10/20/2014 Seas are nowadays the heart of a huge number of problems - - PDF document

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FISHERIES MANAGEMENT PLANS

TOWARD A SUSTAINABLEBALANCE FOR MARINE RESOURCES Marie Benatre October 9 2014, Madrid, Spain

Seas are nowadays the heart of a huge number of problems : pollution, climate change or overuse. How conjugate the mounting wills to protect nature, and the use of natural resources ? To achieve this goal, management plans appear to be valuable tools, from regional to local scale, reuniting all the actors of the fishing sector (scientists, law makers, professional fishermen, etc.).

SUMMARY

• Fisheries management plans : a tool to conciliate protection and production

⧐ Evolution of the global context : a short review ⧐ Creation of a management plan ⧐ Who makes management plans ?

• Instruments for management plans application : what happens in practice

⧐ Institutional machinery to establish management plans ⧐ A concrete application of management : the European example ⧐ Fisheries management plan components

• Benefits of management plans

⧐ Benefits of management plans on the biological scale ⧐ Benefits of management plans on the economic and social scale

Fisheries management plans : a tool to conciliate protection and production EVOLUTION OF THE GLOBAL CONTEXT : A SHORT REVIEW

• Malthus (1766-1834) and Lankester (1884-1890) : the first concerns
• 1902 : creation of the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea)
• 1982 : adoption of the MSY (Maximum Sustainable Yield)
• 1983 : setting up of the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy)

 In 1997, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) defined management plans as « a formal or informal arrangement between a fishery management authority and interested parties, which identifies the partners in the fishery and their respective roles, details the agreed objectives for the fishery and specifies the management rules and regulations which apply to it and provides other details about the fishery which are relevant to the task of the management authority ».

• Scientific data for basis, with well-identified areas at sea

CREATION OF A MANAGEMENT PLAN

Scientific data about the Southern horse mackerel (ICES division IX-a), 2014 Source : ices.dk

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CREATION OF A MANAGEMENT PLAN

• Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB) is used, but also Total Stock

Biomass (TSB)

• Biological reference points are based on mortality and stock

biomass

• F represents fishing mortality :

Flim is the borderline fishing mortality (and thus the borderline fishing effort) beyond which stock renewal is affected Fpafor its part is the target fishing mortality to reach in order not to drop below Flim

• B represents stock biomass :

Blim is « a limit reference point indicating the lowest level of biomass compatible with sustainability of the resource » (Garcia an Cochrane, 2005) Bpa is the spawning biomass that we have to approach in order to avoid all risks of droping below Blim

ICES divisions and related stocks Source : European environment agency

• Scientific data for basis, with well-identified areas at sea
• All data are compiled and analyzed. Based on forecast analyses,

scientific advice is provided on catch limits

• Then, scientific advice is turned into management measures after consultation of the main

stakeholders.  Plans suggest management actions while considering the issues of the sector  All the actors of the fishing sector (scientists, law makers, professional fishermen, etc.) are involved in this process

CREATION OF A MANAGEMENT PLAN

It depends on the country government form : ⧐ In Australia, the AFMA (Australian Fisheries Management Authority), a govermental agency, manages the Commonwealth fisheries

WHO MAKES MANAGEMENT PLANS ?

⧐ The US system is based on Regional Fishery Management Councils,dependingon the Federal Government ⧐ European Advisory Councils(ACs) can develop management plans for the European stocks

Regional advisory councils in Europe Source : European Commission

Instruments for management plans application : what happens in practice

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• Countries legislature already contains fishing policies main orientations, but also references to

management plans elaboration

INSTITUTIONAL MACHINERY TO ESTABLISH MANAGEMENT PLANS

• The law-making authority legally designated by the

Government is in charge of regulations, orders, proclamations etc. , but also licences, gear restrictions, closed areas and seasons and input and output controls

• On the international scale, management policies

are supported by various conventions (ex: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention, 1982)), and advisory bodies

• EU countries divide the TACs (Total Allowable Catches) up as they wish between their fishermen
• Various restrictions concerning the catches are in place : on fish length, weight and age
• Verifications are made at each step from the boat to the plate
• All European fishermen undergo under a point system : serious infringements are penalised by

point loss that can lead to vessel’s licence suspension for 2, 4, 8 or 12 months, in addition with the sanctions provided by national laws

• European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) can initiate « joint control campaigns, where

inspectors from different EU countries join forces » (European Commission)

• If some countries of the EU don’t comply with their commitements, they can, after a consultation

phase, see their funds temporarily withheld, their quotas reduced, and even being taken to the EU Court of Justice

CONCRETE APPLICATION OF MANAGEMENT : THE EUROPEAN EXAMPLE

• Management plans are based on a Harvest Control Rule (HCR) : here, the HCR for the blue whiting

stock developed by the Pelagic AC

• Some TAC constraints

FISHERIES MANAGEMENT PLAN COMPONENTS Benefits of management plans BENEFITS ON THE BIOLOGICAL SCALE

• Quite difficult to measure, because they need time to be discerned
• Management plans contribute to the objective of a balanced harvesting
• They also permit the preservation of natural habitats, provided by banning fishing methods that

destroy habitat for instance

BENEFITS ON THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SCALE

• Bioeconomic simulations with by-catch reduction devices, limitation of catches or size limits

show increase in stock biomass, which generates an increase of fishermen revenues

• Management plans fully integrate the economic scale : the aim is to reach maximum

exploitation while guaranteeing healthy stocks

• Various studies have shown that fishermen have

generally a positive point

• f

view about management plans, even in developping countries where lack of education and beliefs can be a drag for such policies

• Numerous improvements are suggested : the

main one is a deeper collaboration between fishermen and plan makers

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In a global and increasing concern for ocean health, management plans are one of the main tools to ensure a sustainable use of marine resources A more participative approach seems to be more and more called for by the those working in the fisheries sector  The supreme goal in this is to guarantee access to fish for consumers in a sustainable way

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