Reforming EU Deep-Sea Fisheries Management

SONKE JOHNSEN
Gonatus. Many deep-sea species create their own light – bioluminescence.
Reforming EU Deep-Sea Fisheries
Management
The European Union has one of the world’s largest
deep-sea fishing fleets operating both within EU
waters and on the high seas. Given its size and
influence, the EU is in a unique position to be a gamechanger, to assert global leadership in protecting
vulnerable deep-sea species and ecosystems from
the harmful impacts of bottom-fishing.
But to do so, it must reform its own unsustainable
and mismanaged deep-sea fishing regime in EU
waters. Fortunately, this process is underway.
In July 2012, the European Commission issued a
legislative proposal to overhaul the EU’s regulation of
deep-sea fisheries in the northeast Atlantic Ocean.1
The Commission proposal includes requirements
for impact assessments prior to fishing in ‘new’
deep-sea fishing areas; a more rigorous, sciencebased approach
to setting quotas
for deep-sea
Reforming the EU deep-sea fishing regime is
species; improved
vital because the current management regime
data collection;
and the phasehas led to the depletion of many deep-sea fish
out of the most
species and the destruction of vulnerable deepdestructive deepsea ecosystems such as cold-water corals,
sea bottom-fishing
sponge beds, coral gardens and numerous other
practices. It is a
very promising
habitat-forming species found in the deep sea
first step toward
Commission Proposal
for a regulation
establishing specific
conditions
to fishing for deepsea stocks in EU and
international waters
of the NorthEast Atlantic
(COM(2012)0371)
Reforming EU Deep-Sea Fisheries Management
transforming deep-sea fisheries into sustainable
ones and has been welcomed by the Deep Sea
Conservation Coalition.
The Commission’s proposal has been greatly
improved by the amendments contained in the
opinion adopted by the Environment Committee
of the European Parliament in March 2013, and
those proposed by the Rapporteur in the Fisheries
Committee. These amendments include requiring
impact assessments for all deep-sea fisheries,
measures to prevent the bycatch of the most
vulnerable species, and closing deep-sea areas to
bottom-fishing where vulnerable marine ecosystems
are known or likely to occur, all in addition to the
measures proposed by the Commission. The
proposal, and related amendments, is scheduled to
be debated over the coming months; its adoption by
the Parliament and Council would be a major turning
point for deep-sea protection.
Why is this reform so important?
Reforming the EU deep-sea fishing regime is vital
because the current management regime has led to
the depletion of many deep-sea fish species and the
destruction of vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems such
as cold-water corals, sponge beds, coral gardens
and numerous other habitat-forming species found in
the deep sea.
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GREENPEACE/KATE DAVISON
Discarded bycatch
(Scabbardfish) on the
deck of a Spanish flagged
bottom-trawler, in the
Hatton Bank area of the
North Atlantic.
The Anton Dohrn Seamount
is comprised predominantly
of corals, including large
gorgonian species, small
bamboo coral, soft coral
Anthomastus sp. and
the antipatharian
Leiopathes sp.
Deep-sea species are predominantly far more
vulnerable to overfishing than shallow-water species
because they are generally much longer-lived and
slower growing, and they spawn fewer young than
most pelagic fish species and those found in coastal
and continental shelf areas, such as tuna, cod, and
mackerel. There is growing evidence that deep-sea
fish stocks are already being significantly – and
potentially irreversibly – depleted.
In the northeast Atlantic, where deep-sea fish
stocks are among the most heavily exploited in the
world, the EU fleet takes 75 per cent of the reported
catch of deep-sea species;2 90 per cent of this catch
is taken by vessels from just three countries: Spain,
Portugal, and France, with the majority of the Spanish
and French catch taken by bottom-trawl vessels. In
2010, the International Council for the Exploration
of the Sea (ICES) declared the EU’s catch of all
deep-sea stocks to be 100 per cent “outside safe
biological limits.”3
In 2012, ICES advised that while the decline in
two to three deep-sea stocks (black scabbardfish,
roundnose grenadier, and blue ling stocks off
Scotland and Ireland) may have stabilised over the
past few years, there was insufficient information
to determine the status of the many other stocks or
populations of deep-sea species known to be, or
likely to be, caught in the deep-water fisheries in the
northeast Atlantic.
The EU first began regulating deep-sea fisheries
in 2002. However, even after 10 years there are
still no limits on the catch of nearly half the deep-
sea species currently ‘regulated’ by the EU. For
the 26 deep-sea species for which the EU does
set catch limits, or quotas, 18 species (all of which
are considered highly vulnerable and/or severely
depleted) are being ‘managed’ by a zero quota,
which means that no directed fishing or landing is
permitted. This is a clear indication of the failure of
the management regime to ensure sustainable levels
of fishing.
