A report from the Swedish Board of Fisheries suggests that small-scale fisheries should be under separate management.
The report, commissioned by the Swedish Government, added that this could be achieved through separate catch quotas, or that some areas could be closed to large-scale fisheries.
On the whole, the report pinpointed sinking profitability as a dominant problem for small-scale fisheries, defined along criteria such as vessel length – under 12 metres – fishing methods – passive – and distance to the coast – less than 12 nautical miles.
“The fisherman doesn’t get enough for the catch, as the costs for fuel and transports constantly rise”, explained Karin Bjerner, one of the authors.
“A large responsibility still rests with the coastal fishermen themselves”, she added. “They need to market themselves better. Their product is locally fished, with small carbon dioxide emissions; fishing with passive gear has minimal effect on the environment, and with very small by-catches”.
Still, better management can lessen at least some of the burdens, the report suggested – the stocks need to be bigger and the rule system easier to read and more predictable. Coastal fisheries are more vulnerable to decreasing stocks, since they do not move over bigger distances.
Even today, a “rather big portion” of the Swedish TACs for cod and pelagic species – mackerel, herring and sprat – are reserved for small-scale fisheries, the report noted, adding that the fishing industry in general needs to cooperate to strengthen the stocks, to make the fish more accessible, bigger and more abundant.
The report came out strongly in favour of multi-year management plans, making it easier for the fishermen to plan their business and venture investments.
It was noted that fading profitability has made recruitment particularly difficult for small-scale fisheries; few young people today are willing to take over.
“Separate management models could strengthen that part of the fishing fleet with ties to smaller places”, explained Karin Bjerner. “That means we could still have viable and vital fishing communities in the future – not just backdrops for the tourist industry, but real fishing communities”.
Out of a total of some 1,400 Swedish fishing vessels, 1,119 falls under the definition in the report.
The report was published the same week as, at a meeting in La Coruña, Spain, the first steps were taken and a first declaration was published in a budding cooperation between NGOs and small-scale coastal fishermen’s organisations.