1. Are the objectives for EAF-SW achievable? Steve Mackinson, Gurpreet Pada and Rob Forster

2. Main findings of the USG Achievable – YES Common ground - same perspectives – low risk Objectives at risk of being compromised (1) Profitably sustainable and environmentally responsible (high risk) (costs:e.g. fuel cost, price of substitute species, dubious reward for quailty/ sustainability, available crew) (5) Reducing discards (medium risk) Different perspectives (considered high risk by industry, low by others) (10) Diversity and flexibility in fishing activities (11) Phase out subsidies for renewing or modernising vessels (12) Regulate fishing capacities in line with opportunities What are the trade-offs among ecological objectives and other objectives? – what does the science say so far….?

3. What science says about fishing impacts on ecological objectives At the regional scale (ICES VIIe-h) there is Consistent scientific evidence that fishing impacts the structure & function of fish populations and communities, and some reliable evidence for benthos, thus Compromising the following ecological objectives 2. Productive and diverse marine ecosystem 6. Improve fish stocks in the long term 7. Management measures lead to healthy, robust fish populations Points to ‘Trade-offs’ for decision makers

4. Needs more work… What is the lower threshold for landings (L lim ) required to sustain the SW fleet? Does improving fish quality and environmental performance improve financial reward? (& hence improve sustainability of the industry) What are the priority tasks required to meet objectives? How much should discards be reduced? (Maximum Acceptable By- catch Limits) Does sustainability for SW fisheries require all member states to comply with ecosystem-based management measures? What is the effect of fishing and closed areas in the SW specifically? [monitoring of closed areas required]

5. Needs more work… How large do fish stocks need to be to be healthy and robust over the long term? [MSY considered too simplistic] How diverse does the ecosystem need to be? Would extending VMS to the whole fleet provide effective and fair monitoring? What are the cumulative impacts of repeated physical disturbance of habitats by fishing gears? Involving fishermen in science