European Fisheries Research Articles

Willingness to pay for recreational fisheries in Europe

AbstractFew studies have acknowledged and quantified the economic contribution in expenditures of recreational fisheries. Additional economic value attributed to fishers' willingness to pay (WTP) for recreational fisheries in excess of expenses was estimated for 33 countries in Europe. Benefit transfer was used in a meta‐regression analysis of 184 studies and 1001 observations of WTP per day for recreational fisheries. Most studies of fishing were in the USA, but also in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Canada. Mixed‐effects regression models were estimated with income, climate variables, population density and study characteristics as explanatory variables. Income and temperature positively affected WTP per day. Benefit transfers with these variables and different transfer methods among European countries showed that the estimated total WTP could amount to 11.4 billion USD (purchasing power parity corrected to 2020 prices). Variation in WTP per day was large, and ranged 9–62 USD among countries and transfer methods. For several countries, WTP for recreational fisheries exceeded 0.1% of gross domestic product.

Exploring environmental and biological drivers of cetacean occurrence in the cross-border region of the Malin Shelf using data from a European fishery survey

Irish and Scottish waters are important habitats for cetaceans in Europe. Yet, little data is available for the region of the Malin Shelf, north of Ireland. Despite a rich species diversity, relative cetacean abundance appears low compared to hotspots documented west of Scotland and Ireland. Whether this perceived low prevalence accurately portrays an ecological discontinuity or arises from a lack of published results and low survey effort in that transborder area remains unclear. Here, we used sighting records from a multi-disciplinary fisheries survey, the Western European Shelf Pelagic Acoustic Survey (WESPAS), to explore cetacean habitat preferences over the Malin and Hebridean shelves. Northern minke whale and common dolphin occurrence was modelled within a Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART) framework, against selected environmental and biological variables. No correlation was observed between cetacean presence and in-situ prey biomass. Minke whales distribution was better explained by oceanography, notably proxies for frontal activity, and primary productivity. Common dolphins similarly showed preferences for shelf waters within 5-25km of fronts, but also affinities for fine substrates. Favourable habitats identified by the models were consistent with literature around the Hebrides and shed light on potentially important areas along the Islay front and north of Donegal, so far unreported due to data deficiency. Results will contribute towards informing future monitoring, strategic management and conservation efforts in this cross-border region.

Fisheries local action group managers as reflexive practitioners: The enhancement of projects and networks and the renewal of the Finnish fishing livelihood

AbstractThe implementation of the European Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) system applies a neo‐endogenous approach, which can restructure public intervention in favour of a mosaic of local territories. By resting on a Finnish case study, this article studies the local adaptation of the FLAG system and how FLAG managers are positioned as intermediaries in horizontal and vertical networks that enhance local fisheries’ livelihoods. The analysis of the FLAG system's approaches and various roles of the managers is based on qualitative interviews and a stakeholder survey, set in the interactive governance framework. Our findings show how via its intermediary role, expertise, commitment and networking, the FLAG system, and especially FLAG managers, can mend the failures of the governance system. We conclude that the recruitment of the right type of FLAG managers can be a path towards the enhancement of local small‐scale fishers in a well‐functioning governance system .

A Benchmark for Atlantic Salmon Conservation: Genetic Diversity and Structure in a Southern European Glacial Refuge before the Climate Changed

Atlantic salmon Salmo salar supports highly valuable commercial and recreational fisheries in Europe, but its stocks are currently overexploited and threatened by climate change. Its southernmost populations (in northern Spain) play a key role in conserving the species’ original genetic diversity, which is endangered due to decades-long (1970s to 1990s) massive stocking with non-native stocks. Their decline is well documented, but the effect of stock transfer and conservation efforts is unclear. Nine microsatellite loci were amplified from archival samples (scales from 1958–1959) from eight Spanish rivers to analyse the species’ natural genetic dynamics before its decline started. Allelic richness was high in the historical populations (the 1950s) and above most contemporary estimates. Private alleles were found in most rivers, indicating high local uniqueness and relative isolation among river basins. Some alleles are regional markers since they are rare or absent from contemporary northern European populations. Effective population size suggested good conservation status, with higher values than those estimated for contemporary populations. Strong population structure and genetic differentiation between rivers were found, with limited gene flow, restricted to geographically close populations. Our estimates of historical genetic diversity and structure from southernmost salmon populations are a powerful benchmark to guide conservation programs.

