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This report summarises the progress in the first two years of the FarFish project in collecting and compiling biological, ecological and fisheries dependent and fisheries independent data relevant for the project case studies. The report follows up on similar report that was published after the first year of the project. During the first year of FarFish, some modifications in the objectives occurred, resulting in changes in the species which the case studies focus at. For example, in the Cape Verde and Seychelles case studies, the focus shifted to by-catch species that are not assessed by the Regional Management Fisheries Organizations (RMFOs) i.e. the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). Lists of species for each case studies have been drawn up, sources of data identified, contacts have been made with RMFOs and DG MARE, and data compiled. Data compilation has been largely driven by the FarFish Data Base (FFDB) template. On the other hand, other data required for visualization purposes, especially time series, is also being compiled or requested. A formal data request was prepared for DG MARE, while coastal state case study participants were requested to provide data for the FFDB. Data from DG MARE has been received. Talks are also ongoing with RFMOs, especially CECAF, regarding data acquisition and how FarFish can contribute or add value to assessment and management. Acquisition of NANSEN cruise data has proved difficult. Numerous attempts and initiatives have been made, but to date, these have proved largely unsuccessful.

One of the key objectives of the FarFish project is: "To advance knowledge and collate data related to biological characteristics of the main fish stocks in selected fisheries outside EU waters that are important for the EU fleet, and to evaluate the relevance and applicability of appropriate stock assessment methods for these fisheries." In this context, the review and evaluation of stock assessment models used in the different Case Studies and the status of the stocks is one of the primary objectives of the project. The FarFish project has therefore published this report, which contains a review the stock assessment carried out for the target species in each of the case study areas.

This report contains an evaluation of the governance structures of the EU long-distance fishing fleet in the six case studies of the FarFish project. These case studies include two high seas fisheries and four fisheries that are based on Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs) between the EU and coastal states. All of these fisheries are important for the fishing fleets of multiple EU countries or respond to the priorities of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The report focuses on different aspects of both the structural and actor conditions, in particular focusing on monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) of the EU external fishing fleet. For each of the four SFPAs, we present the requirements set within the SFPAs, the legal framework and systems for MCS in the coastal state and their capacity. For the high seas cases, we present the governing framework of the area where such is in place and the practice of managing the EU fleet. For all cases, challenges of and measures to mitigate by-catch and discard issues and IUU fishing are presented. Lastly, we summaries the main findings regarding both achievements and identified challenges for the six case studies. This report is based on available data and synthesizes already existing information. It will function as a primer for further studies in the FarFish project of the governance structure of the EU fisheries outside Europe.

FarFish is a H2020 project that aims to provide knowledge, tools and methods to support responsible, sustainable and profitable EU fisheries outside European waters. To achieve this, FarFish will develop practical, achievable and cost-effective fisheries management tools and advice. The work will be done in collaboration of scientists, policy makers, resource users and other stakeholders aimed to improve fisheries management competences. A key output of the project are case specific Management Recommendations (MRs) that are based on Results-Based Management (RBM) principles in line with the Responsive Fisheries Management System (RFMS) approach, which was developed in the FP7 project EcoFishMan. The fisheries included in FarFish are in the high-seas areas of the SW-Atlantic Ocean (FAO area 41) and the SE-Atlantic Ocean (FAO area 47); as well as in the waters of Cape Verde, Senegal, Mauritania and the Seychelles. In line with the RFMS approach, the engagement of stakeholders is highly prioritized in the project. Wide variety of stakeholders have been contacted throughout the first year of the project in order to contribute to the development of the MRs. The first multi-stakeholder physical meeting was held in Vigo, Spain, on the 26th -27th of June 2018. The meeting was titled "Strengthening fisheries sustainability outside EU" and was the official MR kick-off meeting. This document reports on that meeting. The aim of the meeting was to discuss stakeholders' interests and needs, related to how they can contribute to the development of the MRs, while improving the sustainability of the fishery of the EU fleet fishing in distant waters. The current status of the work in the different FarFish working groups and case studies were presented to inform the attendants on issueslike "where are we", "what are the options" and "what do we need". Despite all challenges in culture, language and interest/needs, progress was made on important issues in the project. Having representatives from both EU and China, as well as ...

Task 2.3 of work package 2 (Advancing biological knowledge and evaluation of current stock assessment models) focuses on the compilation of biological, ecological and fisheries dependent and fisheries independent data that is required for other FarFish WPs. During the first year of FarFish, some modifications in the objectives occurred, resulting in changes in the species. For example, in the Cape Verde and Seychelles CSs, the focus is now on by-catch species that are not assessed by the Regional Management Fisheries Organizations (RMFO): the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). Lists of species for each CS have now been drawn up, sources of data identified, contacts have been made with RMFOs and DG MARE, and data is being compiled. Data compilation has been largely driven by the FarFish Data Base (FFDB) template developed in WP 6 (see deliverables D6.1 and D6.4). On the other hand, other data required for visualization purposes, especially time series, is also being compiled or requested. A formal data request is being prepared for DG MARE, while coastal state CS participants will be requested to provide data for the FFDB. Talks are also ongoing with RFMOs, especially CECAF, regarding data acquisition and how FarFish can contribute or add value to assessment and management. Actions that need to be taken by Task 2.3 participants include the provision of data and uploading of data to the FFDB. Task 2.3 is ongoing (Report on biological and ecological data in FFDB pilot version 2, due in Month 26 (July 31, 2019). ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 727891.

