link to page 1 link to page 3 link to page 18 link to page 21
Ref. Ares(2018)3460993 - 29/06/2018
Ref. Ares(2019)2387732 - 04/04/2019
ANNEX X Report to support the request for by-catches of all species regulated with TAC and
cuota, a combined de minimis up to a maximum of 1% in 2019, 2020 and 2021 of the total
annual catches made by the artisanal fleet in ICES divisions VIII, IX, X and CECAF areas 34.1.1,
34.1.2, 34.2.0.
In the framework of the landing obligation in accordance with article 15 of regulation (EU) N°
1380/2013, a de minimis exemption obligation is requested for the artisanal fleet.
The request for an exemption for de minimis is based on article 15.c.i), due to difficulties to
further increase selectivity in this highly mixed fishery, and on article 15.c.ii), due to
disproportionate costs that the small scale fishery can hardly face and that a total application of
the landing obligation without flexibilities would cause in this fishery. The artisanal fleet is
particularly vulnerable for the risk of commercial catch losses an improvement in selectivity
would cause and any additional cost could seriously affect to their benefits making their activity
unviable.
Summary
Motive ................................................................................................................................. 1
Definition of the species ...................................................................................................... 3
Definition of the management unit .....................................
¡Error! Marcador no definido.
Specifying de minimis volume ........................................................................................... 17
Reference .......................................................................................................................... 20
Annexes ................................................................................
¡Error! Marcador no definido.
Motive
The small-scale regional fleet is composed by small vessels with reduced autonomy and with a
high diversity of fishing gears (beam trawl, gill- and trammel-nets, hooks and longline, traps and
pots) target mainly coastal and estuarine species: benthic, demersal, and pelagic species (fish,
shellfish, cephalopods, and crustaceans).
Gears and fishing activity may be very typical on a regional scale. Some of these species could
contributes to an important part of the total annual landings of some regulated stocks, as it is
the case for hake and anglerfish.
1
In the case of the artisanal fleet we have the following situation:
There are a great variety of different metiers included in this term and many vessels can
change from one gear to another throughout the year as they need to adapt to the
circumstances (climatological, biological, market requirements, and so on), what makes
it really difficult to have monitor for data and so forth to establish catch patterns and
historical trends.
The percentage of discards is usually low, but can be high seasonally when quotas are
exhausted.
Species subjected to TACs exhibit higher percentages of discards than those managed
by other measures, what shows that, for some gears, species start limiting the fishery
due to insufficient quota.
Selectivity is difficult to achieve as catches are comprised by large number of species
(with and without TAC) and so improvement is limited by the decrease in profitability of
the metiers.
The small-scale fleet without towed gears in the SWW is a multispecies and mix small-scale
fishery. By combining results from semi-structured interviews with small-scale fishers and some
data from scientific studies, we can confirm that the percentage of discards for small-scale
fisheries is usually low, which is consistent with general empirical observations globally.
However, this can be high when quotas are exhausted.
It has been highlighted in many fora that the landing obligation would generate negative
impacts on small-scale fishers' activities by investing more time on-board to handle previously
discarded fishes, and putting at risk the security of fishers at sea due to full use of allowable
storage on-board coupled with often adverse sea conditions.
If not adapted solutions for this fleet are found, short and long-term, losses of fishing days and
yields, with high negative impacts on sustainable fisheries would be expected.
Therefore options for the small scale fisheries should show as much flexibility as possible to
manage this small (and spread in many little port) quantities of discards to preserve the viability
of this fleet.
Difficulties also lays on information availability from these vessels as many of them do not even
use paper logbooks.
2
Observer’s programmes lack of enough coverage to include all the artisanal metiers, so the only
data source partially available are logbooks and sales notes with scarce information on discards.
Other difficulties are added to the small scales fisheries as, for instance, administrative issues.
For some Member States there is also, in some cases, a matter of competence as the
management of this fleet is responsibility of Regional bodies (e.g. Autonomous Governments as
in the case of Spain) as they operate mainly in in inland waters very near to the coast. This fact
makes even more difficult to agree and establish management measures as governance needs
to be agreed inside regions, inter regions and finally, coordinated by the State.
All above arguments justify this de minimis request, based on disproportionate costs, lack of
alternatives for the fleet in relation to fishing grounds and species (i.e.
selectivity) and finally
atomised distribution along the coast deterring an achievable good level of control.
