Poster presentado a la ICES Annual Science Conference celebrada entre el 11 y el 14 de septiembre de 2023 en Bilbao. | Management strategy evaluation (MSE) generally involves defining a decision problem, specifying objectives, and simulating the managed system to help evaluate uncertainties, risks, and trade-offs of management alternatives. Stakeholders' involvement is a core component of MSE to design pragmatic and applicable management strategies that are robust to uncertainty and balance ecological, economic and social objectives. Knowledge advances and computational capabilities allow fisheries scientists to generate evidence practically and transparently. Transparency is a cornerstone fisheries management principle with inherent paradoxes (Wilson, 2009). For instance, assessment models can be used to build political options into the models as alternatives. Hence, scientists can deliver advice that makes explicit the trade-offs and consequences of policy objectives. Under this perspective, the Math4Fish project involves natural and social scientists , managers (Spanish General Secretariat for Fisheries) and representatives of the fishing sector to jointly define management strategies to be simulated in MSE environments for the European hake, Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758), southern stock in the Iberian Peninsula (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea divisions 8c9a). Workshops were held to introduce the fishing sector and managers mathematical modelling tools to evaluate management strategies for hake, as well as to propose information to explore/simulate different scenarios. During our experience, the allocation of quotas based on selectivity criteria between fishing gears has emerged as a scenario worth exploring. The redistribution of resources between the different fleet segments is a sensitive issue that causes tensions. Scientifically, quota redistribution simulations can be carried out, and the results analysed and compared with the current situation, highlighting the scope and limitations of the analysis. This would benefit a structured dialogue on policy options and reinforce transparency. However, spotlighting trade-offs is not always well received by policy makers and the fishing sector. Efforts to engage the public and lessons learned will be discussed and detailed. | This study is a contribution of the proyect financed by the European Union-Next Generation EU. Component 3. Investment 7. Agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food and the State Agency Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) M.P.- through the Spanish Institute of Oceanography to promote fisheries research as a basis for sustainable fisheries management. Eje 6, Math4Fish: New tools for mathematical modeling in fisheries scientific advice Spain.

Context: In Australia, the health of our marine, estuarine and freshwater fishes are of critical importance. The aquatic and marine ecosystems, and the fishes that occupy them each have an important role in our country’s ecological, economic, cultural and social wealth. Climate change, resource over-exploitation, invasive animals and diseases, and habitat degradation are just a few of the burgeoning threats that researchers and managers must address to ensure the prosperity of Australia’s natural fisheries resources. In addition, differences in legislative frameworks among jurisdictions hinder our ability to coherently manage fish resources at scales that are relevant biologically, ecologically and socially.Aims: Here, we identify the key research priorities for fish and fisheries research in Australia, across seven thematic fields of study.Methods: Research priorities were evaluated using a horizon scanning approach which identified research questions related to the field of fish and fisheries research in Australia.Key results: A total of 284 unique research questions were categorised and prioritised, resulting in the formation of the top 10 highest priority research questions across each of the seven themes.Conclusions: The outcomes from this work can be used to directly complement ongoing work from research providers working in the field of fish and fisheries as well as the development of new areas of research.Implications: The priorities identified will enable researchers and policy makers to identify critical knowledge gaps, develop collaborative research programs, investigate novel approaches, and to improve transparency around decision-making processes.

Wageningen Marine Research report C071/23 | 5 of 66 Summary The rationale for the project ‘VISwijzer en flyshootvis’ (FISHguide and flyshoot fish) stems from the increasing demand for transparency regarding the production and origin of food. Despite the general impression that fish stocks in the North Sea are doing well, certain fish species in the North Sea and the English Channel currently do not qualify for favourable ratings on the ‘VISwijzer’ and/or MSC certification. This pertains, among others, to commercially less attractive fish species in the Netherlands, such as gurnard, cuttlefish, and red mullet. There is insufficient data on fish stocks and fishing pressure for these data-deficient species, making it currently impossible to assert the sustainability of fisheries on these species. The project was set up as an initiative from the fisheries industry (Jaczon-Vrolijk), to partner with the Good Fish Foundation and Wageningen Marine Research. The primary objective of the partnership project was to pave the way for improved data collection in flyshoot fishing. The second objective was to adapt the VISwijzer method to make it more suitable for assessing mixed fisheries. The third objective is the dissemination of project results and the knowledge gained about flyshoot fishing. This report focuses mainly on the results of the first objective. A total of fifteen observer trips were conducted. During these trips, which took place on board three different vessels from Jaczon-Vrolijk, discard samples were collected and sorted, the total catch was estimated, the presence of ETP (Endangered, Threatened, or Protected) species was recorded, and the length distribution of selected species in the marketable catch was determined. This data was used to study the catch composition and efficiency of the Dutch flyshoot fishery, calculate the mean length-at- catch and identify the risk of catching ETP species. The majority of the sampled hauls were in the eastern Channel. Additionally, sampling was conducted in the southern North Sea, as well as a small number of hauls in the central North Sea. In the winter months effort was concentrated in the Eastern Channel. In quarters 2 and 3, effort shifted to the southern North Sea. Landings clearly display a seasonal pattern, with squid being the dominant catch in winter months, and mackerel in summer. Discards were almost entirely composed of fish, with few benthos, invertebrates and debris being caught. The most dominant species in the discards included whiting, herring, dab, bib, horse mackerel, mackerel, as well as sharks. Both landings and discards vary throughout the seasons. Several species had a ratio between length-at-catch and maximum length that was above the 2/3 limit set by the GoodFish Foundation, namely red gurnard (69%), mackerel (77%), and herring (90%). For tub gurnard (57%), red mullet (65%), whiting (60%), and horse mackerel (52%) mean length-at-catch/L inf was below the 2/3 limit. In total, three ETP species were reported as incidental bycatch: twait shad, seahorse and small-spotted catshark. Discard ratios were found to be highly variable between hauls, trips, quarters and areas. Overall discard percentages were found to be between 45.49 and 50.04%. The protocol developed in this project was evaluated positively, though certain lessons learned during the sampling period should be taken into account when sampling in the Dutch flyshoot fishery. Total catch was estimated using the volume in the hopper, and even though this method proved workable, it did pose several problems. Firstly, this method sometimes resulted in negative discards weights. Also, in case of small catches, the hopper could be split into smaller compartments to more accurately read the height of the catch, however, this was often impractical. Alternatives to the hopper-volume method are considered. Another issue in the protocol was encountered in the length measurements of the landings. In the protocol the length of the most common species in each haul was sampled. However, this posed problems for the data analysis. The lack in spatial coverage in the presented project is probably mainly caused by the fact that very few trips were sampled in summer. To improve the coverage of future sampling programmes, (observer) trips should also be carried out in other areas, such as the central and northern North Sea. It should also be noted that sampling took place on board three vessels of the same shipping company, and to fully understand the fishing practices, sampling should be extended to other vessels in the Dutch fleet. 6 of 66 | Wageningen Marine Research report C071/23 The results of this project can be used to inform science and policy, especially on data deficient target species of the flyshoot fishery. The data has already been used in a sustainability assessment by the GoodFish Foundation, and the project is a good example of how cooperation between the scientific community, industry, and NGOs can increase data availability and transparency in a fishery.