Background More than 20% of the catches of the European fishing fleet are caught in non-European waters. Access to fish in these waters is based on agreements with coastal states. EU pays for access to fish from surplus stocks. These agreements have been criticised, as the fisheries are sometimes poorly regulated, and management decisions are often based on limited knowledge. In addition, the level of compliance is considered low, and enforcement capabilities are limited. In many cases, the trust between different stakeholders involved in a fishery is low. The FarFish project aimed to overcome these challenges. Approach The FarFish project was designed around six case studies (CSs) in fishing areas where the European fleet is active, namely Cape Verde, Mauritania, Senegal, Seychelles, and the international high-seas areas in the South East and South West Atlantic. This document serves as the second proposal for management recommendations (MR2) for each FarFish CSs. The MRs are arrangements between relevant management authorities and the operators in the respective CSs. The MR defines the actors/partners in the fishery and their roles, the agreed management objectives for the fishery, the management rules and regulations that apply, and other relevant details about the fishery. We apply the results-based management (RBM) when developing the MR in each CS. The RBM approach aims to reduce micro-management by involving stakeholders and increasing the degree of co-management by delegating responsibilities to resource users. According to this approach, the formal responsibility for developing the MRs is largely delegated to the resource users e.g. EU fishing fleet. Yet, within the FarFish CSs, the formal responsibility is a common venture involving both the authorities in the EU and in the coastal state in question, and the European operators. This means that third state (e.g., China, Korea, Japan, Russia) activity is left outside these MRs. However, getting these MRs in place creates arenas for dialogue and allows ...

More than 20% of the European fishing fleets catches are taken from non-European waters. Access to these waters is often based on agreements with coastal states that allow the EU fleet to fish from surplus stocks in return for financial support. These agreements have been subjected to criticism, as these fisheries are sometimes poorly regulated and management decisions are often based on limited knowledge, compliance, and enforcement capabilities. It is also too often the case that trust between stakeholders is lacking. The aim of the FarFish project is to overcome these hurdles. The FarFish project is designed around six case study areas in which the European fleet is actively engaged in fishing activities, including Cape Verde, Mauritania, Senegal and Seychelles, as well as the international high-seas areas in the southeast and southwest Atlantic. Among the Research & Innovation outputs of the FarFish project is a development of a management approach where the management authorities and the resource users come to an agreement on some key objectives and how to meet them. This approach is designed to reduce micromanagement by involving stakeholders and increase the degree of co-management by delegating management responsibilities to resource users. The process is broken into a number of steps, which include a) the provision of guidelines on how to develop so called management recommendations (MRs), b) provision of an invitation from the authorities to the resource users to develop MRs, where overall objectives are established, c) development of MRs, d) third party audit of the MR, where the success of the MR is evaluated. Draft guidelines and MR invitations have been published, and this report compiles the first proposals for MRs for each of the FarFish case studies. These will then be audited by an independent auditor and the whole process will then be re-iterated. The aim is that by the end of the project, we will have a tested / validated approach for how to manage fisheries in cocreation between ...

This report contains the 2nd management recommendation (MR) invitations submitted to the case studies in the FarFish project i.e. the high-seas fisheries in SW-Atlantic and SE-Atlantic, and the SFPA fisheries in Cape Verde, Senegal, Mauritania and Seychelles. The purpose of these MR invitations is to offer selected operators (resource users) the opportunity to develop MRs following the "second draft general guidelines for making MRs" presented in FarFish deliverable 3.5. The approach presented in the guidelines are based on principles of results-based management (RBM), where the responsibility for fisheries management is partly transferred to the resource users, provided that they meet with necessary requirements set forth by the authorities and provide documentation confirming implementation and achievement of specified management objectives. The advantages of such an approach include facilitation of more bottom-up style of management where the actual resource users and other stakeholders are involved. This approach is likely to increase the sense of ownership, by the resource users, in the management. Other advantages are for example increased transparency, as well as reduced costs and increased coverage of monitoring, control and surveillance. The MR invitations follow up on a pre-invitation dialogues where the basics of the approach have been introduced. The MR invitations include a short description of what is to be the focus of the MRs, identification of the main actors and their roles and responsibilities in the process, details on the current status of the fishery and finally the identification of so-called Outcome Targets (OTs) that are performance goals that the MRs are to meet.