Transcript Project Inshore’ - Solway Firth Partnership

‘Solway Cockle Fishery Study’
A review of management options
Thursday 22nd May at the Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright
Project Background
• The Review was commissioned, coordinated
and supported by:
– The Solway Firth Partnership.
• The review was carried out by:
– Tristan Southall & Dr Oliver Tully
• The Review was Funded by:
Dumfries & Galloway
Fisheries Local Action Group
(FLAG)
Project Aims:
• Review:
– Existing information on stock status
– Existing management measures
– Past management experience
• Explore:
– Possible future management scenarios
– Other relevant fishery examples
• Recommend
– Key considerations for future management
Project Sources:
• A largely desk-based review.
– No primary research was undertaken – it draws on
past work (in particular past stock surveys).
• Meetings were held with the Solway Firth
Partnership and Marine Scotland.
• Telephone consultations were held with:
– former SSMA committee members – including
Councillors, Industry Representatives, SNH and
RSPB.
Solway Cockle Fishery Timeline
Stock Management Considerations
• A 20 year cockle survey time series is available
for the Solway. The survey data provides:
– estimates of total biomass,
– commercial biomass,
– non-commercial biomass,
– age structure
– maps the patterns and trends of these variables.
• A valuable resource to inform discussions of
future management.
What does this tell us?
Landings & biomass of cockles in
Solway during the period 1987-2007.
40000
Landings
35000
Commercial biomass
30000
Non commercial biomass
Total biomass
20000
15000
10000
5000
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
0
1987
Tonnes
25000
Life History of Cockles
• Fishery potential
Spawning (stock)
Settlement
Growth V Mortality
• Balance of these rates determines how best to exploit the
stock
• Fast growth & low mortality = high MLS & frequent
fisheries
• Slow growth & high mortality = low MLS & probably
infrequent fisheries
• 1 winter, 2 winters or 3 winters ?
Commercial biomass
Fishery
Spawning stock
2 yr lag
Dundalk:
Environmental effects on recruitment
90.0
80.0
70.0
50
60.0
Spat density June
Non-commercial biomass (tonnes per sq
km)
Spawning potential and recruitment
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
40
30
20
10
0
0.0
0.0
100.0
200.0
300.0
Commercial biomass (tonnes.km2)
0
100
200
300
Wind direction (true degrees) Jan-Mar
Maintaining a given level of spawning stock tends to result in
better recruitment
Conversion of non-commercial to
commercial biomass
Conversion ratios
300
25.00
250
20.00
Percentage
200
150
100
15.00
10.00
5.00
50
0.00
0
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
Non commercial biomass y(n) (tonnes.km2)
80
100.0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Ratio of Commercial / Non-commercial biomass
y=0.000529*x^3.032
70
60
Weight (g)
Commercial biomass y(n+2) (tonnes.km2)
Lag 1+2 years
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Shell height (mm)
Weight at harvest size is
>9 times higher than in
first few months post
settlement
Harvest Rules & exploitation rates
Two questions to consider:
1. How to manage spawning potential





Spatial reserves (in sensitive habitats)
Size refugia (below the minimum size)
Unexploited cockles above the MLS in the fishery area
Limit reference point: is it 100 tonnes per square km?
Develop a spatial index of spawning potential
2. How to optimise yields from a given recruitment
 Depends on the balance of growth and mortality
 Ecosystem requirements
 And how spawning potential is to be managed
In previous
management
plan
Harvest rules and exploitation rates Recommendations
Review the 20 years of survey data
estimate age specific mortality rates
 include space (habitat) and density (of cockles) in this
assessment
 ‘Characterise’ Solway cockles
 winters to reach minimum size
 does mortality show pattern or is it highly variable
 do cockles in certain habitats do better than others
 what is the relationship with birds
 get new data on meat yields (seasonality, size)
 Develop the harvest strategy based on above
What size of fishery can we expect?
