Adding to the mix –Challenges of mixed-fisheries management in the North Sea under climate change and technical interactions

• Published in: Fisheries Management and Ecology
• Main Authors: Kühn, Bernhard, Kempf, Alexander, Brunel, Thomas, Cole, Harriet, Mathis, Moritz, Sys, Klaas, Trijoulet, Vanessa, Vermard, Youen, Taylor, Marc
• Other Authors: Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, Institute of Sea Fisheries, Wageningen Marine Research The Netherlands, Marine Scotland Science (MSS), Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (GKSS), Research Institute for Agricultural, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Danmarks Tekniske Universitet = Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Dynamique et durabilité des écosystèmes : de la source à l’océan (DECOD), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: bioeconomic model; climate change; EU landing obligation; FLBEIA; Pretty Good Yield; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Gadus morhua
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04204040; https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12629

Technical interactions (multiple fleets fishing multiple species with various gears, as either target or bycatch), bycatch regulations through a landing obligation, and biological and economic effects of climate change, affecting fisheries yield and profits, provide a challenge for demersal mixed fisheries of the North Sea. A multi-stock, multi-fleet, bioeconomic model was used to understand management options under these combined influences. Scenarios considered climate change effects on recruitment of three main gadoid stocks (cod – Gadus morhua, saithe – Pollachius virens, whiting – Merlangius merlangus), possible future developments of fuel and fish prices, and strict implementation of a landing obligation. The latter leads to decreased yield and profits in the short term due to increased choke effects, mainly of North Sea cod, being influenced by climate-induced productivity changes. Allowing fishing above FMSY, but within sustainable limits, or limiting year-to-year quota changes, could help buffer initial losses at the expense of decreased profits in the mid- to long-term. Economic performance of individual fleets was linked to their main target's stock status, cost structure, and fuel and fish prices. The results highlight a need to consider both biological and economic consequences of climate change in the management of mixed fisheries.