Bass Management

Although
placing a TAC on bass has been mooted, the overwhelming opinion amongst member states
and the advisory councils has been that placing bass under quota would cause
more problems than it would solve, not least because a significant portion of
the mortality on bass is related to recreational angling, which would not be
affected by a TAC approach. Equally, the looming discard ban would be made more
rather than less complicated if bass was a TAC species. For all these reasons
the search is on for an alternative way to rebuild bass stocks and this was the
focus and purpose of the workshop.

The
meeting was jointly organised by the North Sea, North Western Waters and South
West Waters advisory councils. Scientists, member states, Commission officials and
stakeholders were invited, with the hope and aspiration that an airing of the
issues from a variety of perspectives would help us to define a way forward.

Presentations

The
bulk of the day was taken up with presentations by the main participants to
ensure that all perspectives were given an airing and could be taken into
account.

After
ICES and STECF science on bass had been outlined, and the Commission had
brought the meeting up to date on its thinking, member states, recreational
anglers, the environmental NGOs, and a range of industry organisations provided
different perspectives.

The
Commission made clear that if a TAC approach was adopted as a default or last
resort, it was likely to reflect the obligation to achieve a fishing mortality
consistent with MSY by 2015, where possible. If this was done in one year it
would amount to a 60% reduction in catches. The Commission intended to come
forward with a proposal for initial measures by the end of the year.

Towards Advisory
Council Advice

In
the final session, an attempt was made by the meeting to synthesise the outcome
of the meeting into a programme of work that will deliver coherent and useful advice
from the advisory councils. A decision will be required whether that advice
comes separately from the three ACs, or whether a joint position is adopted.

The
meeting agreed:

• To
  work towards a shared understanding of the conservation status and main trends
  in the bass fisheries. Without a shared understanding of the fundamentals it is
  very difficult to get agreement on a way forward
• That,
  ideally, AC advice would be in two stages: immediate measures and a longer term
  management plan
• To
  set out some general principles for an approach. These could include:

Proportionality:

• All sources of
  fishing mortality must be addressed
• Proportionality
  between the adoption of measures that will rebuild the stock effectively, whilst
  maintaining the socio-economic fabric of those dependent on the fishery
• An acknowledgement
  that there are three main contributions to fishing mortality which must be
  addressed in a broadly proportionate way if there is to be agreement on a
  package of measures

*30%
targeted bass fishery

*30%
recreational fishery for bass

*40%
bycatch in mixed demersal fishery

• AC advice would
  take into account that like a 60% reduction in catch is required to build the
  bass stock to levels consistent with maximum sustainable yield
• A managed reduction
  in catches within a realistic timeframe is required
• Improvements in
  selectivity and protection for spawning aggregations will both be part of the
  picture
• There must be a
  focus on improving conditions as far as possible for the recruitment and
  survival of juvenile bass
• There must be an
  understanding of the impact of management measures
• Account should be
  taken of the effectiveness of existing EU and member state management measures
• Account should be
  taken of enforcement and control issues in all parts of the fishery

A
number of candidate measures are under consideration:

• TAC
• Vessel or fishery
  catch limits
• Spatial or temporal
  closures
• Mandatory Catch and
  Release
• Bag limits for
  recreational anglers
• Capacity limits
• Effort control
  (days at sea constraints)

• Each
  of these candidate measures have more or less relevance depending on which of the
  three main sources of mortality on the bass stock it is applied to. The aim
  should be to find some broad equivalence of sacrifice in order to achieve the
  necessary reduction in catches required to meet the mortality target.

• Each
  participant in the workshop would be invited to submit in writing, their
  opinion on the pros and cons of each candidate measure. This would be an
  important first step towards defining a consensus position; in the event that a
  consensus is not achievable this information would at least provide a
  strengthened base on which to make informed management decisions

• A
  small drafting group will be convened to analyse the responses, assess the
  options and prepare draft advice. The drafting group will include representatives of the main interest
  groups and will make recommendations on:

*Appropriate measures to be adopted immediately in relation
to each of the main sources of mortality on bass (targeted, recreational and
bycatch)
*A timetable for
adoption consistent with both the urgency of the situation and amelioration of the socio-economic impacts of the measures
*An outline long-term
management plan for sea bass consistent with CFP obligations
*Observations on
means to achieve high compliance with the measures adopted across all three sources
of mortality

Summary

There
is no doubting the seriousness of the current conservation status of the bass
stock or the complexity of the management challenge facing the fishery. Few
consider that a knee jerk TAC approach would do anything other than make the
situation worse. Against this background the meeting defined a stepwise approach
which, within a very short timeframe, will either deliver consensus advice, or
failing that, a strengthened knowledge-base on which the Commission and member
states might make informed decisions. The meeting again confirmed the extreme
utility of this kind of forum, where scientists, policy-makers and fisheries
stakeholders come together to pool their knowledge and perspectives to define a
way forward through difficult and complex issues.