Suchergebnisse

To achieve the goals of the EU Common Fishery Policy (EU CFP) of ecological and economic sustainable fishery and to meet the demands for protection of sensitive habitats under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (EU MSFD), as well as to meet the demands from other marine sectors on occupation of specific sea areas for other uses under the EU Marine Spatial Planning Directive (EU MSPD), it is necessary to establish adequate management strategy evaluation (MSE) tools to evaluate the impacts of the different uses of the sea in a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral context. Such tools are needed to evaluate scenarios of different management strategies in order to inform managers and stakeholders about the impacts and relative performance of different management options in achieving the policy objectives. This demands implementation of MSE tools which encompass the dynamic variability in distribution and abundance of fish resources with high resolution in time and space. Also, this demands integration of bio-economic MSE tools which can evaluate fishing patterns and fisher's decision making, i.e. human behaviour, in allocating their fishing effort with high resolution in time and space. Consequently, these tools must be highly spatial explicit and enable small scale time specific resolution in order to efficiently and realistically evaluating the integrated biological and economic effects of spatial management, and contribute to improving spatial management strategies also taking into account the footpring of the marine capture sector including energy use and efficiency to catch the available fishery resources. The MSPTOOLS project provides new and improved quantitative methods for evaluating stock abundances and distributions with high resolution in time and space by integrating different types of quantitative information as well as by linking biological and bio-economic models and evaluation tools. This has involved development of better tools, methods and integrated models to describe the resources, the fisheries and sensitive habitats/species distribution in relation to each other and identify sustainable fishing areas and conservation areas. The model developments under the project have resulted in a row of manuscripts published and submitted to high ranking scientific peer-reviewed journals and symposia, and those manuscripts are summarised in the present report with proper reference to the main manuscripts. The first summary highlight the main results that were obtained in Rufener et al. (2019a;b) which describes a statistical framework (hereafter LGNB) that was developed to combine commercial fisheries and scientific survey data, to ultimately improve the understanding of the spatio-temporal abundance dynamics of marine harvested species. This framework served, in fact, as the main basis for all other MSPTOOLS work packages. The second summary presents preliminary results to an economic extension that was included in the proposed framework where there was made coupling of a Data Development Analysis (DEA) to the LGNB model in order to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the commercial fisheries and scientific survey, with respect to their sampling size and accuracy in estimating abundance trends. Detailed results of this summary are reported in Rufener et al. (In Prep.1). The third summary provides the methodology and outline of the coupling process between the LGNB and the bio-economic management strategy evaluation tool DISPLACE. This, furthermore, includes a critical commenting on the main hurdles encountered in this process, and how this will be used to investigate the actual benefit of the coupled LGNB-DISPLACE framework within a set of hypothetical management scenarios. Further results of this summary are stated in Rufener et al. (In Prep.2). The fourth summary presents the dissemination of the second and third MSPTOOLS working tasks at the annual ICES Working Group on Spatial Fisheries Data (ICES WGSFD) meeting, and how the working group could benefit from the LGNB-DISPLACE framework. Finally, the fifth summary presents an initial pilot study under the MSPTOOLS project to combine fishery-independent research survey information on catch rates as well as commercial fishery catch and effort information from the targeted Danish Norway pout fishery in integrated analyses with very high spatial resolution to evaluate spatial fisheries management measures in form of a specific fishing closure. The results of this summary is published in ICES Journal of Marine Science (Bigné et al. 2019). The model improvements provided by the project has a high impact and news-value to both the current and future advisory and scientific stock evaluation development work within the scientific and management advisory communities under the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES). As such the models, their improvements and their implementation provides significant new fisheries and marine spatial management scientific knowledge, as well as improved management advisory methods, directly to and relevant also for the Danish fisheries industry and all stakeholders within the fisheries sector besides the ICES communities. The MSPTOOLS work has to high extent been targeted towards model application and implementation of the methodological developments made under the project through the ICES management advisory system and community, as well as the ICES scientific community and network. The project has as such contributed significantly to a row of ICES methodological development working groups such ICES WGSFD, ICES WGFBIT, ICES WKTRADE2 and ICES WGECON, as well as provided contributions to major ICES assessment working groups such the ICES WGNSSK with published