An ecosystem approach to fisheries management

With 600 trawlers operating off the south coast of Sicily a derogation to prevent the intensification of fishing was essential before Malta could link up politically and economically with the rest of Europe.

Fisheries science consultant Matthew Camilleri from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries was assigned the huge responsibility of coming up with the scientific arguments for negotiating Malta's position on fisheries with the European Union.

At a FAO seminar on fisheries organised by APS Bank, Mr Camilleri explained how Malta managed to secure a 25-mile Conservation Zone for local fishermen. Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Ninu Zammit opened the seminar with a word on the derogation. It had to be proved that Malta's request was not only political but had a firm basis on technical criteria. This was not easy when data collection on the marine environment was sporadic.

Fortunately, when it came to negotiating terms with the EU, Maltese fisheries already had a strict licensing scheme which had been in place for 30 years. This has served over the years and was already in place as an instrument to help keep large scale industrial fishing to a minimum.

Despite the small size and high vulnerability of the islands' fisheries at 0.16% of the GDP the industry still contributes strongly to culture and the tourism. The 25-mile conservation zone will prevent the collapse of the local fishing industry while providing a haven to help sustain the fisheries of surrounding territorial waters and reduce fierce competition for marine resources.

During the two-year negotiation period five documents were presented to back Malta's call for a 25- mile special zone. Malta is the first country in the Mediterranean to have a non-fragmented zone that has been properly and continuously managed.

Considering the little data the Fisheries Department had on which to base any policy arguments on, it is a miracle that Malta was able to negotiate the 25-mile limit. Information was so lacking that the British Navy was asked to help.

In the end it was Italy which provided the necessary information on coral and the underwater environment which could be said to resemble Malta's in the absence of any data. Now Malta has been offered help to back up this claim with a two million dollar MedSudMed project in collaboration with the Italian government.

Mr Camilleri maintains that the main management tool should be control of the fishing effort. Fishing resources within the zone are already close to maximum sustainable yield. Mr Camilleri said "we cannot fish any more than today - we are already exploiting the maximum".

A few trawlers would tip us into an overfishing scenario which is no longer sustainable. We are in a very delicate situation. A 2001 study compared the impact of the Sicilian trawler fleet to that of the Maltese trawler fleet as five to one even though the area of operation for Sicily is on a greater scale. This meant the negative impact of the trawlers operating in Malta was high.

Remaining outside the EU would mean that intruders into Malta's fishing area would only be breaking Maltese law. Now that the zone is to be incorporated as a European zone, large fishing boats from other country's would be breaking European law and the law of their own country by trespassing in the zone and the European courts will be ready to contest any transgression.

The case for Malta was put forward on the grounds that local fisheries are isolated on the edge of a shallow shelf with a population of bottom-dweller fish that does not mix with fish from other areas. The Malta shelf is the main area in the region for spawning. Malta is oceanic in a sense. Surrounded by deep waters like a satellite in space our marine ecosystem is more fragile and would take longer to recover if damaged.

For bottom species Maltese fishermen are already operating at the maximum economic yield which does not mean maximum profit. Any increase in fishing effort would mean a rise in cost which could not be sustained as the catch rate and revenue would at this point start to decline.

Length also has a direct effect on fishing capacity. It is not possible to store a five-km net on a 12-metre boat. All small fishing boats should form part of the Vessel Management Scheme and have satellite monitoring equipment on board.

Protection of the migrating lampuki which pass near our islands is already in place thanks to traditional management practices. There is only space for 130 sites with a corresponding number of licences available for each site. Currently there are around 100 licences taken up by Maltese lampuki fishermen.

Finally, Malta closed its case for the preservation of local fisheries by successfully quoting the European Union's own established principles back to Brussels - ensuring sustainability by combining environmental, biological, social and economical aspects.

Mr Camilleri represents Malta on international fisheries committees and has also worked with the Fisheries Resources Division of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on developing a new statistics system for Maltese fisheries.

Purse-seining and tuna

The introduction of full-scale use of purse-seine nets and industrial fishing would have disrupted the artisinal fleet which needs to be protected for its survival. Purse-seining destroys the fishing gear of artisanal boats.

