Advancing fisheries management in Baltic marine protected area

As its inception phase is coming to an end, the BALTFIMPA project organised the first HELCOM-ICES Stakeholder Conference on fisheries and marine conservation in late March. The key issues related to fisheries policies and management in the Baltic Sea were addressed and the first version of the Generic Tool to assist fisheries management decisions showcased. The progress of BALTFIMPA will be reported in the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in October 2013.

[HELCOM and ICES joint press release]

  

The first BALTFIMPA Conference, held 25-26 March 2013 in Copenhagen, pondered upon the main challenges linked to the management of fishing within marine protected areas in the Baltic Sea - an issue the project aims to address.

 

The topics brought up by the invited speakers and scientists covered many issues related to regional fisheries. Professional Officer and Training Coordinator from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), Søren Anker Pedersen, spoke about fisheries within marine protected areas. In his view, how is the need for regulations in the marine protected areas justified in the Baltic Sea? “Fishing impacts biodiversity, fish stocks, food webs, and sea-floor integrity, which are qualitative descriptors in the European Union Marine Strategy Framework Directive.”

 

Pedersen enlists further reasons underpinning regulations in the protected areas: “Fishing requires regulations to ensure a Maximum Sustainable Yield from the marine resources in a changing environment, including impacts from climate and pollution, for instance; and to adjust the intensity of fishing until the expected ecosystem status meets the MSFD GES criteria, for example, of habitats and by-catch species. In general, the biodiversity should be insignificantly affected by fishing. Moreover, the regulations secure economic feasibility of the fisheries and fair sharing of the wealth.” He also points out that despite the existence of numerous regulations with regard to fishing, there has been fairly little focus on the trawl impact on habitats and thus a review of these impacts in a biodiversity context is appropriate.

 

Indeed, the BALTFIMPA project seeks to answer the question of how can fisheries management contribute to achieving the conservation objectives of marine protected areas in order to assist, at a regional level, the HELCOM Contracting Parties to comply with obligations to fulfil conservation objectives. This is being done through the on-going examination of possible conflicts between fisheries and conservation objectives in marine protected areas. As the analysis takes into account protected species, fisheries management measures are identified accordingly.   

 

BALTFIMPA stems from the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) and the 2010 HELCOM Moscow Ministerial Meeting. While revisiting the BSAP, the next HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in October 2013 will look into the initiatives undertaken within the framework of the project. These include the mapping of possible negative impacts of specific gear types on threatened habitats and species; converting destructive and low selective fishing methods into more environmentally friendly ones; and the further identification of and response to other fisheries practices threatening the fragile Baltic marine environment. Last but not least, the BALTFIMPA framework includes the development of recommendations of specific restriction measures that will benefit both the conservation objectives and the protection of essential fish habitats. 

 

BALTFIMPA’s activities can be divided into separate Working Packages. The main objective of the inception phase of the project (Working Package 1), now close to completion, is to develop the preliminary version of the Generic Tool for fisheries management.

 

“The final aim of the Generic Tool is to give guidance and advice to the HELCOM Contracting Parties on how different fishing practices and gear can affect protected habitats and species of the Baltic Sea,” explains Marco Milardi, Project Manager of the BALTFIMPA project.

“The Generic Tool will aid in setting priorities for more specific assessments. However, it currently does not give the definitive answer for specific marine protected areas and species. The preliminary version of the Tool provides guidance on whether such a detailed assessment of fisheries impact is advisable or not.”

 

On a broader scale, by adopting the Baltic Sea Action Plan, the Baltic Sea states recommended that fisheries management should be based on the ecosystem approach. To this end, a set of actions has been approved accordingly. A dedicated HELCOM Forum provides a platform for discussion between the fisheries and environmental authorities, and for building up a cross-sectorial integration of environmental and fisheries policies.