What are the problems?
Bycatch and discards
Many fisheries are non-selective, that is they catch animals that they did not intend to. Some of this ‘bycatch’ can be sold, but much of it is unwanted and thrown back into the sea. Unfortunately most of these discarded species do not survive, so it is a waste of a natural resource, a major threat to the health of fish stocks, a threat to the future of the fishing industry and a threat to the marine ecosystem.
Watch the report by Jeremy Cooke for the BBC on fish discarding by a Scottish vessel in the North Sea
MCS is working to help reduce bycatch and eliminate discards in a variety of ways: ensuring this issue is a focus of the Common Fisheries Reform and looking at new management methods to prevent discards, encouraging fishers to use more selective fishing gear, encouraging retailers, chefs and restaurants to utilise less well know species that would otherwise be discarded, as they have no market value.
To find out more about bycatch and discards, and what the possible solutions are, please see our information sheet.
Bottom trawling
Bottom towed fishing gear includes the use of beam trawls, bottom otter trawls, bottom pair trawls and dredges. The extent of the impacts of bottom towed fishing gear depends on a variety of factors, but in some cases it can seriously reduce the productivity and diversity within the marine ecosystem.
MCS is working to help reduce the impacts of bottom towed fishing gears on the marine environment in a number of ways, such as encouraging the use of lighter trawls, protecting vulnerable areas from bottom trawling or dredging, and encouraging retailers and consumers to source seafood caught in a sustainable manner.
To find out more about bottom trawling, other bottom towed fishing gears, and what the possible solutions are, please see our position paper on bottom towed fishing gears.
Solutions
Ecosystem-based fisheries management
The ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management considers the effect of fishing on biodiversity, habitat structure, endangered species and water quality, as well as on fish stocks. The overall aim is to maintain healthy ecosystems and the fisheries they support.
A key element of this approach is the use of the precautionary principle, whereby management measures are designed to take account of uncertainty in scientific advice and the likelihood of whether or not an activity may cause significant harm to the environment.
The ecosystem approach includes the use of Marine Protected Areas, less dependency on quota management, managing the impacts of fishing on all species and habitats.
To find out what measures MCS is suggesting for an ecosystem approach, click on our fisheries policy paper.
Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy
In the EU, fisheries and aquaculture are managed under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The Common Fisheries Policy was reformed in 2002 to ensure sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources, and although much progress has been made since then, currently 88% of these fish stocks are overfished. So there is much more to be done!
The CFP is due for another reform in 2012, and the changes required are so vast and urgent that the consultation process has already begun. MCS has recently input into this process with our new “fishing credits system” proposal idea, which we have submitted to UK and the EU, to ensure management of our fisheries fully implements an ecosystem based approach. Read more about our response to the CFP reform here.
