Urgent fisheries changes sought

Abstract

Once again, scientists have warned that fishing for cod in the North Sea must stop if stocks are not to vanish, but there is some good news for north-east Atlantic fishermen. Nigel Williams reports. Once again, scientists have warned that fishing for cod in the North Sea must stop if stocks are not to vanish, but there is some good news for north-east Atlantic fishermen. Nigel Williams reports. Europe's fishermen should stop catching North Sea cod and continue to avoid Bay of Biscay anchovies next year if the two species are to stand a chance of survival after years of chronic overfishing, scientists announced last month. Despite improvements in the numbers of northern hake, herring and mackerel, other species living in the northeast Atlantic need more time to rebuild stocks, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) said. European Commission fisheries experts use the ICES advice to calculate quotas for each commercial species for the following year. These are presented to EU ministers for approval. For North Sea cod, scientists have repeatedly said numbers are so low that the only solution is to ban fishing otherwise cod will disappear from these waters altogether. The Commission has usually rejected this idea for fear of wrecking communities that depend on fishing for a livelihood. Now, its focus is on a limited amount of fishing, strictly controlled. Last year, for example, ICES recommended a zero catch for North Sea cod for 2006. The Commission, with the EU ministers' backing, opted instead for a small quota of 26,500 tonnes. The main problem is that more than twice this amount is being caught as bycatch by fishermen seeking other species such as haddock, whiting, hake and plaice. Fishermen caught about 50,000 tonnes of cod last year and had to throw the dead fish back into the sea because it is classed as an illegal catch. The bycatches are difficult to avoid because cod are bigger than the other species and no method has been devised to catch the other fish without getting cod in the process. “There are still numerous stocks that are too heavily fished and stocks that are depleted”, ICES said in their statement. “Although there are slight differences in the actual condition of those southern (northeast Atlantic) stocks, ICES is advising for all southern cod stocks, with the exception of cod in the western Baltic, that there should be no catch in 2007.” They also raise concerns about sandeels. These are small eel-like fish that divide their time between swimming in dense shoals and lying buried in sandy sediments. They are a vital in the diet of cod, haddock and mackerel, as well as for seals and many seabirds. Although not eaten by humans, sandeels are caught and processed into fish meal and oil to make food pellets for salmon farming and livestock feed. Fishing for anchovy should continue to be banned in the Bay of Biscay at least until spring 2007, ICES said. Lying off the Atlantic coast of France and Spain, the Bay of Biscay is the key trawling ground for anchovy, a very short-lived species and widely used in Mediterranean countries. Anchovy fishing was banned in the Bay of Biscay from July 2005 to the end of February 2006 to preserve stocks. The ban was reinstated in July and will last until the end of this year. But, as well as encouraging news on the populations of hake, herring and mackerel, new research has revealed that populations of langoustines in the northeast Atlantic are much larger than previously thought. When cod and other white fish were abundant, langoustines were an almost ignored bycatch. But, given the collapse in these fish species and the tight restrictions on them, fishermen have looked afresh at the langoustines. While there is little interest in them in Britain, they are highly prized in continental Europe, and they have helped maintain fishing boats in Britain and Ireland. A new research project coordinated by researchers at the University of Glasgow in the laboratory and at sea, has led them to suggest a population of more than 10 billion in UK waters. Fishing quotas have been increased by 30 per cent this year. “The more we look, the more we find,” says Douglas Neil, the biologist in charge of Glasgow's langoustine laboratory. But such abundance will fuel further work on its sustainability.