Notwithstanding many recent studies, the conservative European and American fisheries management system has been sticking to some wholly or partly wrong 100-year old practices. Such is, for example the indiscriminately selective fishing by minimum size that has been proven to be leading to dwarfism in so managed populations, with Atlantic cod only one example.
Such is also the practice of curtailing mixed and multi-species fisheries by the weaker species. This latter practice is in some cases counter-productive, especially where fishing gear is unable to discriminate between them, and where the weak and the strong species compete over food and space, and predate on each other.
What happens is that the stronger stock may keep or even increase its prevalence, at the expense of the weaker one, and in such cases, it would be advisable rather to maintain or even increase the fishing pressure. If the stock assessment of the weak species could be improved to make it as accurate as physically possible, especially where in fact the weak’ is not so weak at all, the stock underestimates driven by the precautionary approach’, would be avoided, along with the undue catch restrictions and the resulting economic and social losses.
Steve Urbon’s column in The Standard-Times (surbon@s-t.com) has brought to my attention that in New England attempts are now being made to mend this situation. While the annual potential of the New England bottom fishery was estimated in 2008 at approximately 150,000mt, valued at some US$300 million at the dock and over $600 million to the region, the parallel 2012 scallop fishery’s landings value is hoped to reach $600 million. The problem is that both fisheries have considerable bycatch of yellowtail flounder. Continued low and questionable stock estimate of this, so called choke fish’ is severely curtailing both fisheries. A new fish-counting methodology should improve fisheries management decisions.
Counting fish
The School for Marine Science & Technology, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth (SMAST) project’s objective is to estimate the abundance, spatial distribution, size structure, and length-weight relationship of the yellowtail-flounder stock on the southern flank of Georges Bank. The data obtained will be used for assessment of cod, haddock, monkfish, skate and other groundfish. Its non-intrusive ecosystem-based sampling effort involves experimental underwater advanced video-system for observations inside trawl nets, state-of-the art benthic imagery, and sonar. Analysis of results is combined with traditional fishermen’s knowledge.
In the first step, a SMAST teamled by Professor Kevin Stokesbury, working from the 82-foot fishing vessel Justice, operated from Fairhaven, Mass., is employing an innovative fish-counting technology that hopefully will produce more reliable results than the routine surveys. Its methodology’s first step consists of a bottom trawl net with a video sampling system (cameras and illumination) installed in a codend kept open by a stiff cylinder arrangement, which lets fish pass through the net and escape unharmed, in a continual tow. The fish are later visually counted on high resolution DVD’s using a system designed by Simrad and analysed at the SMAST scallop digitising laboratory.
During the second step, one each morning and afternoon, the codend of the net is tied for a 30 minute tow, and the catch is kept for analysis of species and length/weight data composition. The fish are then counted onboard and the results are compared with those counted on the video. The exact fishing spread of the trawl is measured by acoustic sensors on the trawlboards. To avoid stirring up mud, which would blot out visibility, the trawl net is adjusted to have minimum bottom contact
Professor Stokesbury’s team has 14-years of experience in using underwater cameras for direct counting of scallops, the most important sector of the New Bedford fishery, and in telling apart and identifying species appearing on echo-recordings. No doubt, counting fish swimming in the trawl is a more difficult task, but Professor Stokesbury believes in his methodology. No doubt, such technological innovations are most needed, because evidently the present practice can hardly produce reliable results. All the more, since according to the team’s recent November 2013 findings, the current stock assessment of the Georges Bank yellowtail flounder, on which the extremely low present allowable catch is based, is wrong, the flounder being quite abundant.
Unfortunately, quite often management, which has at its disposal only inadequate stock assessment while covering up with a precautionary approach’, is underestimating the state of the targeted fish population which instigates reduced landings. In the case of both above fisheries, it is causing undue economic hardships in Massachusetts fishing communities.
Electronic Reporting (eVTR)
Back in the 1950-1960s, when I was fishing in the Mediterranean, we used to report every haul and position by radio to our fisheries coastal radio station in Jaffa. This saved us bureaucratic procedures. We still needed to fill a regular ship’s logbook, though, but the fishing details we only reported orally. So, reporting catches and positions electronically’ goes a long way back. Apparently, in other countries, radio and wireless alone have been unable to depress the bureaucratic need for paperwork.
However, last November, NOAA Fisheries authorised all fishing vessels in its Northeast Region (from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras) to participate in a voluntary electronic vessel trip reporting program (eVTR). The eVTR enables vessel operators to rid themselves of the nuisance of filling in and submitting to NOAA paper logbook forms reporting fishing trip information (i.e., catch, gear used, area fished, etc.). In July 2011, NOAA had approved electronic vessel reporting for a segment of the groundfish fleet, but the present authorisation covers all vessels carrying a Federal Northeast fishing permit.
NOAA Fisheries has confirmed two software applications, FLDRS and FACTS, as the only ones that meet the technical requirements of eVTR submissions. Only these approved software applications can be employed. Also, each vessel would need an eVTR password. For further information on this please email barry.clifford@noaa.gov.
Mercator Media Ltd 2014