3. Results

3.1 Overview of results

3.1.1 Estimated discards

Based on the set of complete records in the discard database, the sum of the recorded discards is 6.8 million tonnes for total recorded landings of 78.4 million tonnes (Table 2). The global weighted discard rate is 8 percent.

Global quantity of discards

Applying the weighted average discard rate (8 percent) to a ten-year average of the FAO Fishstat^[21] reported global nominal catches gives a total discards estimate of 7.3 million tonnes (Table 2). If this extrapolated quantity of global discards is added to the nominal catch, the total global marine catch (= gross catch) is approximately 91 million tonnes, excluding the unknown quantities harvested by illegal and/or unrecorded fishing.

Comparison with previous estimates

Because of the different methods of calculation, the estimate of 7.3 million tonnes provided in this study is not directly comparable with the 1994 global discard estimate of 27 million tonnes. Nevertheless, the estimate is less than 50 percent of the lower end of the 1994 range (17.9 million tonnes). Even allowing for some overestimation in the Alverson assessment and some underestimation in the present study, the current estimate strongly suggests a reduction in discards and discard rates at the global level. The evolution of the different global estimates of discards is discussed in detail in Annex B. The 1994 estimate is based on data from the 1980 to 1992 period while, with some exceptions, the current study has used data from the 1992 to 2003 period.

Reduction in global discards

Time series at the global level are not available to provide comprehensive empirical evidence of reductions. However, there is compelling evidence for a substantial reduction in discards based on an examination of trends in many major fisheries. A summary of the considerations leading to such a conclusion is given in Sections 3.1.2 and 3.1.3. Supplementary tables (see Annex A.6, Table 27) provide supporting information on discard reduction in selected fisheries, many of which make major contributions to the global discard total. The reduction can be attributed to two major factors:

• a reduction in bycatch resulting from the use of more selective fishing gears, the introduction of bycatch and discard regulations, improved enforcement of regulatory measures and reduction of effort in some major trawl fisheries; and

• increased retention of bycatch for direct utilization as a result of improved technologies and expanding market opportunities, or for conversion to fishmeal, silage or similar products, and changes in target species to include species previously discarded.

TABLE 2
Estimate of the annual global quantity of discards (tonnes)

¹ Equivalent to 94 percent of a ten-year (1992-2001) average of Fishstat nominal catch.

Discards by FAO area

Figure 1 and Table 4 (pp. 20-21) present the sum of the recorded discards by FAO statistical area. The table includes a column derived from FAO Fishstat showing a ten-year (1992-2001) average reported nominal catch (excluding marine plants, marine animals and marine mammals) for each FAO statistical area. The Northeast Atlantic (Area 27) and Northwest Pacific (Area 61) jointly account for 40 percent of estimated discards, attributable to high discards in many EU fisheries and in some Japanese fisheries. Details of discards and discarding practices by FAO area and by fishery are presented in subsequent sections and supplemented by additional tables in Annex A.

Some differences are apparent between the Fishstat nominal catch data and aggregated country landings, as derived from national statistics and other sources during this study. However, it is not valid to compare the two data sets directly, since the landings reported in the discard database are a sample reflecting the availability of discard information. The differences between the data sets are also a result of the different time periods used, different sources of data and the summing of different years in the case of the discard database. A region-by-region commentary is provided in Section 3.2.

Discards by country

Discards and discard rates by country are tabled in Annex A.4, Table 24. Discards in low income food deficit countries (LIFDCs) are highlighted, with a view to indicating where future efforts at discard reduction may be directed.

Discards by fishery

Tables 3, 5 and 6 provide an overview of discards by major type of fishery. Shrimp and demersal finfish trawl fisheries account for over 50 percent of total estimated discards while representing approximately 22 percent of total landings. Tropical shrimp trawl fisheries have the highest discard rate and alone account for more than 27 percent of total estimated discards. Small-scale fisheries account for at least^[22] 8.5 million tonnes (11 percent) of the discard database landings and in aggregate have an estimated discard rate of 3.7 percent.

The discards by fishery are discussed in detail in Section 3.3. Fisheries with the highest discards and discard rates are tabulated in Annex A.

Approximately 50 percent of discards are accounted for by the 80 percent of records with the lowest discard rates (Table 6). Conversely, if records are taken as proxies for fisheries, then 20 percent of the fisheries account for 50 percent of the discards. The total (cumulative) landings for fisheries with discard rates below 1 and 5 percent are 40.9 million tonnes and 57.6 million tonnes respectively.

Because of lack of information on the state of the individual fisheries (e.g. under-/overexploited), it has not been possible to examine discard rates in relation to the level of exploitation. The use of the term “overexploited” often refers to a particular target fish stock, rather than to a fishery, which may target a number of species.

TABLE 3
Summary of discards by major types of fishery (tonnes)

¹ The sum of the discards presented in this table is less than the global estimate, as a number of discard database records could not be assigned to particular fisheries.

² Low estimates in some fisheries (e.g. gillnet) are partly a result of the inclusion of high Chinese catches with low or negligible discard rates.

Source: discard database.

TABLE 5
Fisheries and fishing areas with very low to negligible discard rates

TABLE 6
Breakdown of discard rates by quintile of total quantity of discards

Note: the breakdown was derived from sorting records by (i) discard rate as a primary sort key; and (ii) by quantity of landings as a secondary key.

Source: discard database.

TABLE 4
Summary of recorded discards by FAO statistical area (tonnes)

¹ Catches/landings as recorded by the study from national statistics and other sources (see Methods section).