Definition of the species
The list of regulated species, demersal, pelagic and deep-sea species that can choke the activity
of the small scale fleets is large. Multi -specific small scale fisheries catch a great variety of them
using different metiers throughout the year. This fact lead us to require a very low amount of
unwanted catches for the whole year in order to be able to discard, firstly, undersize fish and
secondly quota exhausted stocks. This flexibility would allow to extend their activity along the
year avoiding main choke situations. The risk of choke situations is common to other fleets
(industrial) and are still unsolved. However, the capacity of the small scale fisheries to adapt,
diversify or search for technological solutions is limited by the own characteristic of the fleet:
small, close to shore and much linked to its local markets.
Characteristics of the artisanal fleet fishery and its activity
CASE STUDY SPAIN
1. EMPIRICAL DATA : BASQUE COUNTRY: Assessing the importance of the discards in the
Basque artisanal fisheries
Introduction
The coastal artisanal fishing is practiced in the Basque Country by a significant number of small
and medium-sized boats (175 units), fishing with a wide range of gears and close to the coast,
making trips of short duration, usually less than 24 hours. The boats that represent the coastal
artisanal fishing are attached to different fleet groups in relation to the main fishing modality,
most of them are known as "minor fishing gears". The fishing gears have their own legislation
and are used by the majority of the non-industrial coastal fleet, including certain gillnetting
gears, longlines, hooks and pots. In the Basque Country have been identified a total of 11
3
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artisanal fishing
métiers on the basis of available information from surveys, databases and
reports carried out by AZTI.
Given the large number of
métiers that exist in the same geographical area, with seasonal
variations and with various nets characteristics, it is necessary to evaluate the discards in the
different
métiers to improve the fisheries management. For the present study 5
métiers have
been selected for the discards evaluation, all of them are gillnetting
métiers. It can be assumed
that the total amount of the discard of the fleet under study is reduced if we compare it with
other subsectors such as purse seiners or trawls. However, due to the importance of this fleet
in social, economic and cultural aspects, it is necessary to start with the discard studies to reach
the sustainability of these fleets.
The gillnets are widely used by the non-industrial Basque Country coastal fleet.
Gill nets are long rectangular panels of netting set vertical on the bottom, in which fish will gill
or enmesh. Gill nets have floats on the upper line (headrope) and, weights on the ground-line
(footrope).
Gill nets consist in single netting (known as "gill nets") or triple netting (known as "trammel
net") mounted together on the same frame ropes. These nets are used in large numbers placed
in line ('fleets' of nets) which are anchored to the bottom in both ends of the gear.
This gillnetting discards study focused in the Basque Country takes into account all the different
trammel net and gill net metiers present in the coastal artisanal fisheries. The main target
species for gillnetting are the hake (
Merluccius merluccius), striped red mullet (
Mullus
surmuletus), anglerfish (
Lophius spp.), sole (
Solea vulgaris) and red scorpionfish (
Scorpaena
porcus); see
Figure 3.5.1
The 5 gillnetting
métiers were selected from a total of 11 characterized
métiers, 2 gillnets and
3 trammel nets
métiers, for the characterization of the discards in the Basque artisanal fisheries.
The selection of the
métiers studied was carried out based on a review of the previous
information on artisanal fisheries available in AZTI, reports, database, surveys and
métier characterization works.
Figure 3.5.1 – The 5 selected
métiers of the Basque artisanal fisheries to assess the discards
importance
4
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Several studies, Puente
et al., 2002 and Arregi
et al., 2004, have already studied the main
characteristics and the seasonality variations that each
métier suffers along the year. The main
characteristics of each
métier are summary in
Table 3.5.1 , including the bottom type, the depth
(m), the soak time (h) and the fishing season.
Table 3.5.1 –Main characteristics of the
métiers selected for the discard study
Objective
Five artisanal
métiers were selected to assess the importance of the discard in the gillnetting
artisanal fisheries, with the aim of identifying the different discard levels within the selected
métiers.
Material and Methods
The 5 artisanal
métiers selected were: gill net hake (
GNH), gill net striped red mullet (
GNSR),
trammel net red scorpion fish (
TNRS), trammel net sole (
TNS) and trammel net anglerfish (
TNA).
