Task 2.3 of work package 2 (Advancing biological knowledge and evaluation of current stock assessment models) focuses on the compilation of biological, ecological and fisheries dependent and fisheries independent data that is required for other FarFish WPs. During the first year of FarFish, some modifications in the objectives occurred, resulting in changes in the species. For example, in the Cape Verde and Seychelles CSs, the focus is now on by-catch species that are not assessed by the Regional Management Fisheries Organizations (RMFO): the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). Lists of species for each CS have now been drawn up, sources of data identified, contacts have been made with RMFOs and DG MARE, and data is being compiled. Data compilation has been largely driven by the FarFish Data Base (FFDB) template developed in WP 6 (see deliverables D6.1 and D6.4). On the other hand, other data required for visualization purposes, especially time series, is also being compiled or requested. A formal data request is being prepared for DG MARE, while coastal state CS participants will be requested to provide data for the FFDB. Talks are also ongoing with RFMOs, especially CECAF, regarding data acquisition and how FarFish can contribute or add value to assessment and management. Actions that need to be taken by Task 2.3 participants include the provision of data and uploading of data to the FFDB. Task 2.3 is ongoing (Report on biological and ecological data in FFDB pilot version 2, due in Month 26 (July 31, 2019). ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 727891.
This report contains basic description of the six case studies (CS) in the FarFish project. Four of the CS have Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) with the EU and two are within international waters. The CS cover the Cape Verde tuna fishery (SFPA), the Senegal tuna and hake fishery (SFPA), the Mauritanian mixed fishery (SFPA), Seychelles tuna fishery (SFPA), the high-seas mixed fishery in the South West Atlantic (FAO Major Fishing Area 41) and the mixed fishery in the international waters of South East Atlantic (FAO Area 47). The information presented is primarily based on a review of the available literature and the data that will feed other FarFish work packages (WPs). This case study characterizations, which will be updated as the project progresses, includes descriptions of geography, oceanography, ecosystem characteristics, fisheries activity and production in the area. It also includes description of the existing management procedures and overall their objectives, stock assessment methods used; as well as identification of the main relevant authorities, operators and other stakeholders. The governance within the fisheries is also discussed, as well as issues related to compliance and transparency. The main findings in the evaluation of the SFPA or the high-seas fishery is presented; and the supply-/value chain is studied. The CS characterizations also include overviews of how FarFish will address the gaps and challenges identified, as well as links to the most relevant literature and data. The case studies cover a range of fisheries of different complexity, from largely single (or a few) tuna fisheries to multi-species demersal fisheries. The management regimes do also range from essentially no management in the case of the high-seas mixed fishery in the South West Atlantic (FAO Major Fishing Area 41), to management at the national and Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) levels. While each case study is in general unique, they all face similar problems and challenges. These ...
More than 20% of the European fishing fleets catches are taken from non-European waters. Access to these waters is often based on agreements with coastal states that allow the EU fleet to fish from surplus stocks in return for financial support. These agreements have been subjected to criticism, as these fisheries are sometimes poorly regulated and management decisions are often based on limited knowledge, compliance, and enforcement capabilities. It is also too often the case that trust between stakeholders is lacking. The aim of the FarFish project is to overcome these hurdles. The FarFish project is designed around six case study areas in which the European fleet is actively engaged in fishing activities, including Cape Verde, Mauritania, Senegal and Seychelles, as well as the international high-seas areas in the southeast and southwest Atlantic. Among the Research & Innovation outputs of the FarFish project is a development of a management approach where the management authorities and the resource users come to an agreement on some key objectives and how to meet them. This approach is designed to reduce micromanagement by involving stakeholders and increase the degree of co-management by delegating management responsibilities to resource users. The process is broken into a number of steps, which include a) the provision of guidelines on how to develop so called management recommendations (MRs), b) provision of an invitation from the authorities to the resource users to develop MRs, where overall objectives are established, c) development of MRs, d) third party audit of the MR, where the success of the MR is evaluated. Draft guidelines and MR invitations have been published, and this report compiles the first proposals for MRs for each of the FarFish case studies. These will then be audited by an independent auditor and the whole process will then be re-iterated. The aim is that by the end of the project, we will have a tested / validated approach for how to manage fisheries in cocreation between ...
The FarFish project published a so called "Legacy booklet" towards the end of the project, which is intended to summarise progress and key results to a wider audience e.g. to stakeholders that do not have scientific background or expert knowledge on the main project topics. The publication of this "project summary report aimed at a wider audience" was described in the original project description as follows: Task 7.8 Project summary report aimed at a wider audience: In order to make the project results widely known and understood by everyone with an interest in the subject, the project coordinator will produce a project summary report at the end of the project. The report will describe in layman-terms the project as a whole, the main challenges and the most important results. This will facilitate dissemination to a wider audience, which will be important when considering the wide range of stakeholders connected to the subject. The "Legacy booklet" is presented in this report ; The research leading to these results received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 727891/FarFish project.
This report contains the 2nd management recommendation (MR) invitations submitted to the case studies in the FarFish project i.e. the high-seas fisheries in SW-Atlantic and SE-Atlantic, and the SFPA fisheries in Cape Verde, Senegal, Mauritania and Seychelles. The purpose of these MR invitations is to offer selected operators (resource users) the opportunity to develop MRs following the "second draft general guidelines for making MRs" presented in FarFish deliverable 3.5. The approach presented in the guidelines are based on principles of results-based management (RBM), where the responsibility for fisheries management is partly transferred to the resource users, provided that they meet with necessary requirements set forth by the authorities and provide documentation confirming implementation and achievement of specified management objectives. The advantages of such an approach include facilitation of more bottom-up style of management where the actual resource users and other stakeholders are involved. This approach is likely to increase the sense of ownership, by the resource users, in the management. Other advantages are for example increased transparency, as well as reduced costs and increased coverage of monitoring, control and surveillance. The MR invitations follow up on a pre-invitation dialogues where the basics of the approach have been introduced. The MR invitations include a short description of what is to be the focus of the MRs, identification of the main actors and their roles and responsibilities in the process, details on the current status of the fishery and finally the identification of so-called Outcome Targets (OTs) that are performance goals that the MRs are to meet.