Brussels, 10/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 10 November, the European Commission adopted its proposal on fish quotas (Total Allowable Catches) for 2016 in the Atlantic and North Sea. It includes many reductions on fish catches and robust measures to safeguard stocks of seabass.
The Commission is only proposing 4 fish catch increases for 2016! These will include megrims in the North Sea (+26.7%, to 2,636 tonnes) and the West of Scotland (+18.7%, to 4,900 tonnes) and horse mackerel in the Iberian (+27% to 17,235 tonnes) and Portuguese waters (+15.3%, to 68,583 tonnes). For the rest, there are very few stable quotas apart from anchovies in Spanish and Portuguese waters but many quota reductions.
The Commission indicated that cod in the Irish Sea and Celtic Sea waters continues to be in a bad state. Sole stocks in areas such as the Irish Sea, Eastern Channel or Bay of Biscay are “very vulnerable”. Advice for haddock and cod in the Celtic Sea demands considerable TAC cuts to bring them to MSY levels. The Commission is also advising fishermen in the Celtic Sea and Western Waters to improve fishing gear selection techniques, which could help and prevent catching young fish and endangering reproduction and the reconstitution of fish stocks.
TAC reductions include: -19.6% for herring in the Celtic Sea (15,442 tonnes), - 29.6% for cod in the Celtic Sea (3,569 tonnes), -20% for flounder (14,747 tonnes), -12% for angler fish, also in zone VII (Irish Sea, West of Ireland, Porcupine Bank, Channel, Celtic Sea in the South-West of Ireland), as well as in the Bay of Biscay (and -19.2% for anglerfish in Spanish and Portuguese waters), -27% for haddock in Spanish and Portuguese waters, -20% for whiting in the Bay of Biscay (to 2,540 tonnes), -19.8% for lobster in the North Sea (14,315 tonnes), -20% for plaice in the Irish Sea, -20% for pollack, -20% for ray fish and -100% for sole in the Irish Sea (including TAC of zero). For many other stocks (scientific recommendations will be provided later) and shared with non-EU countries as part of the bilateral agreements, particularly with Norway) there are not yet any proposals: this is particularly the case for important species such as hake, sole and lobster from the Bay of Biscay.
With these figures, the Commission is proposing to reach the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) by 2016 for all stocks where scientists have given a recommendation on MSY, except for seabass (see below).
Additional “discard” quotas. As of 2016, fish that otherwise would have been discarded will now be landed. To recognise the extra effort of the industry to land all catches, the Commission is proposing TAC top-ups for stocks under the landing obligation. This so-called top-up TAC will apply to demersal fisheries (hake, whiting, cod and sole etc.) as of January 2016 and depend on the amount of fish that are landed. The three regional groups affected are: North Western Atlantic, South Western Atlantic and North Sea. On the basis of scientific advice to be received by mid-November the Commission will, later in the month, propose the catch increase including all the quantities that need to be landed. How will this calculation be made? These TAC top-ups will be calculated on the basis of how many shipping vessels covered by the 2016 landing obligation contribute to the total of catches and discards. When the calculation of the TAC is being made, de minimis percentages will be taken into account (derogation to the rule obliging fishermen to land everything, within the limits for certain percentages) for discards that are still authorised.
Moratorium on sea bass fishing. Seabass is a specific case: effective management measures for this species were only introduced quite recently with in catch limitations defined at the beginning of June 2015. The Commission therefore opted for measures for next year based on those taken in 2015, in an effort to stem the decline of this important stock. For the first half of 2016, the Commission is proposing a total ban on seabass fishing. This ban will apply to commercial vessels and those involved in recreational fishing (including pleasure and recreational fishing boats). In the second half of 2016, the Commission is proposing a limit (a TAC) of 1 t a month for fishing boats involved in sea bass fishing and a limit of one fish a day (as opposed to one bag of three seabass according to current rules) for recreational fishermen. It is also proposing to maintain the closure on commercial fishing around Ireland. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)