² The column “Indicative coverage” gives “study landings as a percentage of the Fishstat average nominal catch (1992-2001)”. It is provided only as an indication of relative coverage by the study. The 94 percent value does not mean that 94 percent of global landings have been accounted for in the study, but merely illustrates that a high proportion of the world’s fisheries have been considered. This column is primarily intended to indicate relatively low adequate coverage in certain FAO statistical areas (e.g. Areas 81and 21).

³ It is not valid to compare the two data sets directly. The large difference between the discard database and Fishstat values shown for Area 71 is largely attributable to Viet Nam (a 2.2 million tonne difference between the historical average and recent reported catches). Note that Fishstat assigns over 90 percent of the Chinese nominal catch to Area 61 and assigns 100 percent of Viet Nam’s nominal catch to Area 71.

⁴ The high discard rate in Area 81 is a data artefact resulting from the relatively low number of database records for that area.

⁵ The study was unable to separate recorded catches for some countries by FAO statistical area. These catches are recorded as “multiple area”.

⁶ Sum of areas, not average of global values by area. Quantities exclude aquatic plants and animals and fish considered to be freshwater species.

Source: Discard database and Fishstat Plus version 2.3 (2003).

3.1.2 Bycatch reduction

Several major fisheries and numerous smaller fisheries, which previously made significant contributions to the global volume of discards, have introduced more selective fishing gears, reduced fishing effort or applied other measures that have reduced unwanted bycatch. Examples of major fisheries in which bycatch has been significantly reduced include:

• United States Northwest Pacific groundfish fisheries, in particular those under the management of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC). A variety of measures are used including area and seasonal closures, bycatch quotas and total allowable quotas (TACs), and economic measures (see Annex A.6.1);

• United States Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic shrimp trawl fisheries where bycatch reduction devices and turtle excluder devices (TEDs) are obligatory in certain areas;

• Argentina’s hake and other trawl fisheries operating in areas where juvenile hake are caught;

• numerous Canadian and Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) fisheries as a result of a range of management measures, changes in target species and reduced trawl effort;

• the Arafura Sea shrimp trawl fishery where BRDs have been introduced (although enforcement of BRD regulations is reported to be problematic);

• the Gulf of Carpentaria northern prawn fishery and other Australian trawl fisheries;

• EU Nephrops fisheries in which square mesh panels are obligatory;

• EU flatfish fisheries where the minimum landing size (MLS) has been decreased for some species; and

• fisheries in countries with “no-discard” policies (e.g. Norway and Iceland).

Many factors have contributed to bycatch reduction. United Nations resolutions on bycatch and discards (see Section 4.2.1) and promotion of the CCRF have increased public and international awareness of discards as morally unacceptable waste. Scientific concerns over the unaccounted mortalities of juvenile fish, and fishers’ concerns^[23] over the impact of unsustainable fishing practices on ever-scarcer fish resources have resulted in a broad range of bycatch and discard reduction initiatives. Economic factors such as the costs of sorting catches, crew shortages, efforts to comply with ecolabelling requirements, and the introduction of quotas on bycatch species have all contributed to reductions in unwanted bycatch. Improvements in fisheries management in general, changes in fisheries regulations and improved enforcement of regulations have also played an important role in bycatch reduction. In several countries, the common concerns of government and industry have enabled the formulation of joint bycatch reduction strategies and implementation of mutually agreed measures. National efforts to reduce bycatch and discards have been complemented by important contributions from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the media in raising public awareness and concern over wastage in fisheries. Changes in target species and a decrease in the level of trawl effort in several important fisheries have also played a role in discard reduction.

However, some fisheries have contributed to increases in discards, notably the expanding deepwater fisheries and fisheries where severe quota restrictions have resulted in highgrading. Overfishing in many fisheries also contributes to increases in discards, particularly where an increasing proportion of the target species is comprised of juveniles or fish below the MLS. Nevertheless, overfishing may also result in discard reduction when fishing effort or catches decline, or when prices for previously discarded fish increase. Anecdotal evidence suggests that despite the introduction of square mesh panels and other bycatch reduction measures in the EU, stricter enforcement of progressively reducing quotas is resulting in greater discards in some fisheries.

3.1.3 Increased bycatch retention and utilization

Many species and types of fish that were previously considered to be bycatch are now included in a broader range of target species. It is not clear to what extent increases in global marine captures may be a result of increased landings of previously discarded species. Lack of time series again precludes empirical assessment at the global level, but evidence strongly suggests increased utilization of bycatch in many fisheries, particularly in:

• South Asian and Southeast Asian fisheries, which (with some exceptions) have very low or negligible discard rates. The increased utilization is partly a result of increased demand for aquaculture feed and innovations in product development;

• African industrial trawl fisheries, which are marketing increasing quantities of previously discarded demersal finfish, particularly on African^[24] urban markets; and

• increased at-sea processing by factory vessels producing surimi^[25] and related products. However, these operations may result in increased disposal of offal and processing waste, which are not considered discards.

Several related reasons for increased bycatch utilization can be identified:

• population and income increases leading to greater demand and price increases for fish products, particularly in developing countries;

• use of low-value bycatch for aquaculture and animal feed, particularly in South and Southeast Asia;

• development and transfer of technologies to use small-sized fish of a variety of species to produce value-added products, such as surimi;

• development of consumer markets for unfamiliar or previously discarded species, e.g. deepwater shark, and reduced availability and increased prices of preferred species;

• reductions in quotas or target species catches (possibly caused by overfishing), which frees hold space for increased retention of non-quota species or lower valued bycatch;

• shorter fishing trips to improve fish quality, but which may also create “spare” hold capacity that can be used for bycatch;

• increased at-sea collection of bycatch, particularly in tropical shrimp trawl fisheries in Africa and in Central and South America;

• changes in management regimes that encourage, facilitate or even oblige landings or at-sea collection of bycatch;

• other changes in regulations, e.g. a reduction in the MLS to ensure compatibility with trawl mesh sizes and the ability to transfer target or bycatch quotas between vessels or fishers; and

• economic incentives to maximize returns from the catch.