During 2010 and 2011, 142 samples of discards were collected in the same number of fishing
operations within 11 different artisanal boats. These artisanal boats were based in each one of
the 9 ports with relevant presence of artisanal gillnetting in the Basque Country in order to
reduce variability between different zones or possible different exploitation patterns
(Figure
3.5.2 ); with this sampling distribution the Basque coast is covered from east to west.
Figure 3.5.2 – Location of the sampling areas.
Sampling
The method used for discard sampling is a mixture of on-board sampling (observer) and self-
sampling (crew).
5
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3.5.3 – Information collected from each sample
The specific relative composition of the discards was analysed with the purpose of characterize
the most important species caught (retained and discarded) in terms of number and weight for
each
métier.
Finally, to enable comparisons between the different métiers, fish number and weight data for
each
métier was standardized to 1,000 m net.
Composition of catches, landings and discards
Total catch composition
Table 3.5.2 –Number of samples distribution along the discard study for the selected
métiers
Through the samplings carried out in this study, a total of 7,628.7 Kg catch was retained and
6,275 individuals with an overall weight of 2,399.4 were analysed for the discard study
(Table
3.5.4 ). The retained catch consisted in 52 different species, while the discarded catch belonged
to 102 species. Around the 98% of the total catch were chordates; regarding this fact the rest
of the phylum did not reach a significant amount
(
Table 3.5.5 ). Due to the high presence of chordates, in terms of discarded catch this study had just focused
on them. 72 different species or groups of species formed the total amount of discards.
Table 3.5.4 –Total amount of catches during the study period
Retained
Discarded Catch
Weight (Kg)
Number Weight (Kg)
2010
3,917.2
3,215
993.1
2011
3,711.5
3,060
1,406.3
Total
7,628.7
6,275
2,399.4
6
Table 3.5.5 – Percentage and number of species caught per the different phylum appeared in
the study
Retained
Discarded Catch
Number
Number
Weight
Number
Weight (%)
Species
(%)
(%)
Species
Chordata
97.3
44
98.47
99.15
72
Molusca
2.15
4
0.46
0.45
9
Echinodermata
-
-
0.41
0.2
10
Artropoda
0.56
4
0.38
0.09
6
Cnidaria
-
-
0.14
0.07
1
Algae
-
-
0.13
0.03
4
The highest retained catch was reached by the GNSRM
métier with 3,093.7 Kg. GNH
métier gained 1,895.9 Kg, whilst TNS and TNA métiers were around the 1,000 Kg. The TNS
métier was
the one with the lowest retained catches. In terms of the effectiveness of the different gears to
obtain the target specie, the GNH was the
métier with the highest percentage of the target
specie from the total retained catch (67%). The rest did not reach values up to the 50%,
highlighting the GNSRM and the TNS métiers with the lowest percentages (27 and 28%
respectively).
The number of individuals discarded ranged from 338 to 2,680 members, being the TNRSF the
métier with the lowest value and the GNSRM
métier the one with the highest amount of
discards. The same was observed taking into account the total weight of the discards, ranging
from 80.6 to 982 Kg.
These differences between the values exposed could be explained by the different amount of
nets used by each
métier, which varied from 837 to 3,181 nets.
Table 3.5.6 – Mean characteristics of the total catch
GNH
GNSRM
TNRSF
TNS
TNA
Retained catch (kg)
1,895.9
3,093.7
481
1,146.6 1,011.5
Target specie retained (%)
67
27
41
28
49
from the total catch
Discarded catch (number)
777
2,680
338
1,632
752
Discarded catch (Kg)
238.7
982
80.6
780
297.9
Total number nets used
1,352
3,181
837
1,881
1,229
Mean catch composition
7
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The retained catch showed mean values from 30.06 to 82.43 Kg/ sample. In general the trammel
nets showed lower catches than the gill nets, with the exception of the TNA
métier. The CV
ranged from 64 to 122%, which corresponds to an important variability between samples.
