REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Application of the southern hake and Norway lobster recovery plan  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Application of the southern hake and Norway lobster recovery plan
Date: 2011-05-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: catch quota, common fisheries policy, conservation of fish stocks, crustacean, sea fish

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 12.5.2011 
COM(2011) 260 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE 
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Application of the southern hake and Norway lobster recovery plan 

 
 
 
 
  
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE 
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Application of the southern hake and Norway lobster recovery plan 

ABSTRACT 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2166/2005 establishes measures for the recovery of the southern 
hake and Norway lobster stocks in the Cantabrian Sea and western Iberian Peninsula. This 
recovery plan has the objective of bringing the spawning stock biomass of hake above 35000 
tonnes  within  10  years  and  to  reduce  fishing  mortality  to  F  =  0.27.  As  regards  Norway 
lobster, the objective is to rebuild the stock to within safe biological limits within a period of 
10  years.  The  main  elements  of  the  plan  are  a  10%  annual  reduction  in  F  and  a  15% 
constraint on TAC changes between years. In recent years there has been an increase in the 
hake spawning stock biomass mostly due to exceptional environmental and biological factors. 
Scientists estimate that the fishing mortality remains too high and the TACs (Total Allowable 
Catches) have been overshot suggesting that the plan has not been effectively implemented.  

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Southern  hake  (Merluccius  merluccius)  is  one  of  the  most  important  target  species  for  the 
fleets  operating  in  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  Iberian  Peninsula.  Its  distribution  area 
encompasses  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  Iberian  Peninsula  corresponding  to  ICES  (the 
International  Council  for  the  Exploration  of  the  Sea)  Divisions  VIIIc  and  IXa.  Historical 
yields declined from 30000 tonnes at the beginning of the 1970s to a minimum of 6700 tonnes 
in 2002, increasing thereafter to 16000 tonnes in 2008. In 2003 ICES classified the stock as 
being outside biological limits and advised on a biomass rebuilding plan. Accordingly, a stock 
recovery plan was introduced by the European Union (EU) in 2006. Council Regulation (EC) 
No  2166/2005  establishing  measures  for  the  recovery  of  the  southern  hake  and  Norway 
lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) stocks in the Cantabrian Sea and western Iberian Peninsula and 
amending  certain  provisions  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  850/98  on  the  conservation  of 
fisheries  resources  through  technical  measures  for  the  protection  of  juveniles  of  marine 
organisms entered into force in January 2006.  

The aforementioned recovery plan has the objective of bringing the spawning stock biomass 
of hake above 35000 tonnes within 10 years and to reduce fishing mortality to F1 = 0.27. As 
regards  Norway  lobster,  the  objective  is  to  rebuild  the  stock  to  within safe  biological  limits 
within a period of 10 years. The main elements of the plan are a 10% annual reduction in F 
and a 15% constraint on TAC changes between years, following the relevant scientific advice 
from the STECF (the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries) and ICES.  

The activity of the vessels participating in the southern hake and Norway lobster fisheries is 
subject  to  fishing  effort  limits2  laid  down  in  annex  IIB  of  the  annual  Council  regulations 

1 

2 

Fishing  mortality  (F)  is  the  rate  at  which  the  animals  are  removed  from  the  stock  by  fishing.  It  is 
approximately the percent annual removal. 
In ICES Divisions VIIIc and IXa excluding the Gulf of Cadiz. 

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establishing annual fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks. Under these effort provisions, 
EU vessels of 10 metres' length overall or more carrying on board any of the regulated gears 
(trawls, Danish seines and similar gears of mesh size equal to or larger than 32 mm and gill-
nets of mesh size equal to or larger than 60 mm and bottom long-lines) with records where the 
total landings of hake represent 5 tonnes or more and/or 2.5 tonnes or more of Norway lobster 
have their activity restricted to a maximum number of days at sea. This maximum number of 
days  is  adjusted  every  year  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  annual  adjustment  in  fishing 
mortality  estimated by ICES and  the  STECF as  being consistent with the application of the 
plan.  Since  2005,  the  effort  regime  imposed  a  10%  reduction  on  the  maximum  number  of 
fishing days from one year to the other.  

1.1. 

Basis for the present report 

The present report  follows the  requirements prescribed by Article 16 of Council Regulation 
(EC) No 2166/2005, where it is mentioned that by 17 January 2010 the Commission should 
submit  a  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  setting  out  the  conclusions 
relating to the application of the recovery plan for the stocks and the fishing sector concerned, 
including available socio-economic data linked to the plan.  

