Stakeholder workshop to disseminate the ICES deep-sea access regulation technical service, and scope the required steps for regulatory purposes (WKREG)

The EU enacted new legislation on regulating access to deep-sea fisheries in 2016. Two important aspects of the regulation are outstanding, namely the establishment of a list of areas where vul-nerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are known to occur or are likely to occur and the determination of the existing deep-sea fishing areas, the so-called “fishing footprint”. ICES was asked to gather data and information to help determine the two aspects. ICES informed the Commission of its capacity to produce a complete technical service by the end of 2019 leading to a final advice in 2020. This final advice will constitute the basis for the Commission to adopt the implementing regulation fixing the fishing footprint and the list of VME locations.

In order to complete the technical service, a workshop was organised by ICES. The workshop reviewed the data and information on the fishing footprint (2009-2011) and the location of VMEs, and considered a potential tool for supporting transparent decision making in future. The strengths and weaknesses of this decision support tool were identified along with identified summary of the information content required for implementation. The group also outlined a framework whereby a range of closed area options could be given to managers and stakeholders to consider under different protection and management scenarios, to facilitate future decision-making. The workshop discussed future work processes planned to complete the ICES advisory process for this request i.e., the “second phase”, to support the decision making required to facilitate the implementation of this piece of legislation.