towards healthy stocks and healthy profits in european fisheries rainer froese ifm-geomar...
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Towards Healthy Stocks and Healthy Profits in European Fisheries
Rainer FroeseIFM-GEOMAR
[email protected] at Hearing
„How much fish can be safely caught?“Brussels, 3rd May 2011
1
Overview
• Some terms• Legal background• Status of European and global Fish Stocks• Towards healthy stocks• Towards healthy profits• Conclusions
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Some terms• Biomass (B) is the weight of the fishes in the sea• Fishing mortality (F) is an indicator of the
proportion of fish killed by fishing• MSY is the maximum sustainable yield • Bmsy is the biomass that can produce MSY • Fmsy is the fishing mortality resulting in MSY and
Bmsy
• Blim is the biomass below which recruitment is reduced and collapse possible
• Bpa is a biomass slightly above Blim but far below Bmsy (Bpa ~ Bmsy-trigger)
Biomass Reference PointsCod, Eastern Baltic
Froese & Proelß Fish & Fisheries 2010
Yield Reference PointsCod, Eastern Baltic
Froese & Proelß Fish & Fisheries 2010
Legal Background• The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982),
Article 61(3), requires that coastal State fisheries management measures in the EEZ must aim at restoring and maintaining fish stock biomass that can produce maximum sustainable yields.
• The United Nations Fish Stock Agreement (UNFSA 1995), Annex II, specifies that after the rebuilding phase, Fmsy is to be used as a limit reference point.
• The precautionary principle, as contained in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Article 191(2) and in UNFSA Article 6, demands that „States shall be more cautious when information is uncertain, unreliable or inadequate. The absence of adequate scientific information shall not be used as a reason for postponing or failing to take conservation and management measures.“
6Text verified by Alexander Proelß, Prof. international Law, Triest
Status of European Fisheries
7Landings from ICES 2010, MSY from Froese and Proelß 2010
Biomass of European Fish Stocks
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Year
Mea
n s
tock
siz
e
TargetPrecautionary
Overfished
Unsafe
Trend
Average size of European fish stocks (bold blue line). The upper arrow indicates the path, if 75% of the stocks were to reach the Johannesburg target in 2015. The lower arrow shows the current trend.
Froese and Proelß Fish & Fisheries 2010
Bmsy
Fishing Mortality of European Fish Stocks
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Year
Fis
hin
g p
ress
ure
(F/F
msy
)
TargetPrecautionary
Overfishing
TrendThreatening the stock
Average fishing pressure on European fish stocks. The lower arrow indicates the path if 75% of the stocks were to be fished at the maximum sustainable rate in 2015. However, with the trend since 2000, that target will be missed by more than 30 years.
Froese and Proelß Fish & Fisheries 2010
UNCLOS CFP FAO/UNFSA JPOI Damanaki
Status of Global Fisheries
10Pauly and Froese, in prep.
0
5
10
15
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35
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45
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
Lan
din
gs
per
FA
O S
tock
(th
ou
san
d t
)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
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3000
3500
Nu
mb
er o
f F
AO
sto
cks
Mean landings per stock
Number of stocks
Depleted stocks
Increase in Fishers
Why Should Europe Care about Global Fisheries?
• 42% of the global trade in fish and fish products is imported by the Europe
• A CFP reform that correctly implements UNCLOS and UNFSA, such as done by USA, NZ and AUS, will force others to follow
• A failed CFP reform will encourage continued overfishing, in Europe and globally
• US$ 1.2 billion European fish exports into the USA will be endangered
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Towards Healthy Fish Stocks
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Generic Harvest Control Rules for European FisheriesRainer Froese, Trevor A. Branch, Alexander Proelß, Martin Quaas, Keith Sainsbury & Christopher Zimmermann
FISH and FISHERIES 2010
Nine simple rules for European fisheries management resulting in 1) Economic optimization of the fishery 2) Adherence to UNCLOS and UNFSA 3) True implementation of the precautionary principle 4) Building on international experience 5) Progressing towards ecosystem based management 6) Compatible with the biology of European fish stocks
• Under these rules, stocks can be four times larger and catches 63% higher, on average, compared to current levels.