 Using the 33% ‘rule of thumb’ and looking at previous
survey data
TAC (33% of commercial biomass)
12000
10000
Tonnes
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Year
11 consecutive years when TAC could have been >1,500 tonnes
Managing a fishery of variable size
The
Variables
The
Constraints
TAC
Daily fishing
time
Season
Length
Limited Catch
capacity
(hand)
Season
Length
Licence
number
TAC Uptake
Licence
Number
Seasonal
Yields
Type of
licence
Bird
Predation &
disturbance
Managing a fishery of variable size
Sources
Market
Survey and Strategy
Policy
Policy
Policy
Policy
Policy
Variable
£ per tonne
TAC
Days in season
Ratio Hand/Dredge
Total number of licences
Number of licences
Licenc type Outcomes
Hand
Dredge
€1,500
2000
90
0.18
50
41
9
Constraint
Policy
Daily catch potential per licence
Hand
Dredge
Hand
Dredge
Total
0.25
1.30
922.5
1053
1976
Value per licence
Hand
Dredge
€33,750.00
€175,500.00
Total value
Hand
Dredge
€1,383,750.00
€1,579,500.00
Total catch potential
Ecosystem Considerations
• Solway is internationally important ecosystem,
reflected in a number of designations.
– Overwintering birds.
• Safeguarding the ecosystem is important
objective of sustainable fisheries management.
– No obvious adverse effect from existing fishery, but
this has been restricted in scale and range.
• Important to retain ecosystem considerations
from previous management plan.
– Potential impacts well understood
– Undertake Appropriate Assessment on harvest
strategy in relation to conservation objectives.
Enforcement Considerations
• The scale of the Solway, with ease of access mean
enforcement is a challenge. IUU has historically been a
problem:
– Depletes available resource
– Undermines faith in management (Incentivises noncompliance)
• Reason for some optimism that scale of IUU reduced in
the last decade.
– Legislative changes (i.e. equipped to fish).
– Focus on Food Safety / transport.
• Informal approaches to enforcement are possible by
designing ‘stewardship’ into the management system.
– But given history and physical characteristics of the fishery
this is unlikely to be sufficient.
Market Considerations
Irregular
Supply
Harder to develop market /
investment opportunities
Stable
Fishery
Easier to develop reliable
market
• Price is dependent on market factors. Some of which are predictable.
• Manage the fishery to sustainably maximise income, without additional
environmental burden.
• Price is dependent on yield. Yields are higher in the late summer months
and fall off significantly into the autumn and winter months.
• A delay in opening the fishery causes:
– fewer market opportunities
– considerably reduced incomes
– Reduced potential for any management cost recovery.
Income
Potential
Fixed Costs
How will costs be met?
Future Options - Legislation
• Management needs to be designed around the available legislative
tools:
– Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967
– Inshore Fishing (Scotland) Act 1984
– the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010
• Each option has limitations and strong implications in terms of who
will be responsible for (and pay for) management.
• A Regulating or Hybrid Order:
–  restricted licencing
 clearly defined fishery boundaries,
flexible licence conditions
potential for cost recovery.
–  considerable (financial) responsibility on management grantee,
which must first be identified .  Difficult approval process
• A Fishing Order:
–  Strong statutory & administrative backing  Inflexible (prohibit
within a defined area (and if necessary a defined period) either all
fishing or fishing for a particular species with a particular gear)
Future Options - Responsibility
• IFGs are not IFCAs.
– Budgets, capacity, legislative power, property &
equipment.
• Marine Scotland
– Have more legislative power (albeit inflexible), but
limited local presence and limited engagement in
inshore adaptive stock management.
• Local Grantee
– Regulating Order would require this – but who?
Who will lead on management?
Management Recommendations (1)
•
•
Developing the Harvest Strategy
–
Review and further analyse the 20 year survey data
–
Propose reference points and harvest rules (inc. environmental elements.)
–
Agree management objectives and resource allocation policy with all
stakeholders
–
Develop a multi-annual approach; management plan,
–
Undertake AA (& bird model) of the scenarios within the multi-annual plan
Routine Monitoring and Assessment
–
Licence holders should participate in provision of scientific data
–
Surveys and TAC advice should be delivered in later summer
–
TAC advice should be based upon agreed management plan
–
Fishers should be made aware of where to fish
–
Fishery dependent reporting may also supplement survey
Management Recommendations (2)
•
Probable Design






Fishery should be in autumn
The season should be fixed and limited
A combination of dredge and hand gathering licences will allow
for TAC take up
Very clear entry and exit rules for licence holders should be
defined
Avoid taking high TACs from bumper recruitments; these events
could de-stabilise management and more likely create adverse
environmental impacts.
