Reports of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries : merging of the BT1 and BT2 gear categories in the North Sea (STECF-16-02).
Date: 2016-03-30
Institutions: Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen
Subjects: Community fisheries, North Sea, aquaculture, common fisheries policy, data collection, fishery management, fishing regulations, research report

Reports of the Scientific, Technical and 
Economic 
Committee for Fisheries (STECF)  
- 
Merging of the BT1 and BT2 gear 
categories in the North Sea (STECF-16-02) 

Edited by Norman Graham & Hendrik Doerner 

This report issued by the STECF by written procedure in February 2016 

Report EUR 27758 EN 

 
 
 
European Commission 

Joint Research Centre (JRC) 

Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC) 

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Fax: 0039 0332 789658 

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This publication is a Science and Policy Report by the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission’s in-house science 

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expressed does not imply a policy position of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person 

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JRC 100663 

EUR 27758 EN 

ISBN 978-92-79-56779-7 

EUR – Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1831-9424 

ISSN 2467-0715 

doi:10.2788/630915 

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016 

© European Union, 2016 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged 

How to cite this report: 

Reports  of  the  Scientific,  Technical  and  Economic  Committee  for  Fisheries  (STECF)  –  Merging  of  the  BT1  and  BT2  gear 

categories  in  the  North  Sea  (STECF-16-02).  2016.  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  EUR  27758  EN, 

JRC 100663, 10 pp. 

Abstract 

The STECF provided advice in relation to possible  merging of the BT1 and BT2 gear categories in the North Sea by written 

procedure in February 2016. The Commission may consult the STECF on any matter relating to marine and fisheries biology, 

fishing  gear  technology,  fisheries  economics,  fisheries  governance,  ecosystem  effects  of  fisheries,  aquaculture  or  similar 
disciplines. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Merging of the BT1 and BT2 gear categories in the North Sea (STECF-16-02) ...................... 4 

Background ................................................................................................................................ 4 

Request to the STECF ................................................................................................................ 4 

STECF Response ........................................................................................................................ 4 

Contact details of STECF members ........................................................................................... 8 

3 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC COMMITTEE FOR FISHERIES (STECF) 

Merging of the BT1 and BT2 gear categories in the North Sea (STECF-16-02) 

THIS REPORT WAS ISSUED BY WRITTEN PROCEDURE IN FEBRUARY 2016 

Background 

In accordance with Annex I of Council Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 (the cod plan), the maximum allowable 
fishing effort defined by a particular gear grouping and area is set for each Member State. These effort groups 
should  be  established  on  the  basis  of  principles  set  out  in  Article  31,  including  homogeneity,  effects  of  the 
fishing  activities  associated  to  the  effort  group  and  cost  effectiveness  with  respect  to  the  biological  stocks 
captured. 

Following  the  merge  of  gear  groupings  TRI  and  TR2,  several  Member  States  have  asked  the  Commission  to 
ensure  a  merge  of  gear  groupings  BT  1  and  BT2.  These  Members  States  consider  that  the  current  correction 
coefficient which is applied to transfers from BT2 to BTl discourages fisherman from fishing more selectively 
(e.g. use larger mesh size) which would be required in the light of the landing obligation. These Member States 
wish  to  allow  fishing  effort  transfers  from  BT2  to  BT11  effort  groups  on  a  1:1  basis.  This  would  effectively 
amalgamate  these  into  one  large  gear  grouping.  According  to  Article  31  of  the  Regulation  the  Commission, 
based on the advice of STECF, the Commission can amend Annex I of Council Regulation (EC) No 1342/2008 
and if appropriate merge the BTl and BT2 gear groupings. 

Request to the STECF 

In this context the Commission requests STECF to: 

  Comment on whether the current transfer rates between the BT2 and BTl effort groups 
have  an  impact  on  the  effective  implementation  of  the  landing  obligation  by  dis-
incentivising fishermen to use more selective gears. 

  Analyse whether such a merger in the spirit of the principles set out in the Article 31 of 

the cod plan. 

  Recalculate  the  correction  coefficients  for  transfers  between  gear  groupings  based  on 

Art. 17 of the Cod Recovery Plan (see STECF 15-12 FDI 2015). 

STECF Response 

STECF PLEN 15-02 has previously commented on the merging of TR1 and TR2 effort groups in the North Sea. 
Many  of  the  issues  raised  previously  are  also  applicable  to  the  potential  merging  of  the  BT1  and  BT2  gear 
groups. 