In theory, a reduction in discards should be reflected in the statistical information on trends in the composition of landings.^[26] However, because of natural fluctuations in catch composition, aggregation of catch information at species level (i.e. a large proportion of the catch is recorded as “not elsewhere included”), the trends in retention in previously discarded species cannot readily be detected at global level by analysis of species composition in the Fishstat database. Fishery-by- fishery analysis may provide a clearer indication of such trends.

Further efforts to promote bycatch utilization^[27] are likely to reduce discards further in LIFDCs, particularly in Africa, Central America and in the fisheries along the north and east coast of Latin America.

The following sections are presented as illustrative of general trends but disguise the wide variety of discarding practices, the reasons for discarding and the ongoing changes in the fisheries concerned.

3.2 Discards in selected regions and countries

This section provides a brief commentary on discards in selected regions and countries. The groupings do not precisely correspond to FAO statistical areas since the marine waters of some countries may extend to more than one FAO statistical area. The commentary concentrates on major fisheries, points of interest and trends. Only selected sources are cited.

3.2.1 Northeast Atlantic (Area 27)

Two groups of countries can be distinguished in Area 27. Norway, Iceland and the Faeroe Islands pursue a “no-discards” policy; all other countries permit discards, while promoting selective fishing and increased utilization of the catch. The no-discards policy is further discussed in Section 4.3.1.

Northern waters

Norway has a weighted discard rate of 3.9 percent, or about 100 000 tonnes of discards from landings of approximately 2.5 million tonnes (Valdemarsson and Nakken, 2002). The fisheries in the far northern International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) areas have relatively low discard rates, partly because of the influence of Norwegian policy exercised through international fishing agreements and because of the relatively low diversity in catch composition. The large proportion of pelagic species in the total catch and the high manufacturing capacity for fishmeal in Norway, Denmark and Iceland also contribute to a low aggregate discard rate.

Baltic Sea

A relatively small number of commercial species in the Baltic (cod, herring, sprat, salmon) and a well-developed processing industry combine to ensure relatively low levels of discards in Baltic fisheries. Cod trawl discards are reported^[28] to be less than 7 percent, while a discard rate of 5 percent in salmon and cod gillnet fisheries is primarily a result of seal damage to the catch. The largest fisheries (by quantity) are the herring and sprat “fishmeal” fisheries that have low or negligible discards. The aggregate discard rate for the Baltic is estimated (ICES, 2000a) to be 1.4 percent.

North Sea

Pelagic species and species targeted for fishmeal production jointly account for over 70 percent of North Sea landings. These fisheries have low discard rates. Nevertheless, total annual North Sea discards have been estimated to be between 500 000 tonnes (comprising 120 000 tonnes of roundfish, 200 000 tonnes of flatfish and 180 000 tonnes of benthic invertebrates) and 880 000 tonnes (Camphuysen et al.,1995; Tasker et al., 2000). Since 1981 there has been a tendency for the discard rate to increase (European Commission, 2002), partly as a result of overfishing and high catches of juveniles, although recent declines in catch and effort mean that the total quantity of discards may have decreased in recent years. High interannual variation in the total quantity of North Sea discards is closely related to the magnitude of the year classes of whiting, haddock and cod.

The Netherlands and Belgian beam trawl fisheries and the Nephrops and Crangon trawl fisheries account for a substantial proportion of discards. The Netherlands beam trawl fishery targeting sole in the North Sea has been estimated to discard in the order of 270 000 tonnes of fish, invertebrates and debris annually.^[29] North Sea haddock discards represent 20-50 percent of the total catch of the species (50 000-100 000 tonnes per year). Annual whiting discards are in the order of 50 000 tonnes. The flatfish beam trawl fisheries have discard rates in the order of 70 percent while the shrimp (Crangon) and Nephrops beam trawl fisheries have discard rates as high as 83 percent. A reduction of the MLS for plaice in the North Sea has resulted in retention of increased quantities of juvenile plaice in recent years. Closures of some inshore areas to trawls (in ICES IVb, c) and the mandatory use of square mesh panels in the Nephrops trawls have contributed to a significant reduction in discards of juvenile plaice and whiting and haddock respectively.

EU Atlantic fisheries

There is greater species diversity in waters under the jurisdiction of EU members than the more northerly European waters. The dominance of demersal trawl gear and high discards by the important shrimp, Nephrops, and flatfish trawl fisheries are major factors that contribute to high aggregate discard rates in EU Atlantic fisheries. Overfishing of demersal stocks is also a primary contributing factor to the high level of discards in many of these fisheries. MLS and quota regulations, weak market conditions for smaller-sized fish and a diminishing proportion of larger-sized fish in some fisheries contribute to regulatory discards and highgrading in EU waters. A lack of definition of manageable fishery units and the wide geographical range of many important stocks throughout the waters of several member states mitigate against the formulation of bycatch and discard management plans.

Discards are rarely estimated on a systematic and continual basis in most EU fisheries and as EC fisheries legislation^[30] does not require mandatory recording of discards, most of the studies are based on limited^[31] seagoing observer coverage. Numerous EC studies on discards have tended to focus on those of commercial target species. However, discard estimates are generally not included in stock assessments.^[32] This is a result of several factors,^[33] including the low level of observer coverage, which may not meet the requirements of a statistically significant sampling protocol, and the concern that inclusion of the lower quality of discard data would simply detract from the (higher) quality of the catch and other data used in stock assessments.