The GNH
métier presented the highest mean values and variabilities. On the other hand, the
TNRSF
métier gained the lowest values within the lowest variabilities. The same pattern was
observed in terms of the mean weight/sample for the target specie, ranging from 11.83 to 65.57
Kg/sample and coefficent of variation from 54 to 217 %
(Table 3.5.7 ). For the discarded catch, the different
métiers showed values from 21 to 54 individuals/ sample
and from 5 to 26 Kg/ sample. The TNRSF
métier was the one with the lowest quantity of discards
and weight, whilst the TNS
métier was the one with the highest values. No important
differences were apreciated between gillnetting types. Furthermore, in the discarded catch the
same fact with the variability ocurred. The CV ranged from 78 to 114% for the number of
individuals and from 80 to 184% for the weight, which corresponds to an important variability
between samples
(Table 3.5.8 ). Table 3.5.7 – Mean retained catch (Kg/sample) and the variation coefficient (%) for each
métier
Mean retained catch/
GNH
GNSRM
TNRSF
TNS
TNA
sample
Total; Weight (Kg)
82.43 52.29
30.06
38.22 53.24
CV (%)
122
82
64
88
67
Target sp.; Weight (Kg) 65.57
16.01
11.83
21.21
26.19
CV (%)
135
91
86
217
54
Table 3.5.8 – Mean discarded catch (Number /sample and Kg/sample) and the variation
coefficient (%) for each
métier
Mean discarded catch/
GNH
GNSRM
TNRSF
TNS
TNA
sample
Number
34
50
21
54
40
CV (%)
114
78
100
109
77
Weight (Kg)
10.38 18.18
5.04
26
15.68
CV (%)
101
184
88
164
80
Catch composition variability
An analysis of the variance along the months had applied to the samples in order to find a trend
or a variability pattern. In general, there was not any evident pattern in the catch composition
variability for discards inside the selected
métiers, both in number and weight. All monthly
8
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discards showed very high CV values, enhancing the huge variability presented among samples
and months.
Specific composition of the discards
In this work, 10 echinoderm, 9 mollusc, 6 crustacean, 4 seaweed, 1 cnidarian and 72 different
fish species or species aggrupation were recorded as discard in the combination of all the
studied fishing
métiers. The mentioned 72 fish species or groups formed the 98.5% of all the
discarded catch in number and the 99.2% in weight so the subsequent analysis will be focused
on them.
The specific composition of the discard for the
GNH métier in number and weight can be seen
in
Table 3.5.9 . In this
métier the horse mackerel (21%), pout (20%) and mackerel (14%) were
the most discarded species, adding more than 50% of the by-catch in number of individuals.
Considering the weight, hake (15%), pout (15%) and mackerel (13%) reached up to the 40% of
the total discard in this
métier.
Table 3.5.9 – Specific composition of the discard (number and weight) in the hake gill net
métier
In the
GNSRM métier (Table 3.5.9 ), the bogue (54%) and the horse mackerel (10%) were the
most discarded species according to the number. Again, the bogue (40%), followed by mackerel
(32%) were the species in weight that highlight more. This
métier was the one that discarded
the lowest number of species.
9
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Table 3.5.10– Specific composition of the discard (in number and weight) in the striped red
mullet gill net
métier
The
métier comprising the widest range of species discarded was the
TNRSF (Table 3.5.11 ) with
more than 16 fish species. In number, the scopionfishes (14%+11%), Longfin gurnard (13%) and
hogfishes (12%) were the predominant adding a value up to 50% of the total discarded fishes.
If we consider the weight, hogfishes (16%), thornback ray (13%) and scorpiofishes (8%+7%)
were the most important discarded species with a percentage close to 45%.
Mackerel (32%) and sardine (24%) were the most discarded species in the
TNS métier (Table
3.5.12 ) according to the number, covering more than 50% of the total discarded fishes. In
relation to the discarded weight, the same two species constituted the 68% of the discard,
corresponding the 57% to the mackerel and the 11% to the sardine.
In the
TNA métier, the most discarded species according to the number of individuals were the
bib (12%), longfin gurnard (12%) and small-spotted catshark (11%). These three species added
the 35% of the total discarded fishes. The most discarded species in relation to weight were
moonfish (16%) anglerfish (10%) and hake (9%), comprising the 35% of the total discarded
weight
(
10
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Table 3.5.13 ).
Table 3.5.11 – Specific composition of the discard (number and weight) in the red
scorpionfish trammel net
métier
11
Table 3.5.12 – Specific composition of the discard (number and weight) in the sole trammel
net
métier
Table 3.5.13 – Specific composition of the discard (number and weight) in the anglerfish
trammel net
métier
12
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Discard Rates
The D/T (discarded weight/total catch weight) rate and the D/Target (discarded weight/total
target specie catch weight) rate were calculated separately for each
métier (Table 3.5.14 ). If we consider the total catch (D/T), the TNS
métier showed the higher discard rate (37%)
followed by the GNSRM (28%) and the TNA
métiers (22%). The other two
métiers showed
discard rates lower than 15%.
