Questionnaire: Study supporting the evaluation of the landing obligation – Common Fisheries Policy

Introduction

Dear Stakeholder,
You are kindly requested to respond to the questionnaire below. Responses will be anonymous. The survey should take approximately 25 minutes of your time.

This questionnaire forms part of the “Study supporting the evaluation of the landing obligation – Common Fisheries Policy” under the framework contract CINEA/2021/OP/0011 – [Lot 1]. The study is being undertaken by a consortium of partners contracted by the EU Commission (CINEA), acting on behalf of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE).

The purpose of this questionnaire is to gather evidence to support a future EU Commission evaluation of the landing obligation invention in terms of meeting the objectives of the 2013 reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), outlined under Article (2)(5)(a):

“[the CFP shall] gradually eliminate discards, on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the best available scientific advice, by avoiding and reducing, as far as possible, unwanted catches, and by gradually ensuring that catches are landed.”

The EU landing obligation, introduced under Article 15 of the 2013 CFP reform, contributes to eliminating discards by providing a strong incentive for fishers to fish in a more selective manner and avoid and reduce, as far as possible, unwanted catches in the first place, by obliging them to land everything they catch. Implemented under a phased approach, the landing obligation has been fully operational since 1 January 2019 and applies to all stocks managed through Total Allowable Catch (TACs) in European Union waters, and in the Mediterranean, all stocks subject to a Minimum Conservation Reference Size (MCRS).

Five years on from the full implementation of the landing obligation, the intention of this questionnaire is to aid in the collection and validation of existing data already gathered for an assessment on how the landing obligation has performed and is currently working, and why it is performing as it does.

The contract study results and findings will form the foundation for a Commission evidence-based evaluation of whether the landing obligation continues to be justified, where lessons can be learned for improvement, and whether EU actions should be continued or changed.

Consortium: Deloitte, MRAG Europe and Wageningen Marine Research (WMR).