MINIDISC, DiscardLess… Science in support of the LO Clara Ulrich, Lars Olof Mortensen 11 March 2015 - NSAC
MINIDISC – Minimising Discards in Danish Fisheries EFF Project from January 2014 to April 2015 [now July 2015] Launched to support and monitor the expected discard ban in Skagerrak in 2014… Then adapted to follow the political developments in 2014 Design and conditions finally agreed with DFPO and D. AgriFish A. in autumn 2014: Free gear choice and removal of technical rules Fully documentation of fisheries : Sorting and weighting of discards for 6 species Data reported haul by haul Cameras and REM (AnchorLab BlackBox system) A bit of additional quota for participation A bit of money for netmakers Supplemented with a questionnaire process
14 vessels in the trial, 4 fisheries Vessel Nr Vessel name Area Gear Start Target HM323 RALIMA Skagerrak D. Seine 17/9/14 Mix S15 VERA MARIE HG398 NITRIME Skagerrak/ Kattegat Nephrops trawl 20/11/14 Nephrops S281 FRANK MAIKEN 14/11/14 S430 WELL-BANK 01/12/14 HM555 KINGFISHER North Sea Demersal trawl 16/10/14 L120 LINETTE 29/11/14 L757 AALTJE POSTMA 2015 RI344 MIKKEL-LOUISE 21/11/14 RI427 METTE HELENE 01/01/15 RI468 JULI-ANE R254 KATRINE KIM Baltic Sea 14/12/14 Cod R200 COMETEN 08/01/15 R194 ANDREA 18/12/14
Results-based management and Full Documentation Concept in practice Differences beetween gears must be large enough to be visible with current control/observers resources – over several trips and a longer period The primary source of information is fishers own reporting of discards (100% coverage, limited additional costs for the skipper but covered by the uplift) Camera for self documentation of reliability. Must be simple to check Standard observers coverage + some discard self-sampling AnchorLab 5
Results so far… Ttrial has run for some weeks, all processes in place Ongoing analysis of data Sometimes it is only changes in mesh size …. But also signs of high creativity!
Results
What we do now… Quality check of all trips through video scanning E-log report produced every 2 weeks for all skippers Mid-term status : Follow-up and feedback meetings with skippers Extension of the questionnaire to non-participating vessels Analyses of the best gear modifications Selectivity manual Communication and dissemination of results Expending into … DiscardLess…
DiscardLess - Strategies for the gradual elimination of discards in European fisheries EU Horizon 2020 Program, 2015-2018 31 partners in 12 countries Developing new science, but also collecting and sharing knowledge developed locally/nationally Discards Mitigation Strategies (DMS) developed, compared and disseminated (DMS toolbox) Kick-off 21-23 April Bilbao
Heath et al. 2014
Dolder et al., 2014 Dolder et al. 2014
NSAC Involvement… Contacts : Coby Needle, Scotland : Coordinator North Sea/West of Scotland CS Mike Fitzpatrick, Ireland : ACs and industry stakeholder contact Me Anybody in Bilbao on April 22nd? Somebody in Stakeholders Follow-up Group Sharing national knowledge at regional/project level, information flow Annual case meetings : Science progresses and questions / transversal themes checks Annual monitoring of trends (biological, economic and social) Collaborations in WP3 and WP4 ….
Thank you!!