1. Drivers & Economic Incentives for Sustainable Fisheries
Senior Director EDF
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is a non profit advocacy group which originated in the US in the 1960s, we now have programmes and offices in Europe, China, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Guided by science and economics, we strive to find practical and lasting solutions to the most serious global environmental challenges and provide evidence-based advice to key decision makers. Oceans is our biggest area of work, with almost 100 people engaged worldwide.
In Europe we work with facilitating the implementation of the reformed CFP, engaging with policy-makers, the fishing industry and other NGOs to find workable solutions to e.g. the landing obligation. Last year you may have seen our EU Discard Reduction Manual for example.
We are currently working in the UK, Sweden and Spain and we are also closely monitoring policy developments in Brussels. In Sweden and UK we are working with implementation of the reformed CFP, and the LO in particular, and are in the process of developing projects on the water. In order to do this, we have established a working relationship with the Swedish marine agency, Defra and Marine Scotland, we are also collaborating with industry leaders in both Member States. We also have a partnership agreement with WWF Spain which seeks to set up new management regimes for coastal fisheries.
Drivers & Economic Incentives for Sustainable Fisheries
Melanie Siggs
Senior Director, EU Oceans Program

2. Critical drivers that incentivise sustainable fisheries worldwide
More fish in the ocean
Greater sustainable yields
Greater value/profits
Global fisheries have many drivers e.g. markets, and we will hear of these throughout the seminar. However, I wish to focus on 3 types of drivers that my organisation is specifically focused on:
More fish in the ocean – what does that mean?
Greater yields – can you really have sustainable fisheries AND greater yields – well we believe you can and I’ll show you how
Greater value/profits – I’ve intentionally split those two things in recognition that the value of fish can increase, but there are many other factors affecting the fisheries profits

3. Commissioner said that NGOs need to understand the importance of economics and that we need to look at future, not just past – well EDF pride themselves on understanding how critical economics are to good decisions and on modelling the future
New bio economic model (University of California, SB, EDF and University of Washington) shows that sustainable fisheries deliver more on all three of these criteria and, if the world’s fisheries were fished sustainably, these are the sort of improvements we could see
Compiled the largest and most comprehensive database on global fishery status
Simulated alternative futures for each fishery
Compared outcomes of interest to today and across future scenarios
Combining provides status estimates for:
4,366 fisheries
77% of reported global catch

4. More fish in the Ocean
If managed well, populations of fish stocks, and the health of ocean ecosystems improves.
If Managed Well – and of course there will be different interpretations as to what
appropriate policy frameworks and incentives
Get all key components in place
1) That means get policy frameworks and incentives right to encourage and reward, industry innovation and dialogue, alongside meaningful data capture and science
2) Get all key components in place technical regulations that enable responsive fisheries and high levels of selectivity, combined with fishermen that have sufficient security in their businesses to enable them to fish when and how is most appropriate; for both ocean and market conditions 4

5. Greater yields
If managed well, populations of fish stocks, can supported increased yields, and feed more people.
1) The allowable catches can be increased to respond to the improving populations, in line with good science. Again the regulations in place need to be agile to respond to real time science – what’s happening in the water
2) With growing global human populations there is an ever increasing need for protein – fisheries need to be able to play their critical role in providing essential nutrition 5

6. Greater value
Good management enables good business for fishermen; planning, flexibility, access to finance, and greater security.
Markets and buyers don’t like surprises
They do like quality and assurance, traceability and continuity. Being able to work more closely to the market to ensure continuity and quality of supply, and greater security is what enables fishermen to plan their businesses better – so in part the greater value might come from a bigger catch, but its supported by better prices for quality fish and reliabiity
The more robust and secure these businesses are, and that security surely has to include a known access to the resource upon which it depends, then the fishery can also better attract finance and investment. There will always be some level of uncertainty in fisheries, and some opportunity or need to invest, so that access to finance – as a credible business that can demonstrate the ability to plan and forecast – is critical 6

7. Rights Based Management
Aligns economic, social, and conservation incentives
Flexible and adaptive
Incentivize change and innovation
Gives fishermen flexibility for long term business planning
Economic driver to release potential in fisheries
RBM takes many forms – community-led TURFs to ITQs
Main thrust is to increase sense of security and stewardship of resource – good for fishermen and fish stocks
Can also help incentivise change – e.g. managing discards
Longer term planning for businesses
These technical measure must be combined with rights based models of quota allocation that ensure fishermen have the security they need to plan for their businesses, but protect this important public asset
2) Increasing finance will be available as fisheries are seen as businesses critical to providing quality protein and nutrition, supporting healthy coastal communities and as stewards of the world’s oceans 7

8. Change is hard Change is hard even with incentives:
Work with fishermen
Collaborating, facilitating, consensus building
Learning from others – lots of examples
Fishers, policy makers, scientists, NGOs …
Now matter how good the incentives are and how much things make sense change is hard. We all know this every day, its human nature – so creating the change that enables the incentives; the increases in fish, in yields, in value – to be put in place is a real trust building process.
Trust across that must be built across all parties, but mostly it must be a empowers the fishermen to be at the heart of creating the system that will lead to those incentives for the future.
As much as it may have seemed impossible in many cases we have seen outstanding success by empowering and supporting fishermen – British Columbia or the US Pacific Halibut fisheries, Barent sea crab fisheries are all good examples – while EDF’s work providing space and expertise to Swedish fishermen are all examples of the brilliant proposals fishermen can create given the opportunity so – in short – the drivers and economic incentives of sustainable fisheries are real and identificalbe – but the journey toward them is equally as important. 8

9. Resources Fisheries Solutions Center EU Discard Reduction Manual
Bio-Economic Upside Model
Towards investment in sustainable fisheries
Experience in U.S. fisheries
Environmental Defense Fund
Thank you!
ADDED TO SLIDE:
Fisheries Solutions Center:
The Fishery Solutions Center team has developed the world’s most comprehensive collection of research-driven materials on improving fisheries management. Browse the website for step-by-step planning manuals, reports on various fisheries and interactive learning tools. Visit the toolkit section to download all of our research and planning materials.
[CUT FROM SLIDE]
EU Discard Reduction Manual:
A tool to reduce discards and meet the EU landing obligation – looking at selectivity and introducing various models of rights based management
Upside Model:
a evolving paper revealing the environmental and economic benefits of sustainable fishing
US Fisheries experience:
where ‘Catch Shares’ have helped to turn around the nation’s fisheries
- Catching when weather, market and conditions are at their best - Catching a set amount – spaced through out the year; knowing in advance and able to plan - Shares grow in value as the fishery becomes healther 9