TY - JOUR
T1 - The EU landing obligation and European small-scale fisheries
T2 - What are the odds for success?
AU - Veiga, Pedro
AU - Pita, Cristina
AU - Rangel, Mafalda
AU - Goncalves, Jorge M. S.
AU - Campos, Aida
AU - Fernandes, Paul G.
AU - Sala, Antonello
AU - Virgili, Massimo
AU - Lucchetti, Alessandro
AU - Brcic, Jure
AU - Villasante, Sebastian
AU - Ballesteros, Marta A.
AU - Chapela, Rosa
AU - Santiago, Jose L.
AU - Agnarsson, Sveinn
AU - Ögmundarson, Ólafur
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - A landing obligation was formally implemented in the European Union (EU) for the first time, as part of the recent reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Given the reasonable success of the landing obligation in some countries such as the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway, this policy is seen as a viable approach to tackle the long-recognized discarding problem in EU waters. However, there has been some debate on whether there is sufficient evidence to support the feasibility of such a measure in the EU-CFP. The EU landing obligation will implicitly include all small-scale fisheries (SSF) provided the species captured are subject to catch limits or minimum sizes (in the case of the Mediterranean). SSF were included irrespective of the fact that the discarding problem in the EU has been historically associated with medium- to large-scale fleets (in particular largely mixed species trawl fisheries). Additionally, past experiences with a discard ban policy are still limited to specific countries and/or specific fisheries. This paper examined the appropriateness and feasibility of the recently implemented EU landing obligation in SSF. The effects in the long-term are unpredictable, but available evidence suggests that in the short to medium-term a landing obligation is likely to bring more negative social, economic and ecological impacts than benefits. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
AB - A landing obligation was formally implemented in the European Union (EU) for the first time, as part of the recent reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Given the reasonable success of the landing obligation in some countries such as the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway, this policy is seen as a viable approach to tackle the long-recognized discarding problem in EU waters. However, there has been some debate on whether there is sufficient evidence to support the feasibility of such a measure in the EU-CFP. The EU landing obligation will implicitly include all small-scale fisheries (SSF) provided the species captured are subject to catch limits or minimum sizes (in the case of the Mediterranean). SSF were included irrespective of the fact that the discarding problem in the EU has been historically associated with medium- to large-scale fleets (in particular largely mixed species trawl fisheries). Additionally, past experiences with a discard ban policy are still limited to specific countries and/or specific fisheries. This paper examined the appropriateness and feasibility of the recently implemented EU landing obligation in SSF. The effects in the long-term are unpredictable, but available evidence suggests that in the short to medium-term a landing obligation is likely to bring more negative social, economic and ecological impacts than benefits. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KW - Bycatch reduction
KW - Common Fisheries Policy
KW - Discard ban
KW - Europe
KW - Small-scale fisheries
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpol.2015.11.008
DO - 10.1016/j.marpol.2015.11.008
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0308-597X
VL - 64
SP - 64
EP - 71
JO - Marine Policy
JF - Marine Policy
ER -