EN    EN EN 
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 29.7.2009 
SEC(2009) 1077 final 
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying document to the 
 
Proposal for a 
 
COUNCIL REGULATION 
 
establishing a long-term plan for the anchovy stock in the Bay of Biscay and the fisheries 
exploiting that stoc 
  
SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT
 
   
{COM(2009) 399 final} 
 
{SEC(2009)1076 final} 
EN 2   EN SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 
 
The Impact Assessment concerns a draft pro posal that would set long-term management 
objectives and implementing methods concerning a fishery for anchovy ( Engraulis 
encrasicolus ) in the Bay of Biscay. This short-lived pelagic species is of  great socioeconomic 
importance for a number of ports and fisherme n on the Cantabrian Coast of Spain and the 
French Atlantic Coast. 
The scope of the proposal is of medium impor tance, covering up to 50 million EUR in terms 
of catch value. Approximately 300 vessels and some 3000 at-sea jobs and about 16,000 
tonnes of fish catch for human consumption were involved in fish ing for anchovy in 2004 
before the fishery was closed. These figures il lustrate the effect of  the proposal, which is 
intended to deliver stability and sustainability to the fishery. Two fleets operating in the area 
are Spanish purse seiners and French purse seiners and pelagic trawlersThe stock is 
susceptible to large inter-annual  fluctuations in abundance cau sed mainly by variations in 
recruitment, driven by environmental factors. Recruitment of young fish into the fishery has 
been very low since 2001. Recruitment of the 2004 year class was particularly low, which 
resulted in a decline of the stock and led to th e closure of the fishery in the second half of 
2005. The fishery has remained closed ever since. 
The proposal covers the conditions for re- opening the fishery, and its subsequent 
management, as a function of the size of the st ock. It is intended by DG MARE as a further 
step in steering decision-making under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) towards a long-
term framework that is compatible with intern ational obligations and with the CFP objectives 
themselves. In spring 2009 the fishery is closed following scientific advice that estimates the 
stock's biomass as being below limit values (B lim). Only when the fishery is safe to re-open, 
could a long-term plan be applicable to determin e the rates of fishing that can take the stock 
from recovery to maximum sust ainable yield. It is, however, important to stress that the 
proposal assessed in this report does not aim at ac hieving a high level of biomass but rather at 
finding the best way to manage the risk of  the fishery needing to be closed again. 
The impact assessment has been preceded by thorough scientific evaluation by relevant 
scientific and Stakeholder Committees.  
Under the CFP several operational elements can be considered in achieving a sustainable 
management of a fishery. These are: 
• setting a fixed TAC; 
• introducing technical measures, including ti me/area closures to protect mature fish 
(spawners) and/or juvenile fish; 
• introducing provisions on capaci ty and effort to adapt them to catch possibilities; 
• incorporating economic instrume nts, i.e. market measures; 
• encouraging a better cooperati on between interested parties. 
Due to specific needs of this short-lived species and given the fact the fi shery has been closed 
for a number of years, putting a management plan  in place was selected as the most feasible 
alternative to the current annua l decision-making system. Effort control on pelagic species is 
ineffective and therefore a harvest rate based management approach to setting the TAC was 
selected as preferable in managing anchovy to  an effort limiting regime. Complementary 
measures, like those described above, can be us ed to further improve th e plan but they will 
not be discussed in this report.  In order to include different  components and to take into 
EN 3   EN account both technical and capacity issues in the fishery, two main options and three 
additional sub-options have been tested: 
• Option 1 – No policy change; 
• Option 2 – Long-term plan with  3 alternativ e sub-options; 
2.1. Rule A - a strategy with relatively highe r TAC levels but higher collapse risks; 
2.2. Rule B - a strategy with relatively lowe r TAC levels and lower collapse risks; 
2.3. Rule C - a strategy being a compromise between options A and B. Further analysis indicated that a system based on a TAC set mid-year according to the June 
scientific advice, with a harvest rule establis hing the annual TAC level automatically would 
be the preferred management option for the st ock. The system would al so include provisions 
on a closure when biomass is below a certain threshold.Details of c onsultation processes, 
options and impacts are provided.