4 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Transfer rates are based on the rationale that, historically, cod CPUE has been, in the case of the North Sea and 
area 2EU, on average around ~11 times higher in the BT1 gear group than in the BT2 gear group (2012-2014; 
the transfer rate being 0.093, STECF 15-12). This difference in cod CPUE is not only caused by the mesh size, 
but also by other characteristics of the gears, and, to a great extent by targeting behaviour and depending on the 
area and season in which the fisheries operate. For example, historically, the BT1 gear group in the North Sea 
has been typically deployed in a targeted plaice fishery catching cod as a bycatch, while the BT2 gear group has 
typically been deployed in a targeted sole fishery in the southern North Sea (ICES IVc).  

The rationale behind the transfer rates is to prevent any potential increase in cod fishing mortality when member 
states  wish  to  transfer  effort  from  a  low-cod-CPUE  fishery  (e.g.  BT2)  to  a  high-cod-CPUE  fishery  (BT1). 
Currently, any transfer of effort from BT2 to BT1 in the North Sea, incurs a substantial effort penalty, as the 
transfer rule assumes that the BT2 effort will be deployed in such a way that it would result in about an eleven 
fold increase in CPUE of cod. It is noted that effort by the BT2 is almost ten times that of the BT1. Given this, 
and the higher cod CPUE in the BT1 metier, any substantive swap in effort without applying a transfer penalty 
has the potential to substantially increase the volume of cod catches in the BT1 and thus North Sea cod stock 
fishing mortality assuming that fishing patterns remain unchanged.  

CPUE’s are based on averages derived across a range of fisheries within each gear group. In practice and in the 
absence of effort penalties, the realised change in cod mortality may be different than anticipated, depending on 
which fishery the effort is being deployed in. STECF PLEN 11-03 noted that within a single gear group (TR1) 
there  is  variation  in  cod  CPUE  and  that  this  variability  increases  substantially  when  comparisons  are  made 
between Member States and across areas. For the years 2012-2104, the BT1 gear group accounts between 3-5% 
of the overall cod catch whilst the BT2 gear group accounts for between 2-4% of the overall cod catch (STECF 
15-12).  

It  could  be  argued  that,  if  BT2  fishing  operators,  while  continuing  to  carry  out  a  typical  sole  fishery  and 
avoiding  cod  bycatch,  increased  their  mesh  size  in  order  to  achieve  higher  selectivity  (i.e.  reduce  catches  of 
plaice and other species), then their cod CPUE would not increase twelve-fold, and therefore such a transfer rate 
would not be representative of the change in catchability for cod. On the other hand, if BT2 fishing operators are 
actually shifting away from a typical sole fishery towards a more plaice-oriented, cod-bycatching fishery, their 
cod CPUE may increase twelve fold (because they effectively become typical of BT1 fishers), and therefore the 
transfer rate may be appropriate in such a case. The two cases described here represent two extremes, whereas 
the actual result when current BT2 fishers increase their mesh size may lie somewhere between the two. In the 
case of a merger, it might be advisable to establish an alternative criterion to distinguish between high and low 
cod  CPUE  fisheries.  This  criterion  could  be  a  spatial  one,  separating  areas  of  higher  and  lower  cod  CPUE. 
However,  it  should  be kept  in  mind  that  the  spatial distribution  of  cod  is dynamic  and  that cod  abundance  in 
areas  where  it  is  currently  low  may  increase  in  the  future,  e.g.  when  the  stock  further  recovers  (already  in 
PLEN-09-01, in its first evaluation of Article 11 of the cod plan, STECF referred to this possibility as ‘depletion 
decoupling’).  It  is  also  not  evident  whether  a  spatial  criterion  on  its  own  would  be  sufficient  to  effectively 
separate  fisheries  that  have  high  and  low  cod  catchabilities;  skipper  knowledge  and  targeting  behaviour  may 
play a role as well. At present, STECF is not in the position to predict what the cod CPUE would be of a sole-
targeting cod-avoiding fishery with mesh >= 100 mm. 

Alternatively, if the BT1 and BT2 segments were to be merged, it would be precautionary to apply the transfer 
rate while doing so: for the North Sea and 2EU, for example, the BT2 kWdays could be reduced twelve-fold 
when merging them with the BT1 kWdays. 

ToR 1: 

Comment on whether the current transfer rates between the BT1 and BT2 effort groups have an impact on the 
effective implementation of the landing obligation by dis-incentivising fishermen to use more selective gears? 

