Memorandum submitted by the Bass Anglers'
Sportfishing Society (BASS) (W14)
1. EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
1.1 During the last three to four decades
fish stocks have declined dramatically both in terms of overall
abundance and stock structure. (number of older and larger individuals
remaining)
1.2 Despite some contraction within the
commercial fleet, fishing capacity continues to increase with
technological advancements and significantly exceeds the availability
of resources.
1.3 The new objective of achieving "best
return" from our commonly owned natural fish stock resources
must be rigorously adopted. The fisheries management process has
been and remains too dominated by commercial fishers. Ownership
of the process needs to be restored to the owners of the fish,
the "public", with no one stakeholder dominating the
process.
1.4 Fisheries Departments must become better
informed about recreational sea angling and other marine activities
with an interest in fish stocks, especially with regards to the
economic impacts of those activities.
1.5 Profitability over the long term must
always take precedence over the short term.
1.6 The notion that recreational sea angling
and commercial fishing arebroadly similar in economic value overlooks
the dependence of angling on relatively few species compared to
commercial fishing. It is some of those species for which a robust
case exists for re-designating them "Recreational" on
"best value" economic grounds.
1.7 The current Issues Papers have just
been published, almost six months since the Net Benefits report
was published, yet we are now given just two or three weeks to
respond.
2. OVERFISHING—THE
CORE PROBLEM
2.1 Members of this organisation have been
confronting the Fisheries Dept. about declining fish stocks for
more than three decades and for most of that period, the Dept.
has been in denial of the problem. We have correspondence as recent
as September 1999 from MAFF denying the failure of fisheries management.
2.2 The CFP Reform Green Paper (one of the
first public acknowledgements of failure) spelt out what those
at the coal face (commercial and recreational fishers) knew only
too well; fish stocks are but a shadow of what they use to be
just three short decades ago.
2.3 There is still denial from much of the
commercial industry, especially its leaders who fear the wrath
of those they represent should any admission of depleted stocks
result in more restrictive management measures.
2.4 Technology allows man to locate and
catch finite fish stocks at a rate that nature can not replenish
and just as all other industry sectors have had to adjust as a
result of adopting new technology, so to must the commercial fishing
industry.
2.5 The only hope for sustainability is
to dramatically reduce the number of participants. If a forest
supports 20 woodsmen with axes it will only support 10 with bow
saws, and only three with chain saws. The commercial fishing industry
has to accept this fundamental reality just as many other sectors
have done.
2.6 The 23,000 UK fishermen of the late
70's and early 80's has indeed halved by 2003, but many key fish
stocks have been reduced by a far greater proportion and their
productivity is now minimal.
2.7 Simultaneously, fish location and catching
capacity during the same period has for many metiers, quadrupled
or more.
3. CHANGING TIMES—OLD
ATTITUDES AND
MINDSETS MUST
BE RESOLUTELY
DISCARDED
3.1 The world is rapidly changing and market
forces are changing.
"The new market drivers are tourism and
leisure."
Ex Governor of Bank of England, Eddy George,
Penzance, 2003.
3.2 When farmers were told to diversify
into tourism and leisure in the 60's and 70's, there was widespread
resentment. Many of those who challenged such suggestions now
derive more of their incomes from converted barn lets, campsites,
farm shops, shooting lets and fishing lakes etc than from core
agriculture.
3.3 The change of name from MAFF to Defra,
initiated some cultural changes, but some personnel appear to
have difficulty in altering their mindsets. The environment (and
that includes fish stocks) needs to become the new priority over
that of the catching sector.
3.4 Much of the thinking of the Strategy
Unit proposals will be resisted by the "old guard",
as well as some within the commercial fishing industry.
3.5 All those who have decision making roles
within the management regime need to become better informed about
the positive economic impacts of recreational sea angling and
others who are interested in our marine environment.
4. SUSTAINABILITY
AND PROFITABILITY
4.1 Overfishing has been extremely profitable
in the short term for some individuals. There are many examples
where significant profits have been amassed from exploiting renewable
resources even though exploitation rates are unsustainable. In
the boom of the late 70's and 80's, many commercial fishermen
made substantial profits.
4.2 In the 70's and 80's, technological
advances with electronic positioning systems, sonar, monofilament
gill nets, sophisticated hydraulic haulers etc facilitated the
location and catching of fish and landings rose.
4.3 Record landings in the South West during
the early 80's regularly made headlines and the "boom"
culture took off with investment in new quays, market facilities,
ice plants, and new and often bigger boats. The decline in the
number of UK fishermen (from 28,000 in 1960 to 21,000 in 1970)
was arrested and even reversed (22,000 by 1975, 23,000 by 1980).
4.4 Few questioned the sustainability and
those who did were either silenced or ignored. Certainly, neither
MAFF or the commercial industry leaders displayed any concerns.
Indeed, such was the fervour, considerable public funds were invested
in the catching sector which considerably exacerbated the problem.
4.5 Today's generation of fishers are paying
the price with depleted stocks, low profitability in demersal
fleet, difficulty in attracting crews, volumes and values of landings
down.
4.6 Prime angling species are demersal and
depleted stocks, especially the lack of older and larger fish,
have negatively impacted recreational sea angling.
4.7 Recreational sea anglers direct expenditure
in England and Wales (Defra commissioned Drew report 2004) is
£538 million. The species that support this are worth £49
million (Defra Statsitics 2003) at first hand sale value (landings).
4.8 Best value for some species (Overarching
Objective from Strategy Unit—recommendation 2) can be generated
from managing them for the development of Recreational Sea Angling
but this approach challenges the long held mindsets of many participants
within fisheries that the all important player is the commercial
fishing industry. Defra has been the sponsors of commercial fishing.
5. IMPLEMENTING
CHANGE
5.1 At each and every stage within the fisheries
management process, the overarching objective must always be "best
return on a sustainable basis".
5.2 The resources must become the priority
rather than the short term acquiescence of extractive stakeholders.
5.3 5.1 and 5.2 above are not incompatible
for the best longterm future of all catchers (commercial and recreational)
is far more secure if the fish stock resources are maintained
in terms of abundance and stock structure.
5.4 The principle of "public ownership"
in that the public are the owners of the marine environment and
fish stocks and it is the owners who should determine how, when
and where fish stocks are exploited for best return must be established
as routine.
24 September 2004
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