L
I
UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA
SUB-REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE FOR NORTH AFRICA (SRDC)
Fourteenth MeetIng of the Intergovernmental Comnlltiee Of Experts of SRDC
TangIer (Morocco) 26-30 June 1998
ECAffNG/SRDC/lCEIXIV /6/ Add.2 May 1998
OngInal ENGLISH
EV ALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF FISHERIES RESOURCES IN NORTH AFRICA
Document not edIted
I. Introduction, Objectives and Scope of the Study ... 1 1 1 Introduction
1 2 The Need for Flshenes Resources Evaluation 1 3 ObJectives, scope and IlJDlts of the report 1 4 Structure and Sources of the Report II Resource Exploitation: A synthetic Overview
2 1 Defimtions and category of fishes 2 2 Demersal and pelagIc stocks appraIsal 2 3 The Fleets
1
1 2 3
... -... 3 3 4 7
III. Resources Management: Most Urgent Needs ... 9 3 1 Global settmg
3 2 Hlstoncal practIcal problems statiStICS and multISpeclfity 3 3 Fishenes research and co-operation current status
3 4 ImplementatIon of recent mternatIonal fishery agreements IV. Measures for Sustainable Conservation: Future Scientific
9 10 10 11
Management Guidelines ... 13
4 1 Global approaches 13
42 Towards a "systemIC" concept on fishenes 14
43 ImprovIng sub-regional co-operation 15
44
Increasmg Bulldlng CapacIty and Commurucatlon 1745 ConsolIdatIon of adVISOry processes 19
V. Conclusion: from the theory to practice.. ... ... ... .... .. ... 20 5 1 NarrowIng the gaps on fishenes management
5 2 NatIonal measures for further actIon 5 3 Sub-regIonal areas of focus
Annexes References
20 20 22 24
26
1 1 Introduction
1 From decades fisbmg has been a vector for soclo-econonuc development m the sub-regIon About 10,000 kIn of coastlme of the North AfrIcan countrIes have faCIlItated not only trade and commurucatlons among them but also the expansIon of fishIng actIVItIes, mcludmg the development of fishery mdustrles and the creation of employment
2 In partIcular the MedIterranean Sea has wItnessed of mcreased fishery explOItatIon, an actIVity whIch began more than 20 centurIes ago Today. despIte the mtense explOItatIon of thIs sea. It produces about 1.3 nulhon tons of fish each year and Its fishenes offer a great vanety of speCIes In North AfrIca, the countries With hIghest fish landmgs are Morocco (0 85 nnlhon t, see Annex I), Egypt (0 30 nulhon t), AlgerIa (0 13 nnlhon t) and TumsIa (0 09 mullon t)2 In the Red Sea fishIng remams practIcally artlsanal
3 Another lD1portant fishmg zone IS the AtlantIC Ocean The long coastlme of Western Morocco explams Its pnvueged SituatIon, as the first m AfrIca smce 1993 m fish productlon, and m commerclallzatlon capacIty The country produces about half of the total productIon of the sub- region The establIshment of an "ExclUSIve Econonuc Zone of 200 nules II has sIgmficantly contrIbuted to thts end Morocco IS aware of Its consIderable fishmg potentIal, estID1ated about 1 6 mIllIon tons per annum. and also of the effort needed for Its conservatIon
4 To aclueve thiS goal not only Morocco but some other North AfrIcan countnes have Signed several International agreements and conventlons alD1ed at ensurmg the sustamabulty of fish stocks Among the recent lDltlatlves to rationallZe fishmg m the MedIterranean are the Crete Conference of 1994, the Barcelona Declaratton of 1995 and the DiplomatIc Conference on Flshenes Management m the MedIterranean held In Vemce (Italy) m November 1996 Most recently a practIcal mstrument arose, the COPEMED/FAO project ThIs five years Spamsh 1llltlatIve almS at lffiprovmg fishenes research co-ordlnatIon, data collectIon and analYSIS m the western Mediterranean countrIes
1 2 The Need for FISherIes Resources EvaluatIon
5 There are at least three conslderatlons that JUStify a study of t.h.ts nature Above all fisherIes stocks need to be regularly assessed m the sub-region because there IS a generahzed lack of mformatlon, accurate data and documents on nature, volume, extenSIon, bIology and on the current problems facmg these resources Fish stocks are generally poorly known because surveys and research are costly actIvItIes that m additIon requITe strong co-ordmatlon and means (human, techrucal and finanCial) Unfortunately most of the North AfrIcan countrIes lack them
6 The second relates to over-exploItatIon Overfishmg. a frequent practIce m the AtlantIC, MedIterranean and Red Sea, affects speCIally demersal resources of the countnes covered by the
I Based on a major contnbutton by Prof Rafael Robles, Dlerctor of COPEMEDIF AD, Umverslty of Ahcante, Spam
2 FAD Ftshenes CIrcular No 919. FIshenes and aquaculture m the Near East and North AfrIca SItuatIon and Outlook In 1996
study ThIs effect has grown m parallel With the fleet's SlZe as we]] as WIth fishmg efficIency ObVIously t WIth no sCIentific InformatIon and data on fishmg stocks, status of explOitation and evo]utlon, there IS no way to adopt the SCIentific CrItena able to ensure theIr sustamablhty 7 A thud consIderation IS the development of the fishmg mdustry, an actIVIty that has conSIderable SOClO-economlc tmpact In the zone It IS known that econOmIC and SOCial performance of the fishery mdustnes depends firstly on the volume of fish supphed and Its qualtty and secondly on therr regular supply InsuffiCIent mformatlon and control on fishmg stocks and catches mIght cause bottlenecks m fish captures and supplies to the fishmg mdustnes and reduce theIr rentabIhty LIkeWIse, fish exports nught be affected
1 3 ObJectIves. scope and ItmIts of the report
8 The maIn purpose of thIS study IS to dIsseminate InformatIon on the current status and evolution of the fishmg stocks (e g demersals, small pelagIC and large pelagIC) among countnes of the sub-regIon Other ObjectIves are
ReVIew the resources management systems,
Identify the most urgent needs facmg the fishmg stocks, Suggest measures for theIr SCIentific management, Introduce a "systemIc II fishenes concept and,
Recommend pnonty actIons to ensure fishenes sustamablhty
9 The scope of the paper covers the three marine areas that border the SIX countnes of the TangIer (SRDC) , but fOCUSIng on the MedIterranean Sea One of the motIves for such a concentration on thIS sea IS because fishmg pressure, both commercIal and sportIve, IS constantly mcreasmg along these waters and It IS expected It wIll contmue to grow m the future In addrtIon, as an ecosystem, It IS conSIdered rather fragIle and submItted to mcreasmg pollution
10 BeSIdes, Its relative low productIVIty IS another reason to focus on such a sea It IS a nearly closed sea With a narrow contmental shelf and relattvely poor m nutnents content (though probably not so much as It was conSidered to be) ThiS may be seen as an mdlcatlon of not much fertilIty These factors nught be the mam reasons for the llffilted dImension of the populatIons of Its bvmg resources Focussmg on thiS sea IS also lInked to the protectton of Its biodIverSity The Mediterranean sea has not only a hIgh bIodIversIty but also a hIgh number of speCIes that are only found In Its waters (endenusm) Clearly, thIS bIodIverSIty has to be protected agaInSt the tmpact of fishIng actiVItIes and the Increasmg pollutIon that already affects almost all zones of thIS sea
11 The maIn hnllting factors to carry out a comprehenSIve study of the three marme areas have been the msufficlent mformatlon about the Red Sea stocks, productIon, fleet capacIty and management systems Another hIndrance has been the lDSufficlent data and mformatlon available for the Eastern countnes of the MedIterranean Sea, In partIcular on the loman and Levant zones (see Annex IT whIch depIcts the zones of General FIshenes CouncIl, GFCM, and the Contmental shelves In the MedIterranean)
1 4 Structure and Sources of the Report
12 The document IS composed of SIX chapters Chapter I examines the mam reasons for wnting a study of thIS nature whIle the second makes a syntheSIS of ttresource explOItatIon" by