Perception of ecosystem services provided by carp ponds in Pasłęk, Poland

An assessment of perceptions of fishpond ecosystem services was conducted in Pasłek, a town located in northeastern Poland. Ninety-four expert interviews were conducted with non-fishermen. The survey included a list of 28 possible ecosystem services provided by fishponds. Environmental benefits were considered the most important, followed by social and productive services. Respondents rated the ponds' function as a place for fish spawning and reproduction highest, followed by their role as fire reservoirs and as a place for recreation and leisure. A comparison with other surveys showed that perceptions of ecosystem services in local surveys could be influenced by a number of conditions, including, among others, the nature and location of fish ponds. The survey showed that people not involved in fisheries and fish farming are aware of the wide range of ecosystem services fishponds provide. This is a positive social recommendation for European fisheries policy, which aims to develop aquaculture without deteriorating the environment, creating a balanced relationship between producers and consumers of production and non-production aquaculture products.

Redistribution of fisheries catch potential in Mediterranean and North European waters under climate change scenarios

The Mediterranean Sea is a hotspot of global warming where key commercial species, such as demersal and pelagic fishes, and cephalopods, could experience abrupt distribution shifts in the near future. However, the extent to which these range shifts may impact fisheries catch potential remains poorly understood at the scale of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). Here, we evaluated the projected changes in Mediterranean fisheries catches potential, by target fishing gears, under different climate scenarios throughout the 21st century. We show that the future Mediterranean maximum catch potential may decrease considerably by the end of the century under high emission scenarios in South Eastern Mediterranean countries. These projected decreases range between −20 to −75 % for catch by pelagic trawl and seine, −50 to −75 % for fixed nets and traps and exceed −75 % for benthic trawl. In contrast, fixed nets and traps, and benthic trawl fisheries may experience an increase in their catch potential in the North and Celtic seas, while future catches by pelagic trawl and seine may decrease in the same areas. We show that a high emission scenario may considerably amplify the future redistribution of fisheries catch potential across European Seas, thus highlighting the need to limit global warming. Our projections at the manageable scale of EEZ and the quantification of climate-induced impacts on a large part of the Mediterranean and European fisheries is therefore a first, and considerable step toward the development of climate mitigation and adaptations strategies for the fisheries sector.

Climate-induced changes in ocean productivity and food-web functioning are projected to markedly affect European fisheries catch

In European waters, climate-induced changes in ocean conditions will alter marine ecosystems, leading to potential repercussions for the European fisheries and the status of exploited species. Here, we used a new version of the EcoTroph model, forced by a regional high-resolution coupled hydrodynamic-ecosystem model, to investigate the effects of climate change on biomass and catch in 15 areas (ICES divisions) of the European Atlantic shelf ecosystems. Based on the projected changes in temperature, zooplankton and benthic secondary producers, we modeled the changes in biomass and catch at each trophic level by the end of the 21st century. We projected that total biomass and catch for the whole Atlantic European seas would decrease by 11.5 and 10.0%, respectively, by 2090-2099 relative to 2013-2017 under a ‘no mitigation’ greenhouse gases emissions scenario (RCP8.5). The projected decrease in catch is 310000 or 240000 t by 2090-2099 under a high (RCP8.5) or a moderate (RCP4.5) emissions scenario, respectively. Some areas, such as the Celtic Sea, would be more affected than others, while the climate impact on the bentho-demersal biomass and catches would be more pronounced, especially toward the higher trophic levels. Our study suggests that climate change may strongly impact European fisheries, with ecological consequences and potential socio-economic repercussions. Future studies using alternative climate and ecosystem models would allow the exploration of uncertainties in projected biomass and catch. While fisheries management is required to adapt to these changes, the projected impacts on catch cannot be avoided without aggressive mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.

