ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(79)612
Vol.1979/0208

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(79)612final
Brussels.29thOctober1979
FIRSTREPORTOFTHESCIENTIFIC ANDTECHNICAL COMMITTEE FORFISHERIES
(Communication fromtheCommissiontotheCouncil)
/,//
C0MC79)612final

Communication fromtheCommissionto-theCouncil
FirstReportof*theScientificandTechnicalCommitteeforFisheries
'•TheScientific ,andTechnicalCommitteewhichwasestablished "by
theCommissionon8June19791completeditsfirst.reporton17October1979.
ThereportwasmadeavailabletomemberStatesinformallyon19October
togetherwitharesum£thereofpreparedbytheCommissionservices.
2.TheCommittee,thoughworkinginfullindependence of
international "scientificorganisations ,generallyendorsedtheir
recommendations ,notablythoseofICES,asprovidingthebestscientific
evidenceavailable;itadditionally madesuggestionsconcerningcertain
technicalconservation measures ^onthebasesofgeneraldatafurnished
byICESand,furthermore ,insofarasbasicdataappearedinsufficient
toenablespecificrecommendations tobemade,ithaspreparedquestions
to>.puttoICES. -
TheCommitteepursueditsworkinaccordancewiththe.line
fol'owedinscientificadviceavailabletotheCommissionsince1977-
Theapproachretainedisfoundedonbiologicalconsiderations including
thebestavailableinformation onthestatusofstocks,theirlife
cycleandotherlivingconditionsaswfellastheirprobableevolution
inrelationwithexistingfishingactivities. -
"_TheReportincludesalsoindications ontheconsequences for
thestocksofdifferentchoicesoffishingmortality,thusenabling
identification oftheleveloffishingeffortwhichwouldgivethebest«
averagelong-termyieldinweight.TheCommissionwishesinparticular
todrawattentiontothefiguresintheReportindicatingforeachstock
theeffectoffishingeffortonspawningstockbiomass. ,(
3. ■.Indeterminingaconservation andmanagementpolicyforhuman
needs,theCommissionisconsciousoftheimportanceofamoredetailed
approachwhichtakesaccountoftheinterrelationofstocksaswellas
oftheeffectontheirfuturedevelopmentofalternativechoicesasto
theimportanceandthenatupeoffishingactivitiestobedeployed.The
Commission,nevertheless^underlinesthattheintroductionofsuch
parametersinthepresentschemanecessitates ,becauseoftheirnature
andtheirimportance,furtherconsideration andinparticulartheir
beingtalcenintoaccount,atleastpartially,inthecollectionand
treatmentofbasicdataininternationalorganisations ;inthese
*OJL.156of23.6.1979•••/•••

conditionstheCommissionintendstoasktheCommitteetopreparem
theearlyfuturesomematerialonthisthemeandsimilarlyithas
seizedtheConsultative CommitteeonFisheriesofthesubjectsoasto
haveacompletepicturedeveloped "bothfromscientificanalysisandfrom
pragmaticconsiderations drawnfromtheeconomic,socialandtechnical
concernsofpeopledirectlyinvolvedintheindustry.
TheCommission,foritspart,considersthatspecialattention
musthegiventotheneedforgradualismintheevolutionofexisting
structureswhilesatisfyingtheforeseeable needsoftheCommunity
market.Certainly,apoliticaldecisioncouldprecedemostofthe
optionsinthematter.However,politicaldecisionsshould "be"hcised
onsolidgroundwithregardtotheirbiological,economic,social,
regionalandotherconsequences . -
4«Toutilisesuchobjectivedatameansthatinformation must
beavailableinanorganised,generalised andcompulsorymanner.The
presentsituation,inwhichdecisionsbytheCouncilinrespectto
generalquantitative objectivesisnotaccompanied byanyconstraint
atthelevelofthefishingindustryandwherestatisticalinformation
atCommunitylevelisnotsufficient,doesnotpermitadeeperexamina­
tionofthesituationasbetweendifferentfisheries.
TheCommissiononceagainunderlinestheseriousinconveniences
whichresultfromsuchasituationandthelackofcoherencebrought
aboutbetweenthepoliticalobjectivesdecidedbytheCouncilandthe
resultswhichitsdecisionsobtain;inthisrespectiturgestheCouncil
totakeanimmediatedecisiononthequestionofacatchreporting
systemwhileacceptingthatitwouldnotprejudiceinanywaydecisions
tobemadeinothermatteis-ofconservation andcontrol.