dlfferentIatlng the demersal and pelagIc stocks Bnef mformatlon about fleets IS also supplIed 13 The theme of resources management and most urgent needs IS studied m chapter three
The followmg chapter proposes measures for sustamable conservatIon of the MedIterranean Sea One IS through the adoption of "systerruc concept of fishenes" The second stresses the need for lIDprovmg regIonal co-operatlon The paper concludes by suggestmg measures to evolve from the theory to praxIs A summary of the bIblIography appears m chapter SIX
II. Resource Exploitation: A synthetic Overview 2 1 DefinItIOns and category of fishes
14 Accordmg to therr habIts, fishes can be categonzed as follows Small pelagic
Large pelagic:
Demersals
ComprISes fishes whIch bve m large schools m rmdwater or near the surface Therr length IS usually under 20 cm. havmg a bfe-span that rarely exceeds a few years They have a lugh natural mortalIty rate and use to mature very soon That allows them to secure therr descendants Sardines, anchOVies, mackerels) and horse-mackerels are the more common species of thIS category They are fished
With pelagIc trawl and purse seme
They hve near the surface, and are greganous and nugratory Long- lIved, good and fast swt.m.ll1ers, voracIous and carmvorous defme them Swordfishes, lunas and some sharks are compnsed In the group They are caught mamly With seInes, surface longhnes and dnftnets
they hve near the seabed They are long lIve speCIes t suffer a relatively small natural mortabty, have slow growth and they do not use to spawn tIll bemg three or more years old More than 100 commerCIal species belong to thlS group Bottom trawls, nets, traps, handhnes, bottom longlmes are used to catch these specIes The most explOIted depths are found m the contmental shelf and range from zero to 200/300 m depth
2 2 Demersal and pelagiC stocks appraIsal
2 2 1 Mediterranean Fish Stocks by Category
15 Penodlcal updatmg research actiVItIes on demersal and small pelagIC MeciIterranean ltvmg resources and fishenes have been reahzed by GFCM smce 1970, durmg workmg groups and technIcal consultations at a regIonal level The sCientific knowledge on large pelagiC stocks IS annually updated since more than 20 years by the InternatIonal Comnusslon for the Conservatlon of Atlanttc Tuna, (ICCA T) Furthermore, a detalled review has been prepared by the EU DiplomatiC Conference on Fishenes Management of Crete held two years ago Also, the FAa fishenes offiCIal StatIStICS database has been updated untIl 1994 All these elements allow to draw a falfly complete panoranllc syntheSIS of the SItuatIon on thIS sea
(I) Small Pelagic Stocks
16 Although the number of small pelagic species IS much lower that the number of demersal, they represent about 40 % of the total catches They are characterIZed by large fluctuatIons m stock SIze, which are not yet explained by sCIence It IS presumed that such changes may be envrronmentaJ, although some anchovy fishenes may suggest that thIS speCles are subjected to exceSSIve fishmg For most other small pelagiC specIes. mcludmg sardme, the eXlstmg assessments IndIcate that they seem not to be fully explOIted everywhere, a SituatIon that IS lIkely to be connected to dIfficulties m effective utilIZatIon and marketing
(11) Large PelagIC Stocks
17 The Mediterranean Sea prOVIdes on average 65,000 tons of tunas and bdlfishes, or the 4%
of the overall MedIterranean catches each year Bluefin tuna IS conSIdered as fully explOIted and Juvemles of thiS stocks are submItted to a heavy fishIng pressure Bluefm tuna fishery IS lffiPOrtant In between the MedIterranean and the A.tlantIc, although data are InsuffiCIent to quahtatlvely estImate the nugratory rates It seems that the Mediterranean swordfish and albacore constItute two stocks whIch are relatIvely Isolated from the northern AtlantIC ones
18 Data on large pelagIC stocks In the MedIterranean sea are only avaIlable for bluefin tuna So far, there IS a gap of bIOlogICal data and statIstICS on the other pelagIC ones A vallable data show there IS an IncreasIng trend of catches of bluefm tuna The statistICS also mdlcate the eXIstence of maSSIve and systematt.c catches of Juvemle bluefin tunas, whtch are extremely negatIve for the stock breedmg and productIon Despite thiS If alamung tt SItuatIon and the absence of management measures, the relatIvely good health of the MedIterranean bluefm tuna resources constitute a surpnsing paradox wruch IS not well explained by the SCIentIsts
19 The workIng Party at the second DIplomatIC Conference on Fishenes Management m the Mediterranean held m Crete In 1994. noted that a sub-regionahzation of co-operatIve management mechanIsms at the level of the mdlvIdual baSins of that sea IS mevltabte
(Ill) Demersal stocks
20 They represent nearly 55 % of the overall yearly catches m the MedIterranean area WIth few exceptions, dIagnOSIS of bIologIcal full explOitatIon or even over-explOItatIon have been confirmed by the evolutIon of productIon rates ThIs Situation IS as the result of both the condItIons of the explOIted populations and the explOitation patterns applIed The avaIlable models can only foretell a passage to a state of overfishmg, m the best case. If the general tendency to a growmg effort of the vanous fishIng actIVItIes IS car ned on accordIng to the prevaIlIng pattern observed dunng the recent past
21 A decreaSIng productIvIty, that starts In the GIbraltar StraIt, IS progreSSIvely lowenng towards the Eastern countrIes In most cases It IS observed a decreasIng trend m mdlvlduallengths and In the catches per unit of effort of trawlers In general, the JuvenIles are under the hIghest fishIng pressure
22 On the other hand, a net evolutIon has been noted In the general productIon StatIStICS of the demersal fishenes It seems that the general fish production m the MedIterranean sea IS mcreasmg and perhaps more that It can be deducted from the offiCIal statIstiCS Recent data show that the production has Increased about 50 % from 1977 up to now ThIS Increase seems to be partIally due to Improvements on catch statistICS and perhaps to a movement away from the olIgotrophIC
condItIon to a more mesotroplC productIve sltuatlon of the sea
23 A strange observatIon concerns the durabIlIty of some fisherIes whIch are essentIally based on maSSIve catches of JuvenIles of some speCIes ThIS sItuation could be explamed WIth an hypothesIs of a good stock-recruItment relatlonshlp for low levels of spawmng stock blomasses Some large adults seem to be spared from fishIng activitIes because they are suspected to bve within "local refuge" away from the tradItIonal fishIng areas, at least durmg a large part of the year. WhICh protect a small portIon of the spawrung stocks But, apparently It IS not always the case and the hypothesIs need to be confirmed Another theory ITI1ght be the eXIstence of an anthroplc eutrophICatiOn In the MedIterranean waters In some areas lIke Adnatlc, thIS eutrophICatIOn could contrIbute to mcrease the pnmary productIon and then to mcrease the benthonic and demersal bIomass vIa the food cham
222 MedIterranean Stock Anpralsal by GFCM DIVIsIons
(1) The BalearIC Area (Western MedIterranean GFCM DIVISIon)
24 Thls DIVIsion wluch mclude Moroccan. Algenan and Spamsh fishenes IS an area of relatIvely htgh productivIty where purse-semes and trawlers predonnnate The small-scale mshore fishery IS also well developed AvaIlable data suggest that demersal stocks are fully or overexplOIted throughout the Baleanc regIon At least In the northern part of the dIVISIon under-explOitation IS observed on sardine stocks, probably due to low market demand As a consequence an mcrease m the bIomass has been observed On the contrary, WIth the exceptIon of the Algenan shelf, there has been a gradual IntenSIfication of explOItatIon of anchovy stocks, which have shown declme, as a consequence of theIr over- explOItatIon
(n) The Sardinia (Western Mediterranean GFCM DIvIsion)
