Transcript Proposal of a Fishery Restricted Area: Continental slope

9th SCMEE, Antalya, Turkey. 13-16 October, 2008
Proposal of a Fishery Restricted Area:
Continental Slope of the Eastern
Gulf of Lions (CoSEGoL)
Lleonart, Salat, Olivar, Puig. ICM/CSIC Barcelona, Spain
Moranta. IEO, Balearic Islands, Spain
Le Corre, Sacchi. IFREMER, Sète, France
Franquesa GEM, Faculty of Economics, U. of Barcelona, Spain
Tudela. WWF Mediterranean Programme
Background
• What do we know about the Gulf of Lions
demersal fishery?
– Hake assessments
• Two countries. Four gears competing.
• Hake is the target species. Other species also
important but not assessed.
• Clear growth overfishing (EMSY about 40% of current
effort)
• Suspected recruitment overfishing (standing biomass
less than 5% of estimated virgin biomass)
– No other assessments
Background
• What do we know about the Gulf of Lions
demersal fishery?
– Hake assessments
• Two countries. Four gears competing.
• Hake is the target species. Other species also
important but not assessed.
• Clear growth overfishing (EMSY about 40% of current
effort)
• Suspected recruitment overfishing (standing
biomass less than 5% of estimated virgin biomass)
– No other assessments
Source: Stock assessment of the French-Spanish shared stock of hake (Merluccius merluccius) in the gulf of
Lions. French-Spanish Working Group IFREMER-IEO Sète (France), 4-5 July 2006 Jadaud, Mellon, Farrugio,
Guijarro, Valls, Massutí, Ordinas and Quetglas (SCSA 2006)
Background (contd.)
• Four fleets:
– French and Spanish trawlers targeting
juvenile hake
– Spanish longliners and French gillnets
targeting large hake
• Despite the heavy fishing pressure on all
classes and the evidences of overfishing
(both growth and recruitment), historical
series of catches appear to be rather
stable.
• Where do the recruits come from?
Source: Stock assessment of the French-Spanish shared stock of hake (Merluccius merluccius) in the gulf of
Lions. French-Spanish Working Group IFREMER-IEO Sète (France), 4-5 July 2006 Jadaud, Mellon, Farrugio,
Guijarro, Valls, Massutí, Ordinas and Quetglas (SCSA 2006)
Source: Aldebert, Y., L. Recasens & J. Lleonart.- 1993. Analysis of gear interactions in a hake fishery:
The case of the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean). Sci. Mar., 57(2-3):207-217.
Other species
• Bottom trawl:
– European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus)
– European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus)
– Soles (Solea spp.)
– Striped mullet (Mullus barbatus)
– Red mullet (Mullus surmuletus)
– Angler (Lophius piscatorius)
– Black-bellied angler (Lophius budegassa)
– Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)
– European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
– Seabreams (Pagellus spp.)
– Blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou)
– Poor-cod (Trisopterus minutus capelanus)
– Horned octopus (Eledone cirrhosa)
• Gillnet:
–
–
–
–
–
Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus)
Tub gurnard (Trigla lucerna)
Poor cod (Trisopterus minutus capelanus)
Megrims (Lepidorhombus spp.)
Small-spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula)
• Longline:
–
–
–
–
–
Rockfish (Helicolenus dactylopterus)
Silver scabbard fish (Lepidopus caudatus)
Conger eel (Conger conger)
Red sea bream (Pagellus bogaraveo)
Fork-beard (Phycis blennoides)
Source: Stock assessment of the French-Spanish shared stock of hake (Merluccius merluccius) in the gulf of
Lions. French-Spanish Working Group IFREMER-IEO Sète (France), 4-5 July 2006 Jadaud, Mellon, Farrugio,
Guijarro, Valls, Massutí, Ordinas and Quetglas (SCSA 2006)
Pilot action
RAI/AP-26/2007
Experimental trawl survey in the Gulf of Lions
• Executer IEO
• Dates 24 Oct – 18 Dec, 2007
• 67 hauls
Main species
SPECIES
Rel. Abundance
% In biomass
SPECIES
Rel. Abundance
% In biomass
Galeus melastomus
16.42%
Trachyrincus scabrus
2.23%
Micromesistius poutassou
12.92%
Capros aper
2.19%
Lophius piscatorius
11.88%
Conger conger
1.86%
Nephrops norvegicus
7.56%
Caelorinchus caelorhincus
1.74%
Lepidopus caudatus
5.16%
Lepidorhombus boscii
1.58%
Trachurus trachurus
5.06%
Centrophorus granulosus
1.56%
Aristeus antennatus
5.03%
Trachurus picturatus
1.01%
Merluccius merluccius
4.44%
Lophius budegassa
0.55%
Helicolenus dactylopterus
3.98%
Pagellus bogaraveo
0.16%
Palinurus mauritanicus
0.06%
Mullus surmuletus
0.01%
Parapenaeus longirostris
0.01%
Eledone cirrhosa
0.01%
Chimaera monstrosa
3.07%
Trigla lyra
2.70%
Phycis blennoides
2.39%
GFCM priority species
SPECIES
Rel. Abundance
% In biomass
SPECIES
Rel. Abundance
% In biomass
Galeus melastomus
16.42%
Trachyrincus scabrus
2.23%
Micromesistius poutassou
12.92%
Capros aper
2.19%
Lophius piscatorius
11.88%
Conger conger
1.86%
Nephrops norvegicus
7.56%
Caelorinchus caelorhincus
1.74%
Lepidopus caudatus
5.16%
Lepidorhombus boscii
1.58%
Trachurus trachurus
5.06%
Centrophorus granulosus
1.56%
Aristeus antennatus
5.03%
Trachurus picturatus
1.01%
Merluccius merluccius
4.44%
Lophius budegassa
0.55%
Helicolenus dactylopterus
3.98%
Pagellus bogaraveo
0.16%
Palinurus mauritanicus
0.06%
Mullus surmuletus
0.01%
Parapenaeus longirostris
0.01%
Eledone cirrhosa
0.01%
Chimaera monstrosa
3.07%
Trigla lyra
2.70%
Phycis blennoides
2.39%
Lophius piscatorius
Aristeus antennatus
Nephrops norvegicus
Merluccius merluccius
What is the problem?