The discard ratio in relation with the target specie (D/Target) catch weight showed that the
GNSRM and TNS with 68% and 64% respectively, exchanging their positions in the ranking.
Below these two
métiers, with a substantial lower discard ratio we found the TNA (36%),
TNRSF (33%) and GNH (17%)
métiers.
Table 3.5.14 –Discard ratio in weight considering total catch and target specie catch for the
studied
metiers
link to page 14 link to page 14
GNH
GNSRM
TNRSF
TNS
TNA
D/T (%)
13
28
14
37
22
D/Target sp. (%)
17
68
33
64
36
For comparative purposes, discards as well as retained catches (total and target specie) were
extrapolated to 1,000m net/ sample
(Figure 3.5.5 ). The GNH
métier was the one with highest
total and target specie catches, with a low discarded mean weight. On the contrary, the TNS
métier had the lowest total and target specie catches, showing a discard value higher than the
target specie catch. The GNSRM
métier with the second highest value for the total catch
showed the highest value for discard weight. The TNRSF
métier with the lowest value for
discards showed medium values for target specie and discards.
Figure 3.5.5 –Mean catch value extrapolated to 1000 meter of net for all the samples,
considering the total retained catch, target specie catch and discarded weight
The mean number of individuals discarded by fishing
métier and its respective CV can be seen
in
Table 3.5.15 . According to extrapolations, the GNSRM and the TNS
métiers, both with 18
individuals, showed the highest value followed by GNH and TNA with 12 individuals each and
finally the TNRSF
métier with 9 individuals. The values of C.V were very high in all
métiers,
ranging from 99% in TNRSF to 62% in GNSRM
métier. These revealed the high dispersion of
the data and indicated that sampling effort should be increased.
Table 3.5.15 –Mean number and CV extrapolated to 1000 meter of net for all the samples
GNH
GNSRM
TNRSF
TNS
TNA
Individuals discarded 12
18
9
18
12
in 1,000 m net
(CV
78 (CV 62 %) (CV 99%)
(CV 98 %) (CV 71 %)
%)
Main conclusions from this case study
In order to assess the importance of the discard in the Basque Country artisanal
fisheries, 5
métiers were selected: gill net hake, gill net striped red mullet, trammel net
red scorpion fish, trammel net sole and trammel net anglerfish.
142 samples of discards were collected in the same number of fishing operations
within 11 different artisanal boats
Through the samplings carried out in this study, a total of 7,628.7 Kg catch was retained
and 6,275 individuals with an overall weight of 2,399.4 were analysed for the discard
study.
The discards were composed by more than 70 fish species in this study, comprising the
98.5% of all the discarded catch in number and the 99.2% in weight.
The main results obtained in this study are summarized in the following table:
The LOWEST amount
The HIGHEST amount
Total Retained
TNS
GNSRM
% Target specie from the the other
métiers similar GNH
total retained
values
Total Discarded
TNRSF
GNSRM
in number and weight
Mean Discards/ sample
TNRSF
TNS
in number and weight
CV (%)
Very high values in number and weight in all
métiers
Gill nets presented the highest amount of the total retained catch and the highest
percentage valued of the target specie from the total retained catch.
All monthly discards showed very high CV (%) values in number and weight, suggesting
an important variability between samples. There was not any evident pattern in the
catch composition variability for discards inside the selected
métiers.
The main discarded species in number and weight were bogue, mackerel, horse
mackerel and bib for gillnets.
For trammel nets, mackerel, sardine, bib and gurnards were the most important in
number, while moonfish, skates, mackerel and bib were the ones in weight.
The trammel net sole
métier shows the higher discard ratio in weight (37%) followed
by the gill net striped red mullet (28%).
Considering the target specie caught in weight, gill net striped red mullet and trammel
net sole
métiers showed the highest values, 68% and 64% respectively.
The gill net hake
métier was the one with the highest total and target specie catches
with a low discarded mean weight and the trammel net sole
métier has the lower total
catches and the lower catches of target specie, showing a value for discard higher than
target specie catch.
The gill net striped red mullet and the trammel net sole
métiers, both with 18
individuals show the higher mean individual discarded number extrapolated to 1,000
m of net.