pilot studies. Under those ICES working groups, the method developments under the MSPTOOLS project have been directly presented, evaluated and discussed among other through direct project (financed) participation in those working groups. This has also included provision of specific recommendations regarding future data calls, methodological further developments and directions, application to management advice, as well as management strategies in general under ICES according to important stocks, habitats and fisheries (among other for Danish fishery). Furthermore, the implementation of the models have been affiliated further through MSPTOOLS contributions to other EU projects covering the EU-COFASP ECOAST and EU-HELCOM ACTION projects, and not least conducting a full PhD Study co-financed between MSPTOOLS (1 year), EU-COFASP ECOAST (1 year) and a DTU Aqua internal PhD project (1 year) on further development of statistical models for coupling of commercial fishery and research survey data to describe fish stock distribution and abundance surfaces, as well as further development of a bio-economic fisheries model, in order to link the two models. This has involved direct cooperation between those projects and several contributions from the MSPTOOLS project to those projects with input to methodological reviews and improved methods. As such, the MSPTOOLS project has also been further implemented and disseminated through the international expert networks working under these international research projects, as well as implementation of the model developments under MSPTOOLS in the work conducted under those research projects. There has been conducted three project workshops held in cooperation between the EMFF MSPTOOLS and EMFF ManDaLiS projects. One of the workshops was international and was held in association with and just after an International Conference Special Session: IIFET Conference, Seattle, USA, July 2018, (IIFET 2018 International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, https://www.xcdsystem.com/iifet/website/). This Special Open Session was directly arranged by the MSPTOOLS and ManDaLiS Projects with invitation of stakeholders and including stakeholder perspectives. Besides initiative taking, planning, arranging, organizing, coordinating, announcing, leading and carrying through this special session directly under the MSPTOOLS and ManDaLiS Projects the projects produced the session abstract and a full scientific publication reporting of the outcomes of the session (Nielsen et al., 2018): In accordance with several of the stakeholder perspectives and suggestions from the above workshops and the IIFET session there has directly in relation to the MSPTOOLS project been produced a follow up research project proposal and application (NORDFO) submitted to the EMFF project call in spring 2019. This project proposal has had a positive evaluation and is for the time being placed as number one at the waiting list for funding under the EMFF in 2019 for which final decision is pending.

A substantial proportion of EU's fish stocks lack a quantitative assessment and are therefore regarded as data-limited. The goal of the present project and report, i.e. to provide and improve quantitative assessments of data-limited stocks, is therefore a prerequisite to the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and to promote sustainable fisheries. Specifically, the project and report addresses Article 2 of the CFP stating that the objective is to achieve exploitation levels that restore and maintain populations above levels which can produce the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). This cannot be achieved without quantitative assessments. Furthermore, as a result of the landing obligation (CFP article 15) data-limited stocks acting as "choke-species" in mixed fisheries have a significant risk of limiting the fishery of high-value stocks. Obtaining quantitative assessments and fleet-specific fishing mortalities as further developed in this project is a necessary step toward mitigating the impact of choke-species and improving management of such fisheries. By improving knowledge about data-limited fish stocks, the project minimises the risk of yield reductions that result from an increased precautionary buffer applied when quantitative stock assessments are lacking. Similarly, the risk of overexploitation is minimised with the aim to prevent a subsequent potential long-term stock rebuilding period with reduction in quotas. The specific objectives of the project is to develop and implement further newly developed statistical methods by DTU Aqua for assessment and management strategy evaluation of data limited stocks in relation to MSY (Maximum Sustainable Yield) - with focus on broad accessibility and implementation – benefitting Danish, European and global fisheries. Furthermore, the aim is to improve the management basis for 4-6 data limited fish stocks with special importance for Danish fishery and which are managed conservatively because of limited available information. The specific stocks are selected in consultancy with stakeholders. The project has involved close collaboration with and feed-back from stakeholders within fisheries and management to ensure that the stocks selected as case studies are the most relevant to management and the fisheries industry. The project provides quantitative knowledge and new assessments regarding more than the 4-6 Danish data-limited fish stocks that the project was originally aiming for by project start. This knowledge is not only new, but has also been necessary to enable implementation of sustainable management for the stocks. Furthermore, the project has created the foundation for analytical assessments of these stocks and not least further development of