TACs 2013: progressing towards MSY

 Following marathon negotiations, the Fisheries Council of 18 and 19 December 2012 set total allowable catches for Atlantic and Black Sea stocks. The commitment to achieving maximum sustainable yield (MSY) dominated discussions, which focused on the pace at which this target should be achieved. Due to socio-economic constraints, the Council opted in some cases for delaying the achievement of MSY objectives beyond 2015.
Since 2011, the need to ensure MSY by 2015 has set the tone for the annual fixing of total allowable catches (TAC s). Achieving MS Y is not only a means of maintaining stocks at their most productive fishing levels on a permanent basis, but also an international commitment agreed at the 2002 United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is also one of the key aims of the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP). In keeping with its spring 2012 Communication on fishing opportunities, the European Commission drew up its TAC proposals based on the MSY target (1). The Commission sought to speed up the shift towards MSY to guarantee that unexpected circumstances do not prevent the EU achieving the target by 2015. It therefore proposed to implement fishing levels that would bring exploitation to MSY rates already from 2013. Specifically, it proposed a large reduction in TAC s for overexploited stocks while maintaining the 2012 fishing levels for stocks already fished at MSY rates.
2013 or 2015?
The choice between 2013 and 2015 as target dates to achieve MSY was debated at length at December 2012’s Council of Fisheries Ministers. The Council did not dispute the need to progress towards MSY, but preferred to maintain a pace that would result in reaching MSY for most stocks in 2015 and no later than 2020 for a limited number of stocks. This position is in line with the general approach adopted by the Council in June 2012 as part of the CFP reform. A.slower pace for the MSY target is a trade-off for large cuts in quotas
that could have worsened the problem of discards. The Commission expressed its satisfaction with the Council’s support for maintaining the MSY target and following scientific advice:
‘The Commission proposal was more ambitious,’ commented Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, ‘but I think the outcome is satisfactory. Only for four stocks will Maximum Sustainable Yield be reached in 2017: this is to avoid discards. This is a good message for our fishermen and for our citizens. We can have healthy stocks, more jobs and more income for our coastal communities. It can be done.’
The debates concerned only those stocks not regulated by fisheries management plans. Stocks for which multiannual plans exist follow the plan’s requirements and evolve according to scientific advice. The ministers nevertheless debated the cod plan for the North Sea and West of Scotland. The Council unanimously agreed to amend the plan and use the amended provisions to maintain for 2013 the same limits in fishing days as for 2012.
Most of the TAC s proposed by the Commission were consequently increased, while remaining within the margins of manoeuvre stemming from the scientific advice and the requirements of progressing towards MSY except for one case: Norway lobster in the Irish Sea.
The ban on cod fishing off western Scotland – but with a rule permitting the landing of by-catches – will be maintained in 2013. Furthermore, there are significant reductions in TAC s for herring in the West of Scotland and West of Ireland (-65 %), cod in the Kattegat and the Irish Sea (-25 %), haddock in the West of Scotland (-30 %) and common sole in the Irish Sea (-53 %). However, an increase in fishing opportunities was agreed for certain stocks. Among the largest are Norway lobster in the West of Scotland (+18 %), plaice in the Eastern Channel (+26 %) and sole in the Western Channel (+15 %).
Black Sea
Turbot and sprat are the two species subject to TAC s in the Black Sea. For these species, ministers decided to roll over last year’s fishing opportunities, i.e. 11 475 tonnes for sprat and 86.4 tonnes for turbot. For the latter species, the Council did not endorse the Commission’s proposed 15 % reduction. The Council also pointed out the need to establish regional cooperation among all Black Sea rim states to ensure common and sustainable management of resources.(Article's Source)