-3-
5«InviewoftheshorttimethattheReportoftheCommittee
has"beenavailabletheCommissionconsidersthat*itshouldfurther
acsisoi>heworkoftheCouncilbydrawingitsattentiontomajor
issueswhichemerge.fromtheReport.-
Bincipallyandforemostisitsdescriptionofthestateof
fisheriesresourcesinthewatersunderthesovereigntyorjurisdiction
Oj.memberStates.TheseresourcesarewhattheCommonFisheries
Policyisallabout.'DebateaboutbasicRegulations ,structural
changes,technicalmeasuresforconservation orcontrolandsoonis
anaridexerciseiftheresourcesarewhittledawaywhetherbyneglect
orbytheabsenceofrestraint.Fishermenarerighttobe
concernedaboutthis.Theirlivelihoodisinvolvedand
they_<"eentitledtoexpectthe.CommunityInstitutions toact
seriojlyandquicklytoprotecttheresources.
7-TheReportshowsthat*:
-IntheITorthSea:outofelevenmainstocks,two(herring
andmackerel)areindangerofrecruitmentfailure;not
enough"isknownaboutthreeindustrialstocks(sprat,Norway
poutandsandeel);ofthesixdemersalstocksfive(cod,
haddock,whiting,saitheandsole)canbebroughttowards
areasonableequilibriumbutatlowercatchlevelsin1980
thanin1979andone(plaice)isstable(i.e.isatits
normalmaximumcatchrate);
_IntheSkarerrakandKattegat:notenoughisknownabout
thestateofherringstocksandfurtherdataarerequired
inregardtosprat;thereareinsufficientdataoncod,
haddock,whitingandplaice-exceptthatcodinthe
Kattegatseemstobemovingtowardsstability.Saitheappears
tobestable;
-WestofScotlandandWestofIrelandSouthtoShannon:There
areinsufficientdataonherringintheClydeand.Westof-
Ireland_(VIIb,c)butotherwisetheherringstockisstill
tooreducedtobefished.;thespawningstockbiomassofthe
Westernmackerelstock,whichisfoundinICSSsub-areasVI,
VIIandVIII,isexpectedtodecreasebyabout25$asaresult
*••/c••
SeetablesI-3oftheReportattachedtoth.'prefer-
Communication asseparateannexesforconvenience

-4-
ofthe 1979 fishery ;demersal species range from stable
(haddock ,-whiting andsaithe )toapproaching stable (cod).
-ICES sub-area .VIIother than VII "b(Irish Sea ,Celtic Sea ,
Western .approaches ,theChannel ):theherring stocks intheCeltic
SeaandtheMourne herring fishery areinextremely delicate
condition ;sofarasdemersal species areconcerned ,codand
whiting areapproaching stability intheIrish Seabutnot
, enough data areavailable onthese stocks elsewhere insub­
area VII ;plaice isapproaching stability intheIrish Sea
and isstable elsewhere insub-area VII ;sole is'stable
throughout sub-area VII .
–Sub-area VIII (BayofBiscay ):notenough data areavailable
onhake inthis area butwhat information isknown suggests
increased caution . x
8. Thefacts that stand outfrom this brief summary ofresources
data intheReport arethe following :
(i)themain herring stocks still maynotbefished inorder
toallow them torecover from serious overfishing ofearlier
years .Even though thedevelopment oftheCommon Fisheries
Policy hasnotbeen attained ,Community action ,nevertheless ,
probably arrived intime tosave these herring stocks from
extinction .Even greater restraint will have tobe.exercised ,inthe
Irish Sea and inthe Celtic Sea ifthe Mourne and the Celtic
Seaherring stocks aretobesaved from extinction .
(ii)themackerel fishery made upvery v
considerably forlosses sustained byCommunity fishermen ,
particularly inthird country waters .Amajor mackerel fishery
canbesustained indefinitely butnot attherate offishing
that has prevailed inthe past fewyears# TheEastern mackerel
stock isnow severely menaced .
(iii)as*"aras"^eindustrial fisheries areconcerned there issome
reduction intheavailability ofonemain species ,sprat .
\ „ *
•••/♦••