This  report  is  mainly  based  on  the  evaluation  study  undertaken  in  October  2010  by  the 
STECF sub-group on management objectives and strategies (SGMOS 10-06) and endorsed by 
the  STECF  35th  plenary  meeting  held  in  November  2010.  Other  elements,  such  as  recent 
relevant scientific/technical information by both ICES and the STECF, and the conclusions of 
a  study  on  the  management  of  the  effort  regime in  EU  Member  States  were  also  taken  into 
account. 

The STECF evaluation of the southern hake and Norway lobster plan carried out in October 
2010  follows  the  conclusions  of  a  number  of  related  scientific  meetings,  namely  (i)  ICES 
benchmark  assessment  of  February  2010  validating  a  new  methodology  to  determine  the 
biological  status  of  the  southern  hake  stock,  (ii)  the  STECF  scoping  meeting  of  June  2010 
specifying  a  series  of  work  activities  in  preparation  to  the  evaluation  of  the  plan,  (iii)  the 
STECF review of the effort regime (in September 2010) and (iv) ICES work on the evaluation 
of harvest control rules during 2010.  

Spain, Portugal and to a much lesser extent France are the three Member States3 involved in 
the  southern  hake  and  Norway  lobster  fisheries  in  the  Cantabrian  Sea  and  Western  Iberia 
Peninsula. In this context, data provided by Spain and Portugal were indispensable to enable 
the STECF and ICES scientists to draw conclusions and make recommendations in relation to 
the  various  assessments  undertaken.  Both  in  2009  and  2010  the  Commission  requested  the 
Member States concerned detailed information on catches, fishing effort and socio-economic 
data  to  be  used  for  scientific  purposes.  However,  data  of  sufficient  quality  was  only 
communicated to both the Commission and the STECF in the second half of 2010.  

2. 

BIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS 

2.1. 

Southern hake 

3 

Spain has 64% and 41% of the hake and Norway lobster TACs respectively. Portugal has 30% and 58% 
of  the  hake  and  Norway  lobster  TACs  respectively.  France  has  6%  and  1%  of  the  hake  and  Norway 
lobster TACs respectively. 

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European  hake  is  a  top  predator  in  the  demersal  community  in  the  north-east  Atlantic  area 
mainly preying on blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), horse mackerel (Trachurus spp.) 
and  various  cupleids.  The  southern  hake  stock  comprises  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  Iberian 
Peninsula  corresponding  to  ICES  Divisions  VIIIc  and  IXa.  Although  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Mediterranean  European  hake  are  usually  considered  different  stocks  due  to  differences  in 
biology, in the North East Atlantic there is no clear evidence of the existence of multiple hake 
populations.  It  is  likely  that  there  is  a  degree  of  transfer  between  the  southern  and  northern 
hake stocks. 

Southern  hake  stock  assessments  by  ICES  in  2010  show  that  the  expected  fishing  mortality 
(F)  reduction,  according  to  the  plan,  has  not  been  achieved  and  remains  too  high,  currently 
estimated by ICES at around  0.74 (Figure 1). The spawning stock biomass (SSB) increased 
from 12.7 thousand tonnes in 2006 to 21.5 thousand tonnes in 2010, mostly derived from a 
strong year class (around 61% above the recruitment average 1982-2010) entering in the stock 
in 2007 (Figure 1).  

Figure 1 – Changes in catches, landings, recruitment, fishing mortality and SSB for southern 
hake from 1982 to 2010. 

Source: ICES Advice 2010, Book 7, point 7.4.1. 

Hake  recruitment4  indices  are  related  to  both  environmental  and  biological  factors.  High 
recruitments occur during intermediate oceanographic scenarios and decreasing recruitment is 
observed  in  extreme  situations.  In  biological  terms,  a  change  in  stock  structure  entails  a 
compensatory  response  of  age/size-at-maturity  because  the  depletion  of  large  fish  can  be 
compensated by increased recruitment. In this context, the fact that recruitment has been good 
despite  a  very  low  spawning  biomass  is  in  itself  a  compensatory  effect  resulting  from  an 
extensive period of overfishing. This is seen by scientists an unusual and unexpected event.  

4 

Recruitment is the number of new fish which are added to the exploitable portion of the stock resulting 
from growth or migration of smaller fish.  

