Pot/Trap

Industry led FIP started by Netuno USA, Inc targeting Lane (LS) and Yellowtail Snappers (YTL)Fisheries in the Northeast States (LME 16 – from Piaui to Bahia, Olavo et al 2022). Landings are leaded by Ceara and Bahia State. In the first one, there is an industrial fleet, but most of the landings are made by a semi artisanal fleet, wooden made, with a total length varying between 9 and 13 meters and equipped with a 60 to 160Hp diesel engine. Fisheries are done both with handlines and pots. For line fishing, sardines and common scad are commonly used as bait. For pots, fisherman uses lard and even pieces of ceramics as attractor. Olavo et al. (2022) classified the Lane Snapper stock as underexploited (B2021/BMSY = 1.28) and without overfishing (F2021/FMSY = 0.88). The Yellowtail Snapper on the other hand shows evidence of overfishing (0.60 and 1,37 respectively), anyway, there is no catch limit for fishing either Lane or Yellowtail Snapper and the government hasn’t had a continuous landing data collection program since 2008. The lack of knowledge and track of landings are not limited to LS & YTS but also for non-target species and eventual ETP interactions. Present MSC/PA showed that the fisheries don’t have an update stock assessments and data collection programs that the government used to have until 2012 was suspended and not yet resumed. Therefore are some management measures in place such as the mandatory delivery of production maps reports and the use of satellite tracking navigation system (>10  meters boats) there are no evidence of compliance. So, basic data fisheries production is obtained by some landings data and production maps reports (mapa de bordo) provided by fishing companies and some academic sampling. This is not enough, and even the federal agency responsible for fisheries management IBAMA-Brazilian Environment Institute says that “the actual systems present deficiencies that basically reside in the insufficient number of data collectors, lack of commitment from the production sector and absence of an integrated institutional policy for generating national landings statistics”.

Royal Greenland has partnered with CeDePesca to implement a FIP with the goal of improving the performance of the Chile Region XII Southern king crab (Lithodes santolla) fishery against Principle 1 of the MSC standard.                                                

The Southern king crab fishery in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica Region (Region XII) is the most significant in terms of Southern king crab landing volumes in Chile.  The fishery is located between parallels 48°36' S and 56°30' S and is conducted with pots/traps as fishing gear.  Landings in Chile Region XII represent around 75% of landings at the national level in the last few years. Since its onset in 1928, new fishing grounds have been continually added to the fishery throughout the region.

This Basic FIP will focus on the portion of the fleet that supplies Southern king crab to Royal Greenland.

The Orkney Crab fishery targets brown crab (Cancer pagarus) and is located where the North Sea and the North Atlantic Sea meet. There is approximately 1500 tons landed into Orkney in 2022. The fishing fleet is made up of small inshore vessels which are generally under 10m in length, and they tend to work as day vessels landing crab every day. The fishing tends to occur within 12 nautical miles from the coastline. The Orkney Crab fishery is regulated by licence conditions which are the vessels having a valid fishing licence which has shellfish entitlement. Licences are issued and regulated by the Scottish Government. The fishery is also regulated by Minimum Landing Sizes (MLS) which is 150mm CW and other technical measures which are regulated by the Scottish Government and through Marine Scotland Compliance. The fishing method for the target species is creels (pots/traps) and is considered a passive method of fishing. There is very little interaction with the fishery and vulnerable species or habitats. Scotland has a network of MPAs and SACs which protect the most vulnerable habitats from being disturbed by fishing activities. Orkney Crab has a code of practice for fishers which outline the high standard of fishing practices and quality of crab that is expected to be landed by the fishery. This also outlines who a fisher should contact if they should become entangled with marine mammals. Orkney Crab is in the process of establishing a sampling program for the fishery which will address the issues of data limitations which are currently an issue for the fishery. Marine Scotland Science are the current body who collect market sampling data, and this is used in their stock assessment. These stock assessments are published but they are not currently used to inform management decisions for the fishery. The Orkney Crab data will enhance this data set and over time allow for a local stock assessment to be done which could support management decisions at a local level. 

The local management body the Orkney RIFG is established and tasked with developing a regional management plan, this is inline with a regional marine special plan that is also in the process of being developed. The outputs of this FIP will be used to address the areas currently not meeting the standards. This will primarily through the development of a sampling program which will have an onshore market sampling component, an offshore sampling component and a crab tagging component. In addition to this Orkney crab will be looking to support areas in P3 where it currently does not meet the standard through engagement with the local RIFG and engagement with national consultations where appropriate.

The Philippines blue swimming crab is a cosmopolitan species in the coastal waters in the Philippines. This fishery is a significant sub-sector of the crustacean fishery. More than 90% of the catch is from municipal waters, caught within 15 km from the coastline by fishing boats weighing less than 3 gross tonnes. Entangling nets and crab trap/pot are generally used as fishing gears. The stock is steadily declining in volume and size as a result of the depletion of the spawning biomass. Hence, it is the aim of the FIP to rebuild the fishery to a sustainable level in the area of the Visayan Sea and nearby waters. 

The FIP works in an integrated approach through (1) collaborative work with government and NGOs, academia and other legal entities; (2) an active information and education campaign; (3) supply chain management; and (4) development of projects and policies that promote sustainability of blue swimming crabs. 

The MSC Fishery Standard is the guiding framework of the FIP. Priority projects and initiatives include assessment of stock status, stock enhancement initiatives (establishment of hatcheries and installation of holding cages for egg-bearing crabs), promotion of ecologically-sound gears, campaign awareness programs, capacity building of local communities and increasing support for the implementation of the Philippine blue swimming crab management plan of the government.

The FIP is being initiated by The Philippine Association of Crab Processors, Inc. (PACPI), a group of blue swimming crab processing and exporting companies that operate mainly within the Visayan area. The association was founded in May 2009 in an effort to foster a good relationship among the crab processing sector and to support initiatives promoting blue swimming crab sustainability in the country. At present, 4 of the 8 major companies operating in the Philippines are members of PACPI, representing ninety percent (90%) of the blue swimming crab industry, and are actively providing financial support in the implementation of blue swimming crab sustainability projects. The member companies of PACPI include:

• Byrd International Seafoods Cebu
• Central Seafoods, Inc.
• Phil-Union Frozen Foods, Inc.
• RGE Agridev Corporation