25 WIth the exception of rocky bottom speCies, the zone can generally be considered of low productiVity The maIn activity of the Itahan fleet, IS located m the Tyrrenian Sea The Inshore fishery resources of the rocky northern TUDlslan coast are fished by small scale vesse1s and natIon authontles want to develop an offshore trawl fishery m the less explOIted area
26 A number of demersal resources have been assessed In the LigurIan and Tyrreman Seas and show that the stocks of several Important commercIal specIes of fishes and crustaceans are at least fully explOIted Although no assessments have been made to determme theIr state of explOitatIon, It seems that the level of explOItatIOn of small pelagIC stocks IS not unportant m the sector
(111) The IonIan (Central MedIterranean GFCM DIVISion)
27 ThiS area can be considered as the most productive after the Adnatlc The contInental shelf off SIcIly and off Tumsla support an unportant trawl fishery, predominantly by mdustnal scale Itahan vessels In the northern shelf waters of TunISia. demersal resources seem to be under- explOited, but the very IntenSIve fishery In the southern waters of the Gulf of Gabes IS clearly overexplOItIng key resources
28 PelagiC stocks In the Northern Ionian Sea seems to be smaller than In more productive Adnatic waters In the southern waters the earher blomass estImates were well above the recent landmg values ThiS may be due to an overestunatlOn of blomasses, although the current low levels of landings rrught be expIamed to a lack of markets Undoubtedly, marketing problems eXIst In
TUIDSla where a sImilar sItuatIon occur In the hlghJy productIve waters m the Gulf of Gabes 29 As for demersal, m the northern IonIan and SIcIly Channel the avaIlable assessments suggest there IS a general state of full to overexploltatton For example an mtenslve trawl effort aImed at fishIng prmclpally shrImP IS m the Gulf of Gabes and other southern waters Up to now, attempts to dIvert effort towards less easdy trawlable grounds off northern Turusla, where some slIght mcreases In effort could be supported, have been frustrated
30 Resources of coral found off north coast of Tumsla are dechmng The sponge IS also exploIted by dIvers m the southern waters, however the stocks of tlus speCIes have shown dramatIc collapses, as lD the rest of the eastern and southern MedIterranean, due to an epIdemIC WIth some recent eVidence of recovery
(IV) The Levant (Eastern MedIterranean GFCM DIVISIon)
31 ThIS area has a low biologIcal productIVIty level, despite recent data from Project on Oceanography for Eastern Mediterranean (POEM), co-operatIve oceanographIc lDvestlgatlon of a complex system of turbulence and upweUmg offshore In the past, the NIle nver prOVIded seasonal mflows of sedtment and nutnents WhICh were drastically reduced after the constructIon of the Aswan dam a fact that had munechate unpacts on the small pelagIC resources whose landmgs dropped drastically Some subsequent recovery of these resources, appears to be assOCIated WIth hIgh nutnent outflows from draInage water from the NIle delta The last few decades have seen a SIgnIficant number of Red Sea speCIes entenng the eastern MedIterranean and appeanng m the fishenes of Egypt and Israel
32 Stock assessment studIes m the Cyprus resources mdlcated a general over fished condItion, although there IS poor SCientIfic knowledge on stock status and explOItatIon levels for the maIn small pelagIC fishery WhICh IS Located off N de Delta as well as for the mam demersal resources
223 AtlantIC Flshmg Stocks
33 Morocco's mam fishmg stocks are found ill the western and southern Atlanttc zones One stretches to the south of Laayoune, and contams about 65 % of the whole stocks of the country The other IS found northwards Laayoune and It IS estImated to contaIn 32 % of the Morocco's fishing stocks
34 Among the pelagiC resources the sardine IS the pnnclpal speCIes caught It IS followed by anchovy, mackerel, swordfishes, and tunas There are three unportant sardme·s stocks The first IS located between cap Spartel and EI ladlda It has no connections WIth those of Spam and Portugal) The second stock SIte IS between Safi and BOJador, and ItS breeding zone goes from Tan Tan to Cap luby Durmg sprmg the sardme mIgrate towards the north, while at the begmrung of the autumn ]t turns to the south, concentratmg In the Tan Tan-Tarfaya zone for wmter reproducllon The thIrd most tmportant sardme stock stretches to south Cap BOjador and It IS explOIted under the Morocco-EU fishIng agreements of February 1996 The anchovy·s maIn concentratIon zones are located between Tanger and Casablanca, Essaouira and Sidl Ifill and
El Ahdal M and Sekkat A, Les Resources Haheut1ques et Ies PerpectlVes de CooperatIon avec les Pays D' Afnque du Nord et Ies Pays TIers, Mmlstere des Peches Mantunes et de 1a Manne Marchande, Tanger 16-18 Fevner 1993
southern cap Barbas The fishing penod extends from March to July Tuna species appear In Morocco's coast when the temperature of surface water IS above 20 C
35 Demersal species IS also abundant In thIS ocean The main ones which are hvmg In the north Atlantic ocean are white hake. shnmps, and bIg crustacean hke lobsters and crayfish The white hake stock IS spread between the GIbraltar straIght and Agadu ShrImps banks usually concentrate between Larache and El Iadtda havmg the largest densIties between Rabat-E! Jadlda and Essaoulra-Agadtr In the south AtlantIc the sea bream, several cephalopods, lIke the black hake and the green lobster are predomInant For example the pInk lobster that hves between 200/400 m depth constItutes one of the most valuable specIes In west Africa and ItS explOitation s mamly manually made
2 2 4 Red Sea FishIng Stock
36 There IS not much mformatlon about fishmg stock, theu cOmpOSItIon, dlstnbutlon, evolutIon and potennal avaIlable m the Red Sea In Egypt fishmg figures are relatIvely hIgher due partly to the great unportance of the aquaculture In fact only around 17 % <1 of fish catches m 1993 came from the open sea The country exports about 3000 tons of lugh quality fish and Import around 0 2 mllhon tons of popular kInd In Sudan It IS estImated that only 5 % of the total fish catch was from the Red Sea m 1991 It IS estunated that there are only 0 1 mIllIon tons of fish explOitable per year In that ocean One lmntatlon on fishIng IS that fish reserves are far from the major populatIons The other IS ltnked to the abundance and tradItIon to consume protem from hvestocIr In Sudan
2 3 The Fleets
37 Except In the AtlantIc Ocean were fleets are nearly conSidered "mdustnal" the bulk of the MedIterranean fishenes can be consIdered as fI artlsanai" and II coastal" Arhsanal fishmg IS
often aSSOCIated to the notion of II coastal fishIng tI, that IS to say fishenes located on the contInental shelf and very close to the coastal zone The exploltmg areas can be reached m few hours from the ports or beaches where the fishermen are based Consequently, thIS type of actIVIty does not lffiply a very long stay at sea and employs a great number of men and women at sea and on earth 38 The fishmg gears are extremely dIversified and the fleets are generally composed of a large number of boats, mostly of low tonnage and based In a multItude of ports and shelters Usually, the small gears category mcludes a group of fishmg nets and gears. wmch number nearly reaches that of eXIstIng fishermen e g the trammel nets and theIr varIetIes, the dnfting nets, the bottom or surface longimes, the different types of traps and many others They are normally speCIalIzed In the catch of a species or a group of speCIes WIth sundar behaVIor
39 In stnct sense, trawl fleet IS composed by vessels whose average characterIstics are 30 Gross RegIster Tons (GRT) and 300 HP, With a crew of 5/6 men The mesh SIZe m the cod-end would not be under 40 mm The most frequent type of small coast trawlers present In almost all MedIterranean coast use to have an average dIsplacement of 12 GRT, a maxunum power of 100 HP and a crew made up of 2 or 3 people They use real mmIature trawlmg nets WIth extremely small meshes and usually work close to the coast The whole