the statistical assessment and forecast models. The sustainable management of fisheries demands the quantitative assessment of fisheries resources and exploitation patterns. However, underlying ecological and mathematical models are often a simplified representation of natural systems and are particularly challenged if available data is limited in quantity or quality. Therefore, it is important to not only understand underlying model assumptions, but also to quantify and account for associated assessment uncertainty. ManDaLiS has assessed several data-limited stocks with high relevance for the Danish fishery and evaluated existing and developed new data-limited assessment methods and management strategies. The focus has been on length-based assessment methods and biomass dynamic models, which are two important suits of methods for the assessment of data-limited stocks. The performance comparison of different length-based assessment methods under various recruitment and exploitation scenarios revealed strengths and shortcomings of the various methods and provides important guidance on model selection for stock assessors and managers. A novel approach to length-based stock assessment allows the quantification of assessment uncertainty and adds a new method to the stock assessment toolbox. The modification of the stochastic production model in continuous time (SPiCT) allows modelling time-variant productivity changes or regime shifts by a time-variant parameter for the intrinsic population growth rate. ManDaLiS has improved existing management strategies by incorporating stochastic harvest control rules which allow adjusting management advice (e.g. the total allowable catch (TAC)) as a function of assessment uncertainty. This approach is in line with the precautionary principle and reduces the TAC if the stock status is uncertain. The methodological developments achieved within the scope of ManDaLiS shed light on the trade-offs of different data-limited assessment methods and provide new assessment methods and management strategies. Most importantly, these developments allow the quantification and consideration of assessment uncertainty and thus, contribute to a sustainable management of fisheries. The landing obligation has drastically increased the importance of data-limited stocks as a result of the "choke-species" phenomenon. The DTU Aqua model used (SPiCT) has been upgraded to an ICES (International Council for Exploration of the Sea) standard assessment model for data poor stocks not least due to input from the current project. Furthermore, the novelty of the model improvements provided by the project has had a high impact to both the current and future advisory and scientific assessment development work within ICES. The case studies and model implementations have very much covered a large number of fish stocks that are important to Danish fishery. As such the models, their improvements and their implementation provide advice directly to and relevant for the Danish fisheries industry and all stakeholders within the fisheries sector. The results and methodological developments of the project are disseminated through four scientific manuscripts, whereof one is published, one accepted, and two are pending submission for publication, and through scientific conference presentations as well as summarised in several ICES working group reports (e.g. ICES WKLIFE VI-VIII, ICES WGNSSK, ICES WGBFAS, ICES WKMSYCat34, ICES WKPROXY, ICES WGECON). Project participants attended these working groups to make specific recommendations regarding future data calls, methodological directions, and assessment, advice and management strategies in general and for several stocks including stocks where a robust assessment cannot be provided. Furthermore, the implementation of the models have been affiliated further through ManDaLiS contributions to other EU projects covering the EU-Tender DRUMFISH, EU-Tender PROBYFISH, EU Tender EFICA, and EU-H2020-MEESO, and not least conducting a full PhD Study cofinanced between ManDaLiS (2 years) and a DTU Aqua internal PhD project (1 year) with input to stock assessments, methodological reviews and improved assessment methods. As such, the ManDaLiS project has also been further implemented and disseminated through the cooperation in international expert networks working under these international research projects, as well as implementation of the model developments under ManDaLiS in the assessments conducted under those research projects. There has been conducted three project workshops held in cooperation between the EMFF ManDaLiS and MSPTOOLS projects. One of the workshops was international and was held in association with and just after an International Conference Special Session: IIFET Conference, Seattle, USA, July 2018, (IIFET 2018 International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, https://www.xcdsystem.com/iifet/website/). This Special Open Session was directly arranged by the ManDaLiS and MSPTOOLS projects with invitation of stakeholders and including stakeholder perspectives. Besides initiative taking, planning, arranging, organizing, coordinating, announcing, leading and carrying through this special session directly under the MSPTOOLS and ManDaLiS Projects the projects produced the session abstract and a full scientific publication reporting of the outcomes of the session (Nielsen et al., 2018). In accordance with several of the stakeholder perspectives from the above workshops and the IIFET session future perspectives and needs raised by the stakeholders during the ManDaLiS and MSPTOOLS workshops included suggestions for continuation of the implementation of the data poor stock assessments and model developments on additional candidate stocks with importance for Danish fishery.

