Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) : 64th Plenary Report (PLEN-20-02)

The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) held its 64th plenary as a virtual meeting from 6-10 July 2020.-- 128 pagesCommission Decision of 25 February 2016 setting up a Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, C(2016) 1084, OJ C 74, 26.2.2016, p. 4–10. The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating to marine and fisheries biology, fishing gear technology, fisheries economics, fisheries governance, ecosystem effects of fisheries, aquaculture or similar discipline

Scientific, technical and economic committee for fisheries – 64th plenary report (PLEN-20-02)

Commission Decision of 25 February 2016 setting up a Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, C(2016) 1084, OJ C 74, 26.2.2016, p. 4–10. The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating to marine and fisheries biology, fishing gear technology, fisheries economics, fisheries governance, ecosystem effects of fisheries, aquaculture or similar disciplines. The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries held its 64th plenary as a virtual meeting from 6 to 10 July 2020

Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) : 65th Plenary Report (PLEN-20-03)

The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) held its 65th plenary as virtual meeting from 9-13 November 2020.-- 152 pagesCommission Decision of 25 February 2016 setting up a Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, C(2016) 1084, OJ C 74, 26.2.2016, p. 4–10. The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating to marine and fisheries biology, fishing gear technology, fisheries economics, fisheries governance, ecosystem effects of fisheries, aquaculture or similar disciplinesPeer reviewe

The Development of a "Green Trawler"

As quota and fishing effort restrictions become tighter, and fuel costs spiral, it is likely that fishing time will further reduce and therefore the design pressure on fishing vessels of the future will be to improve efficiency when steaming and to retain optimum thrust when trawling. Rules and regulations have shaped our modern trawlers. The necessary fullness for carrying fish is accentuated by the imposition of restrictions in length. While it is generally accepted that there is a penalty in fuel consumption relating to this evolution this study sets out to quantify it. This paper describes the development of a “green trawler” designed to incorporate the highest level of efficiency available in a practical form for use in the demersal fishing fleet. Results from field tests on existing trawlers and towing tank tests on the green trawler design are presented. Comparison is made between a typical demersal trawler, at sea and in the test tank, and the green trawler. The model tests were designed to confirm that the design concept was fuel efficient; and to determine the potential for increased fuel efficiency if certain regulatory restrictions on fishing vessel design parameters were lifted. Savings of 30% on fuel consumption could be achieved with relatively modest length increases. Additional savings of 10 to 20% can be achieved by reducing the drag of hull appendages, for example, better alignment of bilge keels. The study concludes by introducing the concept of “Green Tonnage” as an option that should be considered by the EU and Member States, whereby vessel owners would be allowed additional GT’s for new builds over and above existing limits without being penalized. This should be strictly on the basis that no increase in effective fishing effort results

Managing the Transition to Sustainable and Responsible Fisheries- An Irish Case Study

A Seafood Environmental Management Systems manual (SEMS) has been developed by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (The Irish Sea Fisheries Board) in conjunction with the Irish fishing industry to encourage fishermen to adopt an environmentally conscious, responsible and compliant approach to their business. The documented risk-based SEMS approach developed is essentially a “bottom-up approach” and enables fishermen to understand their operations and demonstrate they are responsible, while empowering the operator to communicate confidently and effectively. Experience has shown that this process has lead to fishermen realizing that by taking a responsible approach, they can positively influence the management process. This helps them to maintain access to the natural resource while also allowing them to engage in certification programmes that bring market rewards. This documented management system allows an operator undergo audit procedures in a constructive and easily achievable manner, such as MSC requirements within a fishery and also operator–based, regional standards. The success and sense of personal achievement gained through third party validation of fishermen’s efforts has resulted in a sustained and continuous growth on a journey that will ensure a long-term commitment by the catching sector to responsible practices. This paper highlights the approach to assist and empower the Irish catching sector embrace positive change, through adoption of an EMS approach which has proved to be an important tool for encouraging sustainable and responsible practices

The environmental interactions of tidal and wave energy generation devices

Global energy demand continues to grow and tidal and wave energy generation devices can provide a significant source of renewable energy. Technological developments in offshore engineering and the rising cost of traditional energy means that offshore energy resources will be economic in the next few years. While there is now a growing body of data on the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms, the scientific basis on which to make informed decisions about the environmental effects of other offshore energy developments is lacking. Tidal barrages have the potential to cause significant ecological impacts particularly on bird feeding areas when they are constructed at coastal estuaries or bays. Offshore tidal stream energy and wave energy collectors offer the scope for developments at varying scales. They also have the potential to alter habitats. A diversity of designs exist, including floating, mid-water column and seabed mounted devices, with a variety of moving-part configurations resulting in a unique complex of potential environmental effects for each device type, which are discussed to the extent possible.No Full Tex

A preliminary Investigation on Shelf Edge and Deepwater Fixed Net Fisheries to the West and North of Great Britain, Ireland, around Rockall and Hatton Bank.

Since the mid-1990s, a fleet of up to 50 vessels have been conducting a gillnet fishery on the continental slopes to the West of the British Isles, North of Shetland, at Rockall and Hatton bank. These vessels, though mostly based in Spain are registered in the UK, Germany and other countries outside the EU such as Panama. The fishery is conducted in depths between 200 and 1200 meters, with the main target species being monkfish (200-800 m) and deepwater sharks (800-1200m). These fisheries are not well documented or understood and they seem to be largely unregulated, with little or no information on landings, catch composition and discards. Vessels currently participating in the fishery are reported to use up to 250 km of gear, and the nets are left fishing unattended and hauled every 3-10 days with trip lengths varying between 4 –8 weeks. The amount of fishing gear used in the fisheries, the lengths of the fleets, and the fact that the nets are unattended much of the time, make it very likely that a large quantity of nets are lost, while there is also evidence of illegal dumping of sheet netting. The long soak times in these fisheries result in a high proportion of the catches being unfit for human consumption. Keywords: Deepwater Shark Fisheries, Ghostfishing

Selectivity metrics for fisheries management and advice

Fisheries management typically aims at controlling exploitation rate (e.g., Fbar) to ensure sustainable levels of stock size in accordance with established reference points (e.g., FMSY, BMSY). Population selectivity (“selectivity” hereafter), that is the distribution of fishing mortality over the different demographic components of an exploited fish stock, is also important because it affects both Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and FMSY, as well as stock resilience to overfishing. The development of an appropriate metric could make selectivity operational as an additional lever for fisheries managers to achieve desirable outcomes. Additionally, such a selectivity metric could inform managers on the uptake by fleets and effects on stocks of various technical measures. Here, we introduce three criteria for selectivity metrics: (a) sensitivity to selectivity changes, (b) robustness to recruitment variability and (c) robustness to changes in Fbar. Subsequently, we test a range of different selectivity metrics against these three criteria to identify the optimal metric. First, we simulate changes in selectivity, recruitment and Fbar on a virtual fish stock to study the metrics under controlled conditions. We then apply two shortlisted selectivity metrics to six European fish stocks with a known history of technical measures to explore the metrics’ response in real-world situations. This process identified the ratio of F of the first recruited age–class to Fbar (Frec/Fbar) as an informative selectivity metric for fisheries management and advice.</p