DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES FISHERIES DEEP-SEA FISHING IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS This document was requested by the European Parliament's on Committee on Fisheries. AUTHOR SP/F Skrivarastova, Fish and Film. Ltd., Faroe Islands: Kjartan HOYDAL RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR Jakub SEMRAU Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE Virginija KELMELYTE LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN ABOUT THE PUBLISHER To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its monthly newsletter please write to: [email protected] Manuscript completed in April 2014. © European Union, 2014. This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES FISHERIES DEEP-SEA FISHING IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS Abstract This Analysis examines the situation in the fishery for deep-sea species in the North-East Atlantic. It presents an overview of the legislation for management of the stocks and compares the NEAFC management regime with the EU regime and the legislation in the coastal states in the North-East Atlantic. The note recommends a revision of the list of species that at present defines deep-sea fisheries, and a change in EU legislation for defining deep-sea fishing vessels. It also encourages coastal states in the North Atlantic to build on the measures agreed in NEAFC in national waters. IP/B/PECH/IC/2013-182 April 2014 PE 529.056 EN Deep Sea Fishing CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 5 LIST OF TABLES 6 LIST OF MAPS 6 LIST OF FIGURES 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 1. INTRODUCTION 9 1.1. Deep-sea fishing – a battleground of international fisheries management 9 1.2. International background for defining deep-sea fisheries 11 2. THE PROBLEM OF DEFINING DEEP-SEA FISHERIES 13 3. A REVISED LIST OF TRUE DEEP-SEA SPECIES 19 4. DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEEP-SEA FISHERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST ATLANTIC 21 4.1. Scientific advice from ICES on deep-sea fisheries 22 5. DEEP-SEA FISHERIES MANAGEMENT MEASURES AGREED BY THE CONTRACTING PARTIES IN NEAFC 27 5.1. Freezing of effort at a reduced level: 28 5.2. Protection of sharks 28 5.3. Deep-sea fish species protection 28 5.4. Gear restrictions 29 5.5. Protection of VMEs, closures 29 5.6. Control end enforcement 31 5.7. Deep-sea stock coastal state group? 31 6. NATIONAL LEGISLATION IN PLACE IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC 33 7. COMPARING DEEP-SEA FISHERIES AND MANAGEMENT MEASURES IN FORCE IN THE EU WITH OTHER NATIONAL AND REGIONAL FISHERIES JURISDICTIONS IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC 35 7.1. EU approach to managing deep-sea fisheries 37 8. MANAGEMENT MEASURES IN PLACE IN NAFO 39 9. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION. POLICY MEASURES SUGGESTED TO THE COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 41 REFERENCES 43 ANNEX 1. Reporting catches by ICES Sub-divisions in ANBJ and EEZs. NEW ICES Sub-divisions agreed in 2003. 45 3 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies ANNEX 2. Catches reported to NEAFC for 2012 by Contracting Parties and EEZs 47 4 Deep Sea Fishing LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABNJ Areas beyond national jurisdiction ACOM The ICES advisory committee responsible for scientific advic CEM Conservation and enforcement measures COFI Committee on Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations CPUE Catch per unit of effort EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ICES International Council for the Exploration of the Seas ICP United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, also referred to as UNICPOLOS IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature MAR Mid-Atlantic Ridge MoU Memorandum of Understanding NAFO Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization NEAFC North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission NGO Non-governmental organisation RA Regulatory area RFMO Regional Fisheries Management Organization TAC Total Allowable Catch UN United Nations Organisation UNCLOS United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 UNFSA United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement of 1995 UNGA United Nations General Assembly UNICPOLOS United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, also referred to as ICP VME Vulnerable marine ecosystem VMS Vessel monitoring system 5 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies LIST OF TABLES Table 1. NEAFC list of deep-sea species 14 Table 2. Revised list of deep-sea species 19 Table 3. ICES Areas Sub-areas and division 22 Table 4. Reported deep-sea fishing activity and species, taken as reviewed by ICES 22 Table 5. NEAFC deep-sea sharks list 28 Table 6. Overview of the coverage of deep-sea bottom fishing measures 30 Table 7. Information by NEAFC Contracting Parties on national implementation of NEAFC measures on deep-sea fisheries 33 Table 8. True and quasi deep-sea species, catches reported to NEAFC in 2012 35 Table 9. Catches reported to NEAFC in 2012 by Contracting Party and fishing area 36 LIST OF MAPS Map 1. NEAFC Regulatory Area 27 Map 2. Fishable areas (below 2 000m), closed areas and existing fishing areas in the section of the NEAFC Regulatory Area between Iceland and Azores, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Hatton Bank-Rockall Area 31 Map 3. NAFO Area Closures 39 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Tentative distribution of deep-sea species, gears and structures in the NE Atlantic 15 Figure 2. Grouping deep-sea species according to productivity 17 6 Deep Sea Fishing EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Aim The present Analysis provides information on deep-sea fisheries in the North Atlantic, historically and up to the present day. It analyses the different national legislation in place in the North Atlantic for regulating fishing for or catching of deep-sea species, together with an overview of the management measures in place in the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) and the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO). The Analysis looks critically at how deep-sea fisheries are defined and grouped, looking for an alternative to the present-day definitions used by different organisations. It reviews how the management measures for deep-sea fisheries, which the Contracting Parties of NEAFC have agreed upon in recent years, stand up to international law and commitments, especially to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 61/105. The Analysis contains findings and recommendations destined for the Members of the European Parliament, and presents data relevant to decision-making. KEY FINDINGS Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and some UN member states have in recent years raised concerns over deep-sea fisheries. The activity of some NGOs on the issue of deep-sea fisheries, in the UN and other fora, has led to an arguably disproportionate focus on these fisheries, to the detriment of dealing with more urgent problems affecting world fisheries. The vocal deep-sea campaign has influenced states and regional organisations to regulate deep-sea fisheries and their environmental impact, but has also arguably led to proposals for impractical and superfluous management measures. Many NGOs have stated and continue to state that Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), hereunder NEAFC and NAFO, have not fulfilled their obligations under international law or responded correctly to UNGA Resolutions, particularly 61/105. This has been disputed by the RFMOs who point to management measures controlling the fisheries, areas closed to bottom fisheries and regulation of bottom fishing activities in general. Deep-sea fisheries and how to manage them and their impact on vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) have been addressed in earnest by the FAO since 2003. International Guidelines on the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas were endorsed by Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2009. Based on an analysis of catch data from NEAFC, species on various lists have been split into "true" deep-sea species and "quasi" deep-sea species. The latter group includes ling, tusk, Greenland halibut and argentines. Deep-sea fisheries are not as well researched as most fisheries for which the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) gives advice. The first management measures introduced by NEAFC in the early 2000s had to be 7 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies precautionary. Knowledge of stock structure and stock status has remained limited, especially for true deep-sea species. Precise information on location of VMEs has also been lacking. However, the last round of advice from the ICES in 2013 points to a considerable improvement of the situation. It is, however, not likely that stock assessments for all deep-sea stocks to support a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) regime will be forthcoming in the foreseeable future. It has been suggested that demersal fisheries in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) have recently declined to very low levels, reducing the risk to target resources and associated vulnerable communities. This may be the result of fewer incentives to fish in ABNJ for demersal deep-water fishes, and of the implementation of a range of management measures in regional and national settings. The EU regulates its deep-sea fisheries very differently from the other Contracting Parties to NEAFC. This would not be a problem if it was possible to set TACs for the stocks exploited in the deep-sea fisheries, but, as indicated by ICES, this may not be achievable in the foreseeable future.