Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005 Agenda of the INDICANG Steering Committee

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005 Reporting first phase Bilan de la première phase (mai 2004 décembre 2005)  The project anticipated the request of Europe and was born from the concern of the actors expressed in the working groups of the CIEM and the CECPI, but also in the national groups (COGEPOMI, GRISAM).  The project took into account the catchment area as management unit while extending its zone of study to a significant part of the surface of colonization of european eel: central part of the surface of geographic distribution.  In a first phase INDICANG drew up the current initial state of the population of eel and its habitats on the 13 catchment areas concerned. However, that does not constitute the pristine state as currently required by the Fish Commission.  This first phase and these states of reference allow to make an inventory of the relevant descriptors in order to characterize the habitat quality of the habitat and the status of the eel ressource in the index catchment areas.This new step is under the responsability of the thematic boxes..

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005

Budget issue (1/3) Point sur le budget

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005 Budget issue (2/3) Point sur le budget

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005 Budget issue (3/3) Point sur le budget

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005

Eels : Commission proposes seasonal closure of eel fishing until approval of national protection plans  The goal : Member States would set up national plans to ensure that 40% of the level of adult eels which, in the absence of fishing and other effects from human activities, would migrate from the rivers on their territories, escape to the sea to spawn.  These plans, to be in place by July Until such plans are in place, the Commission proposes to ban eel fishing from the 1st to the 15th of every month  Joe Borg « Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs », said « Today’s proposal reflects the extensive consultations with stakeholders and the need for a concerted effort to restore the eel stock. The Commission proposes an escapement target but the choice of protection measures rests with the Member States which are the best placed to adapt them to local conditions ».

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005 Eels Management Plans (1/4)  The principal element of the Regulation is the establishment of national eel management plans, by means of which each Member State will achieve the objective of a 40% escapement of adult silver eel from each river basin (measured with respect to undisturbed conditions)  Short-term measures : Eel survival should be improved as much as possible, compatible with social and economic needs, by imposing fishery closures for 15 days each month. These closures should stay in force until a Member State has implemented an approved Eel Management Plan.  Derogation from short-term measures : Fishing could continue during the closed period if a Member State can reliably demonstrate that existing measures are in conformity with the 40% objective or if the fishing is for glass eel to be used for restocking purposes.

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005  Subsidiarity and proportionality :The main part of the proposed regulation is cast as an obligation for Member States to achieve a specified target for eel management.The choice of management instruments to use is at the discretion of Member States. The control of the quality and fitness is subject to review by Community institutions.  Budgetary implications : Budgetary implications concerning support for research on eels are considered in the context of the 7th Framework Programme. State aid applicable to fisheries and its applicability to eel fisheries and environmental measures are addressed in the European Fisheries Fund.  Additional elements : Establishment of a traceability system to asist in the fight against poaching. Approprriate management of eel stocks and fisheries requires consideration of both the impact of fisheries and the impact of environmental modifications such as dams, eel passes and hydroelectric installations. The scope and conditions of financial assistance for implementation of these measures are being addressed in the context of the European Fisheries Fund. Eels Management Plans (2/4)

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005  Establishment of Eel Management Plans : 1. Member States shall identify and define the individual river basins lying within their national territory that, prior to human intervention, constituted natural habitats for the European eel. 2. For each eel river basin, Member States shall prepare an Eel Management Plan. 3. The objective of each Eel Management Plan shall be, for each eel river basin, to permit with high probability the escapement to the sea of at least 40% of the biomass of adult eel relative to the best estimate of the potentialescapement from the river basin in the absence of human activities affecting the fishing area or the stock. 4. Each eel management plan shall include both the means to reach the objective set out and means to monitor and verify the attainment of that objective. Eels Management Plans (3/4)

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005  Approval of Eel Management Plans 1. Member States shall communicate by 31 December 2006 to the Commission all individual Eel Management Plans. 2. On the basis of a technical and scientific evaluation from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committe for Fisheries, the eel management plans shall, where appropriate, be approved in accordance with the procedure referred to in Artcile 30(2) of Regulation (EC) N° 2371/ Member States shall implement the Eel Management Plans approved under § 2 from 1 july Each Member State shall communicate a national overview of its proposed Eel Management Plans to all other Member States and to the Commission by 31 December 2006 (now June 2006 probably). Eels Management Plans (4/4)

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005 INDICANG in that context  Must contribute : 1. to the data collection necessary to evaluate the initial state of the river basin and eel stocks according to a descriptor list. 2. To the definition and elaboration of indices (indicators) allowing to measure the effects of the management plans. 3. To the implementation of a net of dashboards on the pilot river basins of INDICANG in order to demonstrate the technical feasability. 4. To the estimate of the necessary means for personal and budget in order to provide a perennial follow-up into a regional framework.

Comité de pilotage Bordeaux le 15 décembre 2005  The second phase must make it possible to choose the relevant descriptors allowing the follow-up of this ressource (notion of cost - quality) from a perennial manner and to define and to built the indicators (indices) to reach the objective of sustainable development.  Definition of these indicators (indices) and their creation will have to be carried out for the seminar of Oporto in June 2006 and will have to be placed at the disposal of managers which will have to set up the management and restauration plans and their follow-ups from June  The final phase of the project will consist in setting up on the sites referred by INDICANG the dashboards necessary to the follow-up of the eel resources with an estimate of the personal and financial means. Prospects Perspectives (janvier mai 2007)