New measures perplex fishermen

Date: 18/07/1996

By Michael Mann

EU fishermen claim they face yet another threat to their livelihoods under proposed new rules covering fishing nets, by-catches and minimum landing sizes.

The plans, due to be discussed by fisheries ministers at their next meeting in October, come in the wake of proposals to slash EU fishing effort by up to 40&percent;.

Fishermen's organisations have suggested that the measures are designed more to make life easier for bureaucrats than to help fisheries conservation, and could actually increase the amount of discarded fish.

Some have even claimed that the new rules are designed to drive more fishermen out of the sector by making their activities economically unviable.

This has been denied by Commission officials, who stress the proposals are merely an attempt to “unify a series of diverse technical measures in one package of proposals”.

But according to Barry Deas, of England's National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO), “this type of approach simply does not reflect the differences between different fisheries across the Union”.

The Commission proposes to increase the minimum mesh size for catching cod, haddock and saithe from 100mm to 110mm.

At the top of such nets, a panel of similar-sized square mesh would have to be incorporated to allow undersized fish to escape when the usual diamond-shaped mesh closes under the pressure of being dragged through the water.

The proposals are intended to stop too many undersized fish being killed unnecessarily, but fishermen's organisations claim that increasing the mesh size by so much could force many fishermen out of business.

“We appreciate the need to get a balance between short-term losses and building up the spawning stock, but feel that a 90mm square panel would give long-term advantages while keeping short-term economic losses to a minimum. Quite simply, more marketable fish will escape,” commented Deas.

Vessels with 110mm mesh would also be subject to the 'one-net rule', forcing them to return to port if, for example, they wanted to change from catching whitefish to prawns.

There is also confusion over plans for managing 'by-catches' - fish from other species removed from the water at the same time as those being targeted.

Fishing unions argue that only allowing fishermen to calculate by-catches at the end of every trip will severely restrict the ability of national inspectors to enforce the rules on vessels at sea.

They are also very confused by the apparent anomaly of increasing the minimum landing size for some species while cutting it for others. Under the Commission's plans, vessels would be able to land plaice of 17cm and above, compared with the current minimum of 25cm.

Fishermen claim this is illogical, coming just seven months after the decision to reduce the Total Allowable Catch for plaice by 30&percent; because of the intense pressure on stock levels.

Generally, they claim, there is little logic in much of what is being suggested.

“On the one hand, supermarkets are signing up to conservationists' campaigns only to accept fish from sustainable fisheries. On the other, they are perfectly aware that they can get premiums from their customers for smaller fish,” said Deas.

Trawler operators also fear the proposed rules are loaded against them and comparatively easy on industrial fishermen and those using 'fixed gear'.

Clearly, fisheries ministers are in for another lively autumn. Bilateral talks are in full swing over proposed effort reductions under the “multi-annual guidance programme”. Most member states are firmly opposed to the planned cuts, especially the UK, which has stated categorically that it will not consider any such moves unless it gains satisfaction on the issue of quota hoppers.

Battle lines are also being drawn over Commission plans to slash herring catches in the North Sea and the Skagerrak and Kattegat areas.