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The  targets  of  the  plan  are  to  reach  a  spawning  stock  biomass  of  35000  tonnes  by  2015, 
equivalent to the precautionary biomass, and a fishing mortality of F = 0.27 as assessed by the 
scientists in 2004. However, biological simulations show that the F target of 0.27 will not be 
achieved until 2018, even if the plan  is fully  implemented  from  2011  onwards.  A  steeper  F 
reduction and a higher TAC constraint are needed to reach the F target by 2015. The EU aim 
is to reach Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) for each stock by 2015, as agreed at the 2002 
World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. 

According to the STECF, if the implementation of the plan continues to fail, the F target may 
not be reached even if a revised plan and/or a new effort regime are put in place. 

Concerning the biomass target, current perceptions of stock and recruitment data suggest that 
safe  biological  limits  may  be  at  a  much  lower  biomass  level  than  previously  estimated. 
However, due to uncertainties in the bio-mathematical model used, biomass levels have to be 
treated with caution. 

2.2. 

Norway lobster  

Norway lobster is a burrowing species that inhabits muddy sea beds on the continental shelf 
and upper slope. The distribution of Norway lobster is more determined by ground type and 
sea temperature than depth. This species is distributed in a patchwork configuration, defined 
by scientists as FUs (Functional Units), where the substrate is suitable. Norway lobster stocks 
in  these  independent  FUs  are  often  at  different  biological  status  requiring  different 
management measures. 

Norway lobster stocks in FUs 25 and 31 in the Cantabrian Sea and FUs 26-27 in the Western 
Iberian Peninsula were already depleted at the inception of the plan and have not subsequently 
improved. ICES recommendation for these four FUs was zero catch before and throughout the 
management  plan  period.  The  catches  have  therefore  negatively  affected  the  status  of  these 
stocks. 

The  effort  in  FUs  28-29  and  in  FU  30  in  the  South-western  Iberian  Peninsula  and  Gulf  of 
Cadiz  has  been  reduced  mainly  due  to  the  change  of  objectives  by  the  fleets  targeting  this 
species (the Portuguese crustacean fleet and the Cadiz mixed demersal fleet), as a result of the 
increase in rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) abundance, rather than the effort reduction 
imposed by the plan. The biomass in FUs 28-29 is estimated to have increased although in FU 
30 is still at a low level. For FUs 28-29, reported catches over 400 tonnes at the beginning of 
the plan declined to around 120 tonnes in 2009 due to the shift in the target species for this 
fleet.  

3. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE FISHERIES 

3.1. 

Southern hake 

Hake in the Cantabrian Sea and Western Iberia Peninsula is caught in a mixed fishery mainly 
by the Spanish and Portuguese vessels (trawls, gillnetters, longliners and artisanal fleets).  

The  Spanish  trawl  fleet  is  quite  homogeneous  and  uses  mainly  two  gears,  pair  trawl  and 
bottom  trawl.  The  percentage  of  hake  present  in  the  landings  of  this  fleet  is  quite  small  as 
there are other important target species (i.e. anglerfish (Lophiidae), megrims (Lepidorhombus 
spp.),  Norway  lobster,  blue  whiting,  horse  mackerel  and  mackerel  (Scomber  scombrus)).  In 
contrast, the artisanal fleet is very heterogeneous using a wide variety of gears such as traps, 

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large and small gillnets, longlines, etc. The artisanal fleet target different components of the 
stock  depending  on  the  gears  used.  Hake  is  an  important  component  of  the  catch  for  these 
fleets mainly due to the relatively high prices it can reach in the Iberian markets. 

Hake is caught by the Portuguese fleet in the trawl and artisanal mixed fisheries together with 
other  fish  species  and  crustaceans.  These  include  horse  mackerel,  anglerfish,  megrim, 
mackerel,  Spanish  mackerel  (Scomber  japonicus),  blue  whiting,  red  shrimp  (Aristeus 
antennatus),  rose  shrimp  and  Norway  lobster.  The  trawl  fleet  comprises  two  distinct 
components  –  the  trawl  fleet  catching  demersal  fish  (with  70  mm  mesh  size)  and  the  trawl 
fleet targeting crustaceans (with 55 mm mesh size).  

3.2. 

