A NEW report by environmental campaigner OCEAN2012 and Meridian Prime has highlighted environmental and social criteria that are being successfully employed in allocating access to fisheries resources.

The report, Environmental and Social Criteria for Allocating Access to Fisheries Resources (available here), offers case studies from 10 different fisheries in Europe and around the world to show how reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) could be modelled.

The report includes recommendations on selectivity, environmental impact, energy consumption, employment and working conditions, and history of compliance.

On selectivity, the report states that different fishing methods result in different amounts of by-catch and recommends that fishers using fishing methods with low by-catch should be given priority access to the available resources

With regard to environmental impact, it states that the impact of different gears and practices on the environment, including damage to the seabed and pollution, vary widely and recommends that fishers using less destructive fishing methods should be given priority access.

The report also highlights that certain gear and vessel types, like some trawlers and seiners, require enormous amounts of energy compared to the fish they catch. It recommends that fishers using vessels and fishing methods that consume less energy per tonne of fish caught should be given priority access.

With regard to employment and working conditions, the authors believe that fishing methods that provide more employment opportunities and have less environmental damage should be given priority access. Working conditions should comply with relevant international standards, notably the 2007 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention.

The report also recommends that past compliance with the rules of the CFP by fishers as well as EU Member States should be considered when allocating access to fishing rights.

Markus Knigge, of the Pew Environment Group and OCEAN2012, said: “The right to fish in EU waters should be granted to those who contribute to the goal of ending overfishing. Allocating access to commonly held fisheries resources through the implementation of strict environmental and social criteria is an effective way of doing this.”

On April 22, 2009, the European Commission launched a reform of the CFP. As part of a broader, stepwise approach to returning EU fisheries to a sustainable footing, OCEAN2012 suggested replacing, or at least enhancing, relative stability with a system of allocating access to fisheries based on an explicit consideration of certain criteria. The allocation system should contribute to environmental sustainability, a more equitable distribution of access to available fishing resources and a culture of compliance.

Knigge said: “The fish that inhabit the EU’s waters are a common resource. EU Member State governments are their custodians. They have a responsibility to the public and to fishing communities to restore the health of these stocks and keep the communities viable. The ten examined fisheries in this report clearly demonstrate the feasibility of basing access to fisheries resources on environmental and social criteria.”

The fisheries studied in the report are the Georges Bank cod fishery in Cape Cod, USA; the toothfish fishery in South Georgia; trawling in Koster-Väderö fjord, Sweden; the Prud’homies fishery, Languedoc-Roussillon, France; the Os Miñarzos fishery in Lira-Carnota, Spain; creel fishing in Loch Torridon Scotland; the South-West Mackerel Box fishery in England; The Integrated Fisheries Foundation (IFF) in the Wadden Sea, the Netherlands; traditional island lobster fishing in the Torres Strait, Papua New Guinea and Australia; and the hake handline, traditional linefish, west coast rock lobster and abalone fisheries in the Western Cape, South Africa.