Conference on Economic Advice in Fisheries Management, Malta, 4-5 February 2016
Drivers affecting trawl fishers discarding behaviour and potential incentives which may
contribute to the successful implementation of the landings obligation in the Mediterranean
Stithou M1., V. Vassilopoulou1, A. Edridge1, K. Tsagarakis1, A. Machias1, M. Maniopoulou1,
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J. Haralabous , A. Dogrammatzi , J. M. Bellido , P. Carbonara , A. Carbonell , G. Lembo
1HCMR, 2IEO, 3COISPA
Trawl discards in the Mediterranean EU waters
(B). Incentives to reduce discarding:
The multi-species/multi-gear nature of the Mediterranean fisheries results in
catches, which are highly diversified both geographically and among the different fishing gears in terms of target species, sorting practices and discard
composition (STECF/SGRN 2006). Bottom trawl is the fishing gear that
exploits a great diversity of species and produces the highest portions of
discards in Mediterranean waters.
Incentives can play an important role for (i) adoption of technologies and
avoidance measures and (ii) compliance with the landing obligation.
• Incentives can include monetary or subsidy incentives, commercializing
unwanted fish, licence or other fees discounted for use of bycatch reduction
device, helping to determine and set industry preference in allocation formulas, as well as added incentives in terms of bringing real-time data in line
with scientific assessments to support catch limits or/and incentives to work
cooperatively with environmental NGOs, eco-certification such as the Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC), payments for ecosystem services etc (Kelleher,
2005; Bladon et al., 2014; McIlwain, 2015).
This study has focused on scoping the drivers affecting trawl fishers discarding behaviour in three Mediterranean EU countries (Greece, Italy and Spain)
as well as investigating the potential incentives that would motivate fishers to
avoid unwanted catches and increase compliance, in the face of the recent landings obligation (EC, 2013). To fulfil this task a Review of published literature
(scientific papers and “grey” literature) took place, followed by interviewing
stakeholders from different action arenas (marine researchers, representatives of the fishing sector, policy-makers) in the three countries. These tasks
were part of the DISCATCH project (DG MARE/ 2012/24) and were conducted in 2015.
(A). Drivers of discarding behaviour:
According to Eliasen et al. (2013), factors potentially influencing discarding
behaviour can be grouped in four broad categories (Fig. 1).
• Following the outcomes from the stakeholder survey and in particular
fishers representatives, subsidising selectivity and improved technology, commercialising sustainable species, cost compensation and overall financial incentives have been seen positively as potential interventions. However, concerns have been expressed, for example about providing discards to the fishmeal industry and aquaculture, needed facilities and infrastructure and control/fines, which are considered already strict as well as potential reduction of
the fleet due to combined measures. On the other hand, policy-makers and scientists seemed to put more weight on spatio-temporal, technical measures
and compliance (including monitoring). Some related comments are presented in Box 2.
Box 2. Policy experts on interventions
There is a need to develop a network of receipt and distribution of discards to be directed
to another use. Compensation for the loss of revenue from keeping of non-commercial
species on board is required. A large consumer campaign to change the nutritional habits
and introduce less commercial (i.e. non-target) species to the market should be pursued.
The landings obligation is considered difficult to be implemented in Mediterranean countries. Particular effort should be exerted towards the adoption of technical measures (e.g.
spatio-temporal closures in nursery grounds) that contribute to preventing or reducing
unwanted catches in the first place.
Points for further consideration
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• Solutions may involve a combination of management measures designed
for specific fisheries, fleets and regions. However, the efficacy of technical measures often depends on the level of enforcement/compliance, on the collaboration between fishermen and on the willingness of fleets to share information
(McIlwain, 2015).
Fig. 1 . Diagram showing factors potentially influencing discard behaviour (Eliasen et al., 2013)
• Outcomes of the Review revealed that at the level of the fisher, discarding
involved a short term economic decision taken on board. However there
seemed to be drivers such as social norms and values (e.g. perceived legitimacy, job attachment), as well as individual socio-demographic and psychological characteristics (e.g. family history, attitude towards risk, variability in information levels, reluctance to change) of the fishers that played a significant
role in explaining the observed behaviour (van Putten et al., 2012; Eliasen et
al., 2013).
• As for drivers identified by stakeholder engagement, they coincided with
these highlighted above and in addition, the following comments were made
(Box 1).
Box 1. Some comments (all stakeholders/countries) on factors
The effect of driver ‘Non-existent value because there is no market for potentially
commercial species’ is regarded low as usually there is variable demand for marketable bycatches.
Socio-economic factors such as the change of ‘culture’ and ‘educating’ the consumer are
crucial as the economic crisis has changed the demand in favour of cheap non-target
species.
Consumer demand was a key factor in relation to skipper characteristics (e.g. if they were
owners of the vessel and/or had other related businesses).
The level of enforcement has a considerable effect on the amount of discards in the
market.
Facilities on land in storing discards are equally important to limited storage/freezer/
processing capacity of the vessel for the implementation of the discard ban.
The main driver of discarding is a combination for non-existent demand/low price for
some species/individuals and of the total storage capacity of the vessel.
• Participatory management and co-management incorporating fishers’
knowledge and perception is of crucial importance (Vassilopoulou et al., 2012).
• Human behaviour is an important source of variability; understanding how
fishers perceive their role in relation to the management system would shed
light on how incentives would influence their behaviour (Eliasen et al., 2013).
Indeed, behavioural economics can contribute to get to the emotional roots of
decisions of either consumers or fishers.
• A framework characterized by a combination of actions that encourage (e.g.
reward schemes), engage (e.g. using networks), exemplify (e.g. achieve consistency) and enable (e.g. provide facilities, information) could be beneficial in
changing behaviour towards discard (Fishing for the Markets, 2011).
• EMFF may be a useful tool to aid fishermen in their transition towards sustainable fisheries during a climate of economic uncertainty (McIlwain, 2015).
References
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Acknowledgements:
This work was an output of the pilot project “Catch and discard composition
including solutions for limitation and possible elimination of unwanted by-catches in trawl net fisheries in
the Mediterranean” (DISCATCH - DG MARE/ 2012/24)