Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2003)451 - Measures concerning incidental catches of cetaceans in fisheries - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2003)451 - Measures concerning incidental catches of cetaceans in fisheries. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2003)451  |
| date | 24-07-2003 |
Cetaceans are granted strict protection under Community environmental legislation, namely the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), with a view to maintaining those species at or restoring them to favourable conservation status. Article 11 of this Directive requires that Member States shall undertake surveillance of their conservation status, and Article 12 further stipulates that Member States shall take the requisite measures to establish a system of strict protection for these animals, including a system to monitor their incidental capture or killing with a view to further research and conservation measures as required.
As far as fisheries legislation is concerned, the Council adopted in 1997 and further amended in 1998 the so called 'drift-net limitations' (Regulations (EC) No 894/97 and No 1239/98), on the basis, inter alia, that such gear might endanger populations of some species caught as by-catch.
On the basis of the scientific information now available to it, however, the Commission has come to the conclusion that the measures taken so far are insufficient or lacking in coordination. Additional Community action is needed in the fisheries sector to improve, in a consistent and cooperative manner, measures aimed at the conservation of small cetaceans. This is also fully consistent with the obligation under the Common Fisheries Policy to minimise the impact of fishing activities on marine ecosystems, as provided for in particular in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) 2371/2002.
The Commission asked the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) to provide an overview of fisheries that have a significant impact on small cetaceans, an assessment of the risks created by fisheries on identified populations and, finally, advice on possible remedial action to reduce the impact of fishing. It also requested the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), in particular through its Subgroup on Fisheries and Environment (SGFEN), to review the information provided by ICES, to add any additional information on cetacean by-catch in European fisheries (in particular for fisheries not covered by ICES) and to provide the Commission with possible management advice i.
According to the reports from these scientific bodies, most of the fishing gears commonly used in Europe result in some cetacean by-catch, although gill nets and pelagic trawls appear to contribute most. By way of example of the extent of cetacean by-catches, it is estimated that each year several thousand harbour porpoises are caught in bottom-set gillnets in the North Sea. Although data on by-catches of other cetaceans, such as dolphins, is patchy, it is clear from fishing trials conducted by some Member States that from time to time by-catches of these species can reach high levels (details can be found in the reports cited above).
Scientists consider that mitigation of cetacean by-catch can be primarily addressed through an overall reduction in fishing pressure together with some additional measures of a technical nature. In order to obtain better advice on further mitigation measures, a comprehensive monitoring scheme with a good geographical and temporal coverage is also needed. Only occasional, uncoordinated monitoring has so far been carried out and it is, therefore, not possible to ascertain the spatial and temporal patterns of by-catch distribution.
An overall reduction of fishing pressure is expected as a result of other Community measures aimed at ensuring the sustainability of fisheries. This proposal for a Regulation completes the response to scientific advice by providing additional measures to address the incidental catches of cetaceans in fisheries. These measures include:
restrictions on the use of drift-nets in the Baltic Sea (length limitation to maximum 2.5 km, and further phasing out before 1 January 2007),
the mandatory use of acoustic deterrent devices in certain fisheries, and
coordinated monitoring of cetacean by-catch through compulsory on board observers for given fisheries.
Contents
The use of drift-nets has been severely restricted in Community law, inter alia because of its impact on small cetaceans, but such restrictions do not apply to the Baltic Sea i.
According to the SGFEN recommendation, the maximum length of salmon drift-nets should be brought in line with that for other Community drift-net fisheries that are still permitted, i.e. 2.5km. A timetable for banning the use of these drift-nets should also be drawn up.
This is based on the fact that the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), the only cetacean for which there are records of capture in drift-nets in the Baltic, is the most critically endangered population of small cetaceans in Europe. The very low remaining population make incidental catches a rare event but one of real significance for the conservation of this population.
