provide advice on implementation. The ExCom decided to adopt the work programme with the agreed text amendments. c) Additional compensation to small scale fisheries representatives for ExCom to consider and decide on Annex 3 Evangelia Georgitsi, DG MARE explained that additional compensation for small scale fishermen is meant to cover the loss of income from fishing incurred due to participation in meetings and is restricted to professional fishermen only. Taking into account the income, small scale fishermen can hardly afford to lose days at sea. She agreed that this measure would impact the budget of the Advisory Council, but additional compensation could be covered from the increased allocation paid by the Commission to the AC budget. She noted that option 2 included in the Annex is the simplest to implement. It consists of using the current system for all members, but gives the small scale representatives 50% of the per diem and of the accommodation allowance. A representative of the OIG stated that although in principle he was not opposed to additional support for small scale fishermen, all four options of additional compensation for small scale fisheries proposed by Annex 3 have an implication for the BSAC budget and at the same time create additional bureaucracy. The BSAC could find other ways of supporting the small scale fishermen, such as covering the interpretation costs. 3

4 Several fisheries representatives stated that a clear definition of small scale fisheries is needed before any compensation is discussed. They noted that all fishermen incur loses to their income when not fishing. Representatives of Danish and German fishermen drew attention to the fact that the BSAC has kept the membership fees low to allow unrestricted access of all segments of fisheries. They underlined that there was no reason to introduce preferential treatment of one segment of fisheries in the BSAC. If needed, small scale fishermen should seek support in their organisations. A representative of small scale fishermen stated that representatives of this sector can best be supported by providing the possibility for interpretation for those who need it, to make the BSAC proceedings equally accessible to all members. The ExCom did not reach agreement on additional compensation to small scale representatives and decided to revert to this at its meeting on 11 th May d) Correspondence between Christian Tsangarides (The Fisheries Secretariat) and Pascal Savouret (EFCA Executive Director) for information to the ExCom Annex 4 The ExCom decided to postpone this matter to the next meeting. The BSAC Chair welcomed Pascal Savouret, EFCA Executive Director. Pascal Savouret referred to the BALTFISH/ BSAC/ EFCA Joint Workshop on monitoring, control and enforcement of the Landing Obligation, which will take place on 9th March 2017 in Hamburg. EFCA proposed an agenda focusing on the first two years of the implementation of the Landing Obligation in the Baltic Sea, the main challenges and problems encountered in its implementation as well as the landing obligation beyond He thanked the BSAC for the invitation to the ExCom and expressed the hope that everyone will remain open-minded and transparent during the forthcoming meeting. The BSAC Chair underlined that the joint workshop is an important part of a dialogue between BALTFISH, EFCA and BSAC and encouraged the BSAC members to take part in the meeting. The BSAC Honorary Chair noted that technical measures, which are under revision to be able to meet the demands of the landing obligation and stay in line with the CFP objectives, should be included in the discussion during the meeting. A representative of the OIG stated that it is important that there is a review of the derogation for trapnets to the discard ban, and wondered if such discussions have a place on the agenda for the meeting. 4

