Brussels, 15/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - At a hearing on recreational fishing for sea bass in the European Parliament in the late afternoon of Tuesday 14 April, the European Commission said that it would shortly bring forward a proposal for a long-term management plan for sea bass, an endangered species. The emergency measures taken by the Commission (ban on pelagic trawling during the spawning season) expire at the end of April. Time, then, is of the essence.
During the hearing, MEP Norica Nicolai, chair of the Forum on Recreational Fisheries and Aquatic Environment, stressed the need for long-term management of stocks of this fish.
Alain Cadec (EPP, France) highlighted the role played by the Parliament (resolution on sea bass, 6 March), as exemplified by this hearing. “Sea bass is a noble and much-prized fish”, he said. The state of the stock is very worrying, he stated. Parliament has called for an EU multiannual management plan to be put in place but would first like to know the state of the stock, how widespread it is, its migration patterns and its spawning grounds to be determined (the roles of the various players would also have to be assessed). Cadec spoke of a number of possible measures that could be included in the management plan: for commercial fishing - introduction of total allowable catches, minimum landing size and biological rest period during the spawning season. The management plan should also cover recreational fishing which accounts for “almost a quarter of the sea bass catch”, Cadec said. In his view, a limit on how much fish can be caught “would seem to be necessary” and the Commission proposal (three sea bass per fisher per day) seems reasonable.
Recreational fishing accounts for approximately 1,100 tonnes of a total EU catch (professional and recreational combined) of 4,000 tonnes.
Jean-Claude Bel of the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA) said that recreational line fishing was worth some €20 billion. There are around 8-10 million line fishers of sea bass in the EU. He was highly critical of the “illogical restrictions” proposed by the Commission (maximum of three sea bass per day), “when we were forgotten by the common fisheries policy”. He warned of poaching and argued for a minimum landing size of 42 centimetres and closure of the fishery from January to May/June (or from December to March/April in the more southerly zones).
Jan Willem Wijnstroom of the European Anglers Alliance (EEA) drew attention to the fact that, in economic terms, recreational fishing was worth more than commercial fishing. He said he was in favour of a long-term management plan (with details on the structure of the stock and on objectives in terms of maximum sustainable yield). Leisure fishing has to be seen as a solution and not as part of the problem, he argued.
Jean Kiffer, president of the FNPPSF (recreational fishing for sea bass in France), recommended extending the coastal band (to six miles if possible), banning all intensive fishing within the coastal band and creating artificial reefs (to prevent trawling in the coastal band). He also suggested targeted action against poachers. He was critical of Commission measures hitherto: the emergency measures should apply to all types of fishing (including bottom trawling) and all zones (not just the Eastern Channel and the North Sea but also the Bay of Biscay). Rather than three sea bass per person per day for recreational fishing, he would prefer to see a monthly quota tailored to the various types of activity. “We are being doubly penalised because we have already agreed to a minimum landing size of 42 centimetres and now the three sea bass per day rule is being imposed”, Kiffer said. He advocated extending the 42 centimetre minimum size generally and banning fishing during the reproduction period.
Bernhard Friess, director at DG MARE (European Commission), stressed the need for a comprehensive approach and opined that an EU-wide approach was needed. The Commission, he said, is preparing a multiannual management plan for sea bass covering western, northern and southern waters.
A discussion took place on introducing an EU total allowable catch. The Commission supports this, as does France, but the Council is divided on each country's allocation (past catch records). At any rate, the Commission warns that, were a TAC to be put in place, there would have to be “quite severe” reductions, in particular in the quota allocated to France, which alone accounts for some 65% of the total catch of sea bass in the EU. (Lionel Changeur)