Ref. Ares(2018)3109482 - 13/06/2018
Ref. Ares(2019)2387732 - 04/04/2019
To:
Cc:
CLARK Helene (MARE);
Subject:
FW: Joint Recommendation of the NWW Member States group for a 2018
demersal discard plan: request for additional scientific evidence following the
meeting of the STECF Expert Working Group
Importance:
High
Dear
,
I am writing to you in your position of Chairman of the North-Western Waters (NWW)Member States
Group. A STECF Expert Working Group (EWG) met last week to assess the Joint Recommendations of the
various Member States Group and prepare the work for the STECF Plenary of 2 to 6 July.
The EWG issued a number of comments on the Joint Recommendation of the NWW Member States
group and I would like to share them with you (see Annex).
In the light of the EWG’s report and of the scientific evidence provided by to date, we expect the
STECF’s Plenary to express reservations as regards the granting of certain exemptions if these
data gaps are not being closed.
Please note that the annex list cannot be interpreted as a positive STECF assessment regarding
exemption requests for which no data gaps have been identified. Please also note that the
tables contain only those exemptions where EWG18-06 considered there were information or
data shortfalls that might be corrected by provision of information from the respective Regional
Groups in the short term (ie before the STECF July Plenary meeting).
You certainly share my view that it is extremely important that the NWW Member States group provide
the additional scientific evidence requested by the STECF well ahead of the Plenary. We share the same
objective here, namely to make sure that STECF is in a position to give as much positive advice on the
proposed measures as possible.
I would kindly ask you to send me the data requested by Monday 25 June, close of business.
Please copy J
and
as well as
in any electronic correspondence on this matter.
Sincerely,
Mare.C1| Fisheries Management Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic Sea|DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
European Commission
North Western Waters De Minimis
Exemption Shortfalls
Whiting caught with bottom trawls and
No supporting evidence relating to request
seines >80mm and pelagic trawls and beam to include BT2. Regional Group should
trawls (80-119mm) to catch whiting in the
provide fishery information (landing
Eastern Channel (VIId)
discards etc)
Combined
de minimis for Gadoids (cod,
a) No information provided for fleets other
haddock, whiting) caught using bottom
than France and Ireland. Regional Group
trawls, seines and beam trawls of greater
than or equal to 80mm mesh size in the
should provide fishery information (landing
Celtic Sea and the Channel (ICES VIIb-c,
discards etc)
e-k)
b) EWG 18-06 notices that in the
“Template for the provision of information
that defines the fisheries to which de
minimis exemptions should apply (Annex
IV)” the estimated landings and the
estimated discards for gadoids report the
same value (9097.84 tons), and this is
not consistent with the reported discard
rate (53%). Can this be corrected.
By-catches of pelagic species (mackerel,
a) No information provided for beam
horse mackerel, herring, boarfish, greater
trawl and seine net fisheries.
silver smelt) caught by vessels using bottom
b) Information related to safeguards
trawls and seines, and beam trawls in ICES
only provided for France. Discard
subarea VI and VIIb-k
profiles for other MS are required.
North Western Waters High Survivability
Exemption
Shortfalls
Common sole (undersized only) caught
Location of sole nursery grounds has not
with trawl gears in area VIId
been provided. Provision of this material is
a condition in the Delegated Act (COM
2018/46) and should be supplied .
Nephrops in the TRI fisheries in Area VII
Apart from Ireland, fisheries descriptions
and in the TR2 fisheries in Area VII in
of other countries fleets are lacking which
combination with highly selective gears
makes the magnitude and effects of this
exemption difficult to assess
Skates and ray species caught by any
Very few landings and discards data
gear in the North Western Waters (areas
provided. EWG18-06 recognises these data
VI and VII)
are sparse and that there are quite a lot of
species, however, Regional Group should
provide whatever they do have to assist in
the evaluations.
Plaice caught by trammel nets in ICES
a)The supplementary material provided as
divisions VIId and VIIe
scientific evidence of the high survivability
of Plaice is too limited to be reviewed.
Experimental details about a large extent
of the study are missing (e.g. analysis,
control group, vitality assessment and
animal observations)
a) Fleet and fishery descriptions are
provided for the United Kingdom,
but there are other countries
associated with the proposed
exemption that have not been
described.
Plaice caught by trammel nets in ICES
As above
divisions VIIf and VIIg
Plaice caught by Otter Trawls in ICES
As above
divisions VIId and VIIe
Plaice caught by otter trawl gears in ICES
As above
subarea VIIf and VIIg
Plaice caught with beam trawls in ICES
Fleet and fishery descriptions are provided
subareas VIIa to VIIk
for Ireland, but the source related to
numbers supplied is unknown. There are
other countries associated with the
proposed exemption that have not been
described.
Fish caught in pots, traps and creels in
Fleet and fishery descriptions are detailed
North Western Waters
for Scotland, but data from other
countries associated with the proposed
exemption were not submitted. Regional
Group should provide this