Communication from the Commission to the Council - Fishing Opportunities for 2009 : Policy Statement from the European Commission
Date: 2008-05-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: common fisheries policy, conservation of fish stocks, fishery management, fishery resources

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 30.5.2008 
COM(2008) 331 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

Fishing Opportunities for 2009 
Policy Statement from the European Commission 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

Fishing Opportunities for 2009 
Policy Statement from the European Commission 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

State of Resources ........................................................................................................ 4 

Principles for 2008 ....................................................................................................... 5 

Fishing Opportunities Decided under the CFP ............................................................ 6 

Setting TACs................................................................................................................ 6 

Setting fishing effort .................................................................................................... 6 

Challenges to profitability............................................................................................ 7 

Follow-up of issues to be managed by Member States................................................ 7 

Management by long-term planning ............................................................................ 7 

Working method where long-term plans are not yet in force ...................................... 8 

Improvement of Catch Reporting, Data and Assessments........................................... 9 

Discard Reduction........................................................................................................ 9 

Deep Sea Species ....................................................................................................... 10 

Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea........................................................................ 10 

Baltic Sea ................................................................................................................... 10 

Technical Measures.................................................................................................... 11 

Timetabling of Proposals ........................................................................................... 11 

Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 12 

ANNEX I.................................................................................................................................. 13 

ANNEX II ................................................................................................................................ 14 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Each year, the European Union decides on the fishing opportunities – the quotas of 
fish and the allowable days-at-sea - for European fishermen and in European waters. 
These decisions are made on the basis of a proposal from the European Commission. 

The  Commission's  proposal  must  be  formulated  in  accordance  with  a  number  of 
guiding  principles.  First,  in  accordance  with  the  main  objectives  of  the  Common 
Fisheries  Policy  (CFP)1,  annual  fishing  opportunities  must  be  set  at  a  level  which 
ensures sustainable exploitation of resources in environmental, economic and social 
terms.  Secondly,  taking  into  account  the  need  to  ensure  a  stable  and  predictable 
framework for operators depending from fisheries, annual variations should be kept 
within pre-determined limits. Thirdly, international commitments must be respected, 
including  the  commitment  to  rebuild  stocks  so  that  they  reach  their  maximum 
productivity2.  Finally,  in  line  with  the  approach  agreed  in  the  Communication  on 
"Improving  consultation  on  Community 
fisheries  management"  of  2006, 
stakeholders  must  be  involved  at  an  early  stage  in  the  discussion  of  fishing 
opportunities. 

In line with the new working method proposed in 2006, this Communication sets out 
the  Commission  intentions  with  regard  to  the  preparation  of  its  proposals  for  total 
allowable  catches  (TACs)  and  fishing  effort  for  2009  to  meet  its  commitment  to 
sustainable  fisheries.  In  2009,  this  exercise  takes  place  against  a  background  of 
urgent  challenges  facing  the  CFP.  Despite  several  years  of  implementation  of  the 
CFP,  the  state  of  resources  remains  worrying.  Several  stocks  are  exploited  beyond 
sustainability. Fishing opportunities have been set at levels too high for stocks to be 
sustainable.  Effort  management  systems  have  not  worked  as  expected.  There  are 
serious  problems  in  the  enforcement  of  fishing  opportunities,  and  implementation 
problems need to be addressed. Improvements in technical measures are also needed. 

In  setting  out  its  views  on  fishing  opportunities  in  2009,  the  Commission  will 
therefore  propose  measures  to  address  these  challenges.  This  includes  revising  the 
constraints  in  setting  annual  adjustments  in  TACs  and  quotas.  Improvements  to 
technical  measures  will  also  be  presented  in  a  separate  proposal.  During  2008  the 
Commission  will  also  begin  work  on  a  more  regional  approach  to  fisheries 
management.  Closer  attention  will  be  paid  to  making  the  various  elements  of  the 
CFP work together to reinforce fisheries sustainability in the most appropriate way in 
each  region.  Other  policy  areas  will  gradually  become  more  closely  linked  to  the 
long-term sustainable exploitation of fish stocks. 