High discard rates were identified in a broad range of EU fisheries, including deepsea fisheries; the Algarve Nephrops and deepwater shrimp trawl fishery (70 percent); the Algarve demersal finfish trawl fishery targeting hake, seabream and other species (62 percent); the Irish razor shell dredge (60 percent); and the French Bay of Biscay hake trawl (56 percent). Nephrops trawlers have a consistently high level of discards.

A substantial quantity of additional discard information is available from a range of EC studies^[34] and as a result of the work of the ICES Study Group on Discard and By-catch Information (SGDBI), which has coordinated, compiled and analysed discard information on several EU fisheries.^[35] Because much of this information refers exclusively to discards of target species, rather than to total discards, additional complementary information is required prior to inclusion in the discard database.

Western waters

Increasing pressure on stocks in the area known as the “Western waters” (West of Ireland and Scotland) by Irish, French, Spanish and United Kingdom fleets has reduced average sizes of some species with a consequent increase in discards. In 1999, whiting discards (in the order of 25 000 tonnes, particularly from the Nephrops fisheries) represented 60 percent by weight of the catch and more than 80 percent of the catch by number. Approximately 30 percent of Irish hake catches (ICES Areas VI and VII) are discarded, partly because of trawl damage to the fish and about 25 percent of the discards are of marketable size. Large quantities of pelagic species (horse mackerel, mackerel and blue whiting) are discarded by Spanish demersal trawlers because of weak market demand and quota restrictions.

Quota restrictions increasingly influence highgrading and other discarding decisions in both demersal and pelagic fisheries, in particular when the catch composition consistently differs from the quota mix available to fishers, in some cases as a result of weaknesses in quota trading systems.

Deepwater trawl fisheries off the west coast of Ireland (Rockall Trough, Hatton Bank) targeting roundnose grenadier, blue ling and orange roughy have high discards of shark and grenadier. Discard rates vary between 31 and 90 percent depending on the fleet (French, Irish and Spanish fleets participate), target species and depth range.

Inshore bivalve dredge fisheries for scallop and razor recorded discard rates of 25 and 60 percent respectively, while Irish Sea Nephrops fisheries have similarly high discard rates to the North Sea fisheries.

Celtic Sea and French Atlantic fisheries

Almost 33 percent of the catch of the French trawler fleet operating in the Celtic Sea is discarded (Rochet, Péronnet and Trenkel, 2002), a total of 30 000 tonnes (data from 1997). Total discards by the French fleet fishing in ICES Areas VII and VIII are estimated (Melnychuk et al., 2001) to be approximately 150 000 tonnes or 18.7 percent of the total estimated catch (including discards) of over 820 000 tonnes.

Iberian fisheries

Spanish multispecies baca trawls discard 45 percent of the catch (Lart et al., 2002b) while the Spanish gillnet fisheries, hake longline and small pelagics purse-seine fisheries have discard rates in the 13-15 percent range. The Algarve^[36] trawl fisheries discard over 35 000 tonnes, while the seine and encircling net fisheries discard approximately 40 000 tonnes. Particularly high discard rates are reported from the small Tagus estuary beam trawl targeting sole and Crangon (90 percent) and the Algarve Nephrops and deepwater shrimp fishery (43-70 percent).

3.2.2 Mediterranean and Black Sea (Area 37)

Most of the information on discards in the Mediterranean is a result of a range of EC studies that focused on deepwater trawl fisheries (mainly targeting shrimp) and pelagic gillnet fisheries, which have an incidental catch of marine mammals and turtles. The discard database accounts for only 24 percent of the 1.5 million tonne nominal catch from the Mediterranean and Black Sea, reflecting a shortage of information on discards for Area 37. The trawl fisheries discard 20-70 percent of the catch, depending on depth. Average discard rates for these trawl fisheries are 45-50 percent. Most of the artisanal fisheries discard less than 15 percent of the catch, although little empirical information is available. The Mediterranean has relatively few trawl grounds, which contributes to a relatively low level of discards and a weighted discard rate of 4.9 percent. In many fisheries there are negligible discards, for example in Syrian trawl and artisanal fisheries and in many of the North African artisanal fisheries.

Other than for Turkey, no discard information from Black Sea countries was obtained. The anchovy purse-seine fishery has negligible discards since most fish is used for fishmeal. Midwater trawlers targeting sprat slip anchovy and other species (discard rate 5.1 percent). The sea snail dredge fishery has a discard rate of 11.5 percent while coastal encircling nets have a discard rate of 7.4 percent. Little information on discards in North African countries is recorded in the discard database,^[37] although significant discards may occur in the shrimp trawl fishery of the Gulf of Gabes.

As there are no quota regimes (except for ICCAT species) in the Mediterranean, highgrading is negligible. There is also a market for small sizes of many species. The high number and dispersion of landing points makes MLS difficult to enforce and smaller unmarketable fish may be used either for autoconsumption or bait. Management measures such as the designation of no-trawl zones (e.g. Sea of Marmara, seagrass beds and areas of archaeological interest) help reduce discards in the Mediterranean.

3.2.3 North America - Atlantic (Areas 21, 31)

United States

Three important aspects of discards and bycatch management are illustrated in United States fisheries.^[38] (The first two issues are addressed in subsequent sections.) These aspects are:

• the growing impact of the incidental catch of charismatic species in fisheries management and in trade;

• the emerging influence of civil society with regard to bycatch and incidental catch issues; and

• the importance of fishery management plans (FMPs).

Fishery management plans

Most federal fisheries operate under FMPs. These are funded management programmes agreed with stakeholders through regional fishery management councils. As the various fisheries (multispecies groundfish, halibut, salmon and crab/other crustacean) each take bycatch species targeted by other fisheries, the economic interests of the various stakeholders are crosslinked (Queirolo et al., 1995). The Fishery Management Councils (FMCs), which are charged with preparing management plans, provide a forum to address numerous bycatch and discard issues within the context of the plans. Most of the information included in the discard database originated from federal sources and refers mainly to federal fisheries. Discards in fisheries under state jurisdiction are not well represented.