5 The EFCA representative noted this and said this subject could be a part of the agenda at the coming workshop on monitoring, control and enforcement. e) Reports from relevant meetings [incl. MIACO annual meeting with ICES] for the information of the ExCom The BSAC Secretary referred to her report produced from the annual meeting with ICES (MIACO) and encouraged those BSAC members who took part to make comments. Michael Andersen, the Chair of the Demersal Working Group stated that MIACO permitted a good exchange of views and frank discussion. ICES is looking for a more flexible approach to fisheries advice. 3. Establishment of a network for gear development agenda item from Staffan Larsson (Swedish Fishermen s Federation) Annex 5 Staffan Larsson, Swedish Fishermen s Federation presented a proposal to establish a network for gear development for the Baltic cod fishery within the framework of the BSAC (Annex 5). He indicated that the fishing gears currently imposed by the legislation do not meet the requirements for proper selectivity in cod fishery. Both Bacoma and T-90 lead to high catches of cod below MCRS and at the same time the fishermen lose an unacceptable amount of the targeted sizes. Regardless of how the technical measures regulation will eventually be formulated, there is an urgent need for a proper development of the selection of the fishing gear, hence the need to establish a network for gear development, to share experience an best practices among fishermen, scientists and gear makers. External funding will be sought for the first meeting of the network. The ExCom took note and supported the proposal. It was noted that the EMFF could be used for funding innovative co-operation between the industry and science in the field of gear development. The representatives of the OIG expressed the hope that their representatives will also be invited to participate in the network. The BSAC Chair looked forward to a report on progress from Staffan Larsson. 4. From the WG 15/12/16 on technical measures consideration and adoption of draft recommendations [Plus a verbal report from the BSAC meeting with MEP Gabriel Mato ] and adoption of the ToR for a BSAC ecosystem-based management group. The ExCom discussed the draft recommendation on technical measures as presented in Annex 6. Under Article 4, it was decided to introduce a minority statement to maintain the 5% target referring to the catch of fish below MCRS. With respect to Article 24, the ExCom was in agreement to discuss further the issue of innovative gears at a later stage and to give the matter more scrutiny. Additional wording will be included in the text. 5

6 The ExCom did not discuss comments to Articles provided by mail and decided to come back to the discussion at a later stage and not include this in the final text. The Chair of the Demersal Working Group thanked the Secretariat for putting together the draft recommendations, which turned out to be a very good basis for final discussions. The ExCom adopted the recommendations on technical measures as presented in the Annex, including the agreed amendments. With reference to the ecosystem management sub-group, the ExCom discussed the terms in Annex 7. It was proposed and agreed that the terms of reference should include fisheries measures in Marine Protected Areas and not only in Natura 2000 sites. After some discussion, the ExCom decided that the sub-group will report to the BSAC Demersal/Pelagic Working Group, since the work will be of relevance to the issues dealt with in the framework of the Demersal and Pelagic WG. The first meeting of the sub-group will take place on 28 th March 2017 in Copenhagen. The terms of reference were adopted. A representative of the Ministry of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation proposed to co-ordinate the sub-group with the HELCOM Group on Ecosystem-based Sustainable Fisheries in order not to duplicate the work. The ExCom decided to adopt the Terms of reference of the Baltic Sea Advisory Council Ecosystem-based Management Sub-Group (Annex 7). 5. External representation at meetings to continue the point from the last ExCom meeting (ref. to ExCom report agenda point 6) The ExCom decided to continue the point from the ExCom meeting of at its next meeting, with the presence of Jan Isakson (Fisheries Secretariat), who submitted the proposal for a protocol guiding BSAC representation in external fora. 6. TABACOD project Senior Researcher Karin Hüssy DTU Aqua for information and discussion Karin Hüssy, senior researcher from DTU Aqua gave a presentation on the project TABACOD (Tagging of Baltic Sea Cod), aimed at solving the aging and stock assessment problems of eastern Baltic cod by means of tagging methods. The project involves research Institutes from Denmark, Poland, Sweden and Germany. For the eastern Baltic cod stock, the age of individual fish is currently estimated using the traditional method of visual analysis of annual otolith rings. However, the annual rings of eastern Baltic cod otoliths are notoriously difficult to interpret due to irregular growth patterns. The current method for age-reading of eastern Baltic cod is now so unreliable. 6

