Pelagic AC meeting 7 October 2015 09:00-12:00 Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, UK Louis Braillelaan 80 2719 EK Zoetermeer The Netherlands Phone: +31 (0)63 375 6324 E-mail: info@pelagic-ac.org Website: www.pelagic-ac.org Participants 1 Esben Sverdrup-Jensen, chairman Danish Pelagic Producer Organisation 2 Anaïs Mourtada Pelagic AC 3 Anna O Sullivan Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Ireland 4 Aukje Coers Rederij Vrolijk 5 Ben Dipper Marine Scotland 6 Bengt Kåmark Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management 7 Bent Pallisgaard Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Denmark 8 Brian Isbister Shetland s Fishermen Association 9 Christian Olesen Danish Pelagic Producer Organisation 10 Christine Absil Seas at Risk 11 Claus Reedtz Sparrevohn Danish Pelagic Producer Organisation 12 David Hutchison Scottish Fishermen s Federation 13 Edward Farrell University College Dublin 14 Eibhlin O Sullivan Irish South and West FPO 15 Emilien Segret Pelagic AC 16 Eric Roeleveld Jaczon 17 Fredrik Lindberg Swedish Fishermen s Federation 18 Frederik Schutyser DG MARE 19 Gerard van Balsfoort Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association 20 Goncalo Carvalho Pew Charitable Trusts 21 Henk Offringa Ministry of Economic Affairs Netherlands 22 Iain MacSween Scottish Fishermen s Organisation 23 Ian Gatt Scottish Pelagic Fishermen s Association 24 Ignacio Fontaneda Lopez Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente 25 Irene Kingma Dutch Elasmobranch Society 26 Jerome Nouis From Nord 27 Jesper Juul Larsen Danmarks Fiskeriforening 28 Jesper Raakjær AIPCE 29 John Anderson Scottish Fishermen s Organisation 30 John Simmonds ICES 31 John Ward Irish Fish PO 32 José Beltran OPLUGO 33 Justyna Zajchowska Pew Charitable Trusts 34 Kees Taal Van der Zwan 35 Laurent Markovic DG MARE 36 Lena Mutschler WWF Page 1 of 8
37 Lesley Duthie North Sea Women s Network 38 Martin Pastoors Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association 39 Matthew Cox National Federation of Fishermen s Organisation 40 Michael Andersen Danmarks Fiskeriforening 41 Miren Garmendia Federación de Cofradias de Pescadores de Guipuzcoa 42 Reine Johansson Swedish Fishermen s Federation 43 Sean O Donoghue Killybegs Fishermen s Organisation 44 Søren Anker Pedersen Marine Ingredients Denmark 45 Stella Nemecky WWF 46 Stewart Harper National Federation of Fishermen s Organisation 47 Verena Ohms Pelagic AC 48 Wietze Kampen European Transport Worker s Federation 49 William Stewart European Fisheries Control Agency 1. Opening of the meeting The chairman opened the meeting and welcomed the participants to the Pelagic AC's 10 th anniversary meeting. He especially thanked Marine Scotland for providing the meeting venue. He asked people to introduce themselves. 2. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted without amendments. 3. Follow-up on action items The only action item from the last meeting was to present the results of the ecosystem focus group. While the focus group will continue its work in the future Stella Nemecky will present the preliminary results during the Executive Committee meeting on the following day. The chairman thanked all members of the focus group and especially Stella Nemecky for co-chairing it. 4. Stakeholder meetings prior to ICES working groups The chairman wanted to briefly touch on the WebEx meeting that was arranged with ICES prior to WGWIDE. The idea was to discuss issues in relation to the Pelagic AC stocks. Gerard van Balsfoort and himself were representing the Pelagic AC in this WebEx. He got the impression, that it had been a productive meeting, but asked John Simmonds for feedback from ICES and for ideas how to approach future meetings. John Simmonds said that overall ICES is in favor of this kind of meeting prior to the ICES Working Group meeting, because this is the right time to provide information. Therefore, ICES definitely wants to pursue the idea. It is also positive that having such a meeting stimulates people to already start working on issues before the start of the actual Working Group meeting. It was, however, also felt that ICES did not get that much out of this particular meeting. Part of the reason was the planning process and this should be discussed. In the future it would be better to have a clearer agenda and John Simmonds suggested using the MIACO meeting in January to agree on the overall objectives for such stakeholder meetings, not only with the Pelagic AC, but also other ACs, so that the purpose of Page 2 of 8
these meetings is well advised and clear to everyone. In conclusion, ICES considers the initiative a positive move forward that is worth continuing. Sean O Donoghue pointed out that the idea behind this meeting was to feed information into ICES at the Working Group stage rather than at the ADG stage, especially since a number of problems were foreseen for the pelagic stocks. He agreed with John Simmonds that it would have been better to have a formalized agenda, but also pointed out that it is difficult to hold such a meeting by WebEx and that a face-to-face meeting would have been preferable. Rather than a one way process he saw this initiative as an interaction with ICES scientists. He considered it a good suggestion to formalize the issue at the MIACO meeting in January and hoped that the Pelagic AC could forward some ideas in this regard. The chairman agreed and concluded to add this issue to the list of action items. 