Tuna is the only species in the Mediterranean with a total allowable catch. Malta's quota has been established and the current fishing capacity will be maintained at 388 tons. The method of capture is left open as long as effort is not increased.

Dr Anthony Gruppetta said that while purse-seining appears to be on the increase there would not be a problem as long as monitoring and control are in place over the total allowable catch. Dr Gruppetta is director-general of the Fisheries Monitoring and Control Division.

A vacancy for 20 fisheries protection officers with the division is open and the coming weeks will see the first seven graduates in fisheries sciences to be recruited for this post. Minister Ninu Zammit said Government was committed to strengthening monitoring and surveillance capacity and modernising the maritime squadron.

Referring to serious problems in the recent past over tuna-fishing Dr Gruppetta added: "We will have to change toward purse-seining or it will be difficult for Malta to compete. It is the only way to get our share of the tuna stocks in the Mediterranean."

The Fisheries Department has drawn up measures linking power to trawling depth regarding permits for the size and horsepower of trawler vessels. The current trawler fleet operating in Malta today totals 7,820 hp (horse-power) units. The engine power on vessels is directly related to how far out fishermen can go and how long they can stay out fishing before returning to port.

In line with the precautionary principle it has been calculated that we should not be exceeding 6,500 hp units in order to maintain a maximum sustainable yield.

Trawlers would have to be less than 24 metres and under 250 hp to fish inside the Maltese zone. Out of 16 Maltese trawlers, five will have to scale down as they are already too big or powerful to permit sustainable fishing of Maltese waters.

Ocean forecasts, separate worlds and data harmonisation

The scientific community must provide fisheries with data on key ocean parameters affecting fish. Dr Aldo Drago, MedGOOS co-ordinator said: "We need to understand how creatures respond to the physical effects of the ocean."

The ocean is in continuous movement, redistributing the phytoplankton meadow - the basis of the marine food web - a thin layer below the surface of the ocean. This upper 100 metres is crucial and needs to be sustained. Satellites only look at the surface.

The MedGOOS initiative within global GOOS consists of several marine institutions under UNESCO developing an ocean monitoring system between all coastal states in the Mediterranean region. Similar to the international sharing of data on weather the aim is to build a future system covering the whole Mediterranean.

"There will be a great leap in the economic value of ocean data" concluded Dr Drago, adding that there were great benefits for fisheries.

People dealing with the physical changes of the oceans and others dealing with fish biology often live in separate worlds and do not always understand each others problems. Professor Dino Levi spoke of the role of FAO in addressing this difficulty.

If a single approach to ecosystem-based fisheries exists perhaps it should be the study of different species in the environment - (syn-ecology), rather than studying the relationship of a single species to the environment - (auto-ecology). Professor Levi, who has 20 years' experience in fisheries has been involved in developing new methods in this field.

Dr Fabio Massa, an expert on small-scale fisheries, gave a general outline of the MedSud Med project. Dr Massa is director of an FAO project to assess and monitor both the fishery resource and the eosystems in the Sicilian Straits. "We must start to strengthen the scientific relationship between countries and harmonise data-collecting and collation."

He also noted that shellfish as a resource and its role in the Mediterranean ecosystem was one area of fisheries that remained to be looked at in depth.

Dr Derek Staples spoke on FAO's Code of Conduct and the ecosystem approach to management. "We have to start thinking about habitat restoration, restocking and marine protected areas."

Indicators need to be reviewed and rules must be pre-agreed. Then if there is an indication that a species is on the decline the decision has already been put in place that the amount caught should be reduced. New legislation is needed to strengthen co-ordination inside existing institutions or put new structures in place.

Dr Staples is deputy executive director of Australia's Bureau of Rural Sciences. The management approach for fisheries has in the past been more concerned with the food economy and meeting people's need through managing the target species in isolation from the rest of the system.

"The concept of sustainable development combines human well-being with the ecological well-being by looking after the systems that provide for us." FAO technical guidelines on ecosystem approach to fisheries are soon to be published.

APS Bank organised the seminar in collaboration with FAO, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the International Oceonographic Institute to create a link between fisheries and environmental responsibility.