Brussels, 16/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 16 November, the European Commission adopted an action plan in order to address the problem of incidental catches of seabirds in fishing gear. Scientific evidence has shown that high numbers of seabird species including albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, auks, sea ducks and divers are being caught in fishing gear every year. Measures taken so far to protect seabirds from entanglement in fishing gear have been ineffective.
The new action plan aims to establish a management framework to minimise seabird bycatches to the lowest possible levels. It focuses on long line and static net fisheries where seabird bycatch is known to be highest, although other fishing gear such as trawls and purse seines are also covered by the plan. It entails a wide range of elements under 30 recommended actions. The rules will apply to EU fishing vessels inside and outside EU waters as well as non-EU vessels operating in EU waters.
The 30 recommended actions contained in the plan are a combination of binding and non-binding measures. They include: - more rapid implementation of fisheries management measures to protect seabirds within special protection areas (SPAs) designated under the Birds Directive; - more extensive monitoring of fisheries where information on seabird bycatch is lacking or uncertain; - implementing proven mitigation measures (such as the use of bird-scaring lines and acoustic deterrents or the use of weighted lines) in long line fisheries in EU and non-EU waters where bycatch is highest; - and instigating research into the development of practical and efficient mitigation measures particularly in static net fisheries.
In the longer term, the goal is to incorporate the mitigation and monitoring elements into the new frameworks for technical measures and data collection being developed in the context of the reform of common fisheries policy (CFP), and to provide necessary funding to support this under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
Some of the above measures will be implemented at EU level while others need voluntary action by member states or must be endorsed by regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) in fisheries outside EU waters. Also, the action plan provides for actions that can be implemented immediately as well as actions requiring longer term commitment on the basis of elements of proof and scientific opinions available. The success of the plan rests on the collective contributions from member states, fishermen and NGOs.
According to estimates by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), over 200,000 seabirds die every year as a result of contact with the EU fishing fleet in EU and non-EU waters. At least 49 species of seabirds that are incidentally caught are classified under serious conservation concern. These include the Balearic shearwater, Sooty shearwater, Yelkouan shearwater and Audouin's gull incidentally caught in long line fisheries in EU waters, as well as the Steller's eider, red-throated and black-throated divers, Slavonian grebe and smew which are caught in static net fisheries, primarily in the Baltic Sea.
Management measures currently in place to protect seabirds appear in a broad range of legislative texts that relate to fisheries and the environment, as well as in a number of international conventions and agreements. Such measures have, however, proven largely ineffective for reducing bycatches of seabirds except in a few isolated cases in remote waters such as the Antarctic and the Falkland Islands. Consequently, the Commission considers that additional measures are needed to face up to the problem. (LC/transl.jl)