Action Track 1 of the Food Systems Summit offers an opportunity to bring together the crucial elements of food safety, nutrition, poverty and inequalities in the framework of food systems within the context of climate and environmental change to ensure that all people have access to a safe and nutritious diet. Achieving Action Track 1’s goal is essential to achieving the goals of the other Action Tracks. With less than a decade left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), most countries are not on a course to hit either the World Health Organisation’s nutrition targets or the SDG 2 targets. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated malnutrition and highlighted the need for food safety. The pandemic has also exposed the deep inequalities in both food systems and societies as a whole. Nonetheless, future food systems can address many of these failings and ensure safe and nutritious food for all. However, structural change is necessary to address the socio-economic drivers behind malnutrition, inequalities and the climate and environmental impacts of food. Adopting a whole-system approach in policy, research and monitoring and evaluation is crucial for managing trade-off and externalities from farm-level to national scales and across multiple sectors and agencies. Supply chain failures will need to be overcome and technology solutions adopted and adapted to specific contexts. A transformation of food systems requires coordinating changes in supply and demand in differentiated ways across world regions: bridging yield gaps and improving livestock feed conversion, largely through agro-ecological practices, deploying soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas mitigation at scale, and reducing food loss and waste, as well as addressing over-nourishment and shifting the diets of wealthy populations. The sustainability of global food systems also requires halting the expansion of agriculture into fragile ecosystems, while restoring degraded forests, fisheries, rangelands, peatlands and wetlands. Shifting to more sustainable consumption and production patterns within planetary boundaries will require efforts to influence food demand and diets, diversify food systems, and develop careful land-use planning and management. Integrative policies need to ensure that food prices reflect real costs (including major externalities caused by climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss, and the public health impacts of malnutrition), reduce food waste and, at the same time, ensure the affordability of safe and healthy food and decent incomes and wages for farmers and food system workers. The harnessing of science and technology solutions and the sharing of actionable knowledge with all players in the food system offer many opportunities. Greater coordination of food system stakeholders is crucial for greater inclusion, greater transparency and more accountability. Sharing lessons and experiences will foster adaptive learning and responsive actions. Careful consideration of the trade-offs, externalities and costs of not acting is needed to ensure that the changes we make benefit all, and especially the most vulnerable in society.

Fisheries are supposed to be for the benefit of society, producing food, providing livelihoods and enabling cultural continuity. Biological productivity goals for fish stocks operationalised through Harvest Control Rules (HCRs) are central to contemporary fisheries management. While fisheries policies often state socio-economic objectives, such as enhancing the livelihoods of coastal communities, those are rarely, if ever, incorporated into operationalised management procedures. The lack of articulation of social objectives and lack of monitoring of social outcomes around HCRs amounts to poor public policy. In this article, we explore the potential for social HCRs (sHCRs) with reference points and agreed predefined actions to make the social dimensions of fisheries explicit. sHCRs cannot cover all social dimensions, so should be considered as one tool within a broader framework of fisheries governance. Moreover, successful sHCRs would require sound deliberative and participatory processes to generate legitimate social objectives, and monitoring and evaluation of fisheries management performance against those objectives. We introduce two potential types of sHCRs, one based on allocation of catch within biological limit reference points, and one for when fishing exceeds biological limit reference points. The application of sHCRs, we argue, can foster accountability and help avoid non-transparent negotiations on size and distribution of the catch. Our proposal is a call to action for policy makers and fisheries managers to properly integrate social criteria into fisheries governance, and for both biophysical fisheries scientists and social scientists to do better in practical collaboration for methods and knowledge development to support this integration.