Trawl

Industry led FIP started by Netuno USA, Inc. and local partners Neptune, IndoFisheries and Baraka targeting grouper fisheries in India. Groupers are found in the waters of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, Paradeep and Andaman seas (Varghese et al. 2021). On the southwest coast, Kerala represents 47.8% of the marine fish harvest, followed by 43.7% is from Karnataka and 8.5% from Goa. Catches largely occur by mechanized fishing crafts (75.7%), motorized fishing crafts (21.8%) and non-mechanized country crafts (2.5%) (Sathianandan et al. 2021). In Kerala waters, grouper are found at depths 60-150m in rocky and coral reef grounds in areas called the "Kalava grounds". The main grouper species caught in Kerala include Epinephelus diacanthus, E. malabaricus, E. tauvina, E. chlorostigma and E. bleekeri. Epinephelus diacanthus is the main grouper species caught here, constituting 90% of the groupers landed (Varghese et al. 2021). The most recent catch data indicate that the species comprises ~61% of the catch landed at the main landing centre in the southwest area (specifically Kerala) with no clear sign of a decline in landings (Nair et al. 2018a). The Karnataka coast is around 300 km long and trawls form the main gear type from the mechanised sector. The State has around 96 fish landing centres, the most important being Mangaluru fisheries harbour (representing around 40 percent of Karnataka’s total catch). A recent study of landings at the site suggested that bycatch represents around 68% of the trawl catches, with shrimp, flatfishes, sciaenids, squids and crabs representing target species (Velip & Rivonker, 2015). Most bycatch in Karnataka is landed by single-day trawlers (SDT). SDTs generally operate in depths up to 30 m with the entire catch landed (including both edible ~74% and LVB  ~26%). 

An MSC pre-assessment and workplan were prepared for the Scottish monkfish fishery, on behalf of Seafish, in 2019. The pre-assessment was prepared by the CAB Control Union, and the workplan by the consultants MacAlister Elliott and Partners Ltd. The intention was to use these documents to start a FIP for the fishery, but due to COVID-19, the project had to be postponed.

The Units of assessment include UoA 1 which is demersal trawl and UoA 2 which is gillnet.

It is now possible to continue the project, and as such the FIP preparation to date has been reviewed. The pre-assessment as it relates to Principle 2 and most of Principle 3 continues to be relevant. In addition, since monkfish are taken as part of a mixed demersal fishery, this part of the analysis overlaps with other fisheries that are already MSC certified (e.g. SFSAG northern demersal stocks) or in a FIP (e.g. UK North Sea cod and whiting). This means that workplans are already in implementation to address the issues raised in this part of the pre-assessment, both in the context of a FIP workplan and in the context of an MSC Client Action Plan.

Conversely, the review of the pre-assessment in relation to Principle 1, and the parts of Principle 3 linked to Principle 1 (PI 3.2.1 Fishery-specific objectives) suggested that recent progress in relation to the biology of the species and the stock assessment needed to be included, in order to define an appropriate FIP workplan. It was therefore decided to provide a pre-assessment update for Principle 1 and PI 3.2.1, as a basis for scoping and a workplan update.

Redfish were designated threatened in 2010 but the stock is currently healthy after a decade of management within biological reference points. The fishery is managed with an integrated management plan for groundfish fisheries and overall is a near match to the MSC standard.  However, the fishery needs further improvement in its impacts on pollock, haddock, and other commercially fished species as well as benthic (seafloor dwelling) and endangered or threatened species caught in the bottom trawl gear. Fishery impacts on habitat and the ecosystem could also be better understood and mitigated.

The average size of redfish in the fishery catch-at-length has been increasing since 2011, and the percentage of immature fish (≤ 22 cm FL) in the catch-at-length has remained less than the 15% tolerance since 2014. The DFO Summer RV Survey results indicate that the total and mature Unit 3 Redfish biomass has remained relatively stable since 2018 at levels comparable to the 1990s. The mature biomass index has never fallen below the LRP, and the stock has been above the USR since 2004, indicating the stock is in the Heathy Zone (DFO 2021).

Since 2000 it has had a total allowable catch of 9000 tonnes. Total landings have generally been less than half this amount over the past 18 years (DFO 2019). The status of Unit 3 Redfish is determined solely by the mature biomass index generated from the annual DFO Summer RV Survey with complete coverage of the Unit 3 stock area (except in 2018). The fishery is managed by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) under the latest version (2017) of the Groundfish Integrated Fishery Management Plan for the Maritimes Region.

This FIP has been established by the Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG; http://scottishfsag.org/), to support work to rebuild the North Sea cod stock, as well as to improve management of the North Sea whiting stock. SFSAG is an organisation of all the major Producer Organisations in Scotland (and some in England). It is an MSC certificate-holder for several demersal stocks around Scotland (see https://fisheries.msc.org/en/fisheries/sfsag-northern-demersal-stocks/@@view). North Sea cod and whiting are part of this mixed demersal fishery and are assessed under Principle 2 in that certification. As required, the conditions and action plan on these overlapping fisheries are folded into this FIP so that the FIP covers all MSC PIs for the cod and whiting stocks.

North Sea cod is a talismanic stock for Scottish fisheries. It was overfished in the 1980s and 1990s but management was improved, and from ~2005 onwards it appeared to be recovering. However, the most recent stock assessment suggested that recovery had stalled, and also exposed major problems with the assessment. Likewise, for North Sea whiting, the 2018 assessment suggested that stock status was worse than thought, as well as exposing problems with the previous (pre-benchmark) stock assessment.

The scope of the FIP is as follows:

• Target stocks: North Sea cod (Gadus morhua) and North Sea whiting (Merlangius merlangus)
• Fishing gears: All gears used by SFSAG members to target these stocks: i.e. demersal otter trawl (single and twin), Nephrops trawl (single and twin), Danish seine, pair trawl, pair trawl-seine
• Fleet: All vessels belonging to SFSAG member organisations