Anglerfish (L. piscatorius) in the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic Iberian Waters, Gillnet Content last updated 22nd Feb 2018 Stock: Lophius piscatorius in ICES Divisions VIIIc and IXa Management: EU Anglerfish (L. piscatorius) in the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic Iberian Waters, Gillnet Overview White anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius), also known as monkfish, is regularly caught in European Seas. White anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius), also known as monkfish, is regularly caught in European Seas. Knowledge of the biology, migration and spawning behaviour of anglerfish is far from complete. They are considered to be a long-lived species, with females reaching sexual maturity at large size: 70 80 cm with an average growth rate of around 10 cm a year. Anglerfish are found on sandy and muddy sediments in depths of up to 1000m, where they lie half-buried in wait of prey such as small fish, sandeels, and occasionally larger fish. Anglerfish are top predators, with a diet that reflects temporal prey availability and tagging studies have shown that the species can undertake extensive migrations, from Shetland to Faroe and Iceland, for example. The two anglerfish (L. piscatorius and L. budegassa) species are usually caught and recorded together in the landing statistics, and are managed under a combined species TAC. Stock Status less risk more risk L. piscatorius in 8c and 9a has been scored a low risk. The stock biomass is above MSYBtrigger, and fishing mortality below FMSY. Management less risk more risk The management of anglerfish in subareas 8c and 9a has been scored a low risk. A combined TAC is set for both L. budegassa, and L. piscatorius, and catches have been in line with this. Bycatch less risk more risk The bycatch risk of this fishery has been scored a high risk. This is because there is a risk of bycatches of cetaceans in this fishery, but there has been limited monitoring and no estimates of the effects on populations or technical measures introduced to prevent catches. The EU landings obligation is intended to reduce discarding of TAC species over the period up to 2020 and technical measures are being developed to reduce incidental catches of endangered, protected and threatened species. Habitat less risk more risk The habitat risk of this fishery has been scored a very low risk. This is because set gillnets have relatively little impact on the seabed compared to other fishing activities. Lost or abandoned gillnets can get entangled on habitat features and weights can cause surface penetration of the seabed. Some spatial management is in place to protect vulnerable areas. Outlook Type Current Risk Status Outlook Reason Stock Low Stable Although anglerfish are vulnerable to overexploitation the biomass shows an increasing trend since 1994. Effort in the main fisheries are declining and these factors imply that stocks are likely to be stable or improving. Management Low Stable The state of the stock and subsequent advice is based on the data-limited approach using survey based indices of abundance, there is some uncertainty in relation to catch levels due to discarding and some reported IUU fishing. There is also concern over the use of a combined TAC for the two species which carries the risk of one of the species being overexploited. Bycatch
Bycatch High Stable There is a risk of cetacean capture and no indication of the effects on cetacean populations. The EU landings obligation is intended to reduce discarding of managed species over the period up to 2020. Habitat Very low Stable Technical and spatial management measures are under development and will likely reduce the risk further.
Stock Status Details less risk more risk Time-trends The biomass for L. piscatorius as estimated from the assessment carried out has increased since 1994 from its lowest level of the time-series. Fishing mortality has decreased and is now around the fishing reference point for maximum sustainable yield. Recruitment has been low in recent years and there is no evidence of strong incoming year classes. Figure 1. White anglerfish in divisions 8.c and 9.a. Summary of stock assessment (weights in thousand tonnes). Assumed recruitment values are unshaded. Confidence intervals are 95% (ICES 2017). Stock structure and recruitment Lophius piscatorius is a Northeastern Atlantic species, with a distribution area from Norway (Barents Sea) to the Straits of Gibraltar (and including the Mediterranean and the Black Sea). The boundaries for this stock is not based on biological or genetic criteria and more research is being carried out to determine stock structures. The spawning of the Lophius species is very particular, with eggs extruded in a buoyant, gelatinous ribbon that can measure more than 10 m in length (Quincoces, 2002). This particular spawning results in a highly clumped distribution of eggs and newly emerged larvae where ecosystem conditions play an important role in the success of recruitment. Data gaps and research priorities Since 2013, the only available indices have come from the bottom trawl survey (SpGFS-WIBTS-Q4). These are considered a good indicator of small-sized anglerfish abundance. Tuning data on larger fish are lacking; the implications on the quality of the assessment are unknown (ICES 2016). The stock is assessed using a length-based model, so length sampling is key information for this stock. The current sampling scheme (common to multiple species, and based on sampling multiple species by trip), in combination with the relatively low abundance of anglerfish per trip and the broad size range of this species, leads to noisy length frequency data. This may impact on the quality of the assessment (ICES 2016). Reliable estimates of discards are not available. Discarding is known to be partly dependent on market conditions and quota restrictions. Efforts should be made to obtain reliable estimates of total catches in order to improve the assessment. ICES. 2014. Report of the Working Group for the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian waters Ecoregion (WGBIE), 7 13 May 2014, Lisbon, Portugal. ICES CM 2014/ACOM:11. 714 pp. ICES. 2016. White anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius) in divisions 8.c and 9.a (Cantabrian Sea and Atlantic Iberian waters). 7.3.4 ICES. 2017. White anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius) in divisions 8.c and 9.a (Cantabrian Sea and Atlantic Iberian waters). June 2017. Quincoces, I. 2002. Crecimiento y reproducción de las especies Lophius budegassa Spinola1807, y Lophius piscatorius Linneo 1758, del Golfo de Vizcaya. PhD Thesis. Basque Country Univer-sity. 276pp.
