KD-2022-064 Cost benefit analysis landing obligation exemption plaice and sole in the BT2 segment

The exemptions under the landing obligation (LO) for undersized plaice and sole in the 80 mm beam trawl fishery expire in 2023. The European Commission has indicated that new scientific substantiation is needed to maintain the exemption. Here we evaluate the conservation strategies of adjusting the minimum conservation reference size ("MCRS”, currently 27 cm for plaice and 24 cm for sole) to 25 cm for both species and increasing the mesh size from 80 to 90 mm. This study analyzes data on annual landings and discard estimates from 2019 to 2021 and uses computational simulations to assess the potential effects of changing MCRS and mesh sizes on discards, landings, catches and the economic consequences. Our results show that a 25 cm MCRS for plaice could decrease discarding by 13 to 18% while increasing landings by 28 to 34%. A MCRS increase to 25 cm for sole was predicted to increase discards by 10 to 24% while reducing landings by 5 to 9%. Increasing the mesh size to 90 mm reduced total catches for both species (16% and 25% for plaice and sole, respectively) and largely negated changes caused by MCRS. Both species exhibited decreased discards with the larger mesh size simulations (plaice: 10 – 48%; sole: 32 – 64%) with sole landings being reduced (8 – 25%). Increasing the mesh size versus a shift in MCRS may have a more prominent effect on the discards of sole and plaice, however, potential changes to landings must be considered as well when evaluating potential economic and environmental consequences. Economic analyses show that the change in MCRS for both sole and plaice in combination does have a small effect on total income for the main groups of vessels targeting these two species. The decrease in sole landings is almost completely compensated by the increased landings from plaice resulting in a total reduction of landings value of 2 and 0% for euro cutters and large beam trawlers respectively. The reduction in sole landings resulting from an increase in mesh size to 90 mm had an adverse effect on the landings value for both types of vessels and their economic performance. Total value of landings decreased by 9% for both euro cutters and large beam trawlers, causing lower or negative profitability. We assume that landings of other species would also be affected by the mesh size increase, though the analysis suggests a limited impact (5% reduction). It is evident that lower sole landings would continue to affect revenue in the ensuing years after increasing the mesh size. However, considering the degree of uncertainty surrounding the future costs and earnings of large beam trawlers and euro cutters, the economic consequences from reduced landings and the possibilities of the fishing fleet to cope with such changes remains unclear.