A general length limitation of drift-nets to 2.5 km should, therefore, be immediately applied in the Baltic Sea, followed by a progressive phasing out of their use in this area until they are completely prohibited as from 1 January 2007. Although these measures of will adversely affect the profitability of the salmon fishery concerned, the fact that the Community is committed to preserving biological diversity and to preventing the possible extinction of the harbour porpoise population in the Baltic area in the short to medium term overrides these considerations.
This commitment also implies that other gear known to carry the risk of incidental catching of harbour porpoises, in particular bottom-set gill nets, will also require particular surveillance (see below).
Acoustic deterrent devices (or pingers) have been widely tested and implemented in several gillnet fisheries around the world, where they have been successful in reducing by-catches of some small cetaceans, in particular common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and harbour porpoises.
The mandatory use of acoustic deterrent devices should, therefore, be required in all fisheries that could produce significant by-catch and in which an important reduction of incidental catches of cetaceans is expected. This is particularly valid for fisheries using bottom-set gillnets in areas of distribution of harbour porpoises (in particular the North Sea, the English Channel and the Celtic shelf).
Given the significant contribution of small fishing vessels to the total fishing effort with bottom-set gillnets in these areas, and the distribution of porpoises near the shore, the Commission proposes that pingers should be deployed by all vessels, independently of their size or of the total length of set nets they use.
However, in view of concerns raised that there has been insufficient research into measuring any possible negative impact such devices might have, at a population level, on the animals that they are designed to deter, this large-scale use of pingers should be carefully monitored.
In addition, in order to ensure proper compliance by means of reliable monitoring of such measures, it is of the utmost importance to adopt Community rules on the marking and identification of static gear. The Commission intends to proceed in the near future with the adoption of detailed rules, pursuant to Articles 5 (c) and 20a i of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 36 of this Regulation.
The above-mentioned mitigation measures are considered as a first, short-term step towards addressing the by-catch problem. The Commission is conscious of the need to develop wider and more strategic measures. However, the design of such a strategy requires a better knowledge of the problem by means of appropriate monitoring of fishing activities and improved assessment and surveillance of cetacean populations.
The effective design of mitigation measures is highly dependent on a comprehensive monitoring scheme with sufficient geographical and temporal coverage. Independent and representative observations of fishing activities are essential to provide adequate by-catch estimates.
The Commission therefore proposes that Member States set up, as a matter of priority, on-board observer schemes to monitor the incidental capture and killing of cetaceans in several 'high risk' fisheries where pelagic trawls or gillnets are used.
The SGFEN has identified a number of fisheries which would require the establishment of monitoring schemes and most of those are covered by the scope of the proposed Regulation. Generally speaking, the appropriate level of observer coverage should depend on the desired level of precision in the estimate of by-catch and on the statistical properties of by-catch events within a particular fishery. In the absence of sufficient data to define a statistically-robust level of coverage, the SGFEN has recommended that 5-10 % of the total effort should be monitored; the Commission has, in most cases, chosen to propose the lower figure. Wherever possible, programmes to monitor incidental catches of cetaceans should benefit from existing observer programmes established for other purposes (e.g. data collection on discards).
For vessels that are unable to allow an additional person on board as observer (e.g. because of lack of space or for safety reasons), the Member States should establish other appropriate method of independent monitoring at sea.
The proposed measures concerning pinger use and on-board observer programmes will be carefully monitored and assessed to enable them to be adapted within a few years if necessary. There should be regular reporting at Community level to allow an overall assessment of the progress made and possible new recommendations by the STECF.
The information gathered when monitoring the use of pingers and data collected through the independent observer schemes should be supplemented with other relevant information, including research on new mitigation measures (e.g. trials of acoustic deterrent devices in pelagic trawls or of possible alternative netting materials for gillnets).
The burden placed on the fishery sector by some of the proposed measures will, however, be difficult to justify in the long term if they are not properly complemented by action to improve the general information and knowledge on the conservation of cetaceans. This follow-up needs to be accompanied by full and proper surveillance by the Member States of the conservation status of cetaceans as provided for in the Habitats Directive. The design of a long-term, comprehensive and reliable strategy for the conservation of these species will only be possible if all these conditions are fulfilled.