Food for thought from French scientists for a revised EU Common Fisheries Policy to protect marine ecosystems and enhance fisheries performance

Since the 1980s, the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has shaped European fisheries. It has often been criticised for being too prescriptive and, above all, for failing to protect either fishermen or ecosystems. The last reform dates back to the early 2010 s and has led to a slight but slow improvement in the state of ecosystems. Given that the CFP is in the process of evaluation, a group of French fishery scientists set up an initiative to add to the debate on what should be retained, reinforced or added to a possible new reform. This initiative came 10 years after a previous manifesto that presented their vision for fisheries in Europe. Four major issues emerged from the current initiative: (1) a need for transparency and simplification in fisheries management, (2) a need for more consultation and dialogue between stakeholders, (3) the urgency of the situation in the Mediterranean Sea, and (4) the necessity of putting into practice all research developments for an ecosystem approach to fisheries. Compared to 10 years ago, the response of scientists shows that the focus is no longer on achieving the maximum sustainable yield, but rather on the following steps to protect ecosystems and fisheries. An ecosystem approach to fisheries remains indispensable for both ecosystems and fishing activities. To this end, scientists put forward numerous proposals to improve the CFP, acknowledging that the final solutions should emerge from consultation with stakeholders. Climate change, an issue raised much more than in the manifest, reinforces the need to act.

Litus Ignotus: Lost coasts of Terra Nova in the sixteenth century

What do we do with coasts that have been lost? What are we to do with places and stories large and small which once embodied the lived experience of life and work on the fishing coats of North America? This essay, following the work of the historian John Gillis, explores lost coasts from the sixteenth-century European fishery in the northwest Atlantic, a place known as Terra Nova to the mariners who went there. The essay dwells upon imagined islands, missing harbours, enigmatic fortifications and other places that existed in the earliest years of the fishery but which have since disappeared. In so doing, it shows how coasts can change and be lost over time, and how historians can try to recover these unknown shores.

Advancing fishery-independent stock assessments for the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) with new monitoring technologies

The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, supports a key European fishery. Stock assessments for this species are mostly based on trawling and UnderWater TeleVision (UWTV) surveys. However, N. norvegicus are burrowing organisms and these survey methods are unable to sample or observe individuals in their burrows. To account for this, UWTV surveys generally assume that “1 burrow system = 1 animal”, due to the territorial behavior of N. norvegicus. Nevertheless, this assumption still requires in-situ validation. Here, we outline how to improve the accuracy of current stock assessments for N. norvegicus with novel ecological monitoring technologies, including: robotic fixed and mobile camera-platforms, telemetry, environmental DNA (eDNA), and Artificial Intelligence (AI). First, we outline the present status and threat for overexploitation in N. norvegicus stocks. Then, we discuss how the burrowing behavior of N. norvegicus biases current stock assessment methods. We propose that state-of-the-art stationary and mobile robotic platforms endowed with innovative sensors and complemented with AI tools could be used to count both animals and burrows systems in-situ, as well as to provide key insights into burrowing behavior. Next, we illustrate how multiparametric monitoring can be incorporated into assessments of physiology and burrowing behavior. Finally, we develop a flowchart for the appropriate treatment of multiparametric biological and environmental data required to improve current stock assessment methods.

An efficient portfolio approach towards ecosystem-based fisheries governance in EU

In the framework of multispecies fisheries governance, the main objective of this paper is to apply modern portfolio theory (MPT) to the North-East Atlantic European fisheries, including all the key commercial fish species subject to total allowable catches (TAC) and quota regimes within the EU. This is done, first, quantifying the inherent return and risk of the potential fish portfolios and, secondly, estimating an individual constrained financial efficient frontier (FEF) for each of the nine fishing countries in the North-East Atlantic. Unlike previous studies in the field of financial fisheries economics, and due to its major robustness under non-normality and the presence of fat tails, we are using Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) instead of the conventional mean-variance optimization (MVO) as the method to solve the optimization problem of minimizing risk under a set of alternative constraints so as to obtain the respective FEFs. Our results show that changing the species portfolio distribution, it would be possible to improve efficiency, that is to say, to simultaneously get increasing returns and decreasing risk levels. Moreover, this efficiency gain would be compatible with specific quota transfers among fishing countries.

