Deep impact - The Pew Charitable Trusts
Deep Sea Facts
Just the facts...about the deep sea and deep-sea fishing in the northeast Atlantic • Estimated number of undiscovered marine species, most of which will be found in the deep sea: 750,0001
• Status of blue ling in the entire northeast Atlantic: depleted10 • Status of orange roughy in the entire Northeast Atlantic: depleted11
• Age of oldest deep-sea coral yet found:
8,500 years2
• Value of the deep-sea fish landed in the European Union: €121 - 146 million4 • The contribution of deep-sea fish to the total value of fish landings in EU fisheries: 2%
S. McGowan / AMC / MPB
• Number of years orange roughy could be fished in the northeast Atlantic before a total collapse of the fishery:
• Total value of all fish landed in the EU in 2008: €6.9 billion3
1012
• Number of deep-sea species subject to catch limits by the EU in the northeast Atlantic: 255
• Estimated percentage of deep-sea fish catch that is discarded at sea due to low value: up to 50%13
• Number of deep-sea species that are actually caught by vessels in the Northeast Atlantic: about 706 • Depth range of deep-sea fishing in the northeast Atlantic: 400 - 1,700 metres
Naomi Blinick / MPB
• Percentage decline in deep-sea fish abundance down to 1,500 meters off the coast of Ireland: 70%7 • Number of deep-sea species for which the European fishery scientists have enough data to determine the sustainable level of catch: 08 • Status of red seabream in the Bay of Biscay:
depleted9
PEW Environment Group – Fact sheet
• Percentage of discarded deep-sea fish believed to survive after being thrown back: 0%14
FLPA
Norbert wu / FLPA
Deep impact
• Number of deep-sea species believed to be fished sustainably by scientific authorities: 015
MAY 2011
S.McGowan / AMC 2006 / Marine Photobank
PE W E n v i r o n m e n t G r o u p
• Scientific observer coverage of deep-sea fishing to provide catch data and other statistics is required by law and these reports must be shared with the European Commission: true16 • The European Commission has access to these reports: false17 • Quality of fishing effort data provided by member states to the European Commission upon request:
incomplete or inaccurate18
w w w. p e w e n v i r o n m e n t . e u
• Scientific observer reports are publicly available: false • Year the EU began to manage deep-sea fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic: 200319
The Pew Environment Group advocates that the European Union phase out all deep-sea fishing operations unless or until they can be carried out sustainably and provide long-term economic benefits.
Further information Contact Elsa Lee: [email protected] References Mark Kinver. Marine census publication marks ‘ decade of discovery’. BBC. 4 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/scienceenvironment-11443210. Accessed 4 October 2010. 2 Freiwald A, Hühnerbach V, Lindberg B, Wilson JB, Campbell J (2002) The Sula Reef complex, Norwegian shelf. Facies 47: 179 -200. 3 Eurostat database on Landings of Fishery Product. Accessed 10/26/2010. 4 Pew Environment Group estimate based on catch data from Eurostat/ICES database on catch statistics – ICES 2010, Copenhagen. http://www.ices.dk/fish/CATChSTATISTICS.asp. Average price per tonne obtained from European Commission. Eurostat database on landings of fishery products (fish_Id07). http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa. eu. Accessed 7 February 2011; and, European Commission. Review of the deep-sea access regime. C2/JL D(2009). 18 December 2009; The average weighted price per tonne was used to estimate the value of several species for which pricing data were unavailable; Total EU fisheries value €6.9 billion, from Eurostat database on landings of fishery products. Accessed 26 October 2010; The lower bound of the estimate is for the 46 species listed in EC reg 2347/2002; the upper bound is for a modified set of 50 species based on STECF recommendations for a more accurate application of EC reg 2347/2002. Report of the SGMOS-09-05 Working Group. Fishing Effort Regime. Part 3: Deep Sea and Western Waters. 28 September–2 October 2009, Ispra, Italy. EUR 24528 EN – 2010. 5 Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for 24 deep-sea species are set under Council Regulation No 1225/2010 of 13 December 2010 fixing for 2011 and 2012 the fishing opportunities for EU vessels for fish stocks of certain deep-sea fish species. TACs for Greater silver smelt are set annual in a separate regulation as it requires negotiation with Norway, with the latest one set in Council Regulation No 57/2011 of 18 January 2011 fixing for 2011 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in EU waters and, for EU vessels, in certain non-EU waters. 6 FAO (2008) World Wide Review of Bottom Fisheries in the High Seas. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, 2009, p. 24. “[A]bout 70 deep-sea species have been recorded in catches of trawlers targeting roundnose grenadier.” 7 Bailey, D.M. et al. (2009) Long-term changes in deep-water fish populations in the northeast Atlantic: a deeper reaching effect of 1