The  Commission  is  committed  to  seek  the  views  of  stakeholders  on  the  policy 
statement set out in this Communication and invite Member States and the industry 
sector to discuss how its working methods for presenting annual fishing opportunities 

1 

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Article  2  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No.  2371/2002  of  20  December  2002  on  the  conservation  and 
sustainable  exploitation  of  fisheries  resources  under  the  Common  Fisheries  Policy.  OJ  L  358  of 
31.12.2002, p. 59. 
Implementing sustainability in EU fisheries through maximum sustainable yield. Communication from 
the commission to the council and the European parliament. COM (2006) 360 final. 

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can be improved. Further consultations will be planned concerning the improvement 
of the other aspects of fisheries management during 2008. 

2. 

STATE OF RESOURCES 

In many sectors, conservation policy is not delivering sustainability. Most demersal 
stocks have declined and are not sustainable, being exploited outside safe biological 
limits. Species such as capelin and sandeel that are used to make fish meal have been 
scarce.  Bluefin  tuna  are  overexploited  and  there  is  a  serious  control  problem. 
However  swordfish  stocks  are  healthier.  Many  other  pelagic  stocks  are  fished 
sustainably. In the Mediterranean, only two demersal and two small pelagic species 
are  monitored.  The  demersal  stocks  are  outside  safe  biological  limits,  but  the  two 
pelagic stocks are not fully exploited. 

Scientific  agencies  assess  each  year  whether  the  stocks  are  at  risk  that  their  future 
reproduction  will  be  compromised,  i.e.  whether  they  are  outside  "safe  biological 
limits". Largely because of inaccurate catch reports, the state of some 57% of stocks 
is  unknown.  Of  those  stocks  for  which  the  state  is  known  68%  are  at  high  risk  of 
depletion, and only some 32% of stocks are known to be fished sustainably. In 88% 
of stocks, overfishing is so serious that more fish would be caught if there was less 
fishing.  This  number  is  way  above  the  situation  outside  the  EU  where  the  global 
average  is  25%  of  stocks  being  overfished3.  Some  19%  of  stocks  are  in  such  bad 
state that scientists advise that there should be no fishing (See tables in Annex I). 

Seen  in  a  longer  term  perspective,  overfishing  has  led  to  a  situation  where  the  fish 
stocks in EU waters contribute much less to the European economy and to the food 
supply  than  they  did  in  the  past.  The  demersal  stocks  in  the  North  Sea  now  only 
produce one fifth of what was harvested from them 25 years ago. Similar trends are 
seen in most areas where information is available (see Figure 1). 

Estimated landings of demersal species from the 
North Sea (1970-2004) 

Estimated landings of hake, megrims and Nephrops from 
the Iberian Atlantic Area 

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Figure 1. Left panel, estimated landings in the North Sea, 1970 - 2004. Right panel, estimated landings of the main demersal 
species (hake, megrims, monkfish and Nephrops) in the Iberian Atlantic area. Data from ICES (2005) in both cases. 

3 

The  state  of  world  fisheries  and  aquaculture  2006.  Food  and  Agriculture  Organization  of  the  United 
Nations. Rome, 2007 

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This  reduction  in  productivity  has  led  to  increased  dependence  on  imported  raw 
materials for the European food industry and for the European market. While 75% of 
fish  products  for  the  European  market  originated  from  domestic  resources  in  the 
early 1970's, domestic products now only contributes some 40% (see Figure 2). 

Relation between EU15's fish production and imports 1961-2001 
(in %) (Source: Eurostat) 

%

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80

70

60

50

40

30

20

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0

Production

Import

1961 1963 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001

Figure 2. The balance between production and imports of fish products (food and non-food) in the EU.  

Despite  substantial  efforts,  there  are  no  significant  signs  of  stock  recovery  nor  of 
reductions in overfishing since 2003. Fisheries management in the European Union 
is not working as it should and the objective of achieving long-term sustainability is 
not being reached. 

