The International Dogger Bank

Steering Group

Ton IJlstraChair of the Dogger Bank

Steering Group

NSRAC Executive Committee Meeting,

Amsterdam, 28th February

Outline

• 1: Establishment of the Dogger Bank Steering Group• 2: DBSG state of play• 3: DBSG proposal• 4: Role of the Fishery Sector

Part 1: Establishment and history of the Dogger Bank Steering Group

• International DBSG; established May 2011

• 4 MS incl. DK + observers from EC + ICES secretariat

• RAC involvement: May 2011• DBSG third option• ICES advice: November

2012

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Dogger Bank SAC 'Third Option'

Outline/structure:

• 1: Establishment of the Dogger Bank Steering Group• 2: DBSG state of play• 3: DBSG proposal• 4: Role of the Fishery Sector

Part 2: DBSG state of play

December 2012: DBSG meeting, London• Presentation and discussion of the ICES Dogger Bank advice• Discussion on Draft Outline of Fisheries Management Proposal

for Dogger Bank SAC

• Unresolved issues• Seining• Potential datacall• Displacement• Sector proposal

Part 2: DBSG state of playMarch 2013: DBSG meeting, The Hague• Progress of Fisheries Management Proposal for Dogger Bank SAC• Further interpretation of the ICES advice• Progress of working groups on Monitoring & Compliance• Outstanding issues (industry proposal, seining, displacement &

datacall)

• Proposed process and Time Table• Aimed at submitting the Fisheries Management Proposal to the

EC before the summer

Outline/structure:

• 1: Establishment of the Dogger Bank Steering Group• 2: DBSG state of play• 3: DBSG proposal• 4: Role of the Fishery Sector

Part 3: DBSG proposal: Methodology (Step 1)Step 1: Establishing, attributing and prioritising Csquares• The total Dogger Bank SAC is divided into 1058 Csquares • These are attributed to the five benthic communities• They are also attributed to the Industry proposal and to the NGO

proposal

It is assumed that the potential loss to the industry can be minimised by selecting those Csquares that have the lowest landing value from affected gears (i.e. trawls).

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Dogger Bank SAC NSRAC Industry

Part 3: DBSG proposal: Methodology (Step 2)Step 2: Start from Industry map• Basic starting point: Industry

map (from NSRAC position paper)

• 22% of the SAC is “filled up” with Csquares , as covered by the initial industry proposal.

Part 3: DBSG proposal: Methodology (Step 3)Step 3: Add National and Fishing sector concerns• Windmill park concerns (as brought forward by the fishing industry)

are partly met by adding to the closed areas those Csquares which have been proposed by the NGOs and which are in either Tranche A or Tranche B.

• German 50% closure: The Csquares in the German EEZ that are already suggested by the industry are supplemented with Csquares that have been suggested by the NGOs (with minimum landing value)

• NL: closure of 2 areas to cover localized features• UK: A proportion approximately equal to the overall closure of the

shallow areas (less than 20 m depth) is closed (selection: NGO proposal, minimum landing value)

• This adds up to an additional 6% closure: total closure 28%

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Dogger Bank SAC UK Concerns

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Dogger Bank SAC Third Option

Part 3: DBSG proposal: Methodology (Step 4)Step 4: Add further areas from NGO

proposals until 1/3 is reached• Further Csquares are added to reach

1/3 coverage of the overall SAC. This is done by including Csquares from the NGO proposal under two further constraints: • 1) only selecting Csquares from

benthic communities that are underrepresented compared to the overall closure rate and

• 2) selecting the Csquares with lowest landing value.

This adds up to an additional 5% closure: total closure 33%

Part 3: DBSG proposal: Methodology (Step 5&6)Step 5: Remove isolated

CsquaresStep 6: Reducing the

number of Core areas and smoothening the boundaries

The total closure (for mobile bottom contacting gear) remains to be 33%. This means that 67% of the SAC remains open for all types of fisheries, and 100% for pelagic fisheries

Outline/structure:

• 1: Establishment of the Dogger Bank Steering Group• 2: DBSG state of play• 3: DBSG proposal• 4: Role of the Fishery Sector

Part 4: Role of the Fishery Sector• Oktober 2012: The fishing industry submitted an amended

proposal to the DBSG, with a 27% coverage. An additional 3% is to be selected from the (potential) windfarm locations, adding up to a total of 30% coverage.

• December 2012: DBSG (London meeting) asked the sector to provide insight on how the DBSG TOR and EC legal requirements are met in the new industry proposal.