Norway lobster 

In the Bay of Biscay and Western Iberian seas, Norway lobster is caught in the mixed bottom 
trawl fishery. The fishery takes place throughout the year, with the highest landings in spring 
and summer. Norway lobster is taken together with hake, anglerfish, megrim, horse mackerel, 
mackerel  and  blue  whiting.  Due  to  the  mixed  nature  of  the  demersal  fisheries  in  this  area, 
management measures for finfish species influence the exploitation of Norway lobster.  

In the South-West and South of Portugal (FUs, Functional Units 28-29), the Nephrops fishery 
represents a small but valuable by-catch in fisheries targeting mainly demersal fish species. In 
FUs 28-29 there is a crustacean trawl fishery targeting mainly deepwater crustaceans. These 
vessels are licensed to take Norway lobster with 70-mm mesh and shrimps with 55-mm mesh 
codends.  These  two  species  have  different  market  values.  Depending  on  their  abundance, 
effort  is  directed  at  one  species  or  the  other.  Rose  shrimp  is  the  main  target  species  while 
Norway lobster is an alternative. 

The  effort  exerted  on  Norway  lobster  stocks  in  FUs  28-29,  estimated  by  ICES,  has  been 
reduced mainly due to effort transfer to rose shrimp, the other target species of the crustacean 
fleet.  According  to  ICES,  this  shift  has  caused  a  reduction  in  F  for  these  Norway  lobster 
stocks. Although marginal, the share of Norway lobsters on total landings decreased by 44% 
(from 0.23% to 0.10%) from 2006 to 2009.  

4. 

THE FISHING EFFORT REGIME 

The activity of the vessels participating in the southern hake and Norway lobster fisheries is 
subject to fishing effort limits expressed in days at sea laid down in annex IIB of the annual 
Council  regulations  establishing  annual  fishing  opportunities  for  certain  fish  stocks,  as 
described above under point 1. 

The  fishing  effort  baseline  was  established  per  gear  type  on  the  basis  of  the  activity  of  the 
fleet  in  2003  measured  in  kW.days  at  sea.  These  nominal5  effort  figures  have  been  used  to 
calculate effort adaptations over the years.  

4.1. 

The evolution of fishing effort and fishing mortality rates 

As  hake  is  caught  in  a  mixed  fishery  and  for  certain  fleet  segments  (e.g.  trawlers)  it  may 
represent a small percentage of its total catches, restricting the activity of these vessels may 

5 

Nominal fishing effort is the potential fishing effort of a fishing unit defined by vessel and type of gear 
employed. It is a function of the registered vessel's characteristics (in kW) and time spent at sea.  

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not enable the maximisation of the fleet's fishing potential. Nonetheless, the share of hake on 
total landings increased by 46% (from 7.5% to 11%) from 2006 to 2009 probably due to more 
abundance of hake over the last few years.  

As  a  result  of  the  effort  restrictions  imposed  by  the  plan,  the  total  nominal  effort  shows  a 
slight  decline  over  the  years.  Despite  the  annual  nominal  fishing  effort  reductions  in  equal 
steps  of  10%,  the  F  (fishing  mortality  rate)  of  hake  has  not  been  effectively  reduced  and 
remains  too  high,  currently  estimated  by  ICES  at  around  0.74  or  2.7  times  above  the  target 
(Figure 1).  

On the other hand, based on scientific information there are indications that TACs may have 
been overshot several years of the plan and discard rates are high. In 2009, ICES estimated 
landings of 19200 tonnes and catches of 22400 tonnes respectively 2.4 and 2.8 times above 
the  TAC  of  8104  tonnes.  These  findings  require  further  investigation  by  the  European 
Commission as well as by the Member States involved. 

The aforementioned unexpected high fishing mortality of hake can be explained as follows: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

There  are  indications  that  the  recovery  plan  has  not  been  effectively 
implemented. Scientific data suggest a significant overshot of the TACs. This 
may  be  partially  due  to  weaknesses  of  the  national  control  systems.  Since 
2006  the  Commission  carried  out  a  number  of  inspections  on  both  the 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  control  systems.  The  Commission  is  currently 
investigating and auditing the Spanish control system.  

Ineffective  and/or  incorrect  management  of  effort  at  national  level.  For 
example, in accordance with Article 26(6) of the control Regulation (EC) No 
1224/2009, "A day present within an area shall be any continuous period of 
24  hours  or  part  thereof  during  which  a  fishing  vessel  is  present  within  the 
geographical area and absent from port…" This means that any fraction of a 
day is to be counted as a full day. It was on this basis that the effort baselines 
in kW.days were established in 2003. As the new control regulation entered 
into force only recently in January 2010, the rules for dealing with fractions 
of days before 2010 are assumed to be discretionary.  