Several major North American fisheries have a high level of discards. Major sources of discards include the trawl and dredge fisheries of the Gulf of Maine and the northeastern United States. These include the silver hake trawl (discard rate 41.7 percent) and Atlantic scallop with important discards of yellowtail flounder. In contrast to flatfish trawl fisheries in European waters, fisheries for American plaice and witch flounder have comparatively low discard rates (8.7 and 18.8 percent respectively). Reductions in discards have occurred as a result of decreased trawl fishing effort and changes in target species in the area.

In more southerly Atlantic waters, the South Atlantic shrimp trawl fishery discards over 70 000 tonnes (discard rate 83.3 percent) while the Gulf of Mexico reef fish fishery has a rate of 44 percent. Discards in clam fisheries are not recorded in the discard database.

The Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawl fishery shows the highest discards of any single fishery in the database, discarding an estimated 480 000 tonnes of Sciaenidae, snappers, emperors and many other species. Numerous changes have occurred that have reduced bycatch in the fishery (NMFS/NOAA, 1998). TEDs have been obligatory for offshore vessels since before 1992 and for inshore vessels since 1995. BRDs have been used since 1998 and have been made obligatory west of 83º30’ in 2003. Because of the impact of the fishery on turtles and juvenile red snapper, major studies have been carried out. Informed local sources can add significant precision to the discard estimate and trends for this important fishery.

Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico shrimp fisheries generate 19 000 tonnes of discards (discard rate 46.2 percent) and Pacific shrimp fisheries approximately 114 000 tonnes (discard rate 76.7 percent) (Bojorquez, 1998).

Canada^[39]

The major discards occur in the scallop dredge fishery (23 000 tonnes, 20 percent discard rate), groundfish trawl (over 11 000 tonnes) and the lobster and crab pot fisheries (over 25 000 tonnes). Minor discards (9 percent) occur in the swordfish longline fishery. BRDs are used in many NAFO fisheries and NAFO has initiated work on a discard database. Substantial changes in the Canadian Atlantic fisheries and related regulatory framework are likely to have resulted in significant reductions in discards in recent years. As in United States waters the changes include a reduction in trawl effort and changes in target species from finfish to crustaceans.

3.2.4 North America - Pacific (Areas 67, 77)

Canada

The British Columbia Pacific hake demersal trawl generates discards of arrowtooth flounder, dogfish and ratfish in the order of 9 000 tonnes (discard rate 8.9 percent). The shrimp beam trawl fishery has a considerably higher discard rate (29.1 percent) than the shrimp otter trawl fishery (7.8 percent). Discards in herring and salmon fisheries have not been recorded in the discard database.

United States

The multispecies groundfish trawl fishery of the Pacific states (Washington, Oregon, California) produces major discards of over 130 000 tonnes with a discard rate of 44 percent (Northwest Fisheries Science Center, 2003). The nearshore shrimp fishery discards approximately 20 000 tonnes and has a similar discard rate. California’s gillnet fisheries have substantial incidental catches of common mure, pinnipeds and cetaceans. The vast majority of dolphins caught in the tuna purse-seine fishery are released alive.

The United States Northwest Pacific (Alaska) fisheries, which previously accounted for a substantial proportion of global discards, have experienced a significant decline in discards. Discards in the combined Bering Sea Aleutian Islands/Gulf of Alaska (BSAI/GOA) groundfish fisheries declined from 307 000 tonnes (14 percent) in 1995^[40] to less than 140 000 tonnes^[41] (7.3 percent)^[42] in 2002. Many fish previously discarded are now the raw material for surimi. In the mid-1990s offal discharges made up almost 60 percent of “total” catch, representing a major energy shunt or transfer in the ecosystem. In 1995, the crab pot fisheries discarded over 40 000 tonnes (44.1 percent).^[43] These discards are mainly regulatory, in response to species quota, minimum size and other regulations. As already noted, many of the United States non-federal fisheries (i.e. under state jurisdiction) are not represented in the discard database (or in the United States Bycatch Matrix) and important scallop, salmon and herring fisheries in Area 67 contribute additional discards that are not recorded in the database.

In these Northwest Pacific fisheries, bycatch limits, area closures and other prohibited-species bycatch mitigation measures serve to limit discards and total fleet capacity, and trawl effort has declined. However, some of these measures have also created barriers to harvesting groundfish total-allowable-catch amounts, and have generated allocative controversy among harvesters of species taken as bycatch in the groundfish fisheries. Consequently, comprehensive information on bycatch and discards is required to prepare management plans for these fisheries, which means that these fisheries must have a high level of observer coverage (in some cases 100 percent). In the BSAI/GOA fishery administrators maintain complete records of bycatch and discards. These records are updated weekly on the Alaska NMFS Web site to ensure transparency and assist operators in planning their fisheries activities. Fisheries are closed when bycatch limits are reached. The management of bycatch and discards in this important fishery is further discussed in Annex A.6.1.

3.2.5 Central and South America (Areas 31, 41, 77, 87)

Central America

The shrimp trawl fisheries in Central America generally have high discard rates. TEDs are used in most shrimp fisheries in order to comply with United States import requirements. Government and private sector initiatives to utilize the bycatch have met with mixed results and could be the subject of a comparative analysis to help determine effective utilization strategies. Artisanal fisheries and pot fisheries have low to negligible discard rates.

