Discard ban a cornerstone of a comprehensive policy packet

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Discard ban a cornerstone of a comprehensive
policy packet
By Peter Gullestad Director General of
Fisheries, Norway DGFISH and RACs study tour to
Tromsø, 20 22 June 2007
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Discard policy
EU Prohibited to land illegal
fish Norway Prohibited to catch illegal fish
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Main elements of the Norwegian discard policy

• Ban on discard of commercial important species
• Requirement to change fishing ground
• Temporary closure of fishing grounds
• Special regulatory measures for certain fisheries
• Development of selective gear technology

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Ban on discard of

• Cod
• Haddock
• Saithe
• Redfish
• Greenland halibut
• Monkfish
• Whiting
• Blue whiting

• Herring
• Mackerel
• Capelin
• European smelt
• Shrimp
• Snow crab

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Barents Sea Monitoring Program (I)
March/April 2005
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Barents Sea Monitoring Program (II)
October 2005
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Selective gear technology
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Examples of special measures

• The G6 regulation of mackerel
• Regulation of slipping in purse seine fisheries
• Bycatch of herring in the Norway pout fishery
• Mixed vessel quota of cod, haddock and saithe for
  coastal vessels
• Regulations to cover unavoidable bycathes

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North Sea Cod distribution of Norwegian
national allocation

• First priority is to cover unavoidable bycatch in
  other fisheries to minimize discards
• Fleet-specific bycatch rules
• Necessary quantity to cover unavoidable bycatch
  needs is calculated annually
• Small coastal boats have a roof on their annual
  individual catch
• The rest (if any) of the national allocation is
  distributed as individual quotas to a limited
  number of vessels (gillnetters and danish
  seiners) in a directed fishery

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North East Arctic Cod
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North East Arctic Cod
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North East Arctic Cod
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North East Arctic Cod
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Unwanted fishing mortality

• Discard is part of the larger problem of unwanted
  mortality here defined as all dead fish in
  excess of agreed quotas
• The practical management challenge is to examine
  each fishery with regard to all possible sources
  to unwanted mortality, and then try to reduce it
  to a minimum
• The unwanted mortality can be grouped in three
  categories according to where it occurs
• -In the water
• -On board
• -At landing

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Unwanted fishing mortalityset up as an
arithmetic problem (1)

• Total mortality induced by fisheries
• Ghost fishing (Gill net)
• Escape mortality (Selection-/hauling
  mortality)
• Burst net (Seine, trawl)
• Slipping (Seine)
• Socking the snout (Hand line/long line)
• Others?
• Catch taken on board

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Unwanted fishing mortalitycontinued (2)
Catch taken on board Discard at sea -
Undersized fish - Highgrading - Inferior
quality - Too large catch (fishing vs.
processing or cargo capasity) - Bycatch (lack of
quota) - Bycatch non commercial species -
Others? Discard after main catch is landed -
Fish deteriorated on board or otherwise failing
to meet the buyers specifications Landed catch
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Unwanted fishing mortalitycontinued (3)

• Landed catch
• Black landings
• Falsified sales notes/landing declarations
• Registered catch measured in product weight
• multiplied with official conversion factor
• Catch in live weight as official recorded

Quantity declared is less than landed/price or
grading to favourable Incorrect product (too
favourable conversion factor) Incorrect catch
area (wrong stock/quota) Incorrect species (cod
declared as haddock) Incorrect time of
catch/landing Others?
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Summing up

• No universal solution to the problem of unwanted
  mortality
• Discard ban part of the solution
• Monitoring and control at sea is necessary
• National quota allocation and bycatch rules play
  a role
• Flexibility and creativity needed when seeking
  solutions
• Sustainable fishing increased R D needed