7 The problems in identifying the age of Baltic cod have severe consequences for the stock assessment and fisheries management. There has been no analytical assessment of the eastern stock since Uncertainties in the advice had caused reductions in the fishing quota and suspension of the MSC certification. The TABACOD project, financed by Baltic 2020, aims at providing the data necessary to calculate reliable estimates of growth rates of this stock. The project focuses on historic and present growth patterns, mortality rates and the development of a new ageing method. Tagging started in The first recaptures have been noted already. The project aims at raising the awareness of fishermen to the need to gather reliable data on the stock from the recaptures. The results of the project will be available in Karin Hüssy expressed the hope that these results will make the advice for the eastern cod stock more reliable. A Polish and an Estonian fisheries representative appealed to all fishermen to deliver tagged cod to respective national research institutes engaged in TABACOD. Fishermen get financial compensations for each tagged fish. A Swedish fisheries representative said that Swedish fishermen will do their best to actively participate in the project. Referring to difficulties in capturing large cod for tagging in the project, he recommended longer trawling of up to one hour. Karin Hüssy s presentation is on the BSAC website DTAQUA/MIR summary of the autumn research BITS survey Dr. Eng. Krzysztof Radtke from the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Gdynia for information and discussion Dr. Eng. Krzysztof Radtke, National Marine Fisheries Research Institute presented a summary of the autumn research BITS survey conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute. The relatively weak 2003 inflow of North Sea waters to the Baltic had had a positive effect on the abundance of the cod year-class. The inflow in December 2014 was considered much stronger. However, it moved dense saline waters to the upper layer and research results show that it might have had a negative impact on the 2015 cod yearclass. He presented hydrological conditions and Fulton condition factor in Data from the Polish BITS survey conducted in November 2016 indicates the presence of small cod. Further investigation of this year class is needed to determine its age on the basis of microchemistry analysis, daily increments and methods used in TABACOD. In conclusion, the abundance of the presumed 2015 year-class is not very optimistic despite the very strong inflow of saline waters in December More information will be delivered during March 2017 at the BIFSWG meeting (Baltic countries survey results from November 2016 and February 2017). During the Polish TABACOD survey in December 2016 in the Gdańsk Basin, small cod occurred frequently in the hauls

8 Steve Karnicki, the BSAC Honorary Chair found the presentation of Karin Hüssy and Krzysztof Radtke extremely interesting. The results of research indicate that nature does not always help to improve the state of the fish resources and fishermen have to count on themselves. He underlined that under the present circumstances, the relevant regulations should allow the fishermen to use proper gear to avoid discards. Krzysztof Radtke s presentation is on the BSAC website Marelitt project to remove derelict fishing gear from the Baltic Marta Kalinowska WWF Poland for information Marta Kalinowska, WWF Poland, presented the Marelitt project. The main objective of MARELITT Baltic is to combat the Derelict Fishing Gear (DFG) problem in the Baltic Sea. The project combines several fundamental elements contributing to both increased knowledge on the problem and launching of practical methodologies on how to mitigate the problem at an international level. Improved knowledge on the potential host areas i.e. where the nets can be found and how these areas are defined is the basis to elaborate mitigation measures concerning primarily the historical and present dimension of the problem. The main objective of the work package under the leadership of WWF Poland is to find powerful, but perhaps most of all accepted and feasible measures to minimize the problem in the future. One of the outcomes of the project will be to produce guidelines for fishermen on how to search and retrieve lost gears as well as to develop a DGF treatment scheme and recycling methodology. A representative of the OIG drew attention to the fact that the recreational fishermen are also responsible for the problem of derelict fish gear. A great number of lost fishing lines could have a huge potential impact on the ecosystem. A representative of the fisheries sector asked for the Natura 2000 impact assessment for the use of agricultural equipment with heavy impact on the sediment when collecting the gears. Marta Kalinowska stated that a draft Environmental Impact Assessment of retrieval operations will be ready in May 2017 and this will be made available upon request. Marta Kalinowska s presentation is on the BSAC website

9 9. AOB Katarzyna Wysocka (Darlowska Group of Fish Producers and Shipowners) proposed to discuss linguistic support (on-demand whispering interpretation) during the BSAC meetings. Two representatives of the OIG supported the idea to reallocate the funding from translation to interpretation. The ExCom decided that the General Assembly should deal with this issue at its next meeting, subject to approval of the ExCom. 10. Confirmation of the date and venue of the next ExCom and General Assembly meetings for the year The ExCom decided to hold the next ExCom and General Assembly meetings on 11 th May 2017 in Stockholm at the invitation of the Swedish government. 9