3. 

PRINCIPLES FOR 2008 

Against 
this  background  of  stock  depletion  and  excessively  high  fishing 
opportunities  compared  to  scientific  advice,  the  Commission  remains  committed  to 
fishing  opportunities  that  are  sustainable  according  to  scientific  advice  and,  for 
depleted stocks, will allow a high chance of stock recovery. 

Fishing opportunities should be set: 

•  according to long-term plans; 

•  respecting relevant international agreements; 

•  and  respecting  the  objectives  of  the  Common  Fisheries  Policy,  and  especially 
respecting  the  need  to  reduce  fishing  on  overexploited  stocks  and  to  rebuild 
depleted stocks. 

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•  The  Commission  attaches  the  highest  importance  to  the  respect  of  these 

principles. These are explained in more detail below. 

4. 

FISHING OPPORTUNITIES DECIDED UNDER THE CFP 

4.1. 

Setting TACs 

Overfishing and stock depletion is due in part to setting too high levels of TACs and 
effort. The TACs decided by Council have been on average about 48% higher than 
the catches that, according to scientific agencies, would be sustainable in accordance 
with the precautionary approach4. In addition to known problems about enforcement, 
setting  quotas  too  high  has  contributed  to  keeping  marine  resources  at  low  levels. 
This  Communication  addresses  new  methods  of  setting  TACs  to  avoid  these 
problems. 

4.2. 

Setting fishing effort 

Fishing effort has been managed alongside TACs in order to reduce discarding and to 
reduce the opportunity for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) catches. Effort 
management  is  also  a  conservation  measure  where  the  forecasts  used  to  propose 
TACs  are unavailable. It has been a part of the long-term plans for cod,  North  Sea 
plaice and sole, Eastern Channel sole, and southern hake stocks. 

Fishing effort and fishing mortality affecting cod is still too high. Between 2004 and 
2006, effort decreased by only 12 % in the Kattegat, 9 % in the Skagerrak, the North 
Sea  and  the  Eastern  Channel,  24  %  to  the  West  of  Scotland,  and  17  % in  the  Irish 
Sea.  

Similar situations apply for the other stocks concerned by the days-at-sea regime. 

The  existing  regime  cannot  deliver  the  necessary  further  reductions,  because  the 
current  system  allows  offsetting  the  decrease  in  the  days  at  sea  by  complex 
derogations. The system even allocates fishing rights to inactive vessels, which can 
be transferred to active vessels. Reducing days-at-sea has not been very effective in 
reducing the effort actually deployed. Consequently realistic effort reduction targets 
cannot be met only by reducing days-at-sea. 

A possible effort management system based on kW-day ceilings has been discussed. 
This  method  would  let  Member  States  decide  on  a  balance  between  fleet  capacity 
and  fishing  opportunities.  It  would  also  let  Member  States  fine-tune  allocations  of 
kW-days to encourage the low-discard fishing and cod avoidance. The Council and 
Commission agreed a statement on this topic at the 2007 December Council: 

"The  Council  and  the  Commission  agree  that  a  kW-days  approach  would  be  better 
adapted to the management of fishing effort in the areas covered by the multi-annual 
regimes for cod, flatfish and southern hake. They endeavour to discuss during 2008 
such  an  approach  on  the  basis  of  the  ideas  advanced  by  the  Commission  in  the 

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For this calculation, a TAC set when scientific advice is for a zero catch has been counted as a 100% 
excess. 

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context of the preparation of the 2008 TAC and Quota package. They shall aim at the 
implementation of such an approach in 2009." 

The Council also approved the early and voluntary use of the kW-day system to ease 
the  transition  to  the  fully-fledged  kW-day  system  under  the  revised  cod  recovery 
plan in 2009. 

The new system will be proposed in the context of the revision of the cod recovery 
plan for the coming years and, for its immediate implementation in 2009, in the 2009 
TAC proposal. 

5. 