After the extrapolation to 1,00meter net the mean number of discards showed very
high values of C.V in all
métiers, ranging from 99% in trammel net red scorpion fish
métier to 62% in gillnet striped red mullet. This suggests that the sampling effort
should be increased in order to avoid this variability.
Main reasons for the discard are low commercial value, decomposition of the fish and
undersized fish or quota finished.
2.
DATA COMING FROM FISHERMEN STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
OPEGUI, a producers organization of artisanal fleet in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, in the
framework of the PLEAMAR (Fundacion Biodiversidad funding project) are developing
together with the scientific institute AZTI , an ongoing Project called “ the Impact of the landing
obligation in the artisanal fleets and marine ecosistem form Cantabrian sea. That finishes at
the end of 2018 in the areas of Asturias, Cantabria and Basque Country
In the context of the landing obligation, the objective is characterize the dynamic , catch
composition(including seasonality) from Iberian waters small scale fisheries using traditional
gears in order to make specific proposals to solve the risk of choke in this selected fleets. The
main objectives of this project are the following:
1. Characterization of Fishing activity.
2. Choke situations identification and most limiting stocks for this fleet.
3. Selectivity pattern analysis for the species before identifying them.
4. Solución proposal.
5. Comparison with the rest of the Fishing sector.
6. Dissemination of work done.
The following work is being done to identify percentage of catches and discards in Asturias
and Cantabria regions for the moment with analysis like the following graphics obtaining the
maximum and minimum discard percentages declared in the interviews.
The estimated maximum discard rate in Asturias were calculated as being between around 5%
and in Cantabria between 4 and 5 %.
Maximum percentage of discards, small scale
fishery in ASTURIAS (2017)
TRASMALLOS
PALANGRE DE FONDO
OTROS
NASAS
MIÑOS
LINEAS DE MANO
CURRICAN
BETAS
0
20
40
60
80
100
PATESIA
PINTARROJA
PALOMETA
VIRREY
ABADEJO
RAYA
BESUGO
PULPO
Chicharro
CABALLA
RAPE
MERLUZA
Minimum percentage of discards, small scale fishery
ASTURIAS (2017)
TRASMALLOS
PALANGRE DE FONDO
OTROS
NASAS
MIÑOS
LINEAS DE MANO
CURRICAN
BETAS
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
PATESIA
PINTARROJA
PALOMETA
VIRREY
ABADEJO
RAYA
BESUGO
PULPO
Chicharro
CABALLA
RAPE
MERLUZA
By end of 2018, the results of the study will deliver more information and data about discard
levels, limiting species y preliminary selectivity (if any) improvements as well as tactics to
provide operative solutions that sustain the adaptation of these fleets to the landing
obligation.
Specifying de minimis volume
Discard volume from Spanish fleet
Up to now, results obtained from samplings in the Basque Country and from structured
interviews in Asturias and Cantabria, the percentage of discard is around 5% on average. But
1% is the percentage we will use to calculate the de minimis exemption to obtain the amount
of discard allowed for each stock for this fleet. Over this rate, the 25% safeguard. Discard EU
data for this fleet is not possible to be obtain as it is not disaggregated in metiers other than
the traditional ones in the european context. But , again, it is worth to comment that the
physical characteristics of these fleets and their dynamics do not follow the industrial fleets
that tradictionally are content in the description of the European metiers. In the next three
years, the SWW group is committed to develop more studies to complete and improve this
information.
The percentage requested for the de mimimis can be modified in light of new information
arisen that can prove updated catch patterns as the ones showed in this document and if the
inclusion of information from other fleets from France and Portugal mainly changes the global
picture.
Taking into account the ACDR data from 2016 sent by Spain by census, as there do not exists
a closed census called
minor gears including all our artisanal gears, a 1% of all catches from
TAC and quota species made from this fleet is calculated to obtain the maximum de minimis
applicable to this fleet segment.
The methodology used to calculate the de minimis volume differs in this case as the data
available is very poor, scarce and atomised by regions so, this information is used as a firts
reference level, proxy or base line to calculate an estimation. The objective is to continue
working on this issue in the future and improve the data, identify the specific problems and
propse ad hoc solutions in the next three years. Spain will also push the needed changes in
the data registration in paper loogbooks in order to have as much information registered as
possible.
