Landing Obligation “contravenes existing regulations”

From January 1, 2015, fishermen in certain parts of the EU targeting pelagic and industrial species, and salmon and cod fisheries in the Baltic, must land the fish they catch. But all catches of undersized fish, over quota or in excess of catch composition rules, must continue to be returned to the sea, the EU Commission has declared.

Pelagic fisheries in international waters are also subject to the landing obligation with the exception of fisheries in non-EU waters where there is a legal obligation to discard in an international agreement (e.g. ICCAT rules relating to Bluefin tuna) and fisheries in the waters of third-countries where the law of the third-country applies.

In the fisheries under the landing obligation, all catches of all species (regardless of whether they are pelagic or demersal) managed through Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas ― and in the Mediterranean catches subject to minimum sizes ― must be landed. (For example, vessels fishing for mackerel should also land accidental catches of demersal species, e.g. cod.)

Catches can be returned to sea after January 1 however if are they covered by the exemptions (‘de minimis’ and high survivability) defined in the discard plans. Regional discard plans with such exemptions cover the Western waters, North Sea, Baltic and Mediterranean.

There are no exemptions for pelagic fisheries (sprat) in the Black Sea. These catches are not counted against quota but must be documented in the logbook. Catches of prohibited species cannot be retained on board and must be returned to the sea.

Industry reaction

Sean O’Donoghue, CEO of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation which represents the majority of Ireland’s pelagic fleet, believes the landing obligation creates an “immediate anomaly as it runs in direct contravention of existing regulations – in particular Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98, or Technical Conversation Measures regulation.”

An ‘Omnibus Regulation’ proposed to bring the conflicting regulations into line by the Council and the European Parliament before the January 1 deadline failed to reach agreement. While the EU Commission is expected to resolve the outstanding issues, “enforcement of the landing obligation requires a common sense approach,” he added.

At a meeting convened when the talks broke down, the Commission outlined the options available. “They made it very clear that the penalty point system did not apply to the landing obligation [from] January 1 as it was not listed as a major offence under the control regulation. This may change in the Omnibus Regulation,” he insisted.

“We have been highlighting the inevitability of the current legal lacuna to the EU Commission for the past twelve months. It is incredible and completely unacceptable that the fishing industry and the enforcement authorities should be faced with completely conflicting regulations.

“The EU Commission must ensure that the actions committed are carried out as a matter of urgency. I sought assurance on what rules would be enforced on pelagic fishing rounds from January 1. I also outlined the need for a level playing field on control issues across the different control agencies ― and the urgency for the Commission to immediately set up a Forum advocated by the pelagic industry.

“I accept the stance being taken by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) that contradictory legislation regarding the landings obligation will not be enforced,” he said.

Ministerial position

Supporting a phased introduction of the landing obligation, Simon Coveney, Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine told Inshore Ireland he welcomed its application to pelagic fisheries as a “significant first step on a challenging journey for our industry”.

Adding it would have a “limited impact on the Irish pelagic fleet”, the Minister believes its introduction “will facilitate the effective monitoring of the large freezer fleets in our 200-mile Exclusive Fisheries Zone where there are concerns about high grading of catch.”

According to the EU Commission, ‘High-grading is a practice that is no longer possible in the context of a landing obligation’. The high-grading ban will continue to apply to the fisheries that are not yet subject to the landing obligation.

Minister Coveney however expressed concern that the ‘Omnibus’ Regulation (designed to remove obligations to discard from existing legislation) has yet to be agreed but is hopeful that the European institutions will find a way forward in the coming months.

“This will be very important in advance of the next phase of the landing obligation for some demersal fisheries in January 2016. That phase will be much more challenging for the Irish industry and will be the focus of the ongoing work of the Discards Implementation Group under the chairmanship of Dr Noel Cawley,” he said.

Compliance enforcement

Prior to January 1, explicit legal prohibitions already existed for pelagic fisheries on two discarding practices ― slippage and high-grading ― along with an obligation to log discards.

In a statement to Inshore Ireland, the Sea-fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) said the landing obligation represented a ‘laudable policy objective arising from the Irish presidency oversight of Common Fisheries Policy reform. We will be working to ensure compliance by vessels that land in Ireland and those that fish in the Irish EZ but do not land here.’

Susan Steele, CEO of the SFPA said the obligation represented a “significant compliance challenge for fishers and a significant control challenge for authorities in the promotion and verification of compliance.”

The CFP regionalisation structure has formed a group to look at control of the landing obligation in EU western waters. Chaired by the SFPA for the initial six months, the work programme is expected to examine control challenges and make specific recommendations on control tools and procedures to be used.

Monitoring, control and inspection of the landing obligation under fisheries legislation “will be undertaken primarily at sea as it is the act of discarding fish that creates the offence,” Susan Steele added.

Controls and inspections at sea are carried out on behalf of the SFPA by the Naval Service operating under a Service Level Agreement (SLA). The 2015 plan specifically recognises implementation of the landing obligation as a priority.

At landing, the SFPA will oversee monitoring and assessment of landed catches including assessment of catch composition by size grade to ensure that the requisite landing of all fish taken on board is being adhered to.

“It is important the Control agencies involved establish a common understanding of the inspection requirement around the provisions, to ensure that all fishers who are inspected either at sea or on landing meet with a common understanding of the control requirement that the landing obligation imposes ― no matter where they operate or in which Member State they are licensed,” she emphasised.

“The SFPA will seek to afford fishers a common interpretation of the requirements of the obligations on them and a fair and equitable assessment and, if required, enforcement of those obligations through its work with the North-Western Working Group (NWWG) in 2015 and into 2016 when the Landing Obligation extends to demersal fisheries.”

The SFPA has issued a Fisheries Information Notice: Fisheries Information Notice 01-2015 .pdf.

Catch composition rules:

What happens with catch composition rules and mesh size rules under the landing obligation as of 1 January 2015?

From 1 January 2015, catches that exceed a certain catch composition rule must be landed and counted against the quota.

What happens to catch composition rules in fisheries where the landing obligation does not apply yet?

The current rules continue to apply.

If I am under the landing obligation can I land catches in excess of catch composition rules?

Yes, you can land such catches if you have sufficient quota to cover these catches.

What happens to catches in excess of catch composition rules for which I do not have quota?

A fisherman would either have to try to obtain additional quota from the fishery management authority, or to rent or buy quota from another fisherman.

Do the existing mesh sizes still apply?

Yes.