PEW Environment Group – Fact sheet
fisheries? Proceedings of the Royal Society B 276: 1965-1969. European Commission. Proposal for a Council Regulation. Fixing for 2011 and 2012 fishing opportunities for EU vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks. COM(2010) 545 final. 9 ICES. 2006. Report of the Working Group on the Biology and Assessment of Deep-Sea Fisheries Resources (WGDEEP). ICES CM 2006/ACFM:28. 10 Ibid 11 Ibid 12 Eurostat/ICES database on catch statistics – ICES 2010. 13 ICES (2010) Report of the Working Group on the Biology and Assessment of Deep-Sea Fisheries Resources (WGDEEP). 7-13 April 2010. Copenhagen, ICES Headquarters. ICES CM2010/ACOM:17. 616 pp., p.389 14 Roberts, CM. 2002. Deep impact: the rising toll of fishing in the deep sea. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 17(5), 242-245. 15 ICES (2010) Report of the ICES Advisory Committee, Book 11: Technical Service. 11.2.1.1. Table showing catches of stocks (managed by the Community) within and outside safe biological limits, p.4. 16 Article 8 of Council Regulation No. 2347/2002 of 16 December 2002 establishing specific access requirements and associated conditions applicable to fishing for deep sea stocks. 17 The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) wrote: “STECF notes that, so far, the data available on deep sea species is mainly restricted to landings information. To gain a true perception of removals from these fisheries, catch data are required. In principle observer data should be available since the regulation requires member states to sample these species on board commercial vessels and STECF notes that such data was not provided.” Report of the SGMOS-09-05 Working Group. Fishing Effort Regime. Part 3: Deep Sea and Western Waters. 28 September–2 October 2009, Ispra, Italy. EUR 24528 EN – 2010. 18 STECF writes: “Effort data from some countries was either not supplied or was incomplete or inaccurate. Shortfalls were most evident in the data from France and Spain”. France and Spain alone accounted for 69 % of deep-sea landings in 2008. Report of the SGMOS-09-05 Working Group. Fishing Effort Regime. Part 3: Deep Sea and Western Waters. 28 September–2 October 2009, Ispra, Italy. EUR 24528 EN – 2010. 19 Council Regulation (EC) No. 2347/2002 of 16 December 2002 establishing specific access requirements and associated conditions applicable to fishing for deep-sea stocks. 8
MAY 2011
Just the facts...about the deep sea and deep-sea fishing in the northeast Atlantic • Estimated number of undiscovered marine species, most of which will be found in the deep sea: 750,0001
• Status of blue ling in the entire northeast Atlantic: depleted10 • Status of orange roughy in the entire Northeast Atlantic: depleted11
• Age of oldest deep-sea coral yet found:
8,500 years2
• Value of the deep-sea fish landed in the European Union: €121 - 146 million4 • The contribution of deep-sea fish to the total value of fish landings in EU fisheries: 2%
S. McGowan / AMC / MPB
• Number of years orange roughy could be fished in the northeast Atlantic before a total collapse of the fishery:
• Total value of all fish landed in the EU in 2008: €6.9 billion3
1012
• Number of deep-sea species subject to catch limits by the EU in the northeast Atlantic: 255
• Estimated percentage of deep-sea fish catch that is discarded at sea due to low value: up to 50%13
• Number of deep-sea species that are actually caught by vessels in the Northeast Atlantic: about 706 • Depth range of deep-sea fishing in the northeast Atlantic: 400 - 1,700 metres
Naomi Blinick / MPB
• Percentage decline in deep-sea fish abundance down to 1,500 meters off the coast of Ireland: 70%7 • Number of deep-sea species for which the European fishery scientists have enough data to determine the sustainable level of catch: 08 • Status of red seabream in the Bay of Biscay:
depleted9
PEW Environment Group – Fact sheet
• Percentage of discarded deep-sea fish believed to survive after being thrown back: 0%14
FLPA
Norbert wu / FLPA
Deep impact
• Number of deep-sea species believed to be fished sustainably by scientific authorities: 015
MAY 2011
S.McGowan / AMC 2006 / Marine Photobank
PE W E n v i r o n m e n t G r o u p
• Scientific observer coverage of deep-sea fishing to provide catch data and other statistics is required by law and these reports must be shared with the European Commission: true16 • The European Commission has access to these reports: false17 • Quality of fishing effort data provided by member states to the European Commission upon request:
incomplete or inaccurate18
w w w. p e w e n v i r o n m e n t . e u
• Scientific observer reports are publicly available: false • Year the EU began to manage deep-sea fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic: 200319
The Pew Environment Group advocates that the European Union phase out all deep-sea fishing operations unless or until they can be carried out sustainably and provide long-term economic benefits.
