Creation of multi-annual management plans for commitment (COMMIT)

Background

Fishery management is largely based on annual fish stock assessments. Owing to the uncertainty inherent in annual estimates of the stock size, fish quotas set on such a basis will be variable. This makes planning for the future difficult. A multi-annual management strategy is needed and, to be effective, this requires the commitment of managers and the compliance of stakeholders with the agreed strategy. Multi-annual assessments that incorporate biological and socio-economic considerations will help improve the decision-making process for medium- to long-term planning.

Objectives

COMMIT aims to improve the scientific basis for the long-term sustainable planning of fishery management, while identifying any short-term biological and socio-economic consequences. One of the main strengths of this study is that the interactions between biological and economic aspects will be considered and the approach will provide an integrated way to evaluate the relative importance of the various aspects of the system to the overall success of management. The project is therefore inter-disciplinary combining experts from biological, economic and social disciplines. The project will:

• Evaluate management plans that reduce annual fluctuations in exploitation and encourage stakeholder commitment
• Base these strategies upon harvest rules and develop them explicitly to recognise various uncertainties
• Carry out a socio-economic analysis to identify mechanisms affecting the commitment of key stakeholders

Policy development:

• COMMIT will support the main elements of the Common Fisheries Policy, such as sustainable fisheries and an economically viable fishing industry
• COMMIT will identify robust management strategies that reduce the uncertainties currently besetting fishery management
• The project will involve greater stakeholder recognition of and compliance with the management framework
• Management decisions based on the COMMIT models will provide greater security to fishermen

Cefas contribution

• Project co-ordination
• Lead the Implementation of case studies within simulation framework to allow evaluation of management strategies against a range of objectives and testing of framework
• Responsibile for dissemination of generic aspects of the study and for standardisation of any software development with other relevant EU funded projects

Partners

This project involves 11 partners from 8 different countries.