(iv)incontrasttothepelagicandindustrialspecies,the
demersalspeciesare,generallyspeaking,inastateof
stabilityorapproachingstability,althoughinsomeareas
thedataremaininsufficient toenableanyfirmconclusions
tobereached.Nevertheless ,inthemostimportantfisheries,
thoseoftheNorthSea,thereisstillalongwaytogobefore
asufficientabundanceofdemersalspeciesisavailableto
meetdemands.Tobegintoarrivetherethefishing
ratemustfirstbereducedin1930andforsometimethere­
afterascomparedwith1979*
Onthewhole,thepictureleftbytheReportoftheScientific
andTechnicalCommitteeisafurtherwarningoftheneedtoarriveat
agreementonthedevelopment oftheCommonFisheriesPolicywiththe
leastpossibledelay.Takingalltheimportantspeciestogetherfishing
efforintheCommunitypartoftheWorth-EastAtlantic,especiallyinthe
NorthSea,cannotbeincreasedin1980.Thecontractionoffishingeffort
whichhascharacterised recentyearscan,however,bemoderatedandthe
situationreversedwithinareasonabletimeiftheCommunityisprepared
totakethenecessarystepstothatend.Fishermen,consumersandthe
processingindustriesareallentitledtoexpect,inthelightoftheir
information ,thatthenecessarystepswillbetaken.Foritspart,the
CommissionwillputappropriateproposalstotheCouncilintheimmediate
future. ■-
10.Furtherconsideration needsto"begiventothestateof
CommunityresourcesintheBalticandintheNorthwestAtlantic.
Itisknown,however,thattheGreenlandcodstockisconsiderably
reducedfromearlieryears.
11.TheCommissionwishestomakeafinalpointconcerningresources.
Thisisthatthereareseriousinadequaciesinthedatabasisformaking
stockassessments..Theseoriginatefrom?
a)inadequatelandingsstatisticseitherbecausenational
statisticalcollectionservicesareinadequateorbecause
landingsmadeinexcessofquotasarenotrecordedinthe
nationalstatistics ; N

-6-
b)inadequatefishingeffortandareaoffishingdataarising
fromaninadequatestatisticalcollectionservice;
c)inadequatesamplingprogrammeforlengthandagecomposition
dataoffishlanded;
d)lackofdataonfishdiscardedatsea.
TheCommission drawsthistotheattentionoftheCouncilat
thisstageandreservesthepossibilityofmakingdetailedproposals
totheCouncilcitalaterdateintendedtoobtainimprovements inthe
data"base.
12.TheCommission askedtheCommitteetoreviewtheCommission 1s
ownproposalsconcerning meshsizesfortheNephropsfisheryand
tocommentoncertaintechnicalmeasuresforconservation .Inregard
toboththeseelementstheCommitteehasgivenvaluableinformation
whichtheCommissionwilltakeintoaccountinthefurtherconsideration
ofsomeofitsproposals. v

A
O
0
α
4-
Ε9ÀliilLÃ_ÍJS
Regulation(includingprohibition)toImprovespawningetock
SpawningstockO.K.MovingtowardsPmax
SpawningstockO.K.xAtPmaxorstableinregionofP° 0.1
Nodata:precautionary TAC
Ilodata:realtimeassessraentrequired
Precuationary TAC:realtimeassessmentrequiredRecruitmtoverP
GrowthoverF
O.K.
)
^N.K.
SPECIES
CiïOU?SPECIESIIIA
NORTH
SEAWEST
SCOTLANDVII VI
NthIII
sti-SKAGKAT? +VIIB IDEAFGOTHERS
PELAGIC kerri:;g ΔA
CLYDEDΛΔjO
B/CPI
I
ΔO
I
iirD'JSrn'L
+H«C•;JRATmΘ
?T0RV:A"?.-4-i
i
3«IDSEL -V I
II;u>H3SÂL COI)□O\Oo ocae:s-<ο
jnA-L^GGrw
I°o ^e
■cdefgic
O
whiti::ga ■.oe oοαβί^Λ
αi
ι
CAITKE OI
PLAIC3□aô]©o& |
S0i_/2J OΓφφΦΦ·
ι
liArCSαΙα
5k
! I"1L__>L_U_
Ο11I1 2 3
Φ10ΓI~3 312
□13 01 5 2
I
3 jï2:
•Q21π
ζrâ 8117L3;3L_!L_!
Table1SUMMARYOFSTATEOFTHESTOCKS