Monthly spatial dynamics of the Bay of Biscay hake-sole-Norway lobster fishery: an ISIS-Fish database

We propose a database to describe the Bay of Biscay mixed demersal European fishery over the period 2010–2020 for the ISIS-Fish simulation tool. It was built upon national and European fishing databases, scientific survey datasets, models estimates, literature, and the formulation of assumptions. It accounts explicitly for spatial and seasonal processes, and for mixed fisheries phenomenons. This database encompasses population dynamics for 3 stocks, hake, sole and Norway lobster, exploitation dynamics for numerous fleets and métiers, and the description of current fishing management, as well as fishers adaptation. A calibration procedure was designed to ensure consistency between all these diverse and heterogeneous parameters compiled and estimated in the ISIS-Fish database and to ensure the model reproduces closely historical catch patterns. This database is a starting point towards operational simulations, of use for understanding the functioning of the fishery, the assessment of management strategies, or delivering short and long-term scenarios. It can be used to reproduce historical catch patterns, with room for improvement on some inter-annual and spatial dynamics.

An Inter-Temporal Computable General Equilibrium Model for Fisheries

Computable general equilibrium models have been a popular tool for policy analysis in recent decades, but rarely applied for fisheries policy and management. This paper presents an inter-temporal computable general equilibrium model with fisheries details. While the model in a full-scale and disaggregate way describes the structure and dynamics of a regional fisheries economy, it further specifies the heterogeneous bottom-up fish producers, such as harvesters, aquaculture and fish-processing firms, and links fisheries with the top–down non-fisheries economic sectors. In addition, the model can be externally linked with fish biological models to consider interactions between economic and biological systems. The model is designed to provide a comprehensive tool for analysis of new fisheries policy in general and to study five European fishery regions in particular. The empirics in the paper evaluate the impact of several important management and policy instruments on the Salerno economy and on recovery of endangered species.

Results-based management in practice: Lessons learnt and policy recommendations from the implementation of RBM in European fisheries outside Europe

This paper summarizes the lessons learnt from the implementation of a practical approach to Results-based Management (RBM) within the EU H2020 FarFish project, where RBM is conceptualized as a contract situation. From these lessons a set of policy recommendations for the improvement of the fisheries management through the adoption of RBM for EU vessels fishing in international- and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) waters were put forward. The policy recommendations are based on key project outputs and additional semi-structured interviews on the experiences of project partners. This exercise revealed advancements and shortcomings for the broader implementation of a more participatory, inclusive, and responsive approach to fisheries governance. Meaningful and effective participation was a pivotal factor for the success of the process. Absence of relevant bodies, sectors and fleet segments proved detrimental throughout all cases. The importance of scoping, goal setting and timing of the actions, as well as managing realistic expectations within the RBM, were highlighted. Data availability and accountability was pivotal, as in cases were cooperation succeeded, data was made available, and knowledge was expanded and enriched. The implementation of this approach to RBM showed great potential when extended to other aspects of fisheries’ management, fishing categories and fleets. This structured approach to RBM provides a promising alternative to current fisheries management systems across the world.

Estimating Discard Mortality in Commercial Fisheries without Fish Dying: A 3R Challenge.