5. Fishing opportunities 2016: presentation of ICES advice by John Simmonds The chairman invited John Simmonds to present the ICES advice on fishing opportunities for 2016. John Simmonds thanked the Pelagic AC for this opportunity and considered it far better to present and explain the advice in person rather than over the internet. Blue whiting Catches have increased from a historical low in 2011 to slightly above Fmsy in 2014. Recruitment has been in the middle range recently and is estimated to be above average in the last two years. However, this estimate is uncertain. SSB is well above precautionary limits. There have been quite some issues with the assessment this year and its uncertainty is considered higher than usual. F has been revised upwards while SSB has been revised downwards. This results primarily from the acoustic survey which gave much lower abundance indices than expected for the older age classes. There have been technical problems with the model which had to cope with the drop in abundance. The current advice is the best ICES could give, but due to the very unstable assessment it is expected that the perception of the stock will again be revised next year. Applying the ICES MSY approach would lead to a catch of 776.391 tonnes. John Simmonds emphasized that there had to be an understanding that this year s assessment was unusually uncertain. The chairman pointed out that there had been a special request from NEAFC on managing the blue whiting stock and he wanted to know what the status of this request is. John Simmonds explained that the NEAFC request was related to a blue whiting management plan and specifically required information on the next 5-10 years, rather than providing a long-term evaluation that would be used for determining MSY. However, after the assessment it was clear that the model assumptions were not accurate enough to provide reliable information on the next 5-10 years, but only good enough to give a long-term evaluation. A lot more work needs to be done to provide precise estimates. Gerard van Balsfoort was disappointed that after 10 years of having the Pelagic AC there was still such an uncertain assessment for this stock. It seemed to him that it was not possible to get a grip on this stock and he emphasized the need for adopting a management plan. However, at the moment ICES was not able to provide advice on a management strategy either. He understood from the survey that the older year classes are missing which came as a surprise to him and he wanted to know what ICES thought about this. In addition he pointed out that for a few years the SAM model has been applied to the stock, but it seemed to him that this model did not really contribute to a Page 3 of 8
certain assessment, but rather is part of the problem. He wanted to know whether this was being discussed within ICES. John Simmonds replied that Gerard van Balsfoort was correct about the absence of older fish causing the downward revision of SSB. The same signals came from catch sampling with some samples showing older fish, but vastly the information from the survey is in agreement with information from catch samples. John Simmonds fully agreed that the right way of dealing with this stock would be through a management plan. The old management plan had some restriction mechanism in it, which is an important aspect of managing a stock in this kind of situation. However, it can also be dangerous to put in place a stability mechanism when catches have just increased a lot. In generally, however, a stability mechanism is needed for a stock like blue whiting. The chairman reminded John Simmonds that the SAM model had also been raised as an issue. Secondly, he understood that an inter-benchmark has been planned for February 2016. John Simmonds explained that one of the things the SAM model does is smoothing F from year to year which is not necessarily the right thing to do. At the inter-benchmark it will be tried to tackle this issue and to provide an overall estimate of the stock. He pointed out that ICES will try to improve the modelling as quickly as possible, because the current situation is not satisfactory. Sean O Donoghue was sure that the perception of the stock will be very different again next year since this seems to be the usual pattern. He emphasized that it is really necessary to get out of the current unsatisfying situation, but that this has to be a collaborative effort between both scientists and stakeholders. The massive fluctuations in the advice cannot be handled by the pelagic industry. Therefore, the Pelagic AC had suggested an alternative approach which unfortunately was not accepted by the Coastal States. He asked for advice on how to get out of this situation. John Simmonds said that the variation in recruitment observed in blue whiting will inevitably lead to major changes in biomass no matter how the stock is being managed. It would be possible to have a stable catch at a very low level, however. The other problem is that ICES has difficulties measuring the stock. In the long term a major reduction in fishing mortality will be required, otherwise the massive fluctuations will continue. Once catches have come down people should certainly look at a stability clause. The chairman wanted to know whether an inter benchmark would provide a new foundation and whether ICES, if requested, would provide new advice after an inter benchmark. John Simmonds replied that this will depend on the information and resources people can contribute. Sean O Donoghue could understand that scientists considered that there was a match between the survey and catches. However, he wondered whether it was possible that stock dynamics have changed causing adult fish being in a different area now. In that case ICES would be comparing apples and oranges. John Simmonds responded that clearly things can and do change, but the one thing that seems to be relatively stable is where and when a stock spawns. The timing of the survey is such that it takes place immediately before spawning time. Therefore, there is a high likelihood that the survey detects adult fish. At the same, however, this does not mean that there is no blue whiting in other areas as well, but it cannot be assumed that there is. Laurent Markovic wanted to know whether it might be a good idea for the Pelagic AC to draft a management strategy given the variability of the survey results. The chairman explained that the Pelagic AC has spent a lot of efforts on developing a management plan which was evaluated and found precautionary by ICES. However, for reasons unknown to the Page 4 of 8