Management Details less risk more risk TAC Information Catch 2016 (t) Advised Catch 2017 (t) Agreed TAC 2017 (t) Advised Catch 2018 (t) 1791 2253 3955 2197 Stock harvest strategy The two anglerfish species are not separated in the landings and a single TAC covers both species. For these reasons, ICES advice in previous years was based on a common multiplier of the current F for both anglerfish species; the value of the multiplier used in the advice corresponded to that required to get fishing mortality for both stocks at or below FMSY in the advice year. ICES considers that management of the two anglerfish species under a combined TAC prevents effective control of the singlespecies exploitation rates and could lead to overexploitation of either species. Therefore, this year s advice is based on the single-species FMSY (ICES 2016). There is no minimum landing size for anglerfish, but an EU Council Regulation (No. 2406/96) laying down common marketing standards for certain fishery products fixes a minimum weight of 500 g for anglerfish. Council Regulation (EC) No. 2166/2005 established measures for the recovery of Southern hake and Norway lobster stocks and for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures such as effort limitation and area restrictions for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms. Although there is known to be a discarding problem the stock does show an increasing biomass trend. A decrease in TAC could result in higher discarding rate. All the fleets fishing in this area are reporting very large quantities of anglerfish on the fishing grounds and that these quantities have been increasing over the last few of years. The quota has been restrictive for some fleets, leading to an increased risk of discarding. Surveillance and enforcement Fisheries on anglerfish are carried out by two countries and surveillance activities to record compliance with the national and international fishery control measures are primarily the responsibility of the competent fishery inspection authorities in each country. In addition, the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), established in 2005, organises operational coordination of fisheries control and inspection activities by the Member States as well as cooperation with third countries and other Regional Fishery Management Organisations. The requirements for surveillance and sanctions for infringements are laid down in the EU Control Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009. Surveillance activities on fisheries for anglerfish in Division VIIb-k and VIIIa, b include the use of vessel monitoring systems (VMS) on board vessels over 12 m overall length; direct observation by patrol vessels and aerial patrols; inspections of vessels, gear, catches at sea and on shore, verification of EU logbook data against sales documents. The EU Control Regulation specifies that Member States should set up electronic databases containing the inspection and surveillance reports of their officials as well as records of infringements. Through these systems the under-recording of anglerfish catches by Spanish fishermen has been reported (Port news, 2015). EFCA. [http://www.efca.europa.eu/] [Date accessed: 23-Dec-15] ICES. 2014. Report of the Working Group for the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian waters Ecoregion (WGBIE), 7 13 May 2014, Lisbon, Portugal. ICES CM 2014/ACOM:11. 714 pp. ICES. 2016. White anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius) in divisions 8.c and 9.a (Cantabrian Sea and Atlantic Iberian waters). 7.3.4 Port news, 2015. [http://afloat.ie/port-news/fishing/item/24540-spanish-fisherman-fined-for-illegal-fishing-activity.] [Date accessed: 23-Dec-15]
Bycatch Details less risk more risk Targeting and behaviour Set gillnets are panels of netting with floats on the top line and weights on the bottom line, and are held vertically in the water whilst anchored to the seabed. Individual panels are joined together in tiers to make a fleet of nets, and multiple fleets may be set in an area with soaking times typically of up to a day (Anon. 2010). Anglerfish are caught in fixed nets set near the seabed. Other forms of fixed nets that rely mainly on entanglement include single-walled bottom tangle nets, typically used for large benthic fish such as anglerfish, turbot, brill and rays, and (increasingly) trammel nets which have two layers of netting, for example an inner wall of 200-300 mm mesh and an outer wall of 900 mm. Soak times of tangle and trammel