Sport Fishing C2362 Unit FISH-1
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EC Directorate-General for Fisheries Sport Fishing C2362 Unit FISH-1 FINAL REPORT EU contract FISH/2004/011 on “Sport Fisheries” (or Marine Recreational Fisheries) in the EU For The European Commission Directorate-General for Fisheries Prepared by M. G. Pawson1, D. Tingley2, G, Padda1, and H. Glenn 2 1. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0HT, UK. 2. Centre for the Economics & Management of Aquatic Resources (CEMARE) Boathouse no 6, College Road, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, PO1 3LJ, UK. Correspondence to M. G. Pawson; Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, NR33 OHT, UK tel: +44 1502 524436; e-mail: [email protected]. 1 EC Directorate-General for Fisheries Sport Fishing C2362 Unit FISH-1 EU contract FISH/2004/011 on “Sport Fisheries” (or Marine Recreational Fisheries) in the EU Table of Contents Page Executive Summary 3 1. Introduction and background 5 2. Definitions and legal perspectives 10 3. Description of European marine recreational fisheries 25 4. Evaluation of the socio-economic importance of marine 55 recreational fisheries in Europe 5. Environmental impacts of fishing on marine ecosystems 107 6. Issues and management 123 Annexes: 1. The legal definition and scope of sea fishing for recreation 136 and sport in Europe – in contrast to commercial fishing. 2. Information sources and references describing MRF in Europe 163 3. Review of methodology for economic evaluation of MRF 172 4. References on the economic evaluation of MRF 186 5. References on the environmental impacts of fishing 190 6. References for issues and management of MRF 207 Appendix 1. Common and scientific names of fish and shellfish species of interest to European recreational fishers. 2 EC Directorate-General for Fisheries Sport Fishing C2362 Unit FISH-1 Executive summary. This report provides a first assessment of marine recreational fisheries at the EU level. In it we evaluate their importance in environmental, social and economic terms, compared with commercial fisheries, explore public perception of any related problems and issues, and attempt to indicate the most important issues on which fisheries management should concentrate (Call for Tenders FISH/2004/011 “Sport Fisheries”). The study has been carried out by accessing available data (published or through web-sites) and through personal contact with individuals and organisations involved with recreational fisheries in the relevant countries. No original data were derived and, where possible, information was validated from more than one source. The report is divided into 6 chapters, structured in relation to the Terms of Reference of the Tender and broken down by the regions defined for Regional Advisory Committees, viz.: Baltic Sea, North Sea, North Western waters, South Western waters and Mediterranean Sea. In order to “describe sport fisheries at EU level by type of fishing, its social importance (time of occupation, associations, level of organisation), and its level of management by Member States” (TOR 1), it proved necessary to define what is meant by sport fishing in the context of recreational fishing. A review of European Member States’ national legislation (provided in Annex 1) revealed considerable variation in ownership and access to coastal waters/fisheries, and in the legal distinction between sport fishing and other recreational uses of fisheries (for example, where commercial fishing gear is used chiefly for home consumption) and their commercial (catching for sale and profit) counterparts. It has, however, clarified the issue and enabled us to suggest common definitions for the various forms of recreational fishing. Thus, Recreational fishing is fishing which is not deemed to be commercial fishing (i.e. it does not have sale or profit connotations), and is not undertaken for predominantly subsistence purposes. Angling is the activity of catching or attempting to catch fish on hooks, principally by rod and line, whilst recreational anglers do not sell the fish they catch. Sports fishing is generally perceived to be a sub-set of recreational angling, although the distinction varies between countries (and may be absent), is often associated with competitions, and may include underwater spear fishing. The review indicated that we should adopt ‘Marine Recreational Fishing’ for the overall title of the report and, as a consequence, the generic MRF is used wherever we refer to marine recreational fishing. On this basis, an exhaustive search of relevant websites and literature sources has been used to describe the recreational fisheries in each Member State, the gears used, species fished for, and level of involvement (as far as is possible). This information is presented, together with an appreciation of the social importance of these fisheries, management infrastructure (if any), and an exploration of public perception of the interactions between recreational and commercial fisheries and any issues arising (TOR 4: “to explore and summarize the results of existing polls of opinion about both sectors”). The main areas of conflict are competition for resources in terms of sharing mortality/catch and space/gear interactions, for example between anglers and nets set close inshore or around wrecks, and the perception that the use of some gears leads to over fishing. In northwest Europe (UK, Ireland, France and Norway), the availability 3 EC Directorate-General for Fisheries Sport Fishing C2362 Unit FISH-1 of large fish (possibly with a degree of exclusive access) is important to sport anglers, who increasingly practice catch and release as a conservation aid. Much of this information is pertinent to TOR 3: to describe and, where possible, assess the economic importance of sport fisheries and associated industries such as tourism, transport, tackle manufacturing and sale, etc. We have collated and reviewed readily available published information and data on the economic impact of recreational fishing (it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between marine and freshwater activity) in the different Member States. Using readily accessible data for a variety of years ranging from 1997-2005, but lacking figures for Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal and Slovenia, we estimate that at least ten million people are active in the MRF sector in Europe. Any assessment of the economic importance of recreational fishing requires careful consideration of the geographic coverage and quality of available information for each country and the variety of methods used to prepare existing studies or reports, whether to arrive at an EU-wide valuation or to compare these values with commercial fishing activity. At present, it is not possible to produce a comprehensive, quantitative overview of the importance of MRF because the information is neither available for each country nor is it in a consistent format. This suggests that new studies are required to provide robust information upon which to make decisions, and we have included a description of the methodological approaches to this task in Annex 3. In order “to describe and, where possible, assess the environmental impact of sport fisheries and associated industries, including the relative importance of catch of target species, by-catch, lost gear, use of bait, etc, and how this compares with the environmental effects of commercial fisheries” (TOR 2), we have reviewed what is know about the environmental effects of commercial fisheries on benthic fauna, habitat, diversity and community structure in a European context. This provides a perspective against which to view whether it is possible or necessary to predict or manage MRF-induced changes in marine ecosystems. These, and the most important issues on which fisheries management should concentrate to alleviate problems associated with MRF, are more fully explored in the final chapter, which presents information and discusses the implications for policy, legislation and/or management systems and addresses TOR 5: “to describe the most important areas of conflict or mutual interest between the sport and commercial sectors and identify possible management action associated to these”. Management options are considered at a pan-European level, describing the problem and possible solutions, without considering the differing legal and management structures existing in each Member State. For this reason alone, we conclude that though some solutions may be possible through European legislation, they are most likely to be achieved through subsidiarity in the short to medium term. 4 EC Directorate-General for Fisheries Sport Fishing C2362 Unit FISH-1 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Outline and objectives of study. Managers of marine fisheries in European Community waters have paid little attention to the impacts or requirements of recreational fisheries, though recreational fishing constitutes a considerable social and economic activity. Total expenditure on recreational fishing across Europe is believed to exceed €25 billion a year (Dillon, 2004). By comparison, the 1998 value of commercial landings in the 15 EU member states was estimated at €20 billion (Megapesca, no date given). In its report on the problems encountered by inshore fishermen (A6- 0141/2006), the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries noted that there is increasing tension between inshore fishermen, who fish for a livelihood, and recreational fisheries that are competing in the same physical space