CHALLENGES TO PROFITABILITY 

Fuel  prices  reached  a  high  level  at  the  end  of  2007  and  will  probably  stay  high  or 
increase  further.  This  poses  the  highest  challenges  to  vessels  using  fuel-intensive 
fishing methods such as trawlers, and especially beam trawlers. High fuel prices will 
reinforce the need to reduce the amount of fishing to that needed to take the highest 
catches.  Setting  unrealistically  high  fishing  opportunities  in  the  short  term  will  be 
counterproductive. 

6. 

FOLLOW-UP OF ISSUES TO BE MANAGED BY MEMBER STATES 

In 2008 the "Fishing Opportunities" Regulation provides Member States with more 
opportunities  for  taking  initiatives  to  reduce  discarding  of  whiting  and  cod,  to 
determine  enforcement  methods  concerning  "Natura  2000"  protected  areas,  and  to 
reallocate  fishing  days  among  groups  of  fishing  gear  in  order  to  reduce  the  fishing 
mortality on cod. The Commission requests Member States to report on the outcome 
of these initiatives, and will review the results before proposing their continuation. 

7. 

MANAGEMENT BY LONG-TERM PLANNING  

Fisheries  management  works  well  when  it  is  planned  properly.  The  productive 
potential  of  the  fish  stocks  must  be  understood,  and  their  exploitation  must  be 
thought  out  for  the  long  term.  Good  biological  data  and  scientific  assessments  are 
needed.  Ways  to  increase  fish  production,  to  improve  the  efficiency,  and  to  reduce 
discards and unnecessary impacts on the marine environment must be found. These 
methods  should  be  practical  and  provide  as  much  stability  for  income  and 
employment as possible. 

Priority must be given to bringing stocks under proper long-term management, and 
where  stocks  are  depleted,  recovery  plans  are  necessary.  Much  progress  has  been 
made since the reform of 2002, and plans have been developed for many stocks (33% 
of catches and 28% of stocks of pelagic fish, 45% of catches and 32% of stocks of 
demersal  fish  are  managed  under  long-term  plans),  but  more  is  still  to  be  done  in 
establishing long-term plans.  

Long-term  plans  remain  at  the  core  of  the  Commission's  policy  in  2008.  Existing 
plans must be implemented. More plans will be proposed in 2008 for Baltic Salmon, 
herring  west  of  Scotland  and  for  Northern  hake.  The  cod  recovery  plan  will  be 

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revised. Account will be taken of the stakeholder consultations held in 2007 and of 
new scientific advice. Work will continue on bringing more stocks under long-term 
management (including Baltic sprat and herring), and these should achieve maximum 
sustainable  yield,  a  reduction  in  discards  and  a  reduced  impact  on  the  marine 
environment.  Long-  term  management  plans  will  also  be  used  in  developing  the 
ecosystem approach to fisheries.  

8. 

WORKING METHOD WHERE LONG-TERM PLANS ARE NOT YET IN FORCE 

Where long-term plans are not yet in place, TAC decisions are taken on the basis of 
annual  scientific  advice  from  ICES  and  STECF.  Rules  have  been  developed5,6  for 
TAC  setting  so  that  fair  treatment  is  assured  and  as  much  stability  as  possible  is 
provided to industry. These rules will continue, but with some changes as required by 
the latest scientific advice. 

In  2007  STECF  reported  on  the  likely  outcome  of  the  rules  in  the  Commission's 
Policy  Statements7.  The  advice  was  broadly  supportive,  but  pointed  to  two  serious 
shortcomings. 

The first is that the rules often prevented depleted stocks from recovering. Although 
the rules set the rate of fishing on a stock at a precautionary rate when the stock is at 
a normal level, they did not provide for reducing the rate of fishing for stocks which 
have already become depleted. In these situations the stocks become less resistant to 
fishing  and  the  rate  of  fishing  must  be  reduced  if  the  stock  is  to  recover.  For 
example, the stock of cod west of Scotland declined at a rate of faster than 15% per 
year. TAC reductions of less than 15% per year failed to protect this stock. 