nets can be 2-3 days, with a third of the nets lifted per day (Anon, 2010). Evidence of bycatch risk Bycatch in gillnets may be the single greatest threat to porpoise and dolphin populations worldwide (Jefferson and Curry, 1994; Reeves et al., 2013). The extent of the bycatch and discard level is variable and dependant on the length of time the net is in the water, its location and the time of year in relation to species migrations. As other significant threats become better documented and understood, such as environment changes and disease, bycatch remains a critical issue (Reeves et al., 2013). EU Regulation 812/2004 requires monitoring of cetacean bycatch for set gillnets and entangling nets with a mesh size > 80mm in specified divisions within ICES areas VI, VII, VIII and IX. The most recent results (ICES, 2014) for relevant countries for this fishery are; Spain: Submitted a report for the year 2009 when relatively large bycatches were reported in some fisheries (Villa, 2010). Portugal: The gillnet/trammel net fleet comprises 372 vessels >12 m and the fleet was monitored for 71 days. Three common dolphins, one harbour porpoise and one bottlenose dolphin were observed bycatch. Efforts are underway to estimate the population abundance of small cetaceans and other marine animals that require the establishment of bycatch limits in European waters (ICES 2014). For example, the Cetacean Offshore Distribution and Abundance in the European Atlantic (CODA) project estimated cetacean abundance, investigated habitat use in waters beyond the continental shelf and developed a framework for determining safe bycatch limits for the common dolphin in north western waters of the Atlantic. Furthermore, the Small Cetacean Abundance in the North Sea and Adjacent waters (SCANS) survey was conducted in 1994 (SCANS) and 2005 (SCANS-II) to estimate cetacean abundance in European Atlantic waters, enabling the assessment and management of bycatch through the development of improved methods for monitoring and a robust management framework. Mitigation measures Although active acoustic deterrents ( pingers ) are required in some European static gear fisheries under EU Regulation 812/2004, there is no requirement to use them in the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian peninsula. Anon. 2010. FISH/2007/03 Lot 1: Joint data collection between the fishing sector and the scientific community in Western Waters. Final Report to EC: Studies and pilot projects for carrying out the Common Fisheries Policy. ICES. 2014. Bycatch of small cetaceans and other marine animals Review of national reports under Council Regulation (EC) No. 812/2004 and other published documents. Jefferson, T. A. and Curry, B.E. 1994. A global review of porpoise (Cetacea: Phocoenidae) mortality in gillnets. Biological Conservation 67(2):167-183. Reeves R. R., McClellan K., Werner T. B., 2013. Marine mammal bycatch in gillnet and other entangling net fisheries, 1990 to 2011. Endang Species Res 20:71-79 Villa, H. 2010. Annual report on the implementation of regulation (ec) no 812/2004 2009. European Commission.
Habitat Details less risk more risk Gear effects, targeting and behaviour Anglerfish are targeted or taken as a bycatch in gillnets anchored at the seabed. The anchoring of these nets has minimal impact on the sea floor but there is potential for nets that are lost through bad weather, interaction with the seabed or other gears, to continue to ghost fish for a long time with negative impact on marine life. Research suggests this could be for up to a year before the nets deteriorate and act as a substratum for many colonising plants and animals, increasing net visibility and providing a complex habitat that is attractive to many organisms (Brown and Macfadyen, 2007, Baeta et. al. 2009). Mitigation measures The rate of permanent net loss are often low and generally below one percent (Brown and Macfadyen, 2007) this is mainly due to the level of self-recovery of nets with the use of global positioning systems and the considerable effort fisheries will go to to recover gear given the cost of replacement, especially for the under 10 m fishing fleet. Baeta. F., Costa. M. J., Cabral. H., 2009, Trammel nets ghost fishing off the Portuguese central coast. Fisheries Research 98 33-39. Brown, J., Macfadyen, G., 2007. Ghost fishing in European waters: impacts and management responses. Mar. Policy 31, 488 504. All content 2018 Seafish. Origin Way, Europarc, Grimsby, DN37 9TZ. This page created on 11th September 2018 at 08:42pm.