Caribbean

With the exception of Cuba the shrimp trawl fisheries (e.g. in Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago) all have high discard rates (70-90 percent in the case of Trinidad and Tobago). In Cuba the entire catch is landed, either for human consumption or reduction to fishmeal. The fisheries of the small island states are considered to have zero discard rates.

Northeast South America

The Guianas shelf supports important shrimp trawl fisheries, which have high discard rates, despite long-standing attention to the bycatch issue (Allsopp, 1982). Artisanal and industrial shrimp trawler fleets that fish from Venezuela to northern Brazil targeting penaeid shrimps and seabob (Xiphopenaeus kroyeri) have an average discard rate in excess of 70 percent. The high discards may be partly attributable to the distance of the fishing grounds from markets and poor demand for the discarded species. These fisheries have an aggregate discard of approximately 220 000 tonnes.

Area 41 (Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and the Falkland Islands [Malvinas])

Trawl fisheries off central and southern Brazil have discard rates in the 22-33 percent range. Uruguayan trawl fisheries for hake and Corvina have even lower discard rates (9-18 percent). Argentina’s hake trawl fisheries are a major contributor to global discards, discarding almost 150 000 tonnes (discard rate 24 percent) in the mid-1990s (Dato, Villarino and Cañete, 2000). The shrimp beam trawl fishery (discard rate 50 percent) discards substantial quantities of juvenile hake, and the Patagonian scallop dredge fishery and other clam fisheries are also considered to have high discards. In contrast, the important squid (jig and trawl) and pelagic fisheries for southern blue whiting have low discards.

Chile and Peru

Chile harvests an average (1992-2001) of 5 million tonnes of small pelagics, over 330 000 of hake and other demersal finfish and approximately 100 000 tonnes of invertebrates. Fisheries for small pelagics have a low discard rate and account for under 40 000 tonnes of discards while the hake fisheries account for approximately 42 000 tonnes of discards for catches of over 300 000 tonnes (12.5 percent discard rate in the trawl fisheries). Peru shows a similar pattern of discards, although a higher discard rate in the small pelagic fisheries (average nominal catch of 8 million tonnes, 1992-2001) generates discards of 260 000 tonnes. The shrimp trawl fishery (discard rate 81 percent) and the hake fishery also have substantial discards (74 000 and 15 000 tonnes respectively).

3.2.6 Africa and the Red Sea (Areas 34, 47, 51)

The artisanal fisheries are considered to have low or negligible discards unless information to the contrary is available. The substantial post-harvest losses incurred in African artisanal fisheries are not included in the discard database.

A high level of observer coverage in the licensed distant water fleets and on national flag vessels provides a considerable volume of information on discards in industrial fisheries. A number of countries have 100 percent observer coverage for certain fleets and Namibia places two observers on certain vessels. The primary focus of these observers, many of whom have only rudimentary scientific training, is usually on establishing the quantity and composition of the retained catch. Information on discards is not always collected, or collected in a systematic manner. Even when available, the information is not necessarily compiled and analysed. Despite the considerable effort and costs associated with the observer programmes, observer reports do not tend to be fully exploited, partly because of staff and funding shortages in the research institutes, or because these reports are retained by the enforcement agency and not accessed by the researchers.

Area 34 (Morocco to Angola)

Discard rates vary widely. The Moroccan cephalopod trawl fishery discards up to 45 percent of the total catch. The discard rate for the foreign deepwater shrimp fleet in Mauritania is over 80 percent and 63 percent for a similar fishery in Senegal. An increasing quantity of finfish bycatch of Senegal’s shallow-water trawl fisheries is being directed to African urban markets, reducing discards to approximately 34 percent. The industrial shrimp trawl fishery in Guinea-Bissau discards 87 percent of the catch, while in neighbouring Guinea the rate is 33 percent, reflecting the relative importance of local purchasing power and processing capacity with respect to bycatch. Trawlers in Sierra Leone are obliged to land bycatch for local consumption, which reduces discards. Trawl fisheries in Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon have low discard rates since there is extensive collection at sea. Because of high demand for fish products and high coastal populations in many areas, discards in the artisanal fisheries are negligible.

Area 47 (Angola to South Africa)

Demersal finfish and shrimp trawl fisheries in Angola are understood to generate significant discards. Pending legislation will require increased landings of bycatch. Namibia has a “no-discards” policy that prohibits discarding of marketable fish, i.e. discards of non-marketable species may be permissible. The hake and monkfish trawl fisheries have discards in the 5 to 15 percent range. South Africa prohibits discarding in the hake and sole fisheries and has a progressive bycatch management approach. Bycatch quotas in the horse mackerel fishery have resulted in pilchard and anchovy discards in the order of 30 000 tonnes in the past and the hake trawl fishery has a similar quantity of discards. The south coast trawl fisheries targeting hake, sole and monkfish have discard rates ranging from 4.1 to 19.2 percent. The highest discard rate (70 percent) is recorded from the KwaZulu-Natal shallow-water prawn trawl fishery.

Area 51 (East Africa and the Red Sea)

Madagascar’s industrial shrimp trawl fisheries discard over 30 000 tonnes (72 percent discard rate). Approximately 23 percent of Mozambique’s shrimp trawl bycatch is landed with over 23 000 tonnes discarded (60 percent discard rate). In the United Republic of Tanzania’s shrimp fishery, fishing is permitted only during daylight hours. A discard ban is poorly enforced and about 78 percent of the catch is discarded. A similar daylight regime has been introduced in Kenya. It is complemented by an inshore closed area and most previously discarded species are now sea-frozen and landed for human consumption. No discard information is available for Somalia, although trawlers fishing close inshore are known to impact on the hard corals. Discards in the East African artisanal fisheries are negligible. Fisheries in the Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles have low to negligible discards.