Harvest rules should facilitate control and enforcement
(Stewardship)
Outstanding Questions
•
•
Legislative structure
Management & Administrative Structure
(including service provision).
• Operational economics:
• Scope for cost recovery (licence fee structure)
• How fixed costs will be met
A viable fishery is achievable, but the development
process is likely to need commitment and patience.
Thank you
Tristan Southall
[email protected]
www.tdsouthall.co.uk
+44 (0)1599 544244
+44 (0)7815 053237
Appendix 1
Characteristics of Good Management
Characteristics of Good Management
(P1)
•
Clear management units – clearly defined stock definition (and
underlying rationale / assumptions)
•
Collection of appropriate information (computerised, time series tailored
to HCR)
•
Understanding of stock status – appropriate to life history / exploitation
rate
•
Adaptive management response (HCR)
•
Transparent (stakeholder buy-in) decision rules.
•
Timely Review & Evaluation
Characteristics of Good Management
(P2)
•
Data – discards, ETP interactions and ecosystem impacts - based on
direct observation / independent verification / risk assessment.
•
Information of ecosystem characteristics / distribution & changes over
time.
•
Understanding of spatial distribution of fleet activity (appropriate to
scale of potential impact).
•
A management review mechanism which allows for management action
in event of ecosystem impacts or risk caused by fishing (ideally
supported by decision rules where appropriate defining potential
management action - spatial, temporal, technical etc).
•
Codes of Conduct – industry led.
Characteristics of Good Management
(P3)
• Good match between management jurisdiction & stock management
scale.
• Limited entry / ring fencing / community ownership / stewardship of
resource (allowing fair, non-discriminatory and equitable access e.g. to
new entrants). TEST: what would happen if price doubled overnight?
Displacement from other fisheries.
• Stakeholder engagement in management process – and feedback of
management performance.
• Research and information collection tailored to the needs of management.
• Management & enforcement appropriate to the scale (and risk) of the
fishery – and stakeholder understanding of the reason for this.
• Defined fishery specific objectives and decision-making processes
(transparent & understood – simple & clear).
• Timely Review and Evaluation – ideally holistically as well as component
parts.
Appendix 2
Dundalk Cockle Fishery
Dundalk Bay: Cockle fishery plan 2011-2016
Dundalk Bay: Cockle fishery plan 2011-2016
 Low density
 High Growth rate
 Annual settlement
 Variable mortality
Dundalk Bay: Cockle fishery
1. Fishing area potentially = 60km2 (annually 10-20km2)
2. Minimum size = 22mm shell width (national legislation is
17mm)
3. Harvest rules
 Minimum size = 22mm shell width
 750 tonnes total biomass AND density <4 = no fishery
(limit reference point)
 750-3000 tonnes biomass harvest ratio is 33%
 >3000 tonnes biomass harvest ratio is 50%
4. Closure conditions
 Kgs per day <250kg
 November 1st
 TAC is taken
5. Operational restrictions
 Fishing during 4.2m tides or higher
 Dredge width 0.75m suction, 1.0m non-suction
6. Resource allocation
 Daily maximum catch = 1 tonne
 33 dredge (transferable capacity)
 20 hand gathering
Dundalk Bay: Cockle fishery
1. Annual sequence of events
 Survey end of June
 TAC advice first week of July
 IF biomass >750 tonnes
• Licence applications
• Licences issued
• Fishery opens (August)
 Monitoring
 Daily landings (gatherers dockets, logbooks)
 Daily catch rate (for catch rate closure rule)
 Cumulative landings in relation to TAC
 Environmental monitoring
 Bird counts during and after fishery
 Feeding behaviour oystercatcher
 Benthic data polychaete:bivalve ratio
 Closure Nov 1st if TAC not taken and if CPUE>250kg
Appendix 3
Marine Stewardship Council
MSC Structure