5 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Taking into account the above considerations, the current transfer rates may dis-incentivise fishermen deploying 
BT2 gear to use mesh sizes above 120 mm to reduce unwanted catches due to the effort penalty that would be 
incurred by the Member State. However, the use of mesh sizes below 120 mm may also reduce the amounts of 
discards  considerably  and  in  addition  other  measures  for  improving  selectivity  in  the  BT2  fleet  are  available. 
For sole fishermen with low reliance on gadoid bycatch, no dis-incentive exists regarding alternative selective 
solutions (e.g. large mesh panels).  

In cases where a variety of fish  species comprise an important bycatch, finding alternative selective solutions 
may be more challenging. It is noted that it is not possible to predict whether the current transfer rates will have 
an  impact  on  the  effective  implementation  of  the  landing  obligation,  as  the  fundamental  requirement  of  the 
landing  obligation  is  to  land  all  catches.  Effective  implementation  of  such  a  provision  is  therefore  entirely  a 
control issue. 

We might also note that any additional management measures such as specifying cod-avoidance gears or spatial 
measures is likely to result in an increased  management burden,  but the effects in terms of  cost effectiveness 
cannot be determined. 

ToR 2: 

Is such a merger in the spirit of the principles set out in the Article 31 of the cod plan? 

While STECF has no objective means to assess whether such a merger is in the spirit of Article 31 of the cod 
plan, STECF makes the following observations. A merged BT segment consisting of, e.g., sole-targeting cod-
avoiding fishers as well as whitefish-targeting fishers is not likely to satisfy the requirement of Article 31(a) of 
being homogeneous with respect to the biological stocks captured, since the fisheries involved could well differ 
by up to an order of magnitude with regards to their cod CPUE and such a merger would result in an even more 
heterogeneous gear group.  

The  merger  is  also  unlikely  to  satisfy  the  requirement  of  Article  31(b)  of  being  cost-efficient  in  terms  of 
management burden relative to conservation needs. While STECF cannot assess whether necessary additional 
measures  would  be  cost-efficient,  STECF  notes  that  any  increase  in  fishing  mortality  on  cod  can  only  be 
avoided  if  either  (i)  the  transfer  rate  would  be  applied  before  merging  such  that  the  current  BT2  kWdays  are 
reduced by a transfer rates penalty, or (ii) cod avoiding (e.g. sole targeting) activity can be distinguished from 
fisheries  with  higher  cod  bycatches  based  on  some  other  agreed  criterion  than  mesh  size  and  be  subject  to 
different  additional  rules,  which  may  increase  the  management  burden.  Such  additional  rules  could  involve 
spatial criteria (e.g. based on the identifiable cod distribution) or prescriptions of the use of cod-avoidance gears. 
In conclusion, the merger is not in the spirit of the principles set out in Article 31 of the cod plan.  

However, given that cumulatively, BT1 and BT2 gears account for only 5% of the overall cod catch in the North 
Sea the potential impacts on cod mortality of such a merger will be much less than the merger of TR1 and TR2 
gears as reported by STECF PLEN 15-02.  

ToR 3 Recalculate the correction coefficients for transfers between gear groupings based on 

Art. 17 of the Cod Recovery Plan (see STECF 15-12 FDI 2015). 

As  noted  above  STECF  considers  that  in  order  to  limit  any  potential  increase  in  cod  mortality  that  may  be 
associated with increased effort in the BT1 gear group, transfer rates should be associated with some form of 

6 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
transfer penalty. However, STECF has no basis to estimate what that penalty would be in practice, but notes that 
a penalty factor of ~12 reduction in KwDays available to the BT2 fleet would be precautionary.  In the absence 
of any criteria to base a transfer penalty, Table 2 below provides the transfer rates between gears and the newly 
merged BT1+BT2 group, which are based on the aggregate BT1 and BT2 catch and effort (CPUE) data.   

