Advice and Recommendations

The PELAC reaffirms its intention to continue pursuing the development of a management strategy for Southern horse mackerel. The Commission advises that Pelagid AC liaise and coordinate with the South Western Waters Advisory Council on an agreed approach for this management plan.

Update: Following a second meeting of the SHOM FG between the PelAC and the SWWAC on the 18th May 2021, this single amendment – to Article 5.1 of the management strategy  (TAC setting procedures) – has been agreed on a consensus basis.

The Advisory Councils wish to collectively emphasise the vital importance of stakeholder participation in future management and governance structures to be established for partnership working with the UK. We urge the Commission to plan to ensure that stakeholder engagement and advice is central to all future management and governance structures being developed as the new relationship between the EU and UK takes concrete form.

North Sea herring: PelAC members would like to request a clarification on how the different Total Allowable Catches (TACs) are calculated for herring in Area 4 and herring in Area 3a.

Blue whiting: in a letter of 14 October 2020 PelAC recommended that a Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) be carried out for this stock. Now PelAC requests an update on this matter.

ICES notified the ACs of its decision to remove the “Stakeholder Information” section in ICES advice sheets moving forward. This decision has taken the Pelagic Advisory Council (PelAC) by surprise, and we would like bring to your attention our concerns about this issue.

The Pelagic AC welcomes the opportunity to share responses to the Commission’s questionnaire on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures.

The Pelagic AC believes it is vital that the methods used for genetics sampling and analysis are included in the Data Collection Multi-Annual Programme that is currently under development.

The focus group on control and technical measures has provided a position paper on the current Control Regulation providing a starting point for further discussions.

From the LDAC-PELAC-NWWAC, we would like to see further transparency and an integrated multi sectorial database containing data from all ocean activities including fisheries, oil and gas exploitation, seabed mining, etc. in both non-EU exclusive economic zones and the high seas.

The Pelagic AC reiterates that a pelagic chapter would present the sector proportionally relative to the demersal fleet and highlight its importance in Europe in terms of economic performance. It would also capture the impact of reductions in catch advice. PelAC is requesting STECF to include a chapter on pelagic fisheries in its AERs but on a continuous basis.

PelAC requests the Commission to pursue the general acceptance of the rebuilding plan for this stock in its negotiations with the United Kingdom, in order to jointly request that ICES use the rebuilding plan as a basis for the top line of the advice (rather than in a catch options table) for the TAC advice for Western horse mackerel in 2022, and onwards.