How severe is the crisis in Mediterranean fish stocks?

In June 2018 the EU Commission reported that in the Mediterranean Sea, out of 47 stocks only around 13% (6 stocks) are not over-fished. 

These stocks were red mullet in the South Tyrrhenian Sea and also the Adriatic Sea, European anchovy in the Aegean Sea, deep-water rose shrimp in the Ligurian Sea and also the North Tyrrhenian Sea, and common cuttlefish in the Northern Adriatic Sea.

The same report did not inform the reader as to which are the remaining 41 stocks which are being over-fished (i.e. more than 85% of the overall total).  Essentially, the public remains uniformed by the EU Commission on this important aspect of fish stock health.

Following the EU meeting in Malta, March 2017, to develop a new strategy to protect and resuscitate Mediterranean fish stocks (i.e. seek to avoid their total collapse) The Economist Intelligence Unit reported on the EU Plan to save Mediterranean fish stocks:

“The Mediterranean has an extraordinary history. Few parts of the world can claim the kind of cultural, culinary, political and economic contribution this region has made and continues to make. It is also an area of outstanding ecological diversity.

However, one of the region’s proud culinary traditions — the prevalence and diversity of fresh fish — is increasingly under threat.

The fish stocks of the Mediterranean have come under growing pressure from economic expansion, population growth and tourism, which have driven rising demand, and from decades of over-fishing.

Combined with illegal fishing, discards, pollution and flaws in the way in which relevant data are collected and monitored, this has led to much of the fish stock becoming at risk of depletion and exhaustion.

The gravity of the situation has led to increased attention being paid to the problem at high levels.

Following consultations with stakeholders, in late March the European Commission announced a pledge, the “Malta MedFish4Ever Declaration”, to save the fish stocks of the Mediterranean. In detailed proposals for fisheries policy in the Mediterranean over the next ten years, which the Commission called “ambitious but realistic”, the declaration contained several commitments:

• To make sure that by 2020 data are collected and scientifically assessed on all fish stocks in the Mediterranean, with small fishermen to be given a bigger role in data collection;

• The establishment of multi-annual plans (MAPs) for all key fisheries;

• An end to illegal fishing by 2020, making sure that all countries have the capacity to meet their control and inspection responsibilities; and

• Streamlining funding schemes to ensure sustainable small-scale fishing and aquaculture. This means fleet upgrades with low-impact techniques, social inclusion and environmental protection.

The seriousness of the situation

There has been concern for some time regarding the over-exploitation of fish stocks in the Mediterranean, and measures have previously been introduced to address the issue. Over ten years ago a regulation — Mediterranean Regulation EC 1967/2006 — was adopted by the EU to improve fisheries management in the region.

However, the situation has become quite critical. Of the assessed fish stocks in the Mediterranean, more than 90% are overexploited.

For some fish, such as hake, red mullet, black-bellied anglerfish and blue whiting, current mortality rates are at six times the sustainable level.

Over the past 50 years the Mediterranean has lost 41% of its marine mammals and 34% of the total fish population.

An article in Nature Scientific Reports by scientists from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre warns that the pressure on the Mediterranean region might push the ecosystem beyond the point of no return if not addressed.

The levels of over-fishing may be even worse than the official numbers suggest. Some have argued that illegal fishing is prevalent and that the total catch could therefore be significantly higher than reported.

One study by Daniel Pauly and Dirk Zeller from the Sea Around Us Project finds that between 1950 and 2010 Mediterranean catches were around 50% higher than official Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) numbers.

Others have insisted that to get back to sustainable levels, a 50-60% reduction in fishing in the region by 2020 will be necessary. 

Addressing political issues

From the EU perspective, finding a way to sustainable, controlled fishing in the Mediterranean has long been complicated by the fact that the waters are shared with many non-EU countries.

This was a key consideration for policymakers working towards the Malta MedFish4Ever Declaration, given the need to have signatories from all relevant countries. As well as various EU bodies and the FAO, signatories to the declaration included not only eight EU member states (Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece and Cyprus), but also seven third countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Albania and Montenegro).

More broadly, addressing the depletion of fish stocks in the Mediterranean is in line with wider EU commitments, including those under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
SDG12, for example, demands that signatories ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, something that is not currently the case for fishing in the Mediterranean.

Food sustainability in the Mediterranean

Over-fishing to the extent that stocks become depleted or exhausted is an excellent example of unsustainable food policy.

The Food Sustainability Index (FSI), developed in 2016 by The Economist Intelligence Unit with the Barilla Centre for Food and Nutrition, looks at how the global food system could be maintained without depletion or exhaustion of natural resources, and without making compromises on health or nutritional quality.

Its three pillars — food loss and waste, sustainability of food production and nutritional challenges — are all relevant in the case of fishing in the Mediterranean.

Achieving greater sustainability of fish stocks in the Mediterranean matters for four reasons.

• First, over 300,000 people are directly employed on fishing vessels in the Mediterranean, with many more jobs linked indirectly, such as in production and distribution. Importantly, fishing in the region is notable for the prevalence of small-scale fishing: although 80% of the vessels are under 10m long, they are responsible for over one-quarter of all the fish caught. If over-fishing and the depletion of stocks continues at current rates, the risk to these jobs will be significant.

• The second issue is regional security. Areas of the Mediterranean region have seen huge and violent unrest in recent years, partly as a result of high food prices and the instability of supplies. An exacerbation of food security challenges caused by a depletion of fish stocks would add to a long list of problems faced by policymakers in these countries.

• Third, food waste — one of the main focuses of the FSI — is a major concern in the Mediterranean. Unwanted fish are often thrown back dead into the sea. This is not only a waste of resources but is also a threat to the health and stability of marine ecosystems. Reducing or eliminating this waste would help to solve the problem of fish-stock depletion.

• Finally, there are clear health implications, another issue identified by the FSI as a key component of food sustainability. As a joint paper by the FAO and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) highlights, south-east Mediterranean countries face food and nutritional security challenges, including malnutrition and over-nutrition as well as diet-related chronic-disease issues. The same paper notes that nutritional issues in the region are in part linked to a decline in adherence to the fabled Mediterranean diet. Given that fish has a central place in the Mediterranean diet, securing a sustainable supply will be crucial to tackling nutritional and health challenges in the coming decades.

 

Source: EU Commission, 2018. For further details see https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018DC0452&from=EN and https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/sites/fisheries/files/2017-03-30-declaration-malta.pdf

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2017. For further details, see http://foodsustainability.eiu.com/a-plan-to-save-mediterranean-fish-stocks

 

Marinet observes: This is a seriously under-reported situation. It is a reality where around 90% of all the Mediterranean Sea’s fish stocks are facing biological collapse (economic extinction, possibly worse) due to over-fishing.

It is an ecological, economic and societal crisis of immense proportions. It amounts to ecocide of the Mediterranean’s marine world.

Who is taking any real notice?

The EU countries involved, having allowed the collapse to reach this scale?

Indeed taking this point further, why can these countries not definitely assert to the contrary when they have in place a body of EU law (Marine Strategy Framework Directive/Common Fisheries Policy) which legally requires them to ensure that all fish stocks are in good health by 2020?

Marinet asks the ngo and the political establishment: does the law no longer mean anything?

 


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