Europe
Sustainable seafood and fisheries
Our lives are intrivibily linked to our oceans. Currently, 60% of the global human population lives within 40 miles of the ocean. Fish from our oceans provide a good source of protein for more than 1 billion people. Commercial fishing constitutes a great source of employment and contributes to the global economy. Unfortunately, some fishing practices are now also a major threat to the health of our oceans.
Through increasingly powerful fishing technology, we have put incredible pressure on the oceans resources. Economies and livelihoods are being irrevocably damaged. Certain stocks of fish have declined to the point where their survival is threatened. And other stocks of fish have been so substantially reduced in number that they could become similarly threatened. Countries around the world have allowed fish stocks to be depleted due to poor fisheries management.
Seafood
As fishing is only one part of the picture from the ocean to the consumers’ plate, WWF is working at points along the entire supply chain. Sustainable business requires sustainable fisheries.
WWF was instrumental in the formation of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and had a longstanding relationship with Unilever. Currently we also have an ongoing partnership with other key players in the seafood market place, namely retailers such as Marks & Spencer.
Globally, our seafood initiative aims to engage all stakeholders – retailers, processors, food service sector, wholesalers, importers, local producers, investors, governments both national and European and consumers - to eat more sustainable seafood.
Bycatch
Most fisheries catch creatures that were not originally targeted. This extra catch is known as bycatch. Of this bycatch some will have a commercial value and are landed by fishermen. However, a greater proportion is unwanted and is usually discarded (i.e. thrown back dead or dying over the side). In some cases this can lead to high levels of discarding of fish that otherwise could have helped re-build depleted stocks.
Unwanted bycatch is one of the main environmental effects of fishing and is a particular problem with management by TAC (Total Allowable Catch) and quotas. Once the TAC of a particular species has been reached, they will still continue to be caught by vessels targeting other species. In most cases, landing is illegal so they are thrown back dead or dying.
To put it in context, the amount of cod in the depleted fisheries around the UK being discarded is halting the rebuilding of these stocks. In the North Sea, 51% of cod caught in langoustine (scampi) fisheries are discarded as they are undersized. Off the coast of Norway 61% of the total cod catch by langoustine trawls was discarded between 1995 and 2000.
It’s not just cod that suffers from bycatch and discarding in European waters. Around half of all plaice caught are discarded overboard, usually dead. The North Sea plaice and sole mixed beam trawl fishery, which accounts for the vast majority of catches, is the most wasteful of all – according to a 2000 report, up to 80% of the plaice catch is discarded in some areas. All in all, as much as 7kg of marine animals are killed by beam trawlers to produce 450g of marketable sole. The figure is similar for plaice. In the EU, it is estimated that beam trawlers targeting finfish dump 330,000 tonnes of marine life each year.
Bycatch is a conservation problem of staggering global and regional significance because it is:
- Widespread
- Wasteful
- Inhibiting recovery of species at risk
- Preventing progress toward sustainable resource use at a time when fisheries and local communities are under economic pressure.
WWF-UK is calling for a variety of actions in order to reduce the bycatch and discard problems in Europe. These include:
- Introduction of mandatory requirements to use selective gear in areas where there are high levels of bycatch to effectively catch targeted species only
- Substitute non-selective fishing gears – such as bottom trawls – with more selective gear such as Danish seines or longlines
- Analysis of the issue in our waters and commitment by politicians to act on them
- Implement annual bycatch limits and quotas
- Introduce fishery observer schemes across the fisheries with high levels of bycatch in the EU
- Better fisheries management which adheres to scientific advice and precautionary limits
Solutions
WWF-UK wants to see the wasting of fish greatly reduced. One method to achieve this goal is to invest in improved technology, such as more selective, “smart” fishing gear that reduces the chance of bycatch.
What WWF is doing
WWF and Seafish (the Sea Fish Industry Authority) have joined forces to launch a UK prize under WWF's International Smart Gear Competition, which seeks new designs for fishing gear to minimise marine bycatch. The Smart Gear competition attempts to find innovative ways and clever designs to reduce this globally and make a significant contribution to a healthier marine environment. The next Smart Gear Competition is due to be held in 2009.