Table 1. Original transfer ratios from STECF PLEN 15-02 Corrigendum 

BT1 

BT2 

GN1 

GT1 

LL1 

TR2+ 

TR1 

TR3 

2012-
2014 
CPUE 

2012-
2014 
LPUE 

BT1 

BT2 

GN1 

GT1 

LL1 

0.093 

1 

0.489 

0.719 

TR2+TR1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

0.382 

1 

1 

0.415 

0.035 

0.189 

0.129 

0.038 

1 

1 

1 

0.187 

0.275 

0.919 

1 

1 

0.681 

0.203 

0.299 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

TR3 

0.035 

0.375 

0.013 

0.071 

0.048 

0.014 

317 

272 

29 

25 

830 

803 

155 

149 

228 

228 

763 

578 

11 

11 

Table  1.  Original  transfer  ratios  from  STECF  PLEN  15-02  Corrigendum  with  newly  merged  BT1  and  BT2 
gear groups 

BT1+ 

BT2 

GN1 

GT1 

LL1 

TR2+ 

TR1 

TR3 

2012-
2014 
CPUE 

2012-
2014 
LPUE 

BT1+BT2 

0.07 

0.374 

0.255 

0.076 

GN1 

GT1 

LL1 

TR2+TR1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

0.187 

0.275 

0.919 

1 

1 

0.681 

0.203 

0.299 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

TR3 

0.19 

0.013 

0.071 

0.048 

0.014 

58 

49 

830 

803 

155 

149 

228 

228 

763 

578 

11 

11 

7 

7 

 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contact details of STECF members 

1 - Information on STECF members and invited experts’ affiliations is displayed for information only. In some 
instances  the  details  given  below  for  STECF  members  may  differ  from  that  provided  in  Commission 
COMMISSION DECISION of 27 October 2010 on the appointment of members of the STECF (2010/C 292/04) 
as  some  members’  employment  details  may  have  changed  or  have  been  subject  to  organisational  changes  in 
their  main  place  of  employment.  In  any  case,  as  outlined  in  Article  13  of  the  Commission  Decision 
(2005/629/EU and 2010/74/EU) on STECF, Members of the STECF, invited experts, and JRC experts shall act 
independently of Member States or stakeholders.  In the context  of the STECF  work, the committee  members 
and  other  experts  do  not  represent  the  institutions/bodies  they  are  affiliated  to  in  their  daily  jobs.  STECF 
members  and  invited  experts  make  declarations  of  commitment  (yearly  for  STECF  members)  to  act 
independently in the public interest of the European Union. STECF members and experts also declare at each 
meeting  of  the  STECF  and  of  its  Expert  Working  Groups  any  specific  interest  which  might  be  considered 
prejudicial to their independence in relation to specific items on the agenda. These declarations are displayed on 
the public meeting’s website if experts explicitly authorized the JRC to do so in accordance with EU legislation 
on the protection of personnel data. For more information: http://stecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu/adm-declarations 

STECF members: 

Name 

Address1 

Tel. 

Email 

STECF members 

Abella,  J.  Alvaro 
(vice-chair) 

per 

la 
della 

ARPAT – AREA MARE 
Agenzia  Regionale 
Protezione  Ambientale 
Toscana 
Articolazione Funzionale RIBM 
Risorse 
Marina 
Via  Marradi  114,  57126  Livorno 
– Italia 

Ittiche  e  Biodiversità 

Andersen, Jesper 
Levring (vice-
chair) 

Bailey, Nicholas  

Department of Food and Resource 
Economics (IFRO) 
Section for Environment and 
Natural Resources 
University of Copenhagen 
Rolighedsvej 25 
1958 Frederiksberg 
Denmark 

Fisheries Research Services  
Marine Laboratory, P.O Box 101  
375 Victoria Road, Torry 
Aberdeen AB11 9DB  
UK 

Bertignac, Michel   Laboratoire 
Halieutique 
IFREMER Centre de Brest 
BP 70 - 29280 Plouzane, France  

de 

Biologie 

Tel. 
3206956 

0039-0555-

alvarojuan.abella@arpat.tosca
na.it 

Tel.dir.:  +45 35 28 68 
92 

jla@ifro.ku.dk 

+44 

Tel: 
876544  
Direct:  +44 
295398  
Fax: 
295511 

+44 

baileyn@marlab.ac.uk   
n.bailey@marlab.ac.uk 

(0)1224 

(0)1224 

(0)1224 

tel  :  +33  (0)2  98  22  45 
25  -  fax  :  +33  (0)2  98 
22 46 53  

michel.bertignac@ifremer.fr 

Cardinale, 
Massimiliano

Föreningsgatan 
Lysekil, Sweden 

45, 

330 

Tel: +46 523 18750 

massimiliano.cardinale@slu.se 

Curtis, Hazel  

Sea Fish Industry Authority 
18 Logie Mill 
Logie Green Road 
Edinburgh 
EH7 4HS 

Tel: +44 (0)131 558 
3331 
Fax: +44 (0)131 558 
1442 

H_Curtis@seafish.co.uk 

8 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Name 

Address1 

Tel. 