Pelagic AC the Coastal States were unwilling to adopt the plan. Unfortunately, elements of the plan are no longer valid and not aligned with the CFP reform anymore. Atlanto-Scandian herring John Simmonds summarized that since 2004 there has been modest recruitment while fishing has been below Fmsy in 2014 and below the target F of the management plan. Nevertheless SSB has been estimated below MSY Btrigger and SSBMGT since 2014. Overall the management plan is performing well and implies catches of 316.876 tonnes in 2016. The chairman concluded that the situation of this stock is stable although it is at a low level. He thought that a benchmark was planned for 2016 or 2017. John Simmonds said that some work has been done on improving the assessment and that a report is available from Dankert Skagen and Claus Reedtz-Sparrevohn. North Sea horse mackerel Catches of this stock have been decreasing recently. There are some indices available, but none is sufficient to provide a biomass estimate. However, the stock seems to be stable albeit at a low level. Recruitment has been low with indications of some increases in the last few years. ICES therefore advised a roll-over TAC based on the precautionary approach which means that catches should be no more than 15.200 tonnes. The chairman pointed out that members of the Pelagic AC are working on increasing the knowledge base of this stock to get it out of category 5. Martin Pastoors confirmed that a lot of work is ongoing including genetic and chemical sampling of horse mackerel in the North Sea and Channel. Additional samples will be collected when the stocks mix to identify the different paths of the stocks. It will also be tried to develop stock indicators based on commercial fisheries. He hoped that most of this work will be ready before the next expert group meeting and he thought that a benchmark was planned in 2017. 6. Adoption of PELAC advice Blue whiting The chairman summarized that the assumed catch of blue whiting in 2015 is 1.3 million tonnes and that SSB is above Bpa and Btrigger. The ICES advice is based on MSY and recommends a 40% catch reduction. The quality of the assessment is not what ICES, nor anyone else, would like it to be. He also asked people to take into account that ICES will review the stock again in February. He considered it a great pity that there is no agreed management plan for this stock even though the Pelagic AC did successfully develop a plan, which unfortunately the Coastal States did not support. Gerard van Balsfoort stressed the urgent need for a management plan and proposed that the Pelagic AC should strongly recommend adopting an effective plan for this stock. He complimented ICES on being very open about the low quality and high uncertainty of the assessment and advice itself. Given these circumstances he did not want to recommend a precise TAC figure. He also reminded the meeting of the problematic situation with the Coastal States which did not manage to reach an Page 5 of 8
agreement. This led to Norway and Faroe Islands unilaterally increasing their shares adding even more uncertainty to the situation. Sean O Donoghue agreed with Gerard van Balsfoort. He, too, suggested not giving a precise TAC figure, but instead emphasizing the need for a management plan. He said that the Pelagic AC should look at its plan again and update it in terms of Fmsy. After that it should be submitted to the Member States and the Commission in the hope that this time it would be supported by the various parties. He also said that it was obviously a challenge to reliably calculate recruitment and the Pelagic AC should think about how this could be addressed. The chairman reminded the meeting that the Pelagic AC had attempted earlier in the year to adjust the management plan, but was taken over by the Coastal States request to ICES. He said that it will take some work to align the plan with the new CFP. On behalf of the NGOs Christine Absil supported the suggestion to focus on the management plan, but wanted to see the exact text before it is being sent to the Commission. The chairman suggested writing the text before tomorrow s Executive Committee meeting and presenting it during this meeting. Christine Absil agreed. Goncalo Carvalho volunteered to follow the work on the management plan and to provide input. The chairman appreciated his initiative and hoped to present a new advice in February following the inter benchmark. He wondered whether it should be recommended that ICES develops new advice at that point or whether that would create even more problems. Sean O Donoghue thought it would not be a good idea to suggest giving new advice in February. Instead the focus should be on the management plan and on getting some order into the Coastal States. John Spencer said that not having a management plan in place for blue whiting creates a serious problem. The Coastal States have sent the skeleton of a plan to ICES and asked advice on varying certain parameters. However, ICES will not be able to provide advice on time and there is no luxury to wait until next year since the fishery will start soon. It was clear that a management plan was urgently needed to get some stability and predictability. Therefore the Commission will take into account the Pelagic AC s strong recommendation to adopt a management plan. The chairman concluded that he will present the exact text of the recommendation tomorrow, but for now he noted that the Pelagic