Discards in most Red Sea artisanal fisheries are also negligible. In Djibouti, even fish heavily damaged by sharks are retained for sale. Discards in the trawl fisheries are relatively small as the lower value fish (lizard fish and threadfin bream) find ready markets in Egypt. Eritrea, which operates a 100 percent observer coverage, calculates the royalties for the foreign trawl fleet on the value of the total estimated catch, whether discarded or not. The Egyptian finfish trawlers discard an estimated 20 percent of their total catch in Eritrean waters.

3.2.7 South and Southeast Asia (Areas 51, 57, 71)

With the exception of the shrimp trawl fisheries, discards in the northern part of Area 51 (Yemen to Pakistan) are low. Aggregate discards from the shrimp fisheries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Bahrain and Pakistan) total approximately 100 000 tonnes.

National authorities^[44] and experts indicate that discards in many countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia are low or negligible. These countries include Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Viet Nam. A recent workshop^[45] on discards and bycatch identified three factors, which differentiate the fisheries of the region from most temperate fisheries:

• dominated by small-scale fisheries with most fishing operations lasting less than a week;

• multispecies nature of the fisheries with fishers depending on many different species; and

• inherent flexibility of the markets based on a long tradition of consuming a wide variety of fish and fish products.

The workshop considered that discards for many countries and fisheries in the region were low or negligible and suggested that rather than endeavouring to obtain accurate discard estimates at high cost, efforts should concentrate on measures to avoid catches of juveniles and less marketable species.

Trawl fisheries tend to dominate in the shallow seas of the Southeast Asia region. In many areas, the fisheries are overexploited and almost all of the catch is landed and used. The lower value portion of landings that are deemed fit for human consumption is used for dried fish, surimi, fish balls, fish sauce and a range of traditional and new fish products. The remainder is used for animal and fish feed. With some notable exceptions, the fisheries in the region have been assigned a discard rate of 1 percent.

India

Shrimp freezer trawlers operating offshore from Visakapatnam on the eastern coast of India had relatively high discards in the early 1990s. However, this fleet has almost disappeared and current discards are low or negligible. Discards are considered to be negligible in traditional fisheries and very low in motorized fisheries. The reasons for the decline in discards are similar to many other countries in South and Southeast Asia:

• overfishing, particularly in inshore and coastal waters;

• rising demand as a result of population increase, rising urban incomes and export of better quality fish;

• poverty leading to consumption of lower value food fish;

• product development, e.g. production of surimi^[46] and fish sauce; and

• increased production of fishmeal and animal and fish feed.

Bangladesh and Myanmar

Discard rates in the order of 80 percent lead to discards of over 50 000 tonnes in Bangladesh’s industrial shrimp and finfish trawl fisheries while estuarine pushnets collecting penaeid larvae discard 90 percent of the catch. Myanmar’s trawl fisheries discard approximately 20 000 tonnes. Increasing quantities of fish are being exported overland from Myanmar to feed the growing demand in southeastern China. Any move towards intensive shrimp aquaculture in Myanmar is likely to reduce discards further.

Indonesia

With the notable exception of the Arafura Sea shrimp trawl fishery most Southeast Asian fisheries have been accorded a discard rate of 1 percent. While some discarding undoubtedly takes place, the volumes are so low as to be considered insignificant by most experts from the region. The Arafura Sea shrimp trawl fishery discards over 80 percent of the total catch, in the order of 230 000 tonnes per year (National Committee for Reducing the Impact of Tropical Shrimp Trawling in the Arafura Sea, 2001). Despite the introduction of BRDs total discards remain high; a consequence of weak enforcement of regulations and lack of local markets for the bycatch, since the fishery is prosecuted at considerable distance from major population centres. Approximately 76 percent of Indonesia’s nominal catch originates from Area 71.

Gulf of Thailand countries and Viet Nam

An arbitrary discard rate of 1 percent was assigned to the fisheries of Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia, which are considered to generate combined discards of under 50 000 tonnes. Similarly, the fisheries of Viet Nam are considered to have insignificant discards. Recent (internal) estimates of the country’s marine catch are substantially in excess of Fishstat values. Fishstat assigns all Vietnamese catches to Area 71 although the Area 71/Area 61 boundary bisects Viet Nam.

Philippines and the South China Sea

Philippine inshore shrimp and finfish trawl fisheries have high discard rates. Industrial and “baby” trawl fisheries in Sorsogon and San Miguel bays have discard rates ranging from 19 to 85 percent. In the case of the San Miguel Bay fisheries, 91 percent of the discards are jellyfish. Trawl fisheries in Brunei Darussalam discard 74 percent of the catch, reflecting the greater purchasing power of the population and the lack of markets for lower valued species.

3.2.8 East Asia and the Northwest Pacific (Area 61)

China

Discards are low or negligible in almost all Chinese fisheries.^[47] Essentially there are no bycatch species since all species are target species. Some discarding is known to occur in trawl fisheries which are prosecuted at considerable distance from the port of landing, e.g. Chinese trawlers operating in the South China Sea. However, discard rates are considered to be relatively low and no quantitative information was located during the study. Closed seasons are in force to reduce catches of juveniles in certain fisheries. No information has been obtained on discards in Taiwan Province of China. Fishstat data indicate that 98 percent of Chinese nominal catches originate from Area 61. The low to negligible discard rate in Chinese fisheries, which produce approximately 12 million tonnes, or over 14 percent of the global nominal catch (average 1992-2001), tends to skew the global discard rate downwards.