Email 

STECF members 

Delaney, Alyne 

Daskalov, Georgi 

Döring, Ralf  

Gascuel, Didier  

Graham,  Norman 
(chair) 

Garcia Rodriguez, 

Mariano 

Gustavsson,  Tore 
Karl-Erik  

Jennings, Simon  

Kenny, Andrew 

Kraak, Sarah  

Kuikka, Sakari 

Martin, Paloma   

Innovative Fisheries Management, 
-an Aalborg University Research 
Centre, Postboks 104, 9850 
Hirtshals, Denmark 

Laboratory of Marine Ecology, 
Institute of Biodiversity and 
Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian 
Academy of Sciences 

Thünen Bundesforschungsinstitut, 
für Ländliche Räume, Wald und 
Fischerei, Institut für Seefischerei 
- AG Fischereiökonomie, 
Palmaille 9, D-22767 Hamburg, 
Germany 

AGROCAMPUS OUEST 
65 Route de Saint Brieuc, bat.4 
CS 84215, 
F-35042 RENNES Cedex 
France 

Marine Institute, Fisheries 
Science Services (FSS), Rinville, 
Oranmore, Co. Galway, Ireland 

Instituto Español de 
Oceanografía, Servicios 
Centrales, Corazón de María 8, 
28002, Madrid, Spain 

Independent 
Göteborg, Sweden 

Consultant, 

CEFAS Lowestoft Laboratory, 
Pakefield Road, 
Lowestoft 
Suffolk, UK 
NR33 0HT 

CEFAS Lowestoft Laboratory, 
Pakefield Road, 
Lowestoft 
Suffolk, UK 
NR33 0HT 

Thünen-Institut 
für 
Ostseefischerei,  Alter  Hafen  Süd 
2, 18069 Rostock Germany 

University of Helsinki, 
Department of Environmental 
Sciences, P.O. Box 65 
(Viikinkaari 1), FI-00014 
University of Helsinki, FINLAND 

CSIC  Instituto  de  Ciencias  del 
Mar   
PasseigMarítim, 37-49 
08003 Barcelona 
Spain 

Tel.: +45 9940 3694 

ad@ifm.aau.dk 

Tel.: +359 52 646892 

gmdaskalov@yahoo.co.uk 

Tel.: 040 38905-185 

ralf.doering@ti.bund.de 

Fax.: 040 38905-263 

Tel:+33(0)2.23.48.55.3
4 
Fax: 
+33(0)2.23.48.55.35 

Didier.Gascuel@agrocampus-
ouest.fr 

Tel: + 353(0) 91 87200 

norman.graham@marine.ie 

Mariano.Garcia@md.ieo.es 

tore.gustavsson@hotmail.com 

Tel.: +44 1502562244 
Fax: +44 1502513865 

simon.jennings@cefas.co.uk 

Tel.: +44 1502562244 
Fax: +44 1502513865 

andrew.kenny@cefas.co.uk 

Tel. +49 3818116113 

sarah.kraak@ti.bund.de 

Tel.: +358 50 3309233 
Fax. +358-9-191 58754 

skuikka@mappi.helsinki.fi 

Tel: 34.93.2309500          
direct line : 
34.93.2309552 
Fax: 34.93.2309555 

paloma@icm.csic.es 

Malvarosa, Loretta   NISEA S.c.a.r.l.  

malvarosa@nisea.eu 

9 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Name 

Address1 

Tel. 

Email 

Tel: 0034 667174433 
Fax: 94 6572555 

hmurua@azti.es 

Tel. 0046 76 140 140 3 

Jenny.nord@havochvatten.se 

npfgd@poczta.onet.pl    

Tel: 94 6029400 Ext: 
406-  
Fax: 94 6870006 

rprellezo@suk.azti.es 

Tel: +39 071 2078841 
Fax: +39 071 55313 

a.sala@ismar.cnr.it 

Tel: +39 071 2078849 
+357 99664694 
Fax: +39 071 55313 

g.scarcella@ismar.cnr.it 
gscarcella@apmarine.com.cy 

Tel.: +30 2610 394065, 
+30 6936566764 

somarak@biology.uoc.gr 

Tel. +49 40 38905-228  
Fax: +49 40 38905-263  

christoph.stransky@ti.bund.de 

ftheret@comata.com 

cu@aqua.dtu.dk 

Tel:+31 (0)70 3358239 
Fax: +31 (0)70 
3615624 

Hans.vanOostenbrugge@wur. 
Nl 

STECF members 

Murua, Hilario 

Nord, Jenny  

Nowakowski, 
Piotr  

Prelezzo, Raul  

Sala, Antonello 

Scarcella, 
Giuseppe 

Somarakis, 
Stylianos 

Stransky, 
Christoph 

AZTI - Tecnalia / Unidad de 
Investigación Marina, Herrera 
kaia portualdea z/g 20110 Pasaia 
(Gipuzkoa), Spain 