Under the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), management organisations are directed to evaluate measures for reducing the footprint of fishing on the seafloor. We applied a spatial modelling platform to evaluate the effects of spatial fishery management measures on the Baltic Sea. The evaluation includes restricting areas for fishing with the dual goal of reducing the impact on benthic habitats and minimising negative effects on fishery catch and profit. To redistribute the fishing effort realistically, the model simulates individual-vessel agents and behavioural rules. The model integrates benthic community dynamics by combining gear-specific depletion rates from fishing agents with habitat-specific trait-based recovery rates for the benthic communities. Our simulations showed that closing areas in the central Baltic Sea and condensing the fishing efforts into core fishing areas did not improve the relative benthic status (RBS). In addition, the fisheries were adversely affected by reduced fishing opportunities, further impacting their economic performance. The potential for improving the overall RBS with spatial management is dubious in the central Baltic, given that the area is dominated by relatively short-lived and rapidly recovering benthic species. By contrast, the Kattegat showed a substantial improvement in the RBS, as determined by measures combining the protection of long-lived benthic communities with the mitigation of high-impact fisheries. Our results and investigations provide different bio-economic scenarios on benthos and fisheries dynamics resulting from specific management measures. The developed knowledge base and modelling tool is expected to assist policymakers in identifying the most appropriate measures to achieve both a Good Environmental Status (GES) of the seafloor according to the MSFD and to maintain sustainable fisheries and stocks according to the CFP.

The present report is an EU-FP7-SOCIOEC Report giving an overview and critical evaluation of the current management measures implemented for the North Sea mixed demersal fisheries and the fish stocks involved in this. Also, this involves review and critical evaluation of the scientific advice supporting the fisheries management for the North Sea mixed demersal fisheries and the stocks involved herein. Management of the demersal roundfish and flatfish fisheries in the North Sea is conducted mainly through the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the yearly EU-Norway Bilateral Fishery Agreements. The prevailing management system and principle has been landing quotas (TAC, Total Allowable Catch) mainly based on the EU principle of relative stability in the international sharing of the TAC. Also, general effort limitations and technical measures are set for the EU and Norwegian fisheries on top of the TAC regulations. Technical measures have mainly aimed at reducing the retention and discard of the juveniles through gear measures and to protect the spawners and/or recruits in the fish populations through closures. Furthermore, the management is based on a set of national measures especially concerning control and enforcement measures, national distribution of the overall TAC, individual special technical measures, allocation (distribution) of national TACs to different fisheries and vessels including the share to e.g. Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) or Vessel Quota Shares (VQSs). The management of the North Sea demersal fisheries has changed quite a lot over the last decades following the need to rebuild the fish stocks, and in particular the North Sea cod stock in relation to the present case study. The CFP has increasing focus towards implementing multi-annual or long term management plans (MAMPs, LTMPs) partly to avoid the annual political battles over setting the TAC. There has furthermore been a trend during the last decade to move away from the Precautionary Approach and towards Maximum Sustainable Yield as the overarching management objective and Harvest Control Rules (HCRs) based on this. There have been introduced increasingly restrictive fisheries-based effort limitations with possibilities for exemption or for less drastic effort reductions provided that cod avoidance behavior can be demonstrated. Although the decision-makers under the CFP have had a reputation of consistently setting TACs way above the scientific advice, the development in recent years has been towards this gap being reduced. Management of the fisheries has undergone a number of structural and behavioral changes, and these have already yielded some positive results as the state of the demersal stocks in the North Sea have globally improved. The status of main demersal stocks has considerably improved over the last decade. Fishing mortality has globally decreased and biomass has increased, and most of the assessed demersal stocks are now within sustainable limits. Some issues remain with North Sea cod, for which recovery is slower. At present, cod is the limiting species for all the North Sea demersal fisheries. Over a time span from the 1960s landings of demersal stocks have declined with an accelerating decrease since the mid-1990s in line with the falling stock sizes and regulated reductions in total allowable catches (TACs). A clear decrease in the mean fishing mortality (F) is observed in the 2000-2010 period with current F values between Fmsy and Fpa, and the spawning stock biomass (SSB) has on average been above Bpa for the