HCR 1: Reference and Trigger Biomass
The reference biomass Bmsy for the subsequent rules and reference points is the biomass that can produce the maximum sustainable yield.
This biomass also acts as a trigger when stocks fall below this level.
Froese et al. 2010 Fish and Fisheries
HCR 2: Target Biomass
The target biomass, to be achieved on average over approximately 5 years, is 1.3 Bmsy.
The target biomass can be increased as required by economic, ecosystem or other considerations.
Froese et al. 2010 Fish and Fisheries
HCR 3: Limit Biomass
The limit biomass Blim, which is to be avoided with a high probability, is 0.5 Bmsy
A higher biomass limit may be set for species with low resilience to exploitation.
Froese et al. 2010 Fish and Fisheries
HCR 5: TAC Reductions
If the biomass falls below Bmsy, then the TAC is linearly reduced, as a function of biomass, to reach zero catch at Blim.
Froese et al. 2010 Fish and Fisheries
HCR 9: Size structure
The mean size and age in the catch will be adjusted to minimize changes in age structure caused by fishing and to reduce the effects of fisheries-induced unnatural selection.
Froese et al. 2010 Fish and Fisheries
Proposed Harvest Control Rules
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0.6
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1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
B /B msy
Y/M
SY
B msy0.5 B msy 1.3 B msy
DepletedZone
OverfishingZone
BufferZone
TargetZone
MSY
0.91 MSY
0.75 MSY
Froese et al. 2010 Fish and Fisheries
Status of European Stocks
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
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1.2
1.4
1.6
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Biomass / B MSY
Lan
din
gs
/ M
SY
B MSY 1.3 B MSY
MSY
0.9 MSY
Move stocks here.Landings may then be 63% higher from 4 times larger stocks
Froese et al. 2010 Fish and Fisheries
Status of European Stocks
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Biomass / B MSY
Lan
din
gs
/ M
SY
B MSY 1.3 B MSY
MSY
0.9 MSY
Froese et al. 2010 Fish and Fisheries
ICES Proposal
Towards Healthy Profits
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Growth Overfishing is Stupid
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Killing Juveniles is Stupid
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Letting Fish Grow is Smart
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MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, Submitted
Making a Miracle Come True: Three Options for Rebuilding the Cod Stock in the Eastern Baltic Sea
Rainer Froese & Martin Quaas
• We compared a request by fishers with current management and with the rules proposed by Froese et al. 2010
• The rules would rebuild and maintain the stock above Bmsy and provide the highest profits over the next 10 years
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Cod, Eastern Baltic
0
100
200
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800
900
1000
1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Year
SS
B a
nd
Lan
din
gs
(100
0 t)
BMSY
MSY
Froese & Proelß Fish & Fisheries 2010
Expected Profits under Three Scenarios
28Froese and Quaas, submitted
Profits can increase 5-fold with proper management
Increase is fastest underproposed harvest control rules
Sol
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Hak
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Sto
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ice,
Nor
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Cod
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tern
Bal
tic S
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Her
ring,
Gul
f of R
iga
Sai
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Nor
th S
eaP
laic
e, Ir
ish
Sea
Sol
e, S
kage
rrak
and
Kat
tega
t
Her
ring,
Cen
tral B
altic
Sea
Nor
way
Pou
t, N
orth
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Sol
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Cod
, Nor
th S
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Pla
ice,
Wes
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Eng
lish
Cha
nnel
Cod
, Wes
tern
Bal
tic S
ea
Inte
rnal
rat
e of
ret
urn
(% p
er y
ear)
0
20
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Economic return of setting the 2009 TAC to zero and resume fishing at Fmey in 2010. Quaas et al in prep.
Investing in the Resource is Smart
Conclusions
• Getting the CFP reform right is of European and of global importance
• European fish stocks are underperforming assets
• Investing in larger stock sizes leads to improved ecosystems status, healthy stocks, healthy fisheries and healthy profits
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