Simple SummaryDue to the implementation of a landing obligation in fisheries in the European Union (EU), with an exemption for species with “high survival”, discard survival studies (henceforth DSSs) have become one of the most politically prioritized fisheries research areas in European fisheries. In contrast to most fisheries science research areas, DSSs are embedded by the EUs animal research welfare directive. This is a challenge, and there has not been any focus on how to implement animal welfare (AW) regulations experimentally in DSSs. This paper focuses on AW regulations in relation to conducting DSSs, but the outreach is much broader. We investigate experimental procedures by bringing in relevant examples, using the output results, and relating this information to relevant AW guidelines and regulations by focusing on implementing 3R principles.Globally, it is estimated that around 10% of the fish that are caught are discarded. This is considered to be a wasteful human marine activity since these fish are often dead or dying. To reduce the high discard rates of commercial fisheries, the European Union (E.U.) has enacted a landing obligation that includes the ability to exempt “species for which scientific evidence demonstrates high survival rates”. Therefore, discard survival studies (henceforth DSSs) have become one of the most politically prioritized fisheries research areas in European fisheries. International expert groups have produced guidance reports to promote best practices and to harmonize the methodologies. Nevertheless, there has not been any focus on how to implement animal welfare (AW) regulations experimentally. Discard survival studies are “frontrunners” in fisheries science research areas that are embedded by animal research welfare requirements and are expected to be more restrictive in the future because of an increased public focus on fish welfare. This paper focuses on AW regulations in relation to conducting DSSs, but the outreach is much broader. We investigate experimental procedures by bringing in relevant examples, using output results, and relating this information to relevant AW guidelines and regulations by focusing on implementing 3R principles.

Chromosome-level genome assembly, annotation, and phylogenomics of the gooseneck barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes.

BackgroundThe barnacles are a group of >2,000 species that have fascinated biologists, including Darwin, for centuries. Their lifestyles are extremely diverse, from free-swimming larvae to sessile adults, and even root-like endoparasites. Barnacles also cause hundreds of millions of dollars of losses annually due to biofouling. However, genomic resources for crustaceans, and barnacles in particular, are lacking.ResultsUsing 62× Pacific Biosciences coverage, 189× Illumina whole-genome sequencing coverage, 203× HiC coverage, and 69× CHi-C coverage, we produced a chromosome-level genome assembly of the gooseneck barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes. The P. pollicipes genome is 770 Mb long and its assembly is one of the most contiguous and complete crustacean genomes available, with a scaffold N50 of 47 Mb and 90.5% of the BUSCO Arthropoda gene set. Using the genome annotation produced here along with transcriptomes of 13 other barnacle species, we completed phylogenomic analyses on a nearly 2 million amino acid alignment. Contrary to previous studies, our phylogenies suggest that the Pollicipedomorpha is monophyletic and sister to the Balanomorpha, which alters our understanding of barnacle larval evolution and suggests homoplasy in a number of naupliar characters. We also compared transcriptomes of P. pollicipes nauplius larvae and adults and found that nearly one-half of the genes in the genome are differentially expressed, highlighting the vastly different transcriptomes of larvae and adult gooseneck barnacles. Annotation of the genes with KEGG and GO terms reveals that these stages exhibit many differences including cuticle binding, chitin binding, microtubule motor activity, and membrane adhesion.ConclusionThis study provides high-quality genomic resources for a key group of crustaceans. This is especially valuable given the roles P. pollicipes plays in European fisheries, as a sentinel species for coastal ecosystems, and as a model for studying barnacle adhesion as well as its key position in the barnacle tree of life. A combination of genomic, phylogenetic, and transcriptomic analyses here provides valuable insights into the evolution and development of barnacles.

Impact of Ocean Warming, Overfishing and Mercury on European Fisheries: A Risk Assessment and Policy Solution Framework

Previous studies have shown that multiple-environmental stressors are expected to have significant and geographically differential impacts on the health and abundance of marine species. In this paper, we analyze the combined impacts of ocean warming, overfishing and mercury pollution in European waters by projecting the impacts of climatic and non-climate drivers on marine species in European waters. Our findings suggest that the impacts vary widely depending on different species and their mean temperature tolerance (MTT). We find for instance, that more than 5 temperate benthopelagic species including, bobtail squids (Sepiida) frogfishes (Lophius) great Atlantic scallop (Pecten maximus) red mullet (Mullus barbatus barbatus) and common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) are affected (i.e., weakens their resilience to climate change) by the increase in sea surface temperature (SST) under RCP 8.5 in 2050 and 2100. Mercury contamination was estimated to increase in some species (e.g., ∼50% in swordfish), exceeding mercury consumption guideline thresholds (>1 mg/kg). This negative impact may limit the capacity of fisheries and marine ecosystem to respond to the current climate induced pollution sensitivity. An implication of our study is that the international community should strengthen a global ban on mercury emissions under the mandate of the Minamata Convention, comparable to the United Nations framework for persistent organic pollutant emission sources. Ongoing global efforts aimed at minimizing carbon footprint and mercury emissions need to be enhanced in concert with a reduction in fishing intensity to maintain effective conservation measures that promote increased resilience of fisheries to climate change and other stressors.