period 1983-2010 for the assessed stocks. The effort in the central North Sea and along the Norwegian waters has decreased as well as the number of operating fishing vessels (capacity). Overall, the nominal effort (kW-days) by European fleets using demersal trawl, seine, beam trawl and gillnet in the North Sea, Skagerrak and the Eastern Channel have been substantially reduced (-20% between 2003 and 2011). Since 2000, the total fish biomass for exploited stocks in the North Sea is about 4-5 million tonnes with an increasing trend in the most recent years. Despite the decrease of landings and fishing mortality in the last recent decade, the overall recruitment has shown a clear decreasing trend from 1985-2010. The recent increase in SSB during the last decase, which is likely due to lower landings and fishing mortality levels in the last 15 years, indicate inclinations of the North Sea ecosystem to recover. However, this has not converted in higher recruitment levels in the most recent years in which there may be a time delay. There is a clear trend that both the gross profit and the net profit has improved from 2008-2010 for the main fleets of the North Sea with the only exception of the Dutch beam trawlers 18-24m, for which the gross profit decreased by nearly 90%. The positive development in economic performance measures can be a result of the structural changes that have recently occurred in many fisheries. There are fewer vessels sharing the available resources (reduction in over-capacity). Especially, the movement towards right-based systems is expected to have had positive effects on reducing the over-capacity and improving the economic performance of many fleets. Historically, EU subsidies over the years have contributed to making the fleet more efficient, so the success of the CFP in the area of developing an efficient fleet has historically contributed to its failure in relation to conserve fish stocks, as overcapacity is consistently mentioned as one of the fundamental reasons for the conservation failure historically. Employment in fishing as a social indicator is shrinking, not least for the North Sea, and has been so for many years. There are multiple explanations for this: i) individual vessels are getting more efficient, ii) consolidation of fleets whereby fewer vessels catch the available resources with noticeable decrease in number of operating fishing vessels, and iii) decreasing fishing opportunities in the shape of lower quotass. The raw number of fishers tells a story of a sector that in reality, at least in the prosperous countries around the North Sea, provides only few jobs. Despite the above trends indicating positive effects of the most recent fisheries management of the North Sea mixed demersal fisheries there are a row of general problems in the present management. Population dynamics with respect to recruitment variations, sub-populations and changes in distribution of several demersal North Sea stocks influenced by environmental factors besides fishery are not fully understood and taken into consideration in management (and management advice). Also, biological multi-species interactions between the stocks are not fully taken into account in the management of the stocks when setting the MSY management and exploitation limits for the stocks. Management is not based on broader ecosystem and multi-species objectives, but based mainly on single stock objectives. Also technical interactions between fisheries are not taken fully into account in management of the North Sea demersal fisheries. The fisheries targeting cod, whiting, haddock, saithe, flatfish and Nephrops in the North Sea and Kattegat-Skagerrak are mixed demersal fisheries for towed gears. Mixed fisheries considerations are of primary importance for the management of North Sea species. Single stock management is a cause of discarding in mixed fisheries, because individual stock management objectives may not be consistent with each other. As such, the TAC of one species may be exhausted before the TAC of another, leading to catches of valuable fish that cannot be landed resulting in over-quotas discard. Overall, present management and fisheries policy is characterized by the CFP having in many ways taken form of a classical intergovernmentalist, state-centric command-and-control, top-down management system, where member states' ministers in the Council have exercised strong control over the fisheries management measures which have been developed and adopted on the background of proposals from the Commission and the Parliament, though since the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty the Parliament has assumed a role of co-legislator alongside the Council. EC has identified the lack of stakeholder involvement as one of the major weaknesses of the CFP, recognizing that this fact clearly undermine its legitimacy. Establishment of the Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) with the 2003 CFP can be seen as the first formal attempt to generate a network of multi-national, multi-interest advisory organizations with a strong regional focus among other involving resource users in the decision making. However, the RACs have at present only an advisory function on decisions and are not formally integrated directly in management on a regional basis, i.e. the RAC system is primarily intended to provide a regional stakeholder perspective to the Commission's deliberations rather than providing stakeholders with real decision-making authority. RACs