The  second  shortcoming  is  that  the  rules  could  prevent  industry  from  taking 
advantage of increases in available catches from stocks that have recovered. Stocks 
may be able to recover faster than 15% per year, but the rules limit TAC increases to 
this figure. Stocks of herring, for example, have recovered from low levels at much 
faster rates than 15% annually.  

Changes to the rules are necessary and new rules have been developed at Annex II. 
For stocks that are depleted to a low level of biomass, it is now proposed to reduce 
fishing mortality by up to 30% per year, while not changing the TAC by more than 
20%. The reductions should be kept until the fishing mortality has been successfully 
reduced to the level where STECF advises that the highest yields can be taken in the 
long  term.  For  stocks  that  have  recovered  above  the  level  that  will  let  the  highest 
yields  be  taken,  the  15%  limit  on  TAC  increases  will  be  widened  to  25%.  Also, 
where  STECF  advises  a  zero  catch,  TACs  should  be  reduced  by  at  least  25%. 
Widening  the  interval  through  which  TACs  can  be  changed  means  that  larger 
decreases  can  be  taken  when  needed,  but  also  that  larger  increases  can  be  made  if 
stocks increase adequately. 

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7 

Communications  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council.  Fishing  Opportunities  for  2007.  Policy 
Statement from the European Commission. COM(2006) 499 final. 
Communications  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council..  Fishing  Opportunities  for  2008.  Policy 
Statement from the European Commission. COM(2007) 295 final. 
Reference to STECF HCR report 2007 

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STECF will be asked to evaluate the effects of these changes. More adaptations may 
be made if necessary. 

9. 

IMPROVEMENT OF CATCH REPORTING, DATA AND ASSESSMENTS  

Major weaknesses have been identified in the CFP control system 8, such that recent 
efforts  made  to  reach  sustainable  exploitation  of  stocks  cannot  bear  fruit.  In  the 
absence  of  an  effective  control  system,  overfishing  persists  and  stocks  decline 
further, leading to lower TACs which are, in turn, not respected. 

For  good  quota  management  the  landings  reporting  system  must  be  effective  and 
must  include  automatic  crosschecking  so  that  quota  overruns  can  be  avoided  and 
inconsistencies  can  be  detected.  This  is  not  currently  the  case.  Scientific  agencies 
have  only  been  able  to  forecast  the  size  of  fish  stocks,  fishing  mortality  rates  and 
catch levels for about 27% of stocks (Annex I), because of inaccurate data from the 
fishing sector on landings, as well as problems in obtaining discards and effort data. 
This problem seems to be getting worse: poor data leads to poor decisions, which in 
turn  means  poor  conservation  status  and  depleted  stocks.  Member  States  are 
reminded to implement data cross-checking and to improve data delivery. 

To  address  these  shortcomings,  an  urgent  reform  of  the  CFP  control  system  is 
needed.  The  Commission  will  propose  in  October  2008  a  revision  of  the  control 
regulation,  which  will  also  provide  for  the  improvement  of  the  VMS  system  and 
faster implementation of the electronic logbook.  

10. 

DISCARD REDUCTION 

During 2008 Member States will study ways to reduce discards of whiting and cod. 
The  Commission  will,  after  considering  STECF  advice  and  Member  States' 
experience propose additional measures to implement the measures that have proven 
successful. 

However,  the  best  way  to  reduce  discards  is  to  fish  stocks  at  low  fishing  mortality 
rates so that stocks of bigger fish can be exploited without discarding smaller fish. 

The  Commission  will  also  review  incentives  for  low-discard  fishing  practices. 
Member States will also be able to use the new kW-days system to encourage such 
practices. 

Proposals  will  also  be  presented  for  reducing  discards  and  unwanted  by-catches  in 
certain  fisheries  as  foreseen  in  the  2007  Communication  on  a  policy  to  reduce 
unwanted by-catches and eliminate discards in European water9. 

