PURPOSE: establishing a multi-annual plan for the stock of herring distributed to the West of Scotland and the fisheries exploiting that stock.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.
CONTENT: recent scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) indicates that the stock of herring (Clupea harengus) in the seas to the West of Scotland is slightly overexploited with respect to maximum sustainable yield. Advice from scientific agencies, supported by advice from stakeholders, indicates that better management would result from setting total allowable catches in the framework of a multi-annual plan.
The Commission therefore proposes the creation of a multi-annual plan with the objective of ensuring that the stock will be exploited on the basis of maximum sustainable yield and under sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions.
This objective will be attained by:
To ensure stability in the fishing possibilities, it is appropriate to limit the variation in the TACs from one year to the next when the size of the stock is above 75 000 tonnes.
A revision clause is included in the proposal to ensure that the target fishing mortality rates can be amended if appropriate in the light of new scientific information and advice.
The multi-annual plan contains provisions for a review every four years to verify the performance and appropriateness of the management arrangements.