The conference on Tuesday 26 September on the state of fish stocks confirmed the “alarming” situation of the resource in the Mediterranean and improvement in the North Sea and the Atlantic.
“It’s not true that that we know nothing about the state of the stocks in the Mediterranean”, said Clara Ulrich, chair of the scientific, technical and economic committee for fisheries (STECF).
Deeply pessimistic picture. The number of evaluations is increasing and coordination with the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) is improving, she stated. She acknowledged that the ecological picture for Mediterranean stocks was very bleak: the biomass is continuing to fall and fishing mortality is rising.
She noted that fishing mortality responded very quickly to changes in the way the biomass is developing because stocks are at a very low level. She said that measures to manage fishing effort and to protect juvenile fish were not enough to reverse the trend. “The adult stocks have to be protected by reducing catches of adult stock”, she argued. “Every catch counts, those of the large vessels just like those of the so-called small fishing boats”, she stated.
76% of stocks overfished. She said that of the 90 stocks evaluated, only eight were being fished sustainably and 69 stocks – 76% – were being overfished. Ulrich stated that some species, such as sharks and rays, were very vulnerable to overfishing and that hake, anchovy and sardine stocks were not improving. Deepwater rose shrimp are less overfished but catches of this species were increasing, to the concern of scientists. She regretted the lack of data on the state of stocks in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Commission highlighted progress in the commitments made by states to resolve the problems. It intends to work on tackling illegal fishing, tougher measures in the Strait of Sicily and on-going recovery plans (in 2018, it will make a proposal on demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean). In addition, Italy and Croatia are taking measures in the Adriatic, and France and Spain are taking action to protect stocks in the Gulf of Lion, the Commission said.
“We need to get down to work”, said European Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella, in reference to international commitments (“MedFish4ever declaration”). He called on EU member states and fishermen to assume their responsibilities and rejected criticism that quotas would not work in the Mediterranean. He cited the example of the quotas that made it possible the recovery of Bluefin tuna. In the Mediterranean, 80% of the fleet is not subject to any binding rules.
Against a background such as this, “it’s impossible to implement a plan in the Mediterranean”, Vella said.
Progress in the Atlantic. The conference noted an improvement in the state of stocks in the Atlantic (reduction in fishing mortality and 35% increase in the biomass, with fine results particularly for hake and plaice).
In the Bay of Biscay, there has been a rise in landings (though, if sardine is counted, there has been a fall) and a drop in fishing mortality. Most stocks are fished in line with maximum sustainable yield (MSY), said Eskil Kirkegaard, chair of the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Seas) Advisory Committee. He pointed out that fishing mortality had risen for sardine.
The situation has improved slightly in the Celtic Sea (stabilisation of landings, fall in mortality, increase in size of stocks though some, such as cod, are a low levels).
In the North Sea, landings are lower if pelagic species are excluded. Kirkegaard highlighted the improvement in the cod and plaice stocks in the North Sea. In the Baltic, fishing mortality for cod is above the required level, though the state of the stocks has improved, he noted.
“We are making good and steady progress”, said Vella. Sixty per cent of stocks are being fished sustainably but only three years remain – until 2020 – to achieve MSY for all stocks, he pointed out. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)