AC will push for an agreement between the Coastal States and focus on developing a management plan and to explore the work already been done previously. He furthermore raised the issue that the ICES system is currently under a lot of pressure. A lot of work has to be carried out just for providing regular advice and he saw the risk that the quality of the advice might drop if ICES is put under even more pressure. Atlanto-Scandian herring The chairman summarized that the TAC in 2015 amounted to 328.206 tonnes which is the sum of the individual quota given there had been no real agreement between the Coastal States. He pointed out that the Pelagic AC has a long tradition of following the management plan of this stock and according to John Simmonds the plan is performing well. He asked members whether the Pelagic AC could contribute somehow to the benchmark. Claus Reedtz-Sparrevohn said that the Norwegian industry put considerable effort into getting Dankert Skagen and Jens Christian Holst involved in the benchmark. He and Martin Pastoors will also Page 6 of 8
try to participate. The process will start in late November and is expected to be finished early next year. Gerard van Balsfoort wanted to add a recommendation from the Pelagic AC. He explained that due to the lack of a Coastal States agreement EU fishing vessels have currently no access into the Norwegian zone nor the zone around Svalbard. Instead EU vessels are now fishing Atlanto-Scandian herring in a small triangle in EU waters (the Union waters in ICES area IIa). However, there is an old provision in the Technical Measures Regulation that forbids fishing for herring in this triangle. There are more obsolete provisions in the Technical Measures Regulation, but in this case fishers cannot not wait for an overhaul of the Technical Measures Regulation. Therefore he would like the Pelagic AC to advise removing this provision. Christine Absil wanted to know the reason behind this limitation in the first place. If this is related to the stock she said people had to be careful about recommending to remove the restriction. Gerard van Balsfoort explained that this limitation had been put in place in the 90ies before VMS was available, because there had been cases of misreporting North Sea herring into that small triangle in IIa. Since then monitoring has improved considerably and the possibilities, but especially incentives, for misreporting are gone. Back in the mid-90ies the quota for North Sea herring was rather small, but at the moment there is a large TAC for North Sea herring and a small TAC for Atlanto-Scandian herring and hence no reason to misreport catches as Atlanto-Scandian herring. Sean O Donoghue and the chairman confirmed this explanation. The chairman also added that this issue has been raised a number of times already, but was not taken into account by the Omnibus regulation, because people did not want to introduce detailed changes in this regulation. It is expected, however, that in the new Technical Measures Regulation this rule will be deleted. Christine Absil was satisfied by the explanation and supported the recommendation. Sean O Donoghue wanted to know from the Commission whether and how this rule could be removed quickly. John Spencer said there are different views why this provision has been introduced. Some say it is due to misreporting, others say it is due to mixing of North Sea and Atlanto-Scandian herring. In any case this presented a major disadvantage for the EU fleet, because Norway has refused access to fish Atlanto-Scandian herring in Svalbard, even though the fishery is open for Norway itself and for Russia. Another possibility would be to ask the Faroe Islands for more access. He was not sure when or how fast the provision can disappear, but he supported removing it. He also hoped to find a solution for next year until the provision can be removed. Sean O Donoghue wanted to know whether this issue would have to be decided through Co-Decision even if this is only a small amendment. Frederik Schutyser explained he is no expert on technical measures, but in his opinion, it would be difficult to take one element out of the technical measures package and get that accepted quickly. Even a simple Commission proposal will take a long time before it gets adopted. Sean O Donoghue wondered whether it would be possible to include an amendment in the TAC and quota regulation instead, given that this issue is TAC related. He pointed out that something similar has been done in the past for certain stocks, e.g. prawns on the Porcupine Bank. John Spencer promised that the Commission will look into the possibilities. The chairman concluded that the Pelagic AC will recommend following the management plan and to amend the technical measures regulation such that the limitation discussed will be removed. Page 7 of 8
North Sea horse mackerel The chairman recalled that there had been a lengthy discussion on this stock last year. This year ICES suggested a roll-over TAC based on the precautionary approach. He hoped that the work carried out by some of the Pelagic AC members will lead to better advice in the future. Gerard van Balsfoort said that the Netherlands is the biggest user of the North Sea horse mackerel TAC and he saw no other choice than to follow the ICES advice and continue the scientific work to increase the knowledge base for this stock. He hoped that the Pelagic AC would endorse these efforts and the members agreed to do so. 7. AOB There was no other business. 8. End of meeting The chairman closed the meeting at 11.00. Action items Formalize stakeholder meeting prior to ICES Working Groups at MIACO meeting (ICES, Esben Sverdrup-Jensen, Sean O Donoghue) Update blue whiting management plan and submit it to the Commission and Member States (Esben Sverdrup-Jensen, Goncalo Carvalho, secretariat) Page 8 of 8