Deep-sea bottom-trawl fishing, one of the most
common methods of fishing by EU vessels in the
deep sea, can take up to 100 or more species as
bycatch – species about which we know very little.4
This bycatch is almost entirely wasted, being thrown
back into the sea, dead or dying, and is largely
unreported. Studies have shown that deep-sea
bottom-trawl fisheries off the coast of Ireland have
depleted whole communities of deep-sea species –
many more than were targeted in the fisheries.5
Moreover, according to ICES: “The impact of
bottom trawl is far more detrimental to the seabed
than static gear such as gillnets and non-contact
operations such as pelagic trawling,” and bottomtrawling is widely recognised as the most serious
direct threat to deep-sea ecosystems such as coldwater coral and sponges.6
Vulnerable deep-sea species and ecosystems
are being destroyed before scientists even have a
chance to study them. And this squander is yielding
very marginal financial gains. In 2008, the value of the
EU catch of deep-sea species in the northeast Atlantic
was approximately €101 million, just 1.3 per cent of
the value of the total catch for all its fisheries.7 Without
their government subsidies, many of the EU’s deepsea fleets would not likely be economically viable.
Is the EU ready to implement the global
consensus to protect the deep sea?
JNCC.GOV.UK, 2010/JAIME DAVIES
The United Nations General Assembly has
recognised the threat posed to deep-sea
ecosystems and biodiversity from bottom-trawling
and other forms of deep-sea fishing and has called
for urgent action to manage deep-sea fisheries to
prevent damage to vulnerable marine ecosystems.8
Growing numbers of EU citizens agree with the need
to phase out deep-sea bottom-trawling. In response
to a review in 2011 by the UN General Assembly
of the actions taken by countries to implement
a series of UN resolutions for the protection of
deep-sea ecosystems, more than 720,000 people
signed a global petition to “End Ocean Clear-Cuts,”
which called on their governments “immediately to
implement and enforce your obligations to the UN
resolutions on fishing and work to ban the destructive
practice of deep-sea bottom-fishing.”9 More than
half of all signatories were from EU Member States.
Retailers are increasingly taking note of this growth
Reforming EU Deep-Sea
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Reforming EU Deep-Sea Fisheries Management
LES WATLING/NOAA-URI-IFE-DASS SCIENCE PARTY
vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems. This would likely
produce more and better jobs in the fishing industry
over the long term. Bottom longline fisheries are less
fuel-intensive than bottom-trawling, employ more
people per unit of production, and can produce a
higher-quality and higher-value catch.
While strongly supporting the proposed phaseout of the most destructive fishing gear, the Deep
Sea Conservation Coalition is advocating several
improvements to the Commission’s proposal to
fully meet the standards established by the UN
General Assembly and related obligations under
international law.
Roller gear, used for
bottom-trawling.
in public concern, with many leading supermarkets
across Europe and elsewhere banning unsustainably
caught deep-sea species from their shelves.10
The legislative process now underway is a critical
opportunity for the European Parliament and Council
to demonstrate genuine leadership on this issue.
Adopting a comprehensive management regime for
deep-sea fisheries in 2013, including the measures
outlined below, will be a very positive start and a
significant boost to the fortunes of the deep sea.
The proposed deep-sea fisheries regulation:
Room for improvement
The European Commission’s proposal demonstrates
a strong commitment to end destructive fishing
practices in the deep sea.
The proposal applies to EU waters and vessels
flying EU Member States’ flags in high seas areas
where fishing is regulated by the North East Atlantic
Fisheries Commission
and high seas areas
of the eastern central
The United Nations General Assembly has
Atlantic. The proposed
recognised the threat posed to deep-sea
new regulation includes
ecosystems and biodiversity from bottomrequirements to set
strict limits on the catch
trawling and other forms of deep-sea
of deep-sea species, a
fishing and has called for urgent action
requirement to conduct
to manage deep-sea fisheries to prevent
environmental impact
damage to vulnerable marine ecosystems
assessment for deepsea fisheries in ‘new’
fishing areas and a
phase-out of destructive bottom-trawls and bottom
gillnets that target deep-sea species. The proposal
would essentially promote a shift to more selective
and lower-impact bottom-fishing gear such as deepsea bottom handline and longline, while at the same
time establishing measures to prevent the depletion
of deep-sea species when using these alternative
gears.
The Commission is not proposing to ban deepsea fisheries altogether, but rather to shift towards
selective, science-based fishing for deep-sea
species, incorporating the precautionary approach
and ensuring minimal impact of fishing gear on
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition
recommends that the proposal be
strengthened to ensure that the new deepsea fisheries regulation:
· ends deep-sea overfishing by ensuring that
fishing be permitted only if the catch, including
any bycatch or catch of non-target species, can
be limited to sustainable levels based on a clear
scientific understanding of the status of deep-sea
stocks and associated precautionary sciencebased management; and clearly mandates that
no fishing opportunities shall be allocated if
scientific advice on sustainable exploitation
levels of deep-sea stocks is inconclusive;
· ensures that deep-sea fisheries are managed to
minimise and, where possible eliminate, the
bycatch of non-target species and prevent
the catch of the most vulnerable species; and
requires that catches of all deep-sea species
are reported, not only catches of target species;
· prevents adverse impacts on vulnerable
deep-sea ecosystems such as coral, sponge,
and seamount ecosystems through appropriate
management of all deep-sea fisheries, including
through area closures to deep-sea bottom-fishing;
· requires prior impact assessments for all
deep-sea fisheries, including in existing
fishing areas as well as new fishing areas, as
a condition for authorisation to fish and that
the impact assessments be consistent with the
global standard established by the UN General
Assembly and the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization’s International Guidelines for the
Management of Deep-Sea Fisheries in the High
Seas;
· strengthens the definition of deep-sea fisheries
to ensure all bottom-fisheries below 200 metres
are effectively regulated for their impact on the
seabed and on deep-sea species;
· phases out destructive fishing practices
through a phase-out of deep-sea bottom-trawling
and bottom-gillnet fishing within two years.