Further information Contact Elsa Lee: [email protected] References Mark Kinver. Marine census publication marks ‘ decade of discovery’. BBC. 4 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/scienceenvironment-11443210. Accessed 4 October 2010. 2 Freiwald A, Hühnerbach V, Lindberg B, Wilson JB, Campbell J (2002) The Sula Reef complex, Norwegian shelf. Facies 47: 179 -200. 3 Eurostat database on Landings of Fishery Product. Accessed 10/26/2010. 4 Pew Environment Group estimate based on catch data from Eurostat/ICES database on catch statistics – ICES 2010, Copenhagen. http://www.ices.dk/fish/CATChSTATISTICS.asp. Average price per tonne obtained from European Commission. Eurostat database on landings of fishery products (fish_Id07). http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa. eu. Accessed 7 February 2011; and, European Commission. Review of the deep-sea access regime. C2/JL D(2009). 18 December 2009; The average weighted price per tonne was used to estimate the value of several species for which pricing data were unavailable; Total EU fisheries value €6.9 billion, from Eurostat database on landings of fishery products. Accessed 26 October 2010; The lower bound of the estimate is for the 46 species listed in EC reg 2347/2002; the upper bound is for a modified set of 50 species based on STECF recommendations for a more accurate application of EC reg 2347/2002. Report of the SGMOS-09-05 Working Group. Fishing Effort Regime. Part 3: Deep Sea and Western Waters. 28 September–2 October 2009, Ispra, Italy. EUR 24528 EN – 2010. 5 Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for 24 deep-sea species are set under Council Regulation No 1225/2010 of 13 December 2010 fixing for 2011 and 2012 the fishing opportunities for EU vessels for fish stocks of certain deep-sea fish species. TACs for Greater silver smelt are set annual in a separate regulation as it requires negotiation with Norway, with the latest one set in Council Regulation No 57/2011 of 18 January 2011 fixing for 2011 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in EU waters and, for EU vessels, in certain non-EU waters. 6 FAO (2008) World Wide Review of Bottom Fisheries in the High Seas. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, 2009, p. 24. “[A]bout 70 deep-sea species have been recorded in catches of trawlers targeting roundnose grenadier.” 7 Bailey, D.M. et al. (2009) Long-term changes in deep-water fish populations in the northeast Atlantic: a deeper reaching effect of 1
PEW Environment Group – Fact sheet
fisheries? Proceedings of the Royal Society B 276: 1965-1969. European Commission. Proposal for a Council Regulation. Fixing for 2011 and 2012 fishing opportunities for EU vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks. COM(2010) 545 final. 9 ICES. 2006. Report of the Working Group on the Biology and Assessment of Deep-Sea Fisheries Resources (WGDEEP). ICES CM 2006/ACFM:28. 10 Ibid 11 Ibid 12 Eurostat/ICES database on catch statistics – ICES 2010. 13 ICES (2010) Report of the Working Group on the Biology and Assessment of Deep-Sea Fisheries Resources (WGDEEP). 7-13 April 2010. Copenhagen, ICES Headquarters. ICES CM2010/ACOM:17. 616 pp., p.389 14 Roberts, CM. 2002. Deep impact: the rising toll of fishing in the deep sea. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 17(5), 242-245. 15 ICES (2010) Report of the ICES Advisory Committee, Book 11: Technical Service. 11.2.1.1. Table showing catches of stocks (managed by the Community) within and outside safe biological limits, p.4. 16 Article 8 of Council Regulation No. 2347/2002 of 16 December 2002 establishing specific access requirements and associated conditions applicable to fishing for deep sea stocks. 17 The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) wrote: “STECF notes that, so far, the data available on deep sea species is mainly restricted to landings information. To gain a true perception of removals from these fisheries, catch data are required. In principle observer data should be available since the regulation requires member states to sample these species on board commercial vessels and STECF notes that such data was not provided.” Report of the SGMOS-09-05 Working Group. Fishing Effort Regime. Part 3: Deep Sea and Western Waters. 28 September–2 October 2009, Ispra, Italy. EUR 24528 EN – 2010. 18 STECF writes: “Effort data from some countries was either not supplied or was incomplete or inaccurate. Shortfalls were most evident in the data from France and Spain”. France and Spain alone accounted for 69 % of deep-sea landings in 2008. Report of the SGMOS-09-05 Working Group. Fishing Effort Regime. Part 3: Deep Sea and Western Waters. 28 September–2 October 2009, Ispra, Italy. EUR 24528 EN – 2010. 19 Council Regulation (EC) No. 2347/2002 of 16 December 2002 establishing specific access requirements and associated conditions applicable to fishing for deep-sea stocks. 8
MAY 2011
