On September 8, the second annual meeting was hosted by the Commission in Brussels, moderated by Lowri Evans, Director General for DG Mare. The focus of the meeting was on the state of European fish stocks, as presented by scientific experts, and the way the EU should react to scientific based assessments and uncertainties. The meeting was the last opportunity for inputs to be made by stakeholders before the TACs are set for 2012.
To begin the meeting in an encouraging way, some positive trends of the management of the North Sea stocks were mentioned, to exemplify that improvements of fish stocks are possible. The proportion of stocks for which the scientists had too poor data to be able to set Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) had decreased significantly and the stocks that are deemed as not being overfished had increased from 2 to 13. However, even though the situation has slightly improved there are still regions in the North Sea in which the stocks are declining or remain weak. In the Irish Sea for example it was recommended that fishing mortality has to be reduced immediately for species such as cod and whiting, as well as herring, which are on historically low levels.
Overall, many EU stocks are still at risk and for the majority of the total 180 stocks (63 %), analytical assessments cannot be performed due to poor data. The assessments for these stocks only can be trend based with or without supporting scientific surveys, or based on catch data alone.
In the Mediterranean the situation is especially alarming as almost 90 % of the stocks are considered to be overexploited. Fishing mortality (F) for Hake is for example considered to four times the amount it should be if MSY were applied, and for many other species (red mullet, anchovy, sardines etc.) catches are double or close to double the allowed under MSY. Landings of small juvenile individuals, that have not yet reproduced, are common and the prevention of catching undersized fish is necessary not only for the stocks to recover in number but also so that the genetic variation of the stocks should not be diluted further. This also has a bearing on improving the economy of the fishery, as if optimal length management of Mediterranean hake were applied, the total landings of the species could possibly be multiplied up to seven times. Essential data (landing data, discard etc.) for stock assessments is often lacking or is of uncertain quality, for example, landing data in gillnet and longline fisheries is often missing. Also the knowledge of many coastal species (e.g. sea bream, sea bass) is still very poor.
In EU fisheries there was an overall economic loss of almost 5 % in 2009, and the segments that were doing worst were beam trawlers, followed by demersal trawlers, while pelagic trawlers and passive gear fishermen did better and the fishermen using dredges were the most profitable.
Overall, lack of data and engagement from Member States constitutes a considerable problem in the assessment analyses, both when determining the stock status and the economy of EU fisheries. In the assessments of the economy of EU fisheries, the data collection was especially poor, and some countries (Greece and Spain in particular) only reported fragmentarily if at all. ICES has taken an initiative to develop tools to be able to assess stocks without proper knowledge on for example the current age distribution in the so called SISAM (ICES Strategy Initiative on Stock Assessment Methods). Also other improvements, such as better availability of catch data (log books), cameras on boats and more observers were called for.
In the discussion following the presentations, most focus was on the ICES suggestion for a general cut of 25 % for quotas for which MSY cannot be set due to insufficient data. Representatives from the industry claimed that this would affect the individual fisherman drastically. However, the Commission is in favour of the suggestion and it was mentioned that the most commercially important stocks would not affected by the cuts. Moreover, for many stocks which currently have insufficient data, the TAC is often not currently caught. Furthermore, industry representatives criticised the target for stocks being in MSY states by 2015, and gave a metaphor that there are several ways to be transported to the festival in Santiago de Compostela (walking, by car, by airplane etc.), to which the Commission representative rapidly replied that “we’re not going there by foot anyway”.