4 The E I U Egypt Country ProfIle 1995-96 page 46
5 IbId, Sudan Country Profile 1996-97, page 25
number of sma]] scaJe uruts which may be operatIng across the MedIterranean as a whole IS estmlated around 100,000
40 The followmg table shows the estlDlated number of fisbmg UDlts m the North AfrIcan sub- regIon
Table I Decked Open Total
Algena (1990) 1560 350 1910
Egypt (1990) 400 39969 40369
LIbya (1990) 32 400 432
Morocco (1994) 3068 8100 11168
Sudan (1990) - 3920 3920
TunIsIa (1990) 519 11911 12430
Sub-regIon 5579 64650 70229
Source FAD FIshery StatIstIcs, Annualfe Statlstlque du Maroc 1995
41 From the table three characterIstics deserve special comments The first IS the low number of decked uruts, only 7 9 % of the total, whtch are operattng In the North Afnca t s MedIterranean waters ThIS explaIns why small-scale fishIng prevaIls m thIs sea The second refers to the hIgh number of open umts ( small-scale vessels) whtch are fishmg m Egypt They are mostly composed of satlmg unIts and represent about 62 % of the total uruts of thIS kInd 1D the sub-regIon As It happens In the EU countnes It seems to be an underesttmation on the number of open umts operatIng In the North African countrIes Thts fact plus the contmuous growth of the semI- Industnal fleet may explam the mcreaslng fishmg effort that the MedIterranean, AtlantIC and The Red Sea are witnessmg The thud traIt IS the absence of decked ShIpS m Sudan
42 Although there IS not accurate mfonnatlon from most countnes on therr fleets capaCIty and sIZe It IS estnnated that at least m the three tradItional exportmg countnes Egypt, Morocco, and TunISIa there IS an expanSIon and moderruzatlon on both the seIDl-mdustnal and the small-scale fleets ThIS pollcy anns not only to Increase the technIcal capaCItIes of these fleets but also to Improve fishmg effiCIency and to unprove the lIVIng condItIons of flshennen On the contrary, m AI gena fishmg capaCIty could qUIckly fIse, from Its actual 70 % t by tmprovmg spare parts supply In Egypt the modernIZatIon of Its saumg fleett mcludmg Its motonzatlon, could contrIbute to reach the productIon goal of 0 7 tmlhon tons planned by the year 2000 In LIbya the mvestment polIcy InitIated In 1970 to moderruze trawlers and flshmg equIpment has allowed to mcreasmg catches and effiCIency of the proceSSIng mdustry
43 In Morocco, there has been a contInuous expansion and modernIzatIon of ItS Industnal, coastal and small-scale fishmg fleets As average It grew durmg the penod 1985-1994 at a rate of about 7 % and ItS expanSIon stIll continues The follOWIng table shows the evolution of the Morocco's gross tonnage fleet from 1985 to 1994
II
Table II 1985 1994 CumulatIve Rate 1985-1994 m %
Industnal fleet (tons) 70461 151 780 8 81
Coastal fleet (tons) 50211 73721 431
Source BMCE, Le Secteuf des Peches ManUmes au Maroc, Jutllet 1996 No, 232 page 5
If small-scale tonnage datal that IS actually bemg practIced by about 12,000 small fishIng uwts were mcluded, then the prevIous figures will be hIgher In the Mediterranean Sea It IS esttmated that only 50 % of these fishIng uruts are equIpped WIth engmes wlule all of those fishIng m AtlantIC have mecharucal traction ThiS actIvIty, extends usually to about SlX mdes from the coastlme
III. Resources Management: Most Urgent Needs 3 1 global settIng
44 The context for the diSCUSSion of demersal resources management IS founded by the observatIon that the shelf and slope habItat of the exploitable demersal populatIons IS narrow and compressed between the lIttoral zone of the coastal states and the central areas of the Mediterranean WhICh average some 2000-3000 m In depth, a fact that effectively separates the stocks of facmg shelves, both from demersal and the most pelagIc stocks From the pomt of view of the deflDltlon of fishable demersal stocks, the SItuation has other practical consequences Legally, from the management JUrISdICtIon pomt of VIew, one must diVIde the Mediterranean shelf areas mto two categones attempting to decide on a management framework:
(1) the hvmg resources of extensive InternatIonal shelf areas that fall mto the category of straddlmg stocks were dIscussed m New York by the Conference on Straddlmg and HIgh Mlgratory Stocks For these stocks the use of 200 m Isobath as a deep water boundary for the shelf edge IS consIdered arbItrary and questIonable and,
(2) the demersal popu1atlons which are hvmg across varIOUS shelf areas and for whIch a particular framework IS needed for the natIonal frmgmg shelves that separate them as these matters fall under natIonal JUrISdIction
45 The mam measures elaborated by most of the central ac:lm..trustratIons of the MedIterranean countnes are of very general land, and essenttally restnctIve and coercltIve They basIcally concern the use of some gears m space and tune, the power and number of boats, the mesh SIZe of nets and the legal commerCIal sIZe of species
, 46 But, from the begmrung, there has been a generahzed lack of respect for these regulatlons by the fishermen The sheer transposItIon of management rules apphed. m other seas and countrIes does not seem to be the best way to follow Expenence shows that, for most of the Atlantic stocks, (Total Allowable Catches), TACt have proven not to be suffiCIently efficient m preventmg some stocks to dechne Generally speaktng the system is seen more as a polttlcal tool for resources
shanng than a means for managing exploltatton rates Furthermore, the system IS partIcularly unfitted for the MedIterranean where there IS hIgh number of species and gears diverSity and for whIch methods of Input control are In turn needed
3 2 HistorIcal practIcal problems statIstICS and multtspeclfity
47 Catch effort and statistics remain the main weak point The majorIty of statIstIcal data are often far from reflectmg the realIty Accordmg to cases, underest1.IllatIon of catches (there IS suspected to represent not more than a thIrd of the realIty) as well as overestImatlon are often detected This srtuatlon IS lInked to the poor productIon control on the ClfCUlts deSIgned to gather Informatlon and also because most statIstical services are not taIlored to deal With the problem ThIS IS a strong handIcap for to carry out effectIve fishIng research
48 Incomplete and inaccurate inventory of fleets. In most of the countnes statistICS do not deSCrIbe well the structure and capacity of therr fleets, whIch depends on many factors as the depth of fishIng grounds, type of fisbmg actIVIty, the econOIDlC level of the fishermen, shIpbuIldIng expertIse, and tradluons among other These problems are partIcularly acute In the small-scale fleets, where avaIlable files In the national admInIstratIon are often mcomplete and underestunatIon may be 50 % compared WIth the real figures ThIS phenomenon can mtroduce nnportant bIases In the SCIentIfic analYSls and recommendatIons
49 To amelIorate tlus SItuation, some countnes have started to nnprove samplIng and assessment strategIes, essentIally based on the mstallatlon of networks of samplers on the coasts, whIch partIcularly fit the MedIterranean fisherIes Moreover, the use of remote sensmg on fishIng and on geographIcal dIstrIbutIon has hardly started m the EU MedIterranean countrIes The utIlIzatIon of such technIques m the North AfrIcan countrIes has not started yet
50 Multiespecificity analysis Concermng the MedIterranean fishenes It IS converuent to clanfy that It IS not dIfficult to IdentIfy by the COmpOSItIon of catches, m spite of the vanety of landIngs t a relatively small group of target speCIes which are the base of the fishmg prodUCtion, both m terms of bIomass and econOmIC value For example recent samphngs through landmg statiStiCS, showed that a group of 13 speCIes constItuted the IIbasIc productions" m the north-west MedIterranean fishenes Thts group represents more than 50% of overall demersal productIon of the Medlterranean fleet These ratmgs may mcrease If It were pOSSIble to know the real compos loon of the Item ttvarlous speCIes" of the offiCIal StatIStICS, WhICh mclude part of the catches of those species
