Conclusions of the workshop - Vilnius (Baltic Sea Fisheries)
How well does science address the fisheries problems and does it do so at too high a cost to the socio-economic fabric of the total stakeholder community?
A. RTD (Practical)
There has been considerable investigative work on fisheries in the Baltic resulting in substantial data relating to the main species – cod, sprat and herring.
The validity of stock assessments in the Baltic Sea was questioned by some stakeholders due to doubts as to the quality of the data and there is obviously a major requirement to produce credible biologically-based stock assessments.
The problems of stock failures, recovery plans and IUU fishing are major fields of research and factors such as the potential effects of climate change, pollution and Marine Protected Areas are all being investigated in addition to the more traditional focus on controlling fishing activity.
The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) has brought the field of fisheries management to a new level in that it incorporates the views and contributions of all stakeholders, including fishermen and environmental groups.
Integrating the new techniques of modelling the effects of extrinsic, and often rapidly changing, factors is a major thrust forward and will become more refined with improved data input. Control measures, such as the tracking of IUU fish using biological markers ‘bio-tags’, are becoming more sophisticated and focused and the development of more selective fishing gear is still an important field of research.
B. Managerial/Commercial
Baltic Sea fisheries share their resource with a number of other stakeholders – heavy industry, windmills, tourism and recreational fishing to name a few. Fisheries management is pointless if it ignores the fact that fishing is an economic activity and must incorporate commercial viability for the industry into any credible plan that is to receive the support of the sector.
The complexity of the Baltic Sea fishing industry makes fisheries management very difficult but there is a very clear demand for more integrated, multi-disciplinary advice for fishery managers. To make the best use of EAFM, there must be more long-term management systems but this is only possible if the necessary tools, such as on-going ecosystem evaluation, effort control and market conditions, are readily available.
C. Social/Political
Natural/physical science in the Baltic appears to be fairly well researched, but there is a feeling that this is at the expense of social sciences. The human dimension of fisheries should be given a higher level of consideration.
The applicability and effectiveness of research as well as the translation of its results in a useful and understandable manner was questioned by some stakeholders while, on the other hand, others highlighted a lack of political will as the main obstacle in tackling the problems that are otherwise well known and documented.
The proposal for increased dialogue between scientists, fishermen, local communities and policy makers is, in the light of these comments, of the utmost importance, and the Baltic Sea RAC can be considered as a step in the right direction. Cooperative research projects that integrate a range of stakeholders, such as fishing communities and scientists, are another way to help foster mutual trust and to therefore address the complaint that science does not belong only to the scientists.
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