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition urges the
Council of Fisheries Ministers and Members of the
European Parliament to promote and adopt a strong
new regulation for the management of deep-sea fishing
Fisheries Management
Reforming EU Deep-Sea Fisheries Management
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the current EU regulation of deep-sea fisheries – Council Regulation (EC)
2347/2002. This does not include, for example, ling and tusk.
in the northeast Atlantic that contains the key elements
noted above, and further to ensure that the new deepsea fisheries regulation fully incorporates the EU’s
international commitments to provide lasting protection
for vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems and species.
This is a legacy moment, a rare opportunity to
thoroughly overhaul and improve a complex, and
currently failing, system to conserve and protect one
of the most biologically vulnerable and diverse areas
of the planet. Regulating and managing the activities
of a fleet working in the most remote places on Earth
is no easy feat, but it is a feat that could change
the game globally and bring about one of the most
significant improvements to managing the impact of
fisheries on our oceans for decades to come.
This is a legacy moment not to be missed.
3. ICES. Report of the ICES Advisory Committee, Book 11: Technical
Service. 11.2.1.1. (2010). (Table showing catches of stocks [managed by
the Community] within and outside safe biological limits, p. 4).
4. L. Fauconnet et al., Observations à bord des navires de pêche
professionnelle. Bilan de l’échantillonnage. IFREMER and OBSMER.
(December 2011). 1.2 Chalutiers de fond; 1.2.3 Composition des captures;
NB total d’espèces capturées: 144. P. 25.
5. ICES. Report of the Working Group on the Biology and Assessment
of Deep-Sea Fisheries Resources (WGDEEP) (2008). Copenhagen, ICES
Headquarters. ICES CM 2008/ACOM:14. 531 pp. Pp. 70-71.
6. ICES Advice 2008, Book 9. NEAFC request to evaluate the use and
quality of VMS data (in relation to deep-sea fisheries), p. 76. See also M.M.
Hogg et al., Deep-sea Sponge Grounds: Reservoirs of Biodiversity, UNEPWCMC Biodiversity Series No. 32, UNEP–WCMC, Cambridge, UK (2010),
p. 28: “Mobile fishing gear that contacts the seabed, particularly trawling,
is the fishing apparatus that poses the greatest threat to deep-water sponge
grounds.” And A. Friewald et al., Cold-water coral reefs UNEP-WCMC,
Endnotes
Cambridge, UK (2004), p. 37: “Active gear that comes into contact with
1. Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
the sea floor is considered the greatest threat to cold-water coral reefs and
establishing specific conditions to fishing for deep-sea stocks in the
includes bottom trawls and dredges.”
North-East Atlantic and provisions for fishing in international waters of the
7. Pew Environment Group. Out of the Abyss: Transforming EU Rules to
North-East Atlantic and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2347/2002. Brussels,
Protect the Deep Sea (January 2012).
9.7.2012 COM(2012) 371 final 2012/0179 (COD).
8. See in particular UN General Assembly Resolution 61/105 (2006), para.
2. Pew Environment Group. Out of the Abyss: Transforming EU Rules
80, 83-86; and Resolution 64/72 (2009), para. 119-120. un.org/depts/los/
to Protect the Deep Sea. Pew Environment Group (January 2012). The
general_assembly/general_assembly_resolutions.htm
reference to deep-sea species in this document and the catch figures
9.avaaz.org/en/stop_ocean_clear_cutting.
used here are based on the deep-sea species listed in Annex I and II of
10. Deep Sea in Deep Trouble: Markets Reaction to States Inaction.
Greenpeace Briefing to the UN General Assembly Workshop to Discuss
This is a legacy moment, a rare opportunity to thoroughly
overhaul and improve a complex, and currently failing, system to
conserve and protect one of the most biologically vulnerable and
diverse areas of the planet
the Implementation of UNGA Resolutions 61/105 and 64/72. Greenpeace
International (September 2011). greenpeace.org/international/
PageFiles/345834/FINAL%20Greenpeace%20Briefing.pdf
About the DSCC
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC)
was founded in 2004 to address the need to
prevent damage to deep-sea ecosystems and the
depletion of deep-sea species on the high seas
from bottom trawling and other forms of deepsea fishing. The DSCC is made up of over 70
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), fishers
organisations and law and policy institutes, all
committed to protecting the deep sea.
Futher information
Contact Matthew Gianni
matthewgianni@gmail.com
www.savethehighseas.org
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Reforming EU Deep-Sea Fisheries Management