Fishing  effort  has  been  transferred  to  vessels  with  higher  catch  rates.  A 
transfer  of  effort  from  active  to  passive  gears  has  been  observed.  Effort  in 
kW.days  has  been  transferred  on  a  1:1  basis;  however  this  is  not  a  suitable 
unit to measure the effort of passive gears. For a range of static gears, such as 
the gillnet segment, despite their relative low contribution to the total effort in 
kW.days, these gears catch more hake per unit effort compared for example 
with  the  demersal  fleet  from  which  the  effort  has  been  transferred.  Large 
extensions  of  nets  permanently  deployed  in  the  water  result  in  a  significant 
continuous fishing pressure. When effort is transferred within the same gear 
type, for example from trawls to trawls on the basis of permanent cessations 
of fishing activities, more efficient vessels that remain on the fleet recover the 
effort of less efficient vessels that are scrapped.  

(4) 

In  cases  where  effort  (in  kW.days)  has  been  transferred  from  netters  to 
trawlers in exchange for quota (in tonnes of hake), trawlers with high fishing 
capacity  targeting  mainly  species  other  than  hake  received  more  effort  to 

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(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

continue catching other species, discarding hake, while netters received more 
quota to continue fishing hake at low effort levels expressed in kW.days.  

High level of discards either due to (i) biological causes (i.e. more abundance 
of  hake),  (ii)  legislative  restrictions  (i.e.  quota  limits),  (iii)  market  demands 
(i.e. hake prices) or (iv) fishing gear used and vessels' characteristics. 

Effort has been reduced and adapted in nominal terms (kW.days) not taking 
into account the effective6 effort depending on vessels' characteristics, gears, 
technology improvements and fishing tactics. This includes possible changes 
in  fishing  behaviour,  with  vessels  preferably  targeting  areas  of  hake 
abundance  when  the  available  quantities  of  hake  increase,  or  more  use  of 
fishing gear that catches more hake. 

Not  all  vessels  are  subject  to  effort  restrictions.  Vessels  subject  to  effort 
restrictions (i.e. vessels of 10 meters' length overall or more carrying on board 
the regulated gears and catching 5 tonnes or more of hake) are responsible for 
71% of the total catches of hake. The remaining vessels that catch 29% of the 
hake TAC may increase their effort without any limitation. On the other hand, 
the exclusion of vessels of less than 10 meters' length overall from the effort 
regime  may  have  contributed  to  the  attractiveness  for  investment  on  these 
vessels  increasing  its  number  and  fishing  capacity.  However,  there  is  no 
estimate  on  the  size  of  this  shift  of  effort  to  smaller  vessels.  The 
Commission's initial proposal to limit the activity of vessels with less than 10 
meters length overall did not find the Council's support. 

Possible mismatch between the officially registered engine power of vessels 
and  its  real  and  probably  upgraded  power.  Registration  of  engine  power  is 
based  on  declarations  of  the  manufacturers  and  checked  (not  necessarily 
measured) by organisations responsible for maritime safety and certification.  

The initial effort baseline (in kW.days) established in 2003 was calculated on 
the basis of the vessels' previous activity. As the data improved over time, the 
initial  baseline  may  have  been  fixed  at  an  unrealistic  high  level.  In  this 
context, effort limitations in the first years of the application of the plan may 
have not been effective.  

5. 

IMPACT IN THE ECOSYSTEM AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE PLAN 

Due to the lack of implementation as described above, scientists estimate that the plan has not 
had any effect on the ecosystem.  

5.1. 

Socio-economic effects of the plan 

6 

Effective  fishing  effort  is  function  of  parameters  characterising  the  fishing  vessel  and  its  technology 
including not only engine power measured in kW but also hull attributes, deck equipment, electronics, 
vessel control, catch handling, vessel's and engine age, the gear and fishing activity (including fishing 
tactics), which is considered to have the most significant effect on fishing mortalities. 

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STECF  scientists  used  official  available  data  collected  through  the  fisheries  data  collection 
framework to compute each fleet's hake dependency as well as crew, fuel and variable costs 
as a fraction of the total value and yearly share on total hake landings.  