SPANISH LANDINGS ACDR 2016 BY STOCK FROM MINOR GEARS CENSUS
TOTAL CATCHES
1% de minimis
% OF EACH STOCK de minimis
STOCK
25% safeguard (TON)
(TON)
(TON)
COMPOSITION
ALF 3X14
10,309
0,103
0,10
2,59
ANF 8ABDE
5,023
0,05
0,05
1,26
ANF8C3411
450,643
4,506
4,51
133,00
BSF 8910
0,051
0,001
0,00
0,01
GFB 89
19,633
0,196
0,20
4,95
HKE 8ABDE
40,793
0,408
0,41
10,36
HKE 8C3411
1.326,21
13,262
13,28
507,70
JAX 8C
681,114
6,811
6,82
216,74
JAX 09
638,782
6,388
6,40
200,56
LEZ 8ABDE
0,014
0
0,00
0,00
LEZ 8C3411
3,673
0,037
0,04
0,92
LIN 6X14
0,484
0,005
0,01
0,12
MAC 8C3411
6.444,82
64,448
64,55
5771,09
NEP 93411
0,001
0
0,00
0,00
PLE 8C3411
2,924
0,029
0,03
0,73
POL 8C
88,359
0,884
0,89
22,87
POL 8ABDE
0,136
0,001
0,00
0,03
POL 93411
68,704
0,687
0,69
17,65
SBR 9
23,933
0,239
0,24
6,04
SBR 678
14,213
0,142
0,14
3,57
SOL 8AB
0,142
0,001
0,00
0,04
SOO 8CDE34
150,523
1,505
1,51
39,90
WHB 8C3411
14,348
0,143
0,14
3,61
WHG 8
0,004
0
0,00
0,00
TOTAL
9.984,84
99,848
100,00
Safeguards
This de minimis would respond partly in how to implement landing obligation in specific
fisheries in no described fisheries of small size, without impacting very negatively in their
profitability and therefore social context. It has to be taken into account, the added difficulty,
in the fully implementing 2019 landing obligation scenario, in relation to the control of the
implementation of the new regulation. Also this de minimis has its caveats and risks. It is true
that the combination of several species can represent a high volume of possible discards.
Nevertheless, it will never be more than 5% of the total catches of the fleet concerned, this
means 100 tons aprox (99,848). from all TAC and quota species caught by this fleet.
As explained above, volume and composition of catches can be unpredictable and vary from
one year to another. It is also important to emphasize that, because of the highly multispecies
nature of the fisheries, it is highly unlikely that only one species would be discarded. That is
the point of a combined de minimis: to give some flexibility needed for fisherman to face the
variability of by-catch stocks abundance.
Nevertheless, in order to limit the risk of discarding only one species and because discard rate
can be significantly different from a species to another it is propose to put in place safeguards.
Here after is a proposition of safeguards that need to be evaluated and discussed:
According to the discard profile of the fishery (see annexe I), a margin on 25% shall apply. This
margin would allow the flexibility needed to face the variability of catches and discards. On the
overall discard volume permitted by this exemption, only the proportion calculated (+25%)
could be discarded on the overall discard. In this case, and taking all precaution in using those
data, this would allow fishermen to discard.
Those safeguards should be revised if necessary and according to discard profile knowledge
to be acquired over the next three years.
References
Murillas, A., E. Mugerza, L. Arregi, N. Alzorriz e I. Artetxe. 2012. PRESPO. Desarrollo Sostenible
de las Pesquerías Artesanales del Arco Atlántico. Elaborado por AZTI-Tecnalia para Eusko
Jaurlaritza - Gobierno Vasco, Dpto. de Medio Ambiente, Planificación Territorial, Agricultura y
Pesca, Viceconsejería de Pesca e Industrias Alimentarias.
Fishers' perceptions about the EU discards policy and its economic impact on small-scale
fisheries
in
Galicia
(North
West
Spain)
Author
links
open
overlay
pan
elSebastianVillasanteabGraham J.PiercecdCristinaPitaeCésar PazosGuimeránsfJoãoGarcia
RodriguesabManelAntelobgJosé
MaríaDa
RochahiJavier
GarcíaCutrínjLee
C.HastiedPedroVeigakU. RashidSumailalMartaCollmn
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800915302858?via%3Dihub
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Karim_Erzini/publication/286040057_The_EU_landing
_obligation_and_European_small-
scale_fisheries_What_are_the_odds_for_success/links/5638890308ae78d01d39b7e6/The-
EU-landing-obligation-and-European-small-scale-fisheries-What-are-the-odds-for-
success.pdf?origin=publication_detail