ILVO Presentation for the Topic Group Change Management 6 May 2015 ICES/FAO Working Group FTFB, Lisbon Arne Kinds, Kim Sys VALDUVIS A new way of assessing the sustainability of fishing activities

ILVO Background 83 vessels; tons/year Multispecies groundfish fishery Target species: sole and plaice 80% beam trawl A small fishery with big problems…

ILVO Background Pressures – Beam trawl is contested for its environmental impact – High fuel prices since – Low market prices – Need to (re)gain market access ‘Sustainable Seafood Movement’ – Limited to ‘VISwijzer’ (Dutch seafood pocket guide) – Criticized by fishers and PO for not taking into account specifics of Belgian fleet – VISwijzer fails to offer incentives and inform public – Need to recognize efforts already taken (fleet + individuals)

ILVO VISTRAJECT: commitment of the fishing sector to sustainability Covenant for the promotion of a sustainable Belgian fishery sector Integrated Sustainability Assessment (ISA) (Bohunovsky et al. 2010) VALDUVIS to provide the toolbox for measuring and monitoring sustainability

ILVO The VALDUVIS project Develop sustainability assessment tool to … – … monitor individual fisher’s sustainability – … monitor sustainability of the fleet – … provide new market opportunities Equality of three pillars of sustainability How? – By looking at individual fishing activity – Trip-based assessments using electronic logbook data – Detailed information  a range of opportunities

ILVO The VALDUVIS project A simple model for stakeholder participation Crucial in the development of the tool (selection of themes and indicators, continuous feedback)

ILVO Sustainability themes Kinds et al. (2015), submitted

ILVO Indicators Kinds et al. (2015), submitted

ILVO Indicators (continued) Kinds et al. (2015), submitted

ILVO How does it work? STEP 1: trip data STEP 2: calculations STEP 3: visualization Methodology for calculations is described in fact sheets for each indicator Asset: uses existing data stream (verified by member state authorities) Scores are calculated ‘real-time’

Unit of assessment How does it work? Vistrip Vaartuig Segment Vloot 4 niveaus TROEF: Elke reder kan afzonderlijk worden beoordeeld en beloond voor zijn inspanningen Variatie in vistripparameters zorgt voor andere beoordeling van de duurzaamheid

ILVO Output Case study: beam trawler, inshore fishing vessel, <221 kW (average for 2013) Reference point 14 indicators in 12 themes Score between 0 (worst case) and 100 (best practices)

ILVO Opportunities Personal sustainability monitoring learning, discussions, directed actions Monitoring fleet’s sustainability time series, targets New market opportunities inform buyers in fish auction fisheries improvement program (retail) reduce cost of third party sustainability assessment short chain initiatives New data set, new opportunities

ILVO Work in progress… Apply tool in Belgian fishery Internal benchmarks and no value judgment Broadening the scope – Belgian  European benchmarks – Relation to MSC assessments? Update/improve/revise indicators (e.g. bottom impact) Internationalization + interdisciplinary team

ILVO Change Management Very importantImportant Not important Trust in scientists has improved VISTRAJECT?

ILVO Change Management Belgian fishery: opportunities – Have a look at how the neighbors are doing! Efforts? – Improve understanding of each other’s interests and needs – Knowledge exchange – Towards emancipation and self-regulation Does ILVO have a role to play? – Incentivizing sustainable fishing (e.g. VALDUVIS) Is VISTRAJECT the way forward? Can evolutionary change lead to fundamental change?

ILVO Change Management Next steps for ILVO – Adopt approach suggested by Eayrs et al. (2014) – Keep data series (perception, adoption rate, etc.) – Pilot project: choice of fishers? – Promote voluntary change (e.g. VALDUVIS) – Work towards institutional change Project proposal: ‘After hours’ project Belgian fishery Personal interests/concerns – Dr. Seth Macinko (URI) – Must see: The ‘T’ in Fish youtube.com/watch?v=VUzCcAFhqrs&spfreload=10

Thank you! Kim Sys Arne Kinds © The Guardian