51 In the North AfrIcan countnes, even though the landmg statIStICS system IS stIll qUite Imperfect and not much utIlIZed yet, It may be consIdered as a starting pomt and a cheap tool to know more about multIspeclfity and quantItatIve catches m all the fishing zones of the countrIes
3 3 FISherIes research and co-operatIon current status
52 Marme research has been favoured by the eXIstence of several International Commissions whose fields of competence cover varIOUS sub-regIOns TheIr actIons have mcreased the opporturutIes for co-ordmatIon between the fishery SCIentists and
has
mtroduced the use of the populatIon dynanuc methodologies m the sub-regIon Among them are the followmgThe Intemauonal Conmusslon for the ConservatIon of the AtlantIC Tuna, ICCAT, based m MadrId (Spam) It counts With 22 member countnes With Morocco beIng
The International CouncIl for the SCientific Exploration of the Mediterranean, ICSEM/CIESM, based In Monaco and composed of 20 Mediterranean countrIes Its maIn actIvity relates to basIc research on marIne biology and oceanography, The General FIshenes Council for the MedIterranean, GFCM/CGPM, base m Rome and under the FAO auspices All North Afncan countnes except the Sudan are members of the Councd Its main activIties are lmked With the exploItation, conservation and management of hvmg marme resources
53 In 1976 the Mediterranean ActIon Plan, MAP/PAM was set up by the Barcelone Convention to set up a common polIcy for the protectIon of the MedIterranean enVlfonment and to create common tools for regIonal actIons One of these tools IS the Pnonty Actions Programma for the Protected Areas, PAP/SA whIch IS based In Turns (TUnISIa) and auned at co-ordmatmg actions to set up a protected areas pollcy Another IS the .. Blue Plan" wInch IS orIented towards SOCIo-eCOnOmtC aspects and the nnd-term evolution of the MedIterranean sea
54 WIth the exceptIon of the usual co-operatIon between European border countnes, the north-south bilateral co-operation IS predommant m the MedIterranean, bemg very weak m the east-west relatlonsrups Apart from the tlurd MoroccolEU agreement of 26 February 1996, bllateral agreements have been SIgned between some EU countrIes and several of North Afnca For example Italy has focused on Jomt venture mvestment projects WIth Algena, Egypt, Morocco and Turnsla France has provided assIstance m the fields of tramtng and research In the fields of hvmg resources, coastal enVlfonment and remote sensmg Spam has hosted trammg courses on marme bIology, populatton dynanucs, and acoustic surveys for the AIgenan and TUnIsian researchers
55 Just m the last quarter of 1996 FAO launched, funded by Spam, an mternatlonal five years fisherIes project entitled II Advice, Technical Support and Establishment of Co-operation Networks to Facilitate Co-ordination to Support Fisheries Management in the Western and Central Mediterranean ", known as COPEMED The project wlll play
an
mternatIonal connecting role between marme research InStltutlons and fishery admJrustratlons Its mam objectives areto develop regular tramtng network m the area,
to help to standardIZe the methodologies for fishenes data processmg and assessmenttechntques,
to establIsh electronlc communication network,
to set up regular bI-annual working groups to assess the state of shared and/or straddlmg stocks,
to present reports of the results to the Techmca1 Consultation and the Management Comnusslon of GFCM and ,
to prepare at request of countnes mvolved, pdot plans m thIs field
3 4 ImplementatIon of recent InternatIonal fishery agreements
56 Durmg the last years there bas been a clear will of the deCISion makers to manage properly the fishenes stocks m the MedIterranean and AtlantiC seas and avoidmg over-exploitatton Likewise mternatlonal actions have been targeted to develop harmonization ways among coastal
, ~
states sharmg common resources The most unportant achons taken
In
thIS context have been the PublIcatIon of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Flshenes , F AO tAgreement to promote Compltance With ConservatIon Measures by Flshmg Vesse1s on the HIgh Seas,
ImplementatIon of provISions from the UnIted Nations Conference on StraddlIng FISh Stocks and HIghly MIgratory Species, FAO,
Mediterranean Flshenes EU DIplomatic Conferences (Palma de Mallorca, 1993, Crete, 1994 and Venezia, 1996) and,
Internatlonal Conference on SustaInable Contnbutlon of fishenes to Food SecurIty (Kyoto, 1995) FAO and the Japan Government
57 Another landmark has been the mtroductlon of "responsible fIShing" practIce It englobes actions auned at unprovmg conservatIon of the fishenes resources sustamably and the utilIzation of sound fishmg and aquaculture practIces to conserve the mar me ecosystems It also pursues actions to mer ease the value added of the catches through processmg and by promotmg commerclahzatlon campatgns to facilitate the access of products of good quality to the consumers
A summary of the prmclpJes Includmg under "responsible rlShing" are
develops an annual total fish mortality that allows to keep the long term sustamable yIeld,
suggests the extensIve use of the precautIonary approach when the mformatlon IS lnmted and of the ttlllDlts reference Pomts" for keepmg key stocks out of danger, guarantees the productIve functlon of the envlfonment,
does not threaten the bIodiverSIty of the ecosystem and,
It IS lIDplemented by the shared management among the mdustry, sCIence and the governments who ensure conservatIon through settmg up a balance between the resources stocks and the fishmg effort
58 The ObjectIve of the Compliance Agreement can be aclueved through specrfymg flag states I responsIblhty of vessels entitled to fly therr flags and operating on the high seas Flag IS states should mclude the authonzation of such operatIons as well as to strengthen mtematlonal co- operatIon and Increased transparency through the exchange of mformatlon on high seas fishing The UN Conference on Straddling stocks and bigh migratory species dIscloses Ideas and practIces of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Flshenes The Venezia Mediterranean Diplomatic Conference agreed on the need to
co~ordmate standardIZed basIC statIstIcs collection,
remforce SCIentific co-operation between research mstItutes for the exchange of sCientific mformatlon and co-ordmate and reInforce momtormg and enforcement
of management measures J
59 To lunlt the econonuc uncertamty to producers the VeneZIa conference also adopted measures for a wise reduction of the fislung fleets m accordance With the real catch pOSSIbilIties In waters under natIonal JunsdlctIon and on the hIgh seas and With due care to ensure that the fishing effort IS compatIble With the sustaInable explOitatIon of fisheries resources
60 FmaUy, the Kyoto Declaration states m its pomt mne that It poltcles should be based on resource management and utlhzatlon for sustamable development of the fishenes sector on · (1) maintenance of the ecological systems, (2) use of the best SCIentific eVidence available and (3) unprovement m economic and social well-being and (4) inter and mtra-generatulnal 'equity
\
~~ .. r f " ... r"- 'ft'
, ~
•
Nevertheless, there are at least two maIn Issues behtnd such proposals .
(1) wtll all these good intentIons be enough to put mto practIce the necessary measures (11) to really improve the present situatlon of the fishIng resources m general and In
particular in the North AfrIcan countnes? and,
(11) wIll the legal and SCIentific frames of the North AfrIcan countnes be adequate to reply to the most urgent needs of the sub-regIon?