TAliI.B 2 SUtr.MtY OF"OMI.'ALLAtil'HTO (.V/U^ni:7^~7P).I.'KCOHI^PKD TAC'b1?70.IQ^O '
inthousanda ofmetrictonnes,nominalwholeweight
Uroup Speciesi
i
iIIIa IV
North
SeaVι
Clyde
VIIbVII IVVIVII
VIIIa,b TOTAL
Skag Katt 'IfgOthers
HLHfUlJU ,o/fi
79
eor
97
45
40**101
o
064,4012
0 2116
11
10c
(
-(:*7b.c-
■>*7(b.c)6(J)26?
65
65
MACKIÎ'L7^/8
79
60244
145
0447
435 ι
350
ι''; !
! i
i
ι691
<580
350
?ELAGIC
ct-.afaaa3z
:•PjiisïR •lTCTAIJ
rzasisasssasa
SPRAT(u-
76/8
79
8097 :
45
40**
isaassaaaasaas -
73
70
70345
145
0
sasasaasas
435
400
40064 451
0 43'
.9.2_.35,'
.33asHaa3saaan;:sl' >
?
:;3aaaasaaaasac
• •!16
11
10
baaaass ,
ICj
C
C
:sacaBsir7(b.o)-r7(b.c)6(j)
tiaMaiaiBaiss^satcisasss^s sasaossasatsass978
645
41.S
:aaaac=^ansea
508
470
470
NORWAY
POUT76/8
79
eo365
DF
DF/–j
I
I365
SAND
KUL76/e
79
80687
DP'
W
Ii I
i
i i687
Uru/STR'!
at>aasaaa >TOTAL
4««saaa<s76/G
79
80
atoBkae73
70
70
annraaam saassauts1487
DP
DF
aasaaasaas saaaaaaaaoaaattas -aaaaaaaanaaaa pesaisaasa :inasHS »casaaaoasaaaaaeaa :3aaiaâ«iaiasas3Sisv3a »=1560
70
70
aaaaasaaaasai
r
*"CeltioSea".Vllg.h+Vllato51°N
WmDeferred ValueB .for1979arefirTAC'swhichexistonly
**2000tonnesallocated toNorw«q1an fjords.

strfrv-HYofrori::.u .u-MMvrx(y:\2h\w:1'-!?).n;-:con'VDwvtac'o197'),19"o
inthousandsofmetrictonne3,nominalwholewoi^ht
•IroupSpecies"iL(1ijiiuiicicuiun y*
IIIa1IV
North
SeaVI+VIIVIT IVVIVII
VIIIa.b TOTAL
Skag'l\.attΊ
de: !.'
ajfjgOthers
DLtiKRtiAL COI)76/8
79
802116
16
14.016.4220
247
■2000lb
10.4
12.1I
<I
8
7.3
5.0i
i
cdefgk11
9292
281
257
HADDOCKTGM
79
808.1**
6.6
6.6150
83
6635
11.0
11.5I
I4
9197
101
93
<
WHITING76/8
79
eo29 139
I
22 10019
12.0
10.511
10
; iI| 18
L_îi
U–– .,■I.216
123
161
SAITHE76/8!
79i
80^––-––"S,
220
200
129–34
32
31l
i
!!
* Iii
i:254
232
160
PLAICE76/8
79
801812
14
141078114
120
1121
3
2I
3
!2,5
!2.5ktfc5.:
0.7*'(151
138
142'
SOLE76/8
79
8019
13
1441
1.460.78I
I1
I1.4Î13J
1.0*26
14i
18]
ΗΛΚΕ76/6
79
8055
43
3055
<3
30
DUMRRSAL
iL-TOTAL76/e
79
80104
37
84862
774
621.104.
65
'65.8 ;23
1-'11
1419j2* 33
12*I2. 3655
43.
301191'
361
Valuesfor1979areforTAC'bwhLchexiutonly
*"CeltioSea" °SubjecttoalterationbyICES-seep.21(cod)
-vrig,h+VIlato^1°Naverle1976/7