Apart  from  these  initiatives,  the  European  Fisheries  Fund  provides  Member  States 
with possibilities to support discard reduction through their operational programmes. 

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9 

European Court of Auditors, Special Report No 7/2007 on the control, inspection and sanction systems 
relating to the rules on conservation of Community fisheries resources (OJ C 317/1 of 28.12.2007) 
Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - A policy to reduce 
unwanted by-catches and eliminate discards in European fisheries (COM (2007)136). 

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The  Data  Collection  Regulation  provides  for  measuring  discards  using  on-board 
observer programmes co-financed from the Community budget. 

Member States are strongly encouraged to develop and implement these initiatives. 

11. 

DEEP SEA SPECIES 

The Commission will present its proposal concerning the 2009 and 2010 TACs for 
deep-sea species in September 2008. Stakeholders will be invited to contact scientific 
bodies  (notably  ICES)  in  June  2008  concerning  the  advised  fishing  opportunities. 
STECF  advice  will  be  published  on  4th  July.  Advice  from  the  RACs  to  the 
Commission should be forwarded by 8th July in order that stakeholders' point of view 
can  be  considered.  Council  will  be  invited  to  adopt  the  proposal  at  its  November 
meeting. 

The  rule  given  in  Annex  II  will  also  apply  to  deep-sea  species.  However,  as  the 
proposal  concerns  TACs  for  two  years  the  rules  will  be  applied  for  two  years  in 
succession.  

The Commission will base its considerations at the autumn meeting of the Northeast 
Atlantic  Fisheries  Commission  on  the  FAO  International  guidelines  for  the 
management  of  deep-sea  fisheries  in  the  high  seas.  Decisions  concerning  closed 
areas or fishing effort will be implemented in the main annual Fishing Opportunities 
regulation for 2009. 

12. 

MEDITERRANEAN SEA AND THE BLACK SEA 

TACs and Quotas for the Black Sea were fixed for the first time for the year 2008. 
The  TAC  setting  for  2009  will  follow  the  rules  in  Annex  I,  and  additional  species 
may be included. Scientific preparatory meetings will take place in April and June of 
2008 and their results will be assessed by STECF in July. In the Mediterranean Sea 
the  only  TAC  at  present  is  that  for  Bluefin  tuna.  In  2008  work  will  focus  on  the 
implementation of the Mediterranean Regulation (1967/2006) especially concerning 
the  establishment  of  long  term  management  plans  and  the  designation  of  fisheries 
protected areas. It is worrying that the Member States have accumulated considerable 
delays in implementing this Regulation. Serious shortcomings in compliance must be 
overcome  urgently.  The  Commission  will  follow  up  these  matters  closely  during 
2008.  

Scientific  advice  concerning  stocks  and  fisheries  assessments  will  be  sought  from 
STECF.  This  will  help improve  scientific  capability,  for  example  in  the  GFCM 
(General  Fisheries  Commission  for  the  Mediterranean)  context.  Both  for  the  Black 
Sea and the Mediterranean assessments scientists from third countries will be invited. 

13. 

BALTIC SEA 

It  is  essential  that  the  Baltic  cod  TACs  established  for  2008  be  respected.  The 
Commission will follow this matter closely. 

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The Commission will present its proposal concerning 2009 TACs for Baltic stocks in 
September  2008.  The  Council  will  be  invited  to  adopt  the  proposal  in  October. 
Following  the  ICES  advice  on  the  23rd  of  May,  Member  States  will  be  consulted 
about  outstanding  scientific  questions  to  be  raised  with  STECF.  Advice  from  the 
RAC to the Commission should be given by the end of June. 

14. 

TECHNICAL MEASURES 

The  Commission  will  propose  in  2008  a  new  Regulation  concerning  technical 
measures for the Atlantic areas, which should take up many of the rules now set in 
Annex III of the Fishing Opportunities Regulation. 

15. 