The rephes are not easy What IS clear IS that countries will have to nnprove therr mternal methods to ensure fishenes sustamabI.hty first and secondly promote an effective ~ub-reglonal co- operation
IV. Measures for Sustainable Conservation: Future Scientific Management Guidelines 4 1 Global approaches
61 It IS known that any polIcy anned at acruevmg a sound fishenes management should follow the followmg phases
defimtlon of precise and exphclt objectIves for the nght management of each fishery both at long term, to maxmnze the value added obtamed from the fishenes activitleSJ and at short term to reconstruct the spawmng potentIal,
adoptIon of approprIate strategy to meet the selected obJecttves, for example by a progressive and regular reduction of an expioitatlon rate durmg a preCIse penod of tlDle and,
applIcatIon of speCIfic management tools to meet the selected targets, for example the mtroductlon of a ltcensmg system
62 Unfortunately, thIs has not been the way followed m the World and m the MedIterranean Sea m partIcular Among the mam causes of the poor success achteved by the actual management systems appears to be assOCIated to
mefficlency of management systems due to
(a) exceSSIve, general and often mcompatlble polItIcal obJectlveSt for example one can not maxmuze at the same tooe employment, production and the abundance of resources,
(b) there has been no bmit on the fishIng effort and the Total Allowable Catches, T AC, and quotas have resulted m a clear increase of fishmg mortaltty and,
(c) lDlPOSSlblhty to fulfill the eXlstmg regulatIons
defiCIenCies on data base and on methodologIes m which the SCIentlfic adVIce is based and,
chmatlc and envIronmental changes that modIfy the prOdUCtiVIty of the resources
more than It was thought,
63 There are two condItIons for the valIdIty of the sCIentIfic studIes on fishenes namely globality and continuity ThIs Imphes the knowledge of the fishmg effort and catches of the whole fleets exploltmg every stock as well as Its abundance The avallablhty of historIcal data senes of about one decade IS essentIal to unprove any exercise of diagnosIs concernmg the sector An incompatibilIty frequently mentIoned by the SCIentlfic conunuruty 1S the unposslblhty to sunultaneously stabilIze productIon and fishing effort from one year to the next, owmg to the mfluence of the natural var1atlons Two factors that make more dIfficult the assessment of stocks are the clunatlc and enVlronmental changes, speCIally when Juvemle catches prevau, as IS the case of the heavy explOitatIons regIstered m the Medtterranean durmg early stages of the hvmg cycle of fishes
64 Therefore, It IS necessary to recogruze that there are external factors, whIch were underestnnated m prevIous ttmes and that now they can alter (1) the assessment of the real status of the resources and theIr capaCIty to support a stable exploitatIon and (u) the effiCIency of the current management models Among the first appear ecological factors They must be consIdered through a full study of the ecosystems as a whole The second pomts at the need to carry out mtegrated fishenes studIes, that IS cODSIdermg the statistIcal, biologIcal and SOClo-econonuc aspects of the actIVIty
65 The first and mdlspensable condItIon to unprove the knowledge of the Medtterranean fishenes 1S the unmedlate unprovement of the quality of the statIstICS m general For a certam number of speCIes an lDlprovement of the knowledge of bIOlogIcal parameters and the blogeographlcal ones IS requrred Moreover I better knowledge of artlSanal multI-specIfic fishenes and studIes on mter-speclfic and trophtcal relatIonshIps seem essentIal as well as the understandmg of the mecharusms of blomasses fluctuatlons m space and tIme Still, It IS of paramount Importance to conduct studIes allowmg to explam the detenmmsm of recruItment lmked to the enVIronment and those of the fleets' dyna.mtsm
66 A recent mnovatlon m the research about the MedIterranean fishmg IS to consider that the demersal stocks are not only subnutted to the trawlers' actIVIty but also to the small-scale fleets, WhICh was completely forgotten unt11 the past few years It was probably due to the powerlessness of the researchers to rely on relIable senes of data on tlus activity and to the absence of "ready- made" methods adapted to the study of these fishenes ThIs attItude has changed and many Medtterranean countrles are studymg these fishenes resources, accordmg to therr Importance or when they share the exploltatIon of some stocks WIth other fleets
67 Moreover, the mcreasmg acuteness of the econoffilC conflIctS between fleets, as a consequence of competItlon for the space, resources and markets, IS leadmg to cope Wlth new demands on Medlterranean research
4 2 Towards a "systemIc" concept on fisherIes
68 There IS not doubt of the importance that the mtroductIon of a "systemic concept of nsheries" has, m particular, to keep the North African marme ecosystems sClenttfically monitored and Its long term sustainabihty ensured for the new generations The t1systenuc" approach means to redrrect the target of fishenes sCience from resources to the entrre ecosystem equIllbnum 69. Therefore, today's study of the MedIterranean fisheries, and in particular the coastal ones,
•
-
I•
]
multIplIes the number of matters to be analyzed and mcreases the plurabty of ISsues to be resolved It reqUIres a new approach of work analYSIS ThiS approach presupposes first of all the understandIng of the present structure of fisherIes to define uruts of exploitatIon, therr assessment and management and consequently the stratificatIon of each level Secondly t It unphes the knowledge of fisherIes, to explam therr strength, mner dynanucs and consequently those varIables WhICh would allow the managers to act
70 In thIS context It IS recogruzed that there IS dIfficulty of utIlIzIng conceptual models and methods With clImatIC and envIronmental vanables Its use unpbes the avaIlabIlIty of htstorIcal senes of data wruch are dIfficult to gather m most of the countnes m the sub-region Moreover,
ill the MedIterranean fisbmg system there IS a poverty In the knowledge of fishenes and SCIentific enterpnse To offset the gap the development of approprIate models must be a key tool to dIagnose the health of the resources, to evaluate Its potenua! and recommend management polICies ThiS suggests the need of undertakmg a new wave of mvestments m a multldlsclplmary basiC research able to start a new era as a continuatIon of the already finahzed research
71 The new fishenes research conception seems to be gomg m the sub-regIon agamst the mcreasIng pressure that the local, national or mtematlonal authontIes exert on It to obtam short term adVice At dIfferent levels and for several motIvations the sltuatlon prevaus equally m the most advanced countnes as ill the less developed ones And yet, the achtevement of real progress m the "systenuc" understandmg of the structure and dynanncs of Mediterranean fisherIes w1.l1 only be made 'pOSSIble at thiS prIce
72 From a SOCIo-economIC pomt of VIew t the regular survey of mdIcators hke the evolut]on of the Investments and capital, of employment and salarles seems mdlspensable The future research should also start or extendmg the studIes about the cost of the production factors and the profitablhty of fishIng m the Mediterranean, about whIch only sketchy knowledge IS avatlable 73 Fmally t the SCIentIfic approach of the evolutIon of fishmg m the MedIterranean Sea should take lnto account the clear effects that the agncultural, mdustnal, urban and tOurISt developments have on the coastal fishenes m partIcular Conversely, the lIDpacts of fishmg aCtIvItIes m the lIttoral zones have also to be taken mto account Whether they are harmful m one place or benefiCIal mother, they have an Influence over the envrronment, the bIOlogIcal producttvlty and the explOItation strategIes m the sea whose hydnc renewal rate IS low and where fishmg remams greatly dependent on the condItion of the coastal edges and the artISans I practices
4 3 ImprOVIng sub-regIonal co-operatIon
74 In thIS context sub-regional co-operatIon should be OrIented for acluevmg the three mam ObjectIves (1) focusmg on a reduced number of prionty actIons, (11) mcreasmg commumcatIon as a mean to unprove sub-regIonal co-ordmatlon and (111) consolIdatIng the adVisory processes
4 3 1 Focusmg on pnorIty actions
75 Improving organized collection of basic data The mcreasmg mterest on envrronmental research WIll best be served by the uttllZatIon of long-term data senes on renewable natural resources and studIes on mteractlons But data collectIon IS expensIve and tlDle consummg, It