From plate to plug: The impact of offshore renewables on European fisheries and the role of marine spatial planning

Offshore renewables (OR), such as offshore wind farms, are a key pillar to address increasing energy demands and the global transition to a carbon-free power sector. The transition to ever more occupied marine spaces, often facilitated by marine spatial planning (MSP), increases the conflict potential with free ranging marine sectors such as fisheries. Here, we quantified for the first time the direct impact of current and future OR development on fisheries across European seas. We defined direct impact as the average annual fishing effort (h) overlapping with OR planning sites and applied an ensemble approach by deploying and harmonising various fisheries data to optimise spatial coverage for the European seas. The North Sea region will remain the centre of OR development for a long time, but a substantial increase of conflict potential between these sectors will also occur in other European sea basins after 2025. Across all sea basins, fishing fleets deploying bottom contacting gears targeting flatfish and crustaceans are and will be affected the most by the already constructed and planned OR. Our results provide a solid basis towards an understanding of the socio-economic effects of OR development on European fisheries. We argue that European MSP processes need to adopt common strategies to produce standardised and harmonised socio-economic data to understand implications of OR on free-ranging marine activities such as fisheries.

Automatic Detection of Nephrops Norvegicus Burrows from Underwater Imagery Using Deep Learning

The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, is one of the main commercial crustacean fisheries in Europe. The abundance of Nephrops norvegicus stocks is assessed based on identifying and counting the burrows where they live from underwater videos collected by camera systems mounted on sledges. The Spanish Oceanographic Institute (IEO) and Marine Institute Ireland (MI-Ireland) conducts annual underwater television surveys (UWTV) to estimate the total abundance of Nephrops within the specified area, with a coefficient of variation (CV) or relative standard error of less than 20%. Currently, the identification and counting of the Nephrops burrows are carried out manually by the marine experts. This is quite a time-consuming job. As a solution, we propose an automated system based on deep neural networks that automatically detects and counts the Nephrops burrows in video footage with high precision. The proposed system introduces a deep-learning-based automated way to identify and classify the Nephrops burrows. This research work uses the current state-of-the-art Faster RCNN models Inceptionv2 and MobileNetv2 for object detection and classification. We conduct experiments on two data sets, namely, the Smalls Nephrops survey (FU 22) and Cadiz Nephrops survey (FU 30), collected by Marine Institute Ireland and Spanish Oceanographic Institute, respectively. From the results, we observe that the Inception model achieved a higher precision and recall rate than the MobileNet model. The best mean Average Precision (mAP) recorded by the Inception model is 81.61% compared to MobileNet, which achieves the best mAP of 75.12%.

Adaptive business arrangements and the creation of social capital: Towards small‐scale fisheries resilience in different European geographical areas

AbstractEuropean small‐scale fisheries are confronted with several challenges, notably a decrease in the number of people engaged in capture fishing, growing competition from less expensive extra‐European Union markets, rising operational costs, strict regulations and the depletion of fishing stocks. Many small‐scale fishers must adapt to change to maintain or increase their income using different business strategies. In this respect, we argue that new and diversified institutional arrangements combined with building social capital can help reach long‐term economic sustainability for small‐scale fisheries businesses, as well as the social‐ecological resilience of coastal areas. In order to understand and analyse the multiplicity of strategies applied by small‐scale fishers–including expansion towards non–productivist activities, this article examines the role of new institutional arrangements based on small‐scale, traditional, quality‐orientated, multifunctional business strategies and non‐fishing activities. Using a case‐study approach, we analyse–in three different European fishery contexts (Greece, Italy and the UK)–how the interplay between building adaptive arrangements and the creation of social capital in selected small‐scale fisheries provides relevant prerequisites for resilience.