constitute, nevertheless, a move towards regionalization of the fisheries policy. Present management is, furthermore, characterized by a high degree of complexity, bureaucracy, and examples of micro-management where different management systems and measures are implemented in parallel making evaluation of impact of the individual measures and systems very complicated and the system suffers from lack of transparency. With respect to the complexity the different management measures are acting top of each other with impact on the same fisheries and stocks at the same time (and with time overlap in their implementation) creating a very complex management and associated advisory system, where it is difficult to distinguish specific effects and impacts of each individual measures implemented. Accordingly, it is also very difficult to make scientific management evaluation and advice associated to the individual measures

Some of the research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union through the European Community's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant Agreement No. 266445 for the project "Vectors of Change in Oceans and Seas Marine Life, Impact on Economic Sectors (VECTORS)." Additional work resulted from the BONUS BALTSPACE project (Towards Sustainable Governance of Baltic Marine Space), supported by BONUS (Art 185), funded jointly by the EU and by national research funding agencies in the eight EU member states around the Baltic Sea. ; International audience ; The relationship between fisheries and marine spatial planning (MSP) is still widely unsettled. While several scientific studies highlight the strong relation between fisheries and MSP, as well as ways in which fisheries could be included in MSP, the actual integration of fisheries into MSP often fails. In this article, we review the state of the art and latest progress in research on various challenges in the integration of fisheries into MSP. The reviewed studies address a wide range of integration challenges, starting with techniques to analyse where fishermen actually fish, assessing the drivers for fishermen's behaviour, seasonal dynamics and long-term spatial changes of commercial fish species under various anthropogenic pressures along their successive life stages, the effects of spatial competition on fisheries and projections on those spaces that might become important fishing areas in the future, and finally, examining how fisheries could benefit from MSP. This paper gives an overview of the latest developments on concepts, tools, and methods. It becomes apparent that the spatial and temporal dynamics of fish and fisheries, as well as the definition of spatial preferences, remain major challenges, but that an integration of fisheries is already possible today. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Some of the research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union through the European Community's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant Agreement No. 266445 for the project "Vectors of Change in Oceans and Seas Marine Life, Impact on Economic Sectors (VECTORS)." Additional work resulted from the BONUS BALTSPACE project (Towards Sustainable Governance of Baltic Marine Space), supported by BONUS (Art 185), funded jointly by the EU and by national research funding agencies in the eight EU member states around the Baltic Sea. ; International audience ; The relationship between fisheries and marine spatial planning (MSP) is still widely unsettled. While several scientific studies highlight the strong relation between fisheries and MSP, as well as ways in which fisheries could be included in MSP, the actual integration of fisheries into MSP often fails. In this article, we review the state of the art and latest progress in research on various challenges in the integration of fisheries into MSP. The reviewed studies address a wide range of integration challenges, starting with techniques to analyse where fishermen actually fish, assessing the drivers for fishermen's behaviour, seasonal dynamics and long-term spatial changes of commercial fish species under various anthropogenic pressures along their successive life stages, the effects of spatial competition on fisheries and projections on those spaces that might become important fishing areas in the future, and finally, examining how fisheries could benefit from MSP. This paper gives an overview of the latest developments on concepts, tools, and methods. It becomes apparent that the spatial and temporal dynamics of fish and fisheries, as well as the definition of spatial preferences, remain major challenges, but that an integration of fisheries is already possible today. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