dIverts budgets and manpower from other actIvIties and creates conflIcts between thts necessary routme aCtiVIty and the long term strategic research Thts research, however t depends essentJ..ally on the avaIlabIlIty of data bases, partIcularly m the field of biologIcal samplmg
76 From many years there has been a senous comnutment to produce common and relIable databases m the MedIterranean countnes The international Orgamzanons and the EU have played an unportant role In tillS regard In addItIon the ICCAT IS managmg an mtematIonal databases on tuna fishenes whtcb IS regularly updated, FAO has developed common databases on bIologIcal mfonnatlon II SPECIESDAB" and on populatIon dynamICS parameters measures "POPDYN", wlule ICSEM IS unplementmg a bIblIographIc database on MedIterranean marme SCience, mcluding the Black Sea area
77 Acknowledgement of the demographic structures of exploited populations. They denve basICally from the SIZe and frequencIes of the speCIes caught Thts mformatlon IS essential for the assessment of the stocks and momtormg the fishery explOItatIOn patterns WhIle SIgnIficant progress has been achteved to collect regularly bIOlogical data of thIS type ill some MedIterranean countnes, speCIally m those of the EU, there IS still a conSIderable gap of thIS knowledge In thiS field In most of the North African countnes of the sub-regIon
78 Understandmg the fluctuations observed in Instorical data series on catches. ThIS IS a subject of conSIderable slgmficance for the sub-regIon In general countrIes need to work actIvely to understand and evaluate the causes and deVIatIons on fluctuations catches But, the analySIS can only be done after havmg lnstoncal senes of credIble and accurate data
79 Overall data on size and fisbing power of fleets .. ThiS IS an urgent need m ~spect of those fleets WhICh are operatmg over the various shelf areas ThIS type of database IS one of the requuements of the "comphance Agreement" on the regular updatIng of mformatlon on natIonal fleet SIzes and fishmg power to be used both In stock assessments and m blOeCOnOImc analyses
In the North AfrIca sub-regIon the gathermg of data on the small-scale fleet IS essentlal to adapt the productive structure to the stocks and also to the markets
80 DerInition of a strong large-scale global sampling scheme. ThIS IS consIdered as a tOpIC of paramount lDlportance for undertalong management plans both at sub-regional or natIonal levels Moreover, ill order to valorIZe such effort It would be useful to develop "common standardIZed methodologIes for fishenes data processing and assessment technIques" It would be a tool to obtam homogeneous elements of comparison of the status of the stocks and of fishenes ThlS IS one of the roam objectIves of the "DYNPOP" Workmg Group WhICh was created by ICSEM m 1993
81 The use of GeograpJnc Information Systems (GIS) methodologIes for flShenes resources management IS also conSIdered as lDlportant objectIve In some of the MedIterranean countrIes experunental projects are In progress at national and mternatlonallevel e g EU/AIR and FAO Programmes The advantages of wldenmg of tlns work at sub-regIonal scale are many The estabhshment of a co-ordInated programme of thIS kInd could be an lDlportant tool to obtaIn a synoptIc VISion of the MedIterranean fishenes system as well as to have access to regular and updated Inform anon easy to be used by the management bodies
4 3 2 Research pnonty Issues
82 When trying to Integrate fishery studIes m a more ample marIne and long term scope, whtch has to be planned well m advance, several thematIc themes lmkmg research and protectlon- conservatIon anse But useful results can only be obtaIned by moblhzmg the efforts of all the Mediterranean commumtles at a regional level
In
thIS context at least two Issues have been Identified by the Drrectors of the MedIterranean Research Orgaruzatlons based in the conclUSIOns of the RIo Conference and the European Conference on MarIne Research of Obema.t (1992)•
•
These were (1) coastal zones and (11) blOdlVerSlty
83 Integrated mUltl-dlsclplmary studIes on coastal zones are a bIg pnonty m all North AfrIcan countnes due to the lffiportance of marme productivity For example the Morocco t S coastal zone produces annually over 0 6 truillon tons of WhICh 90% are pelagIc fishes, 8 % whIte fish and 2 % cephalopodst crustaceans and varIOUS types of shells In TunIsIa 60% of ItS fleet concentrates m the south, Gulf of Gabes, whIch IS over-exploIted Meanwhtle the coastal zone that stretches from KebIlla to the Algenan border and that contams 35 % of the resources of the country remams under-exploIted 6 In general, the coastal zones of the sub-region produce 33 % of the pnmary productlon, 90 % of the fishing resources and 100 % of aquaculture production
84 Moreover, the coastal zone IS consIdered to be preferentIal for the development of varIOUS actIVItIes In the next 25 years As a consequence, IncreasIng trends of human nugratlons and bIgger degradatIon of the coastal enVIronment are expected It will lead to an exponentIal Increasmg for resources competItion and also to conflICts between users To nunmuze such Impacts It IS essennal to set up common methodologIes to study the coastal system as a whole and IdentIfy relevant mdIcators to quabfy and quantify the processes
85 The maID problem IS that the realIzatIon of mulu-dlsclplmary and llltegrated studIes IS an expenSIve task and unpbes a net co-operatIon and steady orgarnzation to co-ordmate actiVItles both at national and mternatIona11evels t because usually there are dIfferent MlDlstnes mvolvement and often mternatIonal orgaruzatIons and donor countrIes A cntlcal questIon IS how far the North Afncan countrIes Will have a frrm decIslon to mvest therr money on those complex, dIfficult and long term studIes
86 Concerrung b,od,verszty the RIo Conference recall the lmportance of the Issue for the protectIon of the hvmg speCIes An Important advantage for achlevmg thts goal t If there IS a clear Interest for domg so, IS the possessIon of faIrly SCIentific potentJal m the MedIterranean countnes But thiS potentIal need to be co-ordmated and onented towards achlevmg some mam tOpiCS such as the nnpact of natural or aCCidental mtroductIon of non-mdtgenous species m the Mediterranean Sea, the lmpact of the explOitatIon of hvmg resources, the IdentIfication and protection of the endangered species and the protection of some areas whIch play an essentIal ecologIcal role on the seas surroundmg the North Afncan countries Among the trutlatlves m progress under the auspices of the EU are the Workmg Party on Coastal Zones m Alexandna, Egypt, November 1996, and the CIESMt creation of a new SCientIfic Conuruttee on Coastal EnVIronment m July 1996
4 4 IncreaSing BuddIng Capacity and Communication
87 They are key areas for lDlprovmg fishenes management m the North Afncan sub·reglon The subject bas also conSIderable slgmficance m the ED countrIes The goals IdentIfied m the colloqUIum on "Europe of Research and MedIterranean Seall held at Sophia AntIpohs (France) m March 1995, are also relevant for the North African countnes They focused on
(I)strengthenmg and re-structurmg the mam SCIentific co-operation areas, (11) trammg of researchers and techmclans and (Ill) creatIng networks and associate tlurd countnes to European projects
88 In order to set up an effectIve sub-regional Mediterranean co-operatlon pollcy In research
6 AfrIque Agnculture, No 236 Avnl1996, page 51
and traInIng the followlOg fishing management concepts deserve special conSideration
Common Development strategy, lOcludlng JOint plannmg and co-ordmatlon actIVIties,
Co-operation based on partnershIp and complementanty,
CollectIve expertise, quality, adequation and feasibility of proposed projects lo
answer to tenders,
Standardization of methodologies for results monitonng and evaluation, Logistic accompanying measures, fmancial and technIcal,
Continuity beyond the duration of co-operatIve projects Trainers I training and
Access to the information facllItles
89 A prompt and appropnate development of each of the above mentioned tOpICS would mean a nght step forward for tmprovmg the current Situation and to strengthen most of the sClentrfic fields, Including the fishenes SCIence
90 Better commumcatIons hn1es should be establIshed between research mstItutes and key personnel, who should stnve to set up common databases on baSIC SCientific mformatlon m the field of manne sCiences m general and In fishenes m partIcular Increasmg the co-ordination m that field should be done through a flexIble structure of hannomzatlon and mfonnatlon exchange Acttons awed at the development of the Infonnatlon between mternatlonal bodies, research InstItutes and laboratones should be encouraged to Improve the SCIentIfic collaboratIon and co- ordmatlon at sub-regional level to faCIlItate the conceptIon, progranunmg and 1ll1plementatlon of Integrated regional projects
