Closed areas for beam-trawl fisheries

The tickler chains of beam trawlers damage and kill lots of benthic fauna and disrupt the structure of the bottom. In 1999, scientists from the NIOZ suggested closing large sections of the North Sea completely for the (beam-trawl) fisheries, in order to give nature a chance to recover. This idea was adapted by the North Sea Foundation. Fishermen did not react possitively to the initiative for closing fishing grounds, partially because they feel that past closures had little result (see plaice box).

From nature to fishing fields

Extensive research under the code name IMPACT II showed that the fauna of the sea floor changes if beam trawlers regularly pass over with tickler chains. Short-lived, less sensitive and rapid reproducing species (such as worms, small shellfish and starfish) grow in numbers from beam-trawl fisheries. Other species that have a long lifespan and only reproduce at a later age disappear, such as whelks, rays, sharks, dahlia anemones, lobsters, sea mice, white furrow shells, greater weevers and quahogs. The starfish eventually disappear with time since the shellfish from which they live off of have been overfished.

Because worms form ideal food for many commercially fished species, such as dab, sole and plaice, the researchers from the NIOZ say that the fishermen are "busy creating the ideal fishing fields" by damaging the benthic fauna, whereby worms become abundant which in turn help the plaice and sole stocks to grow. The NIOZ scientists hoped that their initiative in 1995 would prevent the entire North Sea from becoming a fishing field.

Reactions from the fishery world

Fishermen and fishery biologists did not agree with the conclusions of the study and did not feel that closed regions were necessary for the fisheries since even though the entire North Sea was open for fishing, only 70% of the fishery activities took place in an area measuring 20% of the North Sea. In addition, they mentioned the fact that the eggs and larvae of marine animals would not stay within closed regions due to sea currents. According to scientists from the fisheries department of IMARES, the NIOZ wants to make the North Sea 'a playing ground for scientists'. IMARES prefers more far-reaching decline in the number of fishing ships in order to lower the fishery pressure. The fishermen resist the closure because the areas up for closure are the richest areas biologically and therefore where the most fish can be found.

The fishermen talked of a 'declaration of war against the fisheries' and chairman of the Federation for Dutch Fishery Unions Ben Daalder declared that "under no condition would they surrender more fishing grounds".

More policy

The policy note 'Doing business with nature at sea' from the Ministry for Nature and Food Quality appeared in 2001. This was the final report of the Ecosystem Goals North Sea project, in which the important areas of the North Sea were summerized. The zone along the Dutch coast, the Dutch part of the Cloverbank and parts of the Doggersbank, Oystergrounds and the Frisian Front were designated as areas to be protected.

In 2010, the countries around the North Sea established which parts of the North Sea would be definitely designated as protected nature area, in the framework of the OSPAR conference. The next step is to draw up a management plan be area. Whether or not beam trawl fisheries with tickler chains will be allowed in the new management plan could mean a difficult discussion.