An Impact Assessment (IA) is a process aimed at structuring and supporting the development of policies. Besides the fact that IA assumes different features when applied to different sectors, really it should help policy makers in evaluating the contribution to the fisheries sustainability of new regulations. The recent improvements and development around the IA methodologies go more and more toward the concept of a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA). The evolution of IA in the fishery sector has followed the general and increasing need in having a more and more integrated type of analysis, focusing on the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic and social). This paper synthesizes the methodology developed under the EU FP7 SOCIOEC project,1 whose main objective was the application of the most recent EU guidelines on IA to the current (and future) EU fishery management. The result is an integrated approach taking into account the main pillars of sustainability and a strong stakeholders' involvement. A clear step-by-step procedure based on both qualitative and quantitative type of analyses has been defined, the last step being the "rating" phase, an essential step in a SIA, that provides the possibility to assess the results of different policy options (allowing policy makers to select the most appropriate one) in terms of acceptability, effectiveness, coherence and efficiency. The overall methodology has been tested on different EU regions, fisheries and management measures

An Impact Assessment (IA) is a process aimed at structuring and supporting the development of policies. Besides the fact that IA assumes different features when applied to different sectors, really it should help policy makers in evaluating the contribution to the fisheries sustainability of new regulations. The recent improvements and development around the IA methodologies go more and more toward the concept of a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA). The evolution of IA in the fishery sector has followed the general and increasing need in having a more and more integrated type of analysis, focusing on the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic and social). This paper synthesizes the methodology developed under the EU FP7 SOCIOEC project,1 whose main objective was the application of the most recent EU guidelines on IA to the current (and future) EU fishery management. The result is an integrated approach taking into account the main pillars of sustainability and a strong stakeholders' involvement. A clear step-by-step procedure based on both qualitative and quantitative type of analyses has been defined, the last step being the "rating" phase, an essential step in a SIA, that provides the possibility to assess the results of different policy options (allowing policy makers to select the most appropriate one) in terms of acceptability, effectiveness, coherence and efficiency. The overall methodology has been tested on different EU regions, fisheries and management measures.

An Impact Assessment (IA) is a process aimed at structuring and supporting the development of policies. Besides the fact that IA assumes different features when applied to different sectors, really it should help policy makers in evaluating the contribution to the fisheries sustainability of new regulations. The recent improvements and development around the IA methodologies go more and more toward the concept of a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA). The evolution of IA in the fishery sector has followed the general and increasing need in having a more and more integrated type of analysis, focusing on the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic and social). This paper synthesizes the methodology developed under the EU FP7 SOCIOEC project,1 whose main objective was the application of the most recent EU guidelines on IA to the current (and future) EU fishery management. The result is an integrated approach taking into account the main pillars of sustainability and a strong stakeholders' involvement. A clear step-by-step procedure based on both qualitative and quantitative type of analyses has been defined, the last step being the "rating" phase, an essential step in a SIA, that provides the possibility to assess the results of different policy options (allowing policy makers to select the most appropriate one) in terms of acceptability, effectiveness, coherence and efficiency. The overall methodology has been tested on different EU regions, fisheries and management measures.

This study compares the details and performance of fisheries management between the EU and a selection of other countries worldwide: Iceland, New Zealand, and Australia, which are considered in many respects to be among the most advanced in the world in fisheries management. Fisheries management in the EU, Iceland, Australia, and New Zealand has developed following different paths, despite being based on similar instruments and principles. Iceland, Australia, and New Zealand have been at the forefront of developing management practices such as stakeholder involvement, legally binding management targets (Australia, New Zealand), individual transferable quotas, and discard bans (Iceland, New Zealand). The EU has since the beginning of the 21st century taken significant steps to better involve stakeholders and establish quantitative targets through management plans, and a landing obligation is gradually being implemented from 2015 onward. The management of domestic fisheries resources in Australia, New Zealand, and Iceland has, overall, performed better than in the EU, in terms of conservation and economic efficiency. It should, however, be stressed that, compared to Australia, New Zealand, and Iceland, (i) initial over-capacity was more of an issue in the EU when management measures became legally binding and also that (ii) EU has been progressive in developing common enforcement standards, on stocks shared by sovereign nations. The situation of EU fisheries has substantially improved over the period 2004–2013 in the northeast Atlantic, with fishery status getting close to that in the other jurisdictions, but the lack of recovery for Mediterranean fish stocks remains a concern.