Fishery Management in the Northeast Atlantic: the Role of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

Abstract

Rational management by the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) is aided by scientific advice given to it by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Such advice is provided through a Liaison Committee consisting of the Chairmen of eight Area- and Sub-Committees and five co-opted members. The members of the Liaison Committee act on their own and not on behalf of governments or other bodies. Advice comes to a large extent through working groups, which pass their views to the Liaison Committee. This decides what advice to pass to the commission. The responsibility of the Liaison Committee is to see that the advice is scientifically sound and based on adequate information.There are 23 working groups covering the main fisheries of the region. They usually meet early in the year and the Liaison committee considers their reports in February, to prepare its own report for circulation one month before the commission meeting in May. This tight timetable is becoming more difficult to meet as NEAFC calls for advice on more stocks. It is complicated by the fact that other meetings (notably that of the International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries) are held at about the same time, and that many scientists are involved in both; there are not enough to do all the work.The great strength of ICES is that it is a scientific forum as well as being a scientific advisory body to NEAFC. A major concern in recent years has been the dependence of recruitment on parent stock. Nearly all the demersal fisheries of the area have come under mesh and minimum size regulations; attention is now focused on the pelagic fisheries and on methods of management involving control of the total amount of fishing and the assignment of catch quotas. This will call for improved methods of stock assessment. More reliable estimates of future recruitment are also essential.ICES has been ahead of public opinion in respect to concern for the environment, and an Advisory Committee on Marine Pollution has been established which is analogous to the Liaison Committee, and provides advice to the council.International agreement in fisheries is slowed by three factors. Conflicts of interests among nations are lessened in the ICES–NEAFC framework because of the way in which the Liaison Committee is constituted. Fisheries biologists are conservative when it comes to providing advice on which decisions are made, with a tendency to wait for more data or to reach agreement on the lowest level when opinions differ. It would be better in some cases to offer a range of alternatives. Scientists also have an obligation to inform the commission of their views on all developments and not wait until their advice is sought. Finally, while theory lags behind events, there is an increasing tendency for ICES scientists to give commissioners early warning of the effects of various developments.Prior disclosure to NEAFC of national plans that would affect fishing would be helpful in making earlier advice possible. There is also need for various countries to strengthen their capability to carry out research in stock assessment and to provide statistics and associated biological data quickly. Agreements on these aspects were reached at the Special NEAFC Meeting at the level of ministers, and at the Stockholm Conference. It is hoped that these can be implemented soon.