91 In practIce, thiS could begm by developmg the use of electromc mati networks and the creatIon of speCial SItes on the Internet Network WhICh would offer thematlc connections and a Web Information sheet, to
ensure a rapId and WIde dIffuSion of the sCientific results, workIng groups reports and II gray lIterature tt e g unpublIshed documents whIch often are of great mterest, facIlItate the upgradmg of databases, the WIde spreadmg of computer data processmg programmes and standardIZed methodologies and,
Circulate the mformatlon on calls for co-operative research projects
92 The establIshment of such kInd of networks would among others tbmgs facllitate the settmg of "concerted actlons 11 to allow the orgamzatton of mter and multI-dlsclplmary meetmgs almed at the conceptlon of new co-operatIve research projects and for WhICh many natIonal research teams have stIll poor Information on organlZmg and fundmg pOSSIblhtIes It IS m thiS context that the COPEMED/F AO fishenes project has recently started One of ItS malO objectives IS to orgaruze computerIZed networks to estabhsh a co-ordmated system onented towards the generatIon of regIonal databases and sCientific cntena for recommendations on fishenes management m the Central and Western Mediterranean countries
93 The solemn declaration of the second DIplomatiC Conference on Flshenes Management m the MedIterranean, held m Crete, 12-14 December 1994, emphasIZed on the fact that effective co-operation must be encouraged at the hIghest level among all Mediterranean coastal states Moreover, It speCifies that " the objective of this co-operation covering resources, environment and the application of legal principles must be the implementation of a system of conservation and management harmonized at the Mediterranean level". A pragmatIC way to ensure
It
•
comprehenSIve co-operatIon should be the mcreaslng of communIcation at regIonal level among the three maIn actors mvolved In the ecosystem that are the fishermen, sCientIsts and decIslon- makers Unfortunately, WIth few rare exceptIons, there 15 a general lack of commumcatlon among them
94 Effective commurucatIon IS vItal If research has to be fully utIlIzed In general, fishenes SCIentIsts are stIll facmg WIth dIfficulties to mform the mam end users, namely the fishennen, and the deCISIon makers on the flow of mformatlon generated by them WIthout communication network decIsIons WIll not be taken on twe and there wIll be a waste of tune and resources probably However relevant the SCientIfic advIse are It WIll not be followed and the research value nusused or even lost Good commurucatlon IS also essential to facIlItate the transnussion of fishenes management concepts and messages, a task that IS not considered easy These messages are generally unwelcome because they are seen as the announcement of new SOClo-econonuc constramts In addlt10n the master Idea of the SCientIfic message IS often lost m a too set of dense mformatlon, whIch fmalIy has low efficiency
95 Countnes m the sub-region should try to settle the problem by uSing among other the eXlstmg Umted NatIOns and EU sub-regIonal frames and stunulate the orgaruzatIon of workshops and meetmgs to develop means and ways to facIlitate dISCUSSIon with fishermen These lDluatlves should be fully encouraged and multIplIed and therr results WIdely dIffused through the most effiCIent networks
4 5 ConsolIdation of adVisory processes
96 As an harmoruzed system for conservation and management IS reqUired m all marme ecosystems there IS a need to consolIdate a comprehensIve framework to which national and International management bodIes and other mterested partIes can make appeal whenever SCIentIfic diagnOSIS and adVIse are reqUIred As It has already stated, the MedIterranean countnes belong from decades to relevant regIonal structures whose mandates conSIst m glvmg adVISOry role and whose recommendations are mandatory So, co-ordmatmg lruttatlves would have to make use of thIS Support and aVOId duplIcatIon of funct.J.ons In other words, there IS no need that the adVISOry framework be phYSICal (an ICES-lIke body) as It may conSIst m an agreement by WhICh consultatIons protocols and communIcatIon should be establIshed
97 To get thIS goal the three mam followmg actIons seem appropnate
(i) Proper defmition of the fields of activity of the working groups belonging to various organizations (e g methodology, modelmg, assessments, etc) to clanfy theIr obJectIves, elmunate overlapPIng and aVOId energy wastmg Co-ordmatlon exerCIses loolang for more complementanly and non competltlve actIons could be done m an Executive Comnuttee or by a Central Bureau,
(ti) Improve the quality of scientific publications through some refereemg system which wIll allow to reach a standard level of relIabIlIty to facllltate the use of SCIentific conclUSIOns by the mtematlonal adVISOry and decision-makmg bodtes and, (ill) Defme a common and multi-disciplinary frame for a standardized presentation of scientific data and results. These should be obtaIned by USIng complementary methodologIes e g duect and mdtrect ones and accepted by all MedIterranean
partners as relevant to dIagnose the status of various fishenes and resources It also may be relevant to ensure fruItful partlclpatIon of the relevant bodIes to ad hoc meetIngs, WhIch will be addressed precIse questIons, to adVIse them on the use of the frame for conservatIon and management purposes
v.
CONCLUSION: from the theory to practice 5 1 NarrowIng the gaps on fisherIes management98 As It has been repeated along the paper. the fishenes management IS stIll madequate m the MedIterranean Sea and m the other marltune areas m the sub-regIon due mamly to (1) lDSufficlent data and InformatIOn avatlable on stocks and catches, (11) partial data on fleets dyn.a.nucs ( theIr evolutIon and potential) and (111) poor co-ordmatlon on research programmes and actlvitIes wrthm countnes and also among the sub-region ThiS SItuation contradicts the theoretIcal abundance of data and technIcal adVIce that emanate from many speCIalIZed bodIes on fishenes management and research
99 To cope With these problems the natIonal research and management fishmg bodIes should unprove theIr way of commumcation All of them generate mternal Information of great value for the fishermen and fishIng Industnes m then respectIve countrIes But, due to many cIrcumstances, Including budgetary y the InformatIon rarely arrIve the end users These centres should strive to remove the bottlenecks that lffipede the dIffuSIon of SClentlfic, legal, SOCIO- economIc and envIronmental mformatlon among the consumers Moreover, If pnvatlZatlon contInues m the sub-region and comrnumcatlon between the pnvate and pubhc sectors IS msufficlent or obsolete, the gap between the necessary-available information may even be worse ThIS applIes fundamentally to the mformatlon on stocks avadabIhty and management by speCIes
100 The problem IS still worse at sub-regIonal level The SCIentIfic and technical mformatlon generated by the research-management fishIng centers m each country rarely arnves to neIghbor one and In general It IS not known m the most dIstant countnes It dIfficult m partlcular the monitonng and evaluatIon of the "straddlmg resources" and In romor scale perhaps the "hIghly llligratory stocks II In absence of such mformatl0n, and In partIcular about the fishmg effort and fleets, It IS dIfficult to reach agreements of bIlateral or multmanonal dtmension Moreover, It also constltutes an lD1pedunent for financmg sub-regIonal programmes, projects and related actiVities
5 2 N al10nal measures for further actlon
101 Thanks to the many exercises carned out dunng the past decades by researchers and the top hierarchIes of the research mstltunons, today, It would be pOSSIble to define a frame for the development, of Mediterranean fishenes research as a whole m the next future Butt whIle the strengthening of the eXlstmg research mechanIsms and the deftrutton of a plan to tmprove them remam essentIal for the elaboratIon of a soundly based management adVice, they are not suffiCient to offset the weakpomts already mentioned
102 It would be necessary that the deCISion makers and stakeholders contnbute to
defme precise ObjectIves for each fishery and not for the overall fishenes as a whole,
assume the nsks dertved from the uncertamty of the knowledge,
