LITHUANIA
Atlantic currently has vessels in the North Atlantic and the South PaciďŹ c
Lack of EU-Mauritania agreement hits high seas ďŹ shers hard Lithuania’s high seas ďŹ shing eet comprises some 12 vessels, a number which has stayed fairly stable the last few years, but which can also uctuate depending on ďŹ shing opportunities. The eet has been active in the Northwest and the North East Atlantic, the South PaciďŹ c, the EU Western Waters, as well as in the Svalbard ďŹ shing area, and the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Morocco, and Greenland. Among the Lithuanian firms that own high seas fishing vessels is the Atlantic High Seas Fishing Company, an enterprise established in 1995, which today is part of the Dutch PP group. Atlantic, one of a handful of Lithuanian high seas fishing companies, has two vessels, one in the northern Atlantic targeting mainly redfish, cod, and other species found in the area. The other is the 143 m pelagic freezer trawler, the Margiris, which is currently fishing in the south Pacific, but which has in the past been active in Mauritanian waters, and in the north Atlantic. The fishery in the south Pacific is for the Chilean jack mackerel, a stock which is managed by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO). Atlantic has been fishing in the area for many years, even before the SPRFMO was established in 2009.
Lithuanian high seas quotas vary widely Total Lithuanian quotas for the high seas fisheries have seen significant fluctuations. Between 2009 and 2014 they fell from about 146,000 tonnes to roughly 137,000 tonnes a drop of only 5, but this hides substantial variations. For instance, in 2012 the total high seas quota fell by 56 to 54,000 tonnes thanks primarily to a lack of quota 40
Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2015
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in the Moroccan EEZ. In 2014 however, the total quota was boosted by allocations from Morocco and a big increase in the quota in EU Western Waters. The quota in the Mauritanian EEZ has over the last six years on average amounted to two thirds of the total quota from all fishing areas, so the loss of this will be felt keenly by Lithuanian vessels. While Atlantic has two vessels today, it had three in 2009, a development Aivaras Labanauskas, the vice director of Atlantic, explains in terms of the company’s needs, and the quotas available. If another company in the group needs the vessel more than we do then the registration is transferred, he says, but it is not something that is done on a regular basis. For the moment, even with two vessels Atlantic could fish more if the quotas were available. The quotas from the regional fisheries management organisation are distributed among the contracting parties. Quotas allocated to the EU are then given to the relevant EU countries based on a distribution key. The countries then distribute them among their companies. In Lithuania, for example, quotas are distributed to the companies based on their historical catches and the utilisation of the quota. Mr Labanauskas has no complaints regarding the
Aivaras Labanauskas, Vice Director of Atlantic
system of quota distribution, calling it a transparent and objective system that rewards vessels that utilise their quotas and do not engage in any illicit activities, with quotas again the following year. For the fishing companies, he says, the most important thing is stability. We need to know that there will be no sudden changes in the system and that if we fish well we can expect quotas again the next year.
An efficient fishery depends on quota swaps The high seas fishery is characterised by quota swapping as it allows companies to use their resources most optimally.
Quota swapping is a common and very frequently used practice under the Common Fishery Policy. Mr Labanauskas says that Atlantic swaps quotas with other companies, both those within the PP group and those without. Of course it is easier within the group as we cooperate closely with companies and countries that are represented in the group, he adds. Swapping is essentially about making things work. In the case of Lithuania, quotas in the North Atlantic are very small and it is not worth it, for example, to sail to the coast of Canada to fish for a species for which the company has a very small quota. A swap will allow a quota that a company does www.eurofishmagazine.com