The  Swedish  Agency  of  Marine 
and Water Management (SwAM)  

Maritime  University  of  Szczecin. 
–  Faculty  of  Food  Science  and 
Fisheries,  Department  of  Fishing 
Technique, Szczecin 

AZTI - Tecnalia / Unidad de 
Investigación Marina 
Txatxarramendi Ugartea z/g 
48395 Sukarrieta (Bizkaia), Spain 

Fishing Technology Unit 
National Research Council (CNR) 
Institute  of  Marine  Sciences 
(ISMAR) - Fisheries Section 
Largo Fiera della Pesca, 1 
60125 Ancona - Italy 

Environmental Management Unit 
National Research Council (CNR) 
Institute  of  Marine  Sciences 
(ISMAR) - Fisheries Section 
Largo Fiera della Pesca, 1 
60125 Ancona – Italy 
AP  Marine 
Consultancy  Ltd,  Nicosia 
Cyprus 

Environmental 
- 

Department of Biology 
University of Crete 
VassilikaVouton 
P.O. Box 2208 
71409 Heraklion 
Crete 
Greece 

Thünen  Institute  [TI-SF]  Federal 
Research 
for  Rural 
Institute 
Areas,  Forestry  and  Fisheries, 
Fisheries, 
Institute 
Palmaille  9,  D-22767  Hamburg, 
Germany  

Sea 

of 

Theret, Francois  

Ulrich, Clara  

Vanhee, Willy  

van Oostenbrugge, 
Hans  

Scapêche 
17 Bd Abbé Le Cam 
56100 Lorient 
France 

DTU  Aqua,  National  Institute  of 
Aquatic  Resources,  Technical 
Denmark, 
of 
University 
Slot, 
Charlottenlund 
JægersborgAllé 
2920 
Charlottenlund, Denmark 

1, 

LandbouwEconomishInstituut- 
LEI, Fisheries Section, Burg. 
Patijnlaan 19 
P.O.Box 29703 
2502 LS The Hague 
The Netherlands 

10 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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EUR 27758 EN – Joint Research Centre – Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen 

Title: Reports of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries – Merging of the BT1 and BT2 gear categories in the 

North Sea (STECF-16-02). 

Authors: 

STECF members:  

Graham, N., J., Abella, J. A., Andersen, J., Bailey, N., Bertignac, M., Cardinale, M., Curtis, H., Daskalov, G., Delaney, A., Döring, R., Garcia 

Rodriguez, M., Gascuel, D., Gustavsson, T., Jennings, S., Kenny, A., Kraak, S., Kuikka, S., Malvarosa, L., Martin, P., Murua, H., Nord, J., 

Nowakowski, P., Prellezo, R., Sala, A., Scarcella, G., Somarakis, S., Stransky, C., Theret, F., Ulrich, C., Vanhee, W. & Van Oostenbrugge, H. 

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union  

2016 – 10 pp. – 21 x 29.7 cm 

EUR – Scientific and Technical Research series – 1831-9424 

ISSN 2467-0715 

ISBN 978-92-79-56779-7 

doi:10.2788/630915 

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STECF 

JRC Mission 

The Scientific, Technical and 
Economic Committee for 
Fisheries (STECF) has been 
established by the European 
Commission. The STECF is 
being consulted at regular 
intervals on matters pertaining 
to the conservation and 
management of living aquatic 
resources, including biological, 
economic, environmental, 
social and technical 
considerations. 

12 

As the Commission’s  
in-house science service,  
the Joint Research Centre’s  
mission is to provide EU  
policies with independent,  
evidence-based scientific  
and technical support  
throughout the whole  
policy cycle. 

Working in close  
cooperation with policy  
Directorates-General,  
the JRC addresses key  
societal challenges while  
stimulating innovation  
through developing  
new methods, tools  
and standards, and sharing  
its know-how with  
the Member States,  
the scientific community  
and international partners. 

Serving society  

Stimulating innovation  

Supporting legislation 

doi:10.2788/630915 

ISBN 978-92-79-56779-7