TIMETABLING OF PROPOSALS 

Scientific advice concerning most demersal stocks will be available from STECF in 
early  July,  and  an  earlier  start  to  discussions  on  fishing  opportunities  can  then  be 
made. Advancing the autumn round of decision-making by more than a few weeks is 
impossible  because  the  advice  for  the  large  pelagic  shared  stocks  will  only  be 
available  in  October.  This  will  be  needed  before  a  full  package  of  fishing 
opportunities can be negotiated. 

The timetable foreseen is as follows: 

Fishing 
Opportunit
ies 
Regulation 

Date of Commission 
Proposal 

Possible 
adoption 

date 

of 

Black Sea 

September 

Baltic Sea 

September 

October Council 

October Council 

Deep-sea 
species 

All  other 
areas 

September 

November Council 

October/November 

December Council 

As  the  scientific  advice  will  be  provided  earlier  than  in  previous  years,  the  main 
proposal  can  be  published  by  the  Commission  in  October.  However,  at  that  time 
many  elements  relevant  to  Norway  bilateral  consultations  and  other  international 
consultations  will  not  have  been  decided  yet.  The  proposal  will  thus  contain  many 
elements on which decisions have not yet been taken and no specific figures can be 
presented. 

Scientific advice should be provided in mid-2009 for all stocks. This will allow more 
time  for  extended  considerations  and  discussions.  Views  are  invited  concerning 
preferences for changes in the timing of proposals and decisions during 2009. 

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16. 

CONCLUSION 

The  Commission  solicits  the  views  of  Member  States  and  stakeholders  on  the 
approach set out above.  

It will highly value the advice of the Regional Advisory Councils and the Advisory 
Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture. Taking account of this advice will help the 
Commission  meet  its  responsibility  to  manage  for  sustainability  according  to  the 
Common Fisheries Policy's objectives.  

The  Commission  takes  a  responsible  approach  to  management  for  sustainability: 
absence of evidence is not evidence of sustainability.  

Stakeholders' advice can only be used by the Commission when it is developed using 
an  evidence-based  approach  to  sustainable  fishing;  i.e.  data  are  needed  to  support 
stakeholders' advice. 

Good  information  about  the  fishery  and  the  stocks  is  needed  in  order  to  provide 
credible  advice.  Stakeholders  are  encouraged 
to  ensure  full  and  effective 
implementation of the existing systems of catch reporting and data collection. These 
are essential to make fisheries management work. With a sound basis in information, 
stakeholders  will  also  be  better  able  to  advise  the  Commission  concerning 
sustainable fishing practices. 

The  Commission  will  continue  specific  technical  follow-up  (and  especially 
concerning effort management systems) with Member States and stakeholders from 
the second quarter of 2008. 

In  order  that  the  results  of  consultations  can  be  used  in  time,  the  Commission 
requests  that  contributions  concerning  this  Communication  be  finalised  by  30  June 
2008.  

During  2008  the  Commission  will  develop  further  consultation  procedures  for 
improving conservation policy, notably concerning improved compliance. 

EN 

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ANNEX I 

Table 1. Scientific advice about the state 
of the stock 

Number of stocks 

Outside safe biological limits 
Inside safe biological limits 
The state of the stock is unknown due to 
poor data 

2003 
30 
12 
48 

2004 
29 
10 
53 

2005 
26 
14 
53 

2006 
26 
11 
57 

2007 
26 
12 
58 

2008 
28 
13 
55 

Table 2. Scientific advice about 
overfishing 

Number of stocks 

The rate of fishing on the stock is known 
compared to maximum sustainable yield 
rate 
The stock is overfished10  
The stock is fished at the maximum 
sustainable yield rate 

2003 

2004 

2005 
34 

2006 
23 

2007 
32 

2008 
33 

32 
2 

21 
2 

30 
2 

29 
4 

 Table 3. "Emergency" scientific advice 

2003 

2004 

Number of stocks 
2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

Scientific advice to stop fishing 

24 

13 

12 

14 

20 

18 

Table 4. Difference between TACs and 
sustainable catches 

Excess of TAC over sustainable catch (%) 

