Protecting the Dogger Bank Habitat - Legal Framework and Conservation Efforts

1. Protecting the international Dogger Bank habitat By mr. John Clorley (DEFRA, UK) also on behalf of Germany and the Netherlands

2. Outline of the presentation I General setting: legal and policy context II Problem analysis III The fisheries measures from the draft Joint Recommendation IV Procedure: next steps Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

3. I General setting: legal and policycontext

4. Geographical context • All N2000 sites are on the list of Sites of Community Importance Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

5. Legal context 1 • Habitats Directive • Member States shall take appropriate steps to avoid, in the special areas of conservation, the deterioration of natural habitats and the habitats of species (art. 6.2) • Dogger Bank under the scope of Ann. I: Sandbanks which are slightly covered by sea water all the time (type 1110) • Fisheries: Basic Regulation EC 1380/2013 • CFP - management of fisheries outside territorial waters – EU Regulation • Procedure for establishment conservation measures Art. 11 and 18 Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

6. Legal context 2 • Article 11 provides a process through which Member States can propose fisheries management measures for sites designated under the Nature Directives and other sites identified as requirement to deliver the MPA aspects of the MSFD • All measures passed under Article 11 need to be sufficiently robust as to meet EU environmental law obligations and the objectives of the CFP. • These measures should include: • The precautionary principle • Avoiding the deterioration of natural habitats and the habitats of species as well as the disturbance of the species for which they have been designated • Establishing “necessary conservation measures” that will meet the ecological requirements of the protected habitats or species in a SAC • Establishing “spatial protection measures” that will contribute to a “coherent and representative network of MPAs Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

7. Legal Context 3 • The initiating Member State and other Member States with a direct management interest may submit a joint recommendation as referred to in Article 18(1) within 6 months from the provision of sufficient information. • Under Article 18(2) Member States are obliged to consult Advisory Councils as part of this process • If all Member States succeed in reaching an agreement on the measures, these are submitted to the Commission, who shall adopt the measures, within 3 months • Various COM guidelines: Marine Guidelines (2007), Guidelines CFP measures (2008) Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

8. Process • 2006 German EMPAS Project • 2009 Dutch FIMPAS Project • 2011 Establishment of International Dogger Bank Steering Group with: • 4 MS • FishingIndustry • NGOs • EC (MARE and ENVI) • ICES • Chair of the NSAC Spatial Planning Working Group • 2012 ICES Advice • 2013 Agreement on the measures and background information Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

9. Principles • Sound scientific basis • Stakeholder involvement • Multilateral coordination • Transparency • Proportionality • Non discrimination Keep in mind - Commission guidance on the management of fisheries that “the proposed measures should be consistent with the conservation objectives for the sites concerned” and “the absence of adequate scientific information should not be used as a reason for postponing or failing to take management measures” Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

10. II Problem analysis

11. Target: Protection of bottom habitat Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

12. Common Conservation Objectives 1 Approach: Current conservation status: unfavourable due to • Significant habitat disturbance • Distortion of species composition WeAim to • Decreasehuman pressures • provide a contribution to moving the site towardsits conservation objectives. Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

13. Analysis of the fisheries on the DB • Main target species: plaice, sole, sand eel • DK, GER, NL, UK: • accountable for >90% plaice (esp. UK • 95% sand eel (DK mainly) • Backgrounddocument contains detailed statistics on landing values Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

14. Fisheries effort, landings, gross value Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

15. Landings from DB in % of landings Div. |IVB, Plaice and sandeel • Landings (weight) reported from the Dogger Bank SCI in % of the landings reported from the Central North Sea (Division IVb) by year 2007-2009. Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

16. Fleets: 4 major gear groups • Beam trawl • Bottom Otter Board Trawl • Sand eel trawl • Seines (incl. Flyshoot) Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

17. Maximum potentialloss (tables 8d and 8e) • ‘Maximum Potential loss’ is the sum of landing values in the closed zone • Maximum potential loss is not the same as “income loss”, • TAC’s are not affected, i.e. it may be possible to catch the lost amount of fish elsewhere and • in close proximity to the closed areas leaving costs largely unaffected. Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

18. Seasonal Distribution of fisheries in the years 2007-2009 • Main conclusions : (see maps p. 42 and on) • all fisheries have marked seasonality with second and third quarters as the period when the fisheries are most active. • The seasonality is particular marked for the sand eel fishery. • The same fisheries occur also elsewhere in Division IVb in allseasons • See next slide for example Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

19. Seasonal distribution: beam trawl Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

20. Seasonal distribution: beam trawl Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

21. Seasonal distribution: beam trawl Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

22. Seasonal distribution: beam trawl Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

23. Seasonal distribution: beam trawl Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

24. Displacement • ICES advice: displacement of (otter board, beam) trawl fisheries will be limited • Some displacement is likely to occur to areas within the SCI that are not closed • 1st and 2nd trawl pass are the most damaging • Potential further deterioration is extremely difficult to assess Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

25. III The fisheriesmeasuresfrom the draft Joint Recommendation

26. Preliminary Considerations 1 • Measures are designed to make a key contribution • Introduction of a zoning concept • Surface of management zones sufficiently large, • Management zones include all benthic communities • Holistic perspective of the entire Dbank • Specific considerations for individual MS (p. 29 BGD) Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

27. Preliminary Considerations 2 • Stakeholder driven input for the measures • Built on existing data • Economic and socio economic considerations taken into account • Mindful of windpark developments • Adaptive approach Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

28. Proposedfisheries management measures 1 • Establishment of a zoning system • Dividing the area in 6 zones corresponding to the benthiccommunities • Each management zone has an alert zone • All management zones will be closed to the following mobile bottom contacting gear types • Beam Trawl. • Bottom Trawl/Otter trawl. • Dredges. • Semi-pelagictrawls Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

29. Proposedfisheries management measures 2 • remaining area is open to all not otherwise prohibited fishing gears • New and/or modified gears: should be able to obtain a derogation where the use of such gears in the management zones will not jeopardize the delivery of conservation objectives • procedure, scientific doc., via MS to EC • Evaluation after 6 years Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

30. Control and Enforcement (Reg. 1224/2009) • MS’s FMC’s are responsible • VMS compulsory if prohibited gear on board, traveling < 6 kn in management zone or alert zone • Transit through alert zone and management zone permitted: gear should be stowed and lashed; minimum speed of >6 kn. • Exception force majeure Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

31. IV Procedure: next steps

32. Agreement in the region • We should reach agreement within the Scheveningen Group about these proposals • If possible formal meeting of an AD HOC group • If not: a 2nd informal consultative meeting • After agreement in the Scheveningen Group: • Forward the proposals to the European Commission Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

33. NSAC Advice • NSAC has received the relevant documentation • Case will be presented in meeting of the Spatial Planning Working Group of July 4th (the Hague) Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat

34. Conclusion • |The aim of the meeting is to assess whether we have sufficient information • IF the information provided to the MS constitutes sufficient information as mentioned in art. 18 Reg. • The initiating MS intend to move to the formal procedure Protecting the interntional Dogger Bank habitat