1. The VALDUVIS project The valorization of sustainably caught fish
voorblad
24 November 2014
Presentation for students of the EMBC master program
Oostende
Arne Kinds
Kim Sys

2. Presentation outline
Who are we?
What is sustainability?
The need for VALDUVIS in Belgian fisheries
What is VALDUVIS all about?
Future

3. ① Developing and testing innovative fishing methods
Who are we?
Section Technical Fisheries Research
= ‘research in support of the fishing sector’
① Developing and testing innovative fishing methods
ILVO – Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research
~ CEFAS (UK), IMARES (NL), IFREMER (FR)

4. Who are we? = ‘research in support of the fishing sector’
② Designing and testing more selective nets
① Developing and testing innovative fishing methods
ILVO – Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research
~ CEFAS (UK), IMARES (NL), IFREMER (FR)

5. ① Developing and testing innovative fishing methods
Who are we?
Section Technical Fisheries Research
= ‘research in support of the fishing sector’
① Developing and testing innovative fishing methods
③ Sustainability
ILVO – Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research
~ CEFAS (UK), IMARES (NL), IFREMER (FR)

6. What is sustainable fish?
= caught or cultured in environmentally friendly way
Biology of the species
Catch area
Growth rate, number of recruits, vulnerable habitat, sensitivity to overfishing, natural fluctuations, etc.
Sole in the Irish Sea
Sole in the North Sea
Fishing method
Management
"Everyone admits that if a great many persons hunt on the land or fish in a river, the forest is easily exhausted of wild animals and the river of fish, but such a contingency is impossible in the case of the sea.“
Hugo Grotius
© Karl VG
Protected areas, quota management, bycatch reducing measures, discard ban, etc.

7. What is sustainable fish?
Also take into account social and economic aspects of the fishery!
"Everyone admits that if a great many persons hunt on the land or fish in a river, the forest is easily exhausted of wild animals and the river of fish, but such a contingency is impossible in the case of the sea.“
Valduvis weg
Hugo Grotius
Safety, wages, rentability, financial stability, workload, etc.

8. Pressure 1 Pressure 2 Pressure 3 Pressure 4
Belgian fisheries under pressure
Pressure 1
Ecological impact of the beam trawl and the reluctance to abandon this gear
Pressure 2
Decline of fishing operations and processing plants
Pressure 3
Demand for sustainably caught fish
Pressure 4
Import of cheap fish

9. The Belgian context Demand for sustainably caught fish
Decline of fishing operations and processing plants
① Very little fish that is considered sustainable (>80% beam trawl)
② No labeled Belgian fish
Ecological impact of the beam trawl and the reluctance to abandon this gear
Import of (cheap) fish
with labels

10. The VALDUVIS Project is born!
What do we need?
ILVO was asked by the fish auctions and the producers organization to develop a scoring system for sustainability, tailored to the Belgian situation
MSC is too costly and not feasible for a large part of the fleet.
The system should be able to assess sustainability and make it visible to buyers.
The VALDUVIS Project is born!
July 2012 – September 2014

11. VALDUVIS in one sentence
To assess and visualize sustainability and quality in the Belgian fisheries with the aim of valorizing sustainably and freshly caught fish

12. VALDUVIS
Real-time scoring of fishing trips and species in a multispecies fishery

13. VALDUVIS in a nutshell Next step: automation of calculations
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 government)
Next step: automation of calculations

14. Adaptations for a sustainable fishery
VALDUVIS in a nutshell
Scoring on different levels
Vessel
Fishing trip
Fish box
Bottom impact
Fuel consumption
Fish stock
Adaptations for a sustainable fishery
Fishing pressure
Season
Discards
Vulnerability
Economic indicators
Social indicators

15. VALDUVIS in a nutshell The unit of assessment 4 levels Trip Vessel
Segment
Different levels of communicating sustainability: vessel, fleet segment, whole fleet
Variation in trip parameters result in different sustainability scores
Fleet

16. Project ‘Traceability’
Reliability of the tool
Correct calculation of the scores
‘The right scores on the right fish’ throughout the chain
Project ‘Traceability’
in cooperation with Vlaamse Visveiling N.V.
When was it caught?
How was it caught?
By whom was it caught?
RFID technology

17. Participatory processes
VALDUVIS in a nutshell
Participatory processes
Multistakeholder
process
Discussion groups
Stakeholders
FEEDBACK & APPROVAL
FEEDBACK & APPROVAL
FEEDBACK & APPROVAL
Time
Science
ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
Scientific study

18. How is VALDUVIS new? Uses existing data streams
3 pillars of sustainability
Not only ecological sustainability
Uses existing data streams
Local scientific knowledge and data → cheaper and trustworthy
Scientifically sound
Tailored to small-scale fisheries
Active stakeholder participation
Supported by the sector
Scores for each trip, and each box
New information for the Belgian fleet!

19. ② Learning tool for fishermen
The 4 uses of VALDUVIS in practice
① Monitoring
Time series of the sustainability of the entire fleet
Certain policy choices could be based on this information
② Learning tool for fishermen
Discussions about scores in focus groups
ILVO guarantees guidance on how to improve scores
③ Information for third parties
Retail, processing, certification bodies, etc.
④ Label

20. 2015 Two trajectories Future EFF Axis 3 VALDUVIS II INTERREG Vb
TASK 1: Pilot
TASK 2: Study the potential for different end users
TASK 3: Accreditation and use
INTERREG Vb
The use of VALDUVIS in the North Sea Region
Call opens March 2015, ILVO is looking for partners

21. Want to know more? @VALDUVIS @North_Sea_Fish Arne Kinds
© The Guardian
Arne Kinds
voorblad
Kim Sys