The Fisheries Ministers of European Union countries are meeting from Monday 17 to Tuesday 18 December in Brussels to negotiate total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for 2019 in Atlantic waters, the Channel and the North Sea (see EUROPE 12132).
A compromise is expected during the evening (or night) on Tuesday, after expected lengthy discussions, in particular on "stocks with limiting quotas" in the Celtic Sea and the North Sea. The Commission emphasizes the need to meet the 2020 deadline on managing stocks according to maximum sustainable yield (MSY).
"Choke species". One of the challenges arising from the landing obligation (mandatory by 2019 at the latest) is linked to the so-called 'choking': a situation in which fishing for certain species must be stopped because the by-catch is high and the TAC for that by-catch is low.
In order to avoid choke situations with major economic consequences, while reducing the fishing pressure on fragile stocks, the Commission has proposed, in five cases, a combination of zero TACs for targeted fisheries and limited by-catch TACs for the same stocks in 2019. The stocks concerned are cod in western Scotland and cod in the Celtic Sea and in the Bay of Biscay/Iberian waters, whiting in western Scotland and in the Irish Sea, and flounder in the southern Celtic Sea and in south-west Ireland.
The Commission proposes to find concrete solutions to this problem in the Celtic Sea and the North Sea, mainly through inter-zone flexibility mechanisms, as well as inter-annual or interspecies flexibility mechanisms. For cod in the Celtic Sea, the proposed TAC reduction would be in the order of 60% (due to tolerated by-catches), whereas the scientific advice recommended 'zero catch'.
Seabass. For northern seabass, the Commission is proposing a set of measures, expressed in catch limits following the latest scientific advice. The limit is set at 1,789 tonnes and an higher catches are proposed for hooks and lines fisheries with 7 tonnes/vessel (compared to 5 tonnes/vessel in 2018). The Commission is extending the “bag limit” for recreational fisheries to one fish/day for 7 months, up from three months in 2018.
Some delegations would like other trades (other than hooked gear) to also benefit from an increase in catches, taking into account that the stock is slightly better.
Eels. The Commission has proposed to extend the closure currently planned for the other stages of eel development to the glass eel and the Mediterranean area (3 consecutive months over the period of 1 September to 31 January). Some countries (France, Spain) reportedly have difficulty accepting the inclusion of glass eel in fishery closures.
Rays. Some countries are calling for an increase in ray catches due to high by-catches. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)