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BREXIT
As we are all aware the transition period ends on December 31st.
The UK non-detrimental finding has been submitted to the EU Scientific review group. First, in June, any decision to be made was then deferred to September and decisions for the September meeting have now been deferred to December. The lack of certainty of where we are going is a problem for all of us.
The environment agency counter to all the publications from France, Spain and the work done by Lin and Jessop (2020) in Canada have set the exploitation rate at 100%. This rate was more than irrational and was reduced to 75% which is still irrational.
One of the issues that has been foremost in everyone’s minds for the preparation of the non-detrimental finding is the level of glass eel exploitation.
At the present time we have a system where glass eel escapement is measured in terms of 1 in 4 (75%) of the catch. It is on this basis that the surplus for export has been determined. So, the greater the fishing pressure, the larger the surplus for export. On the other hand, a river with few fishermen or no fishermen will have no surplus. The whole process of calculating surpluses is flawed.
Because of this bizarre approach last season, we implemented a project based on capture, mark, release and recapture.
Our findings were that the actual exploitation rate for 2019 was 7.78%. The justification of the random figure of 75% according to the information published in the NDF para 12.1 was a figure being mid-way between the highest published exploitation rate 45% (arbitrary) and the over-precautionary 100%.
It seems that evidence based science has become a casualty of bureaucrats and politics.
Our paper has been published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd in Fisheries Management and Ecology.
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