A zone
Slightly exploited
With a mature demersal community
A refugium of significant biomass of large
spawners …
…. of species of commercial interest …
…. likely supplying recruits to the nearby fishery
Is in danger of being exploited
Area definition
A
43º00’N
4º20’E
B
43º00’N
5º00’E
C
42º40’N
4º20’E
D
42º40’N
5º00’E
A
B
C
D
Depths: 100 – 1500 m
miles2
Surface
598 n
2 051 km2
205 100 ha
Distance to the coast (in NM)
To Spain
To France
A
60.4
24.1
B
85.0
19.8
C
49.5
43.2
Eratosthenes Seamount
D
77.5
36.1
Nile delta cold hydrocarbon seeps
Comparative surface with the approved FRAs (in km2)
Santa Maria di Leuca
976
10295
4374
20 NM
< ~ 30 NM
Objective
To protect this zone, in order to conserve:
– A demersal community that is currently only
slightly exploited
– Populations of spawners and “mega spawners”
of some species of commercial interest
– Biotic and abiotic habitats where these
communities live
– Trophic webs
Justification
• Protect juveniles or spawners?
– Equilibrium between the two Caddy’s
paradigms
– The three Froese’s “simple indicators”
Caddy’s paradigms
Source: Caddy, J.F. 1990. Options for the regulation of Mediterranean demersal
fisheries. Natural Resource Modeling, 4: 427–475.
The Froese’s
“three simple indicators”
• Let them spawn
• Let them grow
• Let the mega-spawners live
Source: Froese R.- 2004 Keep it simple: three indicators to deal with overfishing. Fish and
Fisheries. 2004, 5, 86-91
Source: Froese R.- 2004 Keep it simple: three indicators to deal with overfishing. Fish and
Fisheries. 2004, 5, 86-91
Why mega spawners?
• large females are much more fecund because the
number of eggs increases exponentially with length in
most species; their eggs also tend to be larger, thus
giving a greater chance of survival to larvae
• reaching old age is usually a sign of overall individual
fitness and thus these mega-spawners are reservoirs
and distributors of desirable genes; and
• extending longevity and prolonging the reproductive
phase can be viewed as a natural safeguard against
subsequent recruitment failure
Source: Froese R.- 2004 Keep it simple: three indicators to deal with overfishing. Fish and
Fisheries. 2004, 5, 86-91
Justification
Effect of protecting the spawners in the
proposed FRA on coastal fishing (system of
currents in the G of L)
– Supply of recruits of main target species:
•
•
•
•
Merluccius merluccius,
Lophius piscatorius,
Nephrops norvegiculs,
Aristeus antennatus
– Conserving accompanying species (maintaining
the trophic web)
• Micromesistius poutassou
• Lepidopus caudatus
Currents in the Gulf of Lions
Justification
• In accordance with EAF, a total protection
of the demersal environment will maintain:
– Biotic and abiotic habitats
– Trophic webs
Consequences of the protection
• Since the area is currently only slightly
exploited, fishermen would not lose catch
(both short and long term). This represents
the status quo strategy.
• Ensure the protection and thus, persistence
of spawning stocks
Consequences of no protection
• The community of large spawners is under risk of
being rapidly exploited as soon as fishermen are
able reach it easily and legally
• Very high risk of increase of recruitment overfishing
affecting the subregional fishery with danger of
collapse of several very valuable species
• A few fishermen would get huge short term gains,
but the whole fishery would be at stake at medium
and long term periods
Legal status
International waters: outside of the Spanish fishing protected area (1997)
Distance of point C (42º40’N 4º20’E) to the Spanish coast: 49.5 NM,
to the French coast : 43.2 NM
Legal status
Inside of the French “zone de protection écologique”
Management measures proposed
Prohibit any kind of demersal fishing, towed or not,
including trawl gears, bottom and midwater
longlines, bottom nets (gillnets, trammelnets),
traps, etc.