(c) Ed Harrison at edharrison.co.uk
Today’s blog is written by Dr. Joanna Ainsworth, Programme Manager of the Future Fisheries Alliance and Mario Ray, WWF Policy Advisor, on why transparency in fisheries matters to nature.
Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) with cameras will provide robust data to help UK fish stock recoveries, monitor and minimise bycatch, and support fisherman proving their sustainable approach to fishing, promoting a thriving and sustainable industry for generations to come.
The RSPB, WWF and Marine Conservation Society forged an impactful collaboration to advocate for UK fisheries legislation and governance that will deliver sustainable, accountable, climate and nature-smart fisheries management in thriving coastal communities.
Our seas, wildlife, and the fishers whose livelihoods are dependent upon healthy marine ecosystems, are suffering. Commercial fishing continues to be the most widespread pressure on the marine environment, but it also has real opportunity to provide solutions and help recover our seas if done sustainably.
Sixty five percent of UK stocks are fished beyond environmental limits and thousands of rare and threatened marine animals such as seabirds and whales continue to be killed unnecessarily as ‘bycatch’ in fishing gear every year, caught on fishing hooks, entangled in nets, or wrapped up in ropes.
Bycatch
Thousands of marine wildlife including fulmars, guillemots, whales and seals are caught and killed by UK vessels as bycatch every year, but the true scale of the problem in UK seas is unknown.
We currently use human observers to spend a short time on fishing vessels to record how many animals are killed as bycatch in UK waters each year. However, only <5 % of the annual UK fishing effort is observed by people for wildlife bycatch. Current estimates on the number of animals that are killed as bycatch in UK waters could be the tip of the iceberg due to the small amount of time observers get to spend on vessels across the UK fishing fleet.
The Discard Ban
For many years one of the key concerns over the impacts of fishing on biodiversity was the wasteful nature of many fisheries in which significant amounts of unwanted fish were dumped back into the sea, a process known as discarding.
A discard ban was introduced with the hope that it would incentivise more selective fishing of only desired species and less throwing overboard of unwanted fish. However, an obstacle to investing in highly selective fishing gear is that it comes at a cost. The cost of the gear itself which can run into the tens of thousands and the cost of some profitable fish that pass through the ‘selective’ gear. While some complied and invested in new gear, others continued to discard unwanted fish overboard. Without the level playing field, which would have been achieved with robust monitoring, it created a competitive advantage for those that continued to discard.
A game-changing technology is ready for roll-out
Using GPS, cameras and a variety of sensors, REM is a powerful and cost-effective tool that answers three fundamental questions:
People are increasingly concerned with the provenance of their seafood, and the impact it has on marine wildlife. REM enables fishers to demonstrate to the public and retailers that they are operating in a sustainable way, using best practice and highest levels of selectivity.
REM would also empower fishers by putting them at the heart of the data collection process, bridging the gap between them and fisheries managers. Claims that the number of fish available to catch are out of touch with what fishers are seeing in their nets need to be addressed. The ‘fish-counting’ cameras provide fishers with an opportunity to document what they are seeing and feed into the science of quota setting, the process that defines the number of fish that can be sustainable caught. Solutions exist to prevent bycatch of marine wildlife and unwanted catches of fish. REM can be used to monitor both their use and effectiveness.
UK governments must seize the opportunity
Following Britain’s departure from the EU, UK governments are developing new ‘catching’ policies.
Accountability and confidence will be central principles of these new policies, however, without equipping vessels with the tools they need to provide the required levels of at-sea monitoring these policies will fall short of their objectives.
In September, one of the UK government’s own statutory bodies, Natural England, released a report recommending the immediate roll-out of REM to the ‘highest risk’ fleets that are most prone to bycatch and overfishing to:
It was disappointing that UK governments did not take the opportunity to commit to rolling out REM across the UK fishing fleet when they produced the draft Joint Fisheries Statement in January 2022, new legislation that will guide UK fishing post exit from the EU. All four governments can still provide a unified voice in support of REM with cameras being a key element of fishing in UK waters as further policies develop.
The question is...
When will the UK governments step up and roll-out the proven technology of REM to the highest-risk fleets and embrace the benefits that REM brings for wildlife, fishers and the consumer?
The UK’s fishing industry has long been a fundamental part of vibrant coastal communities, providing livelihoods to many and food to feed us, from Cullen Skink on a cold winter’s evening to scampi and chips by the sea.
Whatever changes are implemented in UK governments’ individual plans or 'catching policies’, we believe that the degree to which they are underpinned by robust at-sea monitoring with cameras will be a defining factor in achieving sustainable fisheries in the UK.
Further reading
Find out more: TransparentSea | Marine Conservation Society (mcsuk.org)
Bycatch (rspb.org.uk)
Sources:
CEFAS Assessing the sustainability of catch limits negotiated 2022
Scottish Government estimates 7,000 tonnes of undersized haddock discarded in 2021 (thefishingdaily.com)
An evaluation of cetacean bycatch in UK fisheries: problems and solutions (2021)
defra - Research and Development for the UK Seabird Plan of Action (PoA) - ME6024
Assessing bycatch risk from gillnet fisheries for three species of diving seabird in the UK (2022)