2003 
43% 

2004 
48% 

2005 
57% 

2006 

2007 

2008 

47% 

44% 

49% 

Table 5. Summary of the scientific advice 
about fishing opportunities 

Number of fish stocks 

Stocks where stock size and fishing mortality 
can be forecast 
Stocks where a scientific advice concerning 
fishing opportunities is available 
Stocks where no scientific advice is available 

2003 
40 

2004 
34 

2005 
40 

2006 
31 

2007 
29 

2008 
30 

59 

31 

52 

40 

54 

39 

65 

29 

61 

35 

59 

37 

10 

also termed "overexploited" 

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ANNEX II 

Rules for TACs 

TAC decisions must be made on the basis of scientific advice as provided by STECF. 

Different rules should apply according to the level of risk concerning each stock. Stocks are at 
high  risk  when  they  fall  below  the  "precautionary  level  (Bpa)"-  the  level  where  the  future 
productivity  of  the  stock  risks  becoming  lower.  Another  marker  of  high  risk  is  when  the 
fishing mortality rate is higher than the "precautionary rate" (Fpa). Fishing mortality rate is the 
annual catch divided by the average size of the stock over the year. 

If a stock is smaller than Bpa or is fished at a higher rate than Fpa it is "outside safe biological 
limits", and vice versa. 

Scientific advice 

Action to take in setting TAC 

Stock  exploited  at  the  maximum  sustainable 
yield rate. 

Stock  overexploited  compared  to  maximum 
sustainable  yield  but  inside  safe  biological 
limits. 

Stock outside safe biological limits 

Stock  is  subject  to  long-term  plan  and 
scientists advise on the catch that corresponds 
to the plan. 

Stock  is  short-lived  and  a  one-year  forecast 
cannot be provided. 

State  of  the  stock  not  known  precisely  and 
STECF advises on an appropriate catch level. 

Aim  to  set  the  TAC  to  the  forecast  catch 
corresponding  to  the  fishing  mortality  that 
will deliver the highest yield in the long term, 
but  do  not  change  the  TAC  by  more  than 
25%. 

Aim to set the TAC to the higher value of (a) 
to  the  forecast  catch  corresponding  to  taking 
the  highest  yield  in  the  long  term11,  or  (b) 
fishing at an unchanged mortality rate, but do 
not change the TAC by more than 15%. 

Aim to set the TAC to the forecast catch that 
will  result  in  a  30%  reduction  in  fishing 
mortality rate, but do not decrease the fishing 
mortality  so  far  as  to  prejudice  long-term 
yields11 and do not reduce the TAC by more 
than 20%. 

The  TAC  must  be  set  by  following  the 
relevant plan. 

A provisional TAC is set and will be changed 
when new information is available during the 
year.  

Aim  to  set  the  TAC  according  to  STECF 
advice  but  do  not  change  the  TAC  by  more 
than 15%. 

11 

As measured by the fishing mortality corresponding to a marginal yield of 10% of the marginal yield at 
fishing mortality close to zero (F0.1). 

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State  of  the  stock  not  known  precisely  and 
STECF advises to reduce fishing effort. 

The  TAC  should  be  reduced  by  up  to  15% 
and STECF should be asked to advise on the 
appropriate level of effort. 

State  of  the  stock  not  known  precisely  and 
STECF advises the stock is increasing.  

The TAC should be increased by up to 15%. 

State  of  the  stock  not  known  precisely  and 
STECF advises the stock is decreasing. 

The TAC should be decreased by up to 15%. 

STECF  advises  a  zero  catch,  a  reduction  to 
the lowest possible level or similar advice. 

There is no STECF advice. 

The TAC should be reduced by at least 25%. 
Recovery  measures  should  be  implemented 
including  effort  reductions  and  introduction 
of more selective fishing gear. 

TACs should be adjusted towards recent real 
catch  levels  but  should  not  be  changed  by 
more  than  15%  per  year  or  Member  States 
should  develop  an  implementation  plan  to 
provide advice within a short time. 

EN 

15 

   EN