Review of Management Options for the Landing Obligation

Section 1: Introduction

Background

1.1 A central component of the Common Fisheries Policy ( CFP) reform ( EU regulation 1380/2013) is the progressive elimination of the discarding of species subject to catch limits in all commercial EU fisheries. Discarding is the practice of throwing catch back into the sea dead or dying. With the introduction of the obligation to land all catches, Article 15 of the new CFP basic regulation prohibits the discarding of species subject to catch limits ( TAC and quotas species) and those subject to minimum size limits in the Mediterranean. The gradual introduction of the landing obligation begins in 2015 for the pelagic fisheries, extending to all fisheries in the Union in the following years. This reform represents a fundamental shift in the management of EU fisheries, with a key component of the landing obligation the movement away from the monitoring of landings as a measure of TAC/quota uptake to the monitoring and regulation of catches.

1.2 The elimination of discarding in EU commercial fisheries is a progressive policy that will bring an end to a wasteful practice. However, significant unease exists across Member States ( MS) as to how the landing obligation will affect the operations of vessels within national fleets. As catches once discarded will have to be landed and accounted for with quota, the commercial operations of some vessels will become constrained and demand for quota, an already scarce resource, will increase. The Council of Ministers have designed exemptions and flexibilities to alleviate this situation The proportion of the catch currently discarded is expected to be added to the quota as an additional amount, as a so-called 'quota uplift' ^[1] (though this could still result in a lower TAC from year to year as the state of the stock with regards to MSY will also need to be taken into account) and various exemptions have been written into the legislation including species not covered by catch limits; species where high survivability can be demonstrated and; limited volumes of permissible discards which can be triggered under certain conditions, the so called de minimis exemptions, as well as inter-species and inter-annual quota flexibility mechanisms

1.3 Despite these exemptions and flexibilities, the impact of 'choke species' remains a key concern. The so-called 'choke species' phenomenon represents a situation wherein a lack of quota for one species - the choke- may prevent vessels from going to sea despite plenty of quota being held for other stocks. In many cases, firms may be unable to continue operating, with large quantities of quota uncaught after the choke species binds. Faced with the prospect of going out of business, incentives for non-compliance with the landing obligation will be created. There is therefore a strong onus upon Member State governments to implement discard reduction strategies that will help reduce the catches of unwanted and undersized species and to implement policies that will allow fleets to stay at sea for longer and utilise allowable catches, while simultaneously incentivising compliance and behaviour change at an individual level.

Scope and Rationale for the Study

1.4 By the time the landing obligation comes into full force (2019), it is likely that catch compositions, fleet characteristics and the final shape of how the aformentioend flexibiltities and exemptions will operate will have altered the 'big picture' of how the landing obligation will affect the Scottish fleet. Moreover, it will be a few more years before the impact of the ban on behaviour and the operations of the flexibilities are understood. In order to facilitate the successful implementation of the landing obligation in Scotland, this report represents an initial stage within a Marine Scotland Science multidisciplinary research project that aims to appraise how discards can be reduced in Scottish commercial fisheries. The remit of this paper is to produce a review of the best management practices and policies from around the world that reduce unwanted bycatch and discards and to explore the potential that these options hold for Scotland.

1.5 An underlying principle of the paper is that discarding is a multifaceted problem that happens for a number of reasons and that the level and pattern of discarding varies between and within fisheries. It therefore stands to reason that the most successful approach is likely to adopt a tool-box approach - the use of a number of different policies and management options that will work together to produce the desired outcome. This will involve a mix of both technical and administrative measures. While the wider Marine Scotland Science multidisciplinary research project will focus upon the introduction and development of technical measures that will help fishermen to alter their catch and avoid the catching of unwanted species and undersized fish, this paper focuses upon management options that will determined what happens to fish once they are landed on deck. The management of catch and the use of quota will have an important contribution to how the landing obligation works in practice as even with the best precautionary actions that allow fishermen to alter their catch compositions with choices regarding location, time and gear, it is almost inevitable that individual catches will not exactly match the ex-ante portfolio of catch rights.

1.6 This report uses a desk-based review of international policies and evidence from a series of key informant interviews to provide a qualitative analysis of the various management options that have the potential to create positive conditions for the operation of the landing obligation in Scotland. It identifies widespread support for several policies at all governance levels: across the EU, within the new regional structures, at a Scottish national level and within the POs and the operations of individual firms. Where possible it analyses the potential impacts and limitations of the different options.

Methodology

1.7 The objective of this paper is to produce a background review of bycatch and discard reduction measures used internationally and to test their potential contribution for the implementation of the landing obligation in Scotland's mixed fisheries. This report was conducted in two stages. An initial desk-based study was used to produce a synethisis of past and current international policies that aim to reduce bycatch and/or discarding. The focus was upon the use of social and economic policies in countries operating a discard ban (New Zealand, Iceland and Norway) and in countries that operate bycatch reduction strategies (Denmark, the United States, Canada and Australia). From this, key themes and management strategies were identified: quota allocation, quota tradability, catch quotas, risk pools, buffer zones, non-market catch balancing mechanisms (carry forward/back, deemed values, species equivilant), monitoring, enforcment and bycatch utilisation. The identified management options were then subject to an initial high-level vetting process that assessed their applicability to the Scottish context. This removed options such as the use of species equivalence and allowable discard rates which would not be available in an EU context.

1.8 The method chosen to collect data to assess the feasibility of the options for the Scottish context was a series of key informant interviews with experts and stakeholders connected to the commerical fishing industry. Key informant interviews, based upon a semi-structured format, were chosen as it allowed the report to benefit from and utilise the first-hand knowledge of a wide range of participants. Qualitative in depth interviews were chosen in order to allow for the free flow of ideas and information in order to generate recommendations, view points and new ideas. A total of 20 individuals were identified as potential contributors. The selection method was based upon a process of identifying groups and organisations from which key informants should be drawn. The groups identified were: the Scottish fishing industry, government agencies, academia, international fisheries managers and 'others' including NGOS and industry-related bodies. From these groups, individuals were chosen for their specialised knowledge and experience and were balanced to allow for a divergent mix of interests and perceptions.

1.9 A total of 16 individual in depth intervews were carried out: academia (3), Scottish Producer Organisations (3), Scottish Fishing Association leaders (2), Fisheries Compliance (1), NGOs (1), international fisheries managers (3), international fishermen (1), and other industry related bodies (2). This was then supplemented by information provided by 2 other fisheries managers in Denmark and New Zealand. While the intention was to structure the interviews as in depth conversations, an interview grid ( Annex 2) was created to ensure that specific data was gathered. The questions were grouped in themes: international quota swapping, allocation of TAC increases, quota management, monitoring, enforcment and bycatch utilisation. With the interviews structured on a thematic basis, identifying and catagorising patterns within the responses was relatively straight forward. This was aided by the use of a descriptive coding system to group together the responses to specific questions, issues or management options. Once grouped, a content analysis worked to identify trends, such as a consensus behind the effectiveness of a management measure or else for evidence of scepticism and a rejection of the suitability and practical use of the idea discussed. Once the transcripts were fully analysed, the data was fed into the original structure of the paper that was based upon the themes identified in the initial desk-based study.