Japan

Landings of over 6 million tonnes generate discards of more than 0.9 million tonnes, an average discard rate of 14.2 percent. Fisheries with high discards include a diverse group of small coastal trawlers, the boat-seine fishery (including gochi-ami), and tuna longline fisheries. Estimates prepared for the 1996 workshop (Matsuoka, 1997) were transferred unchanged to the discard database. Although it is acknowledged that some changes have occurred in these fisheries since the estimates were made, changes in the fishery-by-fishery breakdown of Japanese catch statistics preclude direct transposition to the most recent Japanese catch statistics.^[48]

No information has been located on discards in the Democratic Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. Because of the severe food deficits in the former country discards are assumed to be negligible.

Russian Far East

Characterization of fisheries in the Russian Far East has been based on a combination of sources and in particular the information relating to quota allocation and use provided by the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) and that reported in Russian trade publications.^[49] Information on discards in the fisheries of the Russian Far East has proved particularly difficult to obtain and no estimates are included in the discard database. VNIRO^[50] has not collected discard information since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Regulations on discards are reported to be poorly enforced. The newer generation of processor trawlers makes full use of catches, but filleting machinery on older smaller trawlers in the Alaska pollock fishery is not fully adapted to handle smaller Alaska pollock and discards may be over 45 percent in some parts of the fishery (Norinov, 2003). Catches of Alaska pollock have declined progressively from over 2 million tonnes in the mid-1990s to under 1 million tonnes in 2002. The other important components of the catch include Pacific herring, flounder, Pacific cod, squid and crab. Current discards in the Russian Far East fisheries may be similar to those in the Eastern Bering Sea in the mid-1990s, which would mean that approximately 200 000 tonnes might be discarded.

3.2.9 Oceania and Australia (Areas 57, 71, 77, 81)

Pacific Islands

Discard levels are considered to be insignificant in this region. The South Pacific islands’ coastal commercial, subsistence and artisanal fisheries were allocated^[51] a discard rate of 0.5 percent. Discarded species include puffer fish, porcupine fish, “ciguatera” fish^[52] and sea snakes. The pole and line fleets may discard small quantities of baitfish, rainbow runner and similar non-tuna species. A shrimp trawl fishery in the Gulf of Papua (Papua New Guinea) has substantial discards.

Australia

Most of the larger “offshore” fisheries are managed by the Australian Commonwealth, while most of the coastal and inshore fisheries fall under the jurisdiction of the Australian states or territories. Progressive Commonwealth bycatch management policy and programmes make the Australian fisheries of particular interest (Australian Fisheries Management Authority, 2000). The overarching objective of the policy is to ensure that bycatch species and populations are maintained and that fisheries are ecologically sustainable through bycatch reduction, improved protection of vulnerable/threatened species and minimizing adverse impacts of fishing on the marine environment.

Bycatch action plans^[53] have been completed for the following fisheries managed by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority:

• Australia’s tuna and billfish fisheries

• Bass Strait central zone scallop fishery

• Great Australian Bight trawl fishery

• Northern prawn fishery

• Southeast non-trawl fishery

• Southeast trawl fishery

• Southern shark fishery

• Southern squid jig fishery

• Sub-Antarctic fisheries (Macquarie Island fishery and Heard Island and McDonald Islands fishery)

• Torres Strait prawn fishery

These action plans are of particular interest in relation to TEDs, BRDs and mitigation measures for seabirds in longline fisheries and are further discussed in Section 4.4.1. Environmental impact assessments are also required in Australia for fisheries from which products are exported.

Three northern shrimp fisheries, northern prawn (Gulf of Carpentaria), Torres Strait and Queensland trawl fisheries jointly discard approximately 80 000 tonnes. The southeast trawl fisheries targeting redfish, tiger flathead, orange roughy and blue grenadier discard approximately 17 000 tonnes with discard rates of 45 and 10 percent for the east and west fisheries respectively. The New South Wales (NSW) oceanic prawn has a high discard rate (88.7 percent) generating approximately 16 000 tonnes of discards. Experiments have demonstrated that the use of BRDs results in a reduction of up to 90 percent in unwanted bycatch in the NSW prawn fisheries and that square mesh panels can be selective for larger prawns (Broadhurst, 2003). BRDs are now mandatory in inshore/estuarine prawn fisheries. Progressive implementation of bycatch action plans is likely to reduce the discards and discard rates presented above. Several smaller fisheries also have high discard rates, e.g. NSW beach seine (58 percent) and the NSW ocean haul (38 percent).

Discards in New Zealand fisheries have not been recorded in the discard database.

3.2.10 Antarctic and the CCAMLR area (Areas 48, 58, 88)

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) implements an ecosystem-based approach to manage both commercial fisheries and other living marine resources. While this approach imposes obligations on members to record bycatch, the records cannot readily be converted to discard rates by fishery (CCAMLR, 2002a). A major focus of CCAMLR work is the mitigation of incidental catch and, through observer programmes, the close monitoring of seabird and marine mammal mortalities (see Section 4.2.3).

Krill fishery

Fisheries operators reportedly avoid areas where there is likely to be a contaminating catch of fish^[54] and large krill aggregations tend to be monospecific (Nicol and Endo, 1997; Sobrino Yraola, Giráldez Navas and Millán Merello, 1987). Vessels also move to avoid concentrations of salps (pelagic tunicates). Discard information is being collected by CCAMLR.

Toothfish fishery

The toothfish longline fishery generates the vast majority of the 2 000 tonnes of discards (discard rate 20 percent). A Chilean experimental pot fishery for toothfish discards approximately 60 percent of the catch. The discards mainly comprise crab (P. spinosissima). Discards in the trawl fishery are understood to be low while mitigation measures are in place to reduce bycatch mortalities of rajids and Macrourus sp. that comprise approximately 20 percent of the longline catch. A German trawl survey (Kock et al., 2002)^[55] around Elephant Island demonstrated that changes in trawl rigging resulted in a sixfold reduction in bycatch of benthos without affecting the catch rate of the commercial species.