The European Commission on Wednesday announced it adopted a long-term plan to improve management of the Bay of Biscay anchovy fishery, which has been closed since 2005.
Because anchovy is a short-lived species, the plan allows fisheries ministers to accept scientific advice and set the total allowable catch (TAC) right before the fishery opens on 1 July (the harvest runs through 30 June). Currently, TACs are established by European fisheries ministers at their annual December meeting.
This approach should reduce uncertainty for fishermen, said the EC, adding that the fishery’s stakeholders support the plan.
“I am extremely optimistic that this new plan, with its innovative approach, can succeed in restoring the fishery to good health, not least because the momentum behind it has come in large measure from both scientists and the [fishing industry] itself,” said EC Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Joe Borg.
The plan also encompasses a “harvest control rule,” a mathematical formula that allows fisheries ministers to set the TAC immediately after receiving the scientific advice.
Additionally, the plan is consistent with the ongoing effort to reform the EC’s 2002 Common Fisheries Policy, because it moves away from a short-term approach in which TACs are negotiated annually and toward a multi-annual approach that provides both greater industry stability and clearer sustainable fishing objectives, according to the EC.