Assuming that the recovery plan had been perfectly implemented since 2006, compared with 
the  current  situation,  in  2010  the  fishing  mortality  would  have  been  below  the  target  (F  = 
0.27), the spawning stock biomass would be more than 3 times higher and the fishing income 
and operational profits would also be higher (Figure 2). This means that fully implementing 
the  recovery  plan  since  2006  would  have  increased  the  net  present  profits  for  the  whole 
period. Moreover, after 2011 aggregate net profits for all segments would always be higher if 
the plan had been implemented since 2006. 

Figure  2  –  Comparative  projections  between  fishing  mortality,  spawning  stock  biomass 
(SSB), yield in value and operational profits. The dark continuous line represents the perfect 
implementation  of  the  plan  from  2006;  the  dotted  line  represents  the  plan's  implementation 
after 2011 and; the continuous line with points represents the trajectories associated with the 
F’s that maximizes net present profits since 2006 (optimal-drastic implementation).  

Source:  STECF  SGMOS  10-06  report  on  the  "Evaluation  of  the  Multiannual  plan  for  Hake 
and Nephrops in Areas VIIIc and IXa", October 2010. 

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After four years since the plan's entry into force, no significant changes in fleet capacity7 have 
been  observed.  Although  large  fluctuations  in  hake  and  fuel  prices  affected  fleet  profits,  no 
significant fleet8 exit has been observed.  

6. 

CONCLUSIONS 

There are indications that the southern hake and Norway lobster plan has not been effective 
mainly due to implementation failures. According to ICES in 2010, after four years following 
the implementation of the plan in 2006, the fishing mortality rate (F) for hake is nearly three 
times the target (Fmax = 0.27). In this context, the TACs for hake have not been fully enforced. 
Landings  in  2010  are  estimated  by  ICES  scientists  to  exceed  the  TAC  by  2.2  times.  As  the 
recruitment seen in 2007 was unusually high, this represents a missed opportunity to rebuild 
the  hake  stock  to  a  sustainable  level  within  the  foreseen  timeframe.  In  case  recruitment 
declines again to previously observed levels, a longer transitional period or steeper reduction 
in catches to achieve Fmsy by 2015 will be necessary.  

The effort regime has not been effective in reducing fishing pressure on both stocks. Whilst 
nominal  fishing  effort  for  the  regulated  gears  under  the  plan  has  declined,  effective  effort 
increased mainly due to both effort transfers to gears that catch more hake per unit effort and 
to a significant number of vessels not being subject to effort restrictions. The effort exerted on 
Norway lobster stocks has been partially reduced due to a shift of effort to the shrimps' fishery 
rather than as a result of effort reductions imposed by the plan itself. 

The lack of implementation of the plan during the period 2006-2010 reduced the net present 
profits by 20% relative to a scenario where the plan would be fully implemented since 2006. 
In order to have a better understanding of the economic consequences of the plan, it would be 
necessary to analyse it more in context, notably taking into account the other species caught 
by the relevant fleets in the same or different fisheries.  

the 

target  reduction  of  fishing  mortality  needs 

In  the  context  of  a  possible  revision  of  the  plan  foreseen9  for  2011,  the  current  failure  to 
to  be  addressed.  Besides 
achieve 
implementation  issues  that  need  to  be  urgently  resolved,  the  effort  regime  must  also  be 
improved.  It  is  appropriate  to  introduce  an  effort  regime  that  takes  account  of  the  fleet 
segments engaged in the fishery, whether with active or passive gears, and possibly enlarge 
the  application  of  the  effort  regime  to  the  Gulf  of  Cadiz  and  to  smaller  vessels.  Discard 
practices  need  to  be  thoroughly  assessed  to  quantify  its  impact  on  fishing  mortality.  The 
introduction  of  seasonal  and  real-time  closures  would  also  be  an  effective  means  to  control 
fishing pressure, in particular on spawning grounds. The management of the Norway lobster 
stocks  by FU (Functional Unit)  would  better respond to the conservation  measures required 
for  each  stock  unit.  The  inclusion  of  other  species  such  as  anglerfish  in  the  plan  would  be 
appropriate to minimise the impact of this mixed fishery on certain other stocks. The objective 
of the plan may be revised in light of the most recent scientific advice. 

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Fishing "capacity" is the maximum available capital stock (or fishing power) in a fishery that is fully 
utilised  at  the  maximum  technical  efficiency  in  a  given  time  period,  given  resource  and  market 
conditions. 
As a fraction of the total fleet in number of vessels. 
http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/planned_ia/docs/123_mare_southern_hake_en.pdf 

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