MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Sustainable Fisheries at South Georgia MPA

Sue Gregory holds s Patagonian toothfish (Photo: Martin Collins)

Sue Gregory has worked as the GSGSSI Senior Marine & Fisheries Manager for the past 8 years. Prior to that Sue worked as a fisheries ecologist on the South Georgia Project at the British Antarctic Survey for many years, including overwintering on South Georgia, conducting research surveys and acting as a scientific observer on Southern Ocean commercial fishing vessels In the following GSGGSSI Newsletter, Sue relates her experience.

 The Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) operates three strictly regulated fisheries within the SGSSI sustainable-use MPA. The primary fishery is for toothfish, a large, long-lived member of the Antarctic cod family but more commonly known as Chilean sea bass. Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) are fished at both South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and there is a small monitoring fishery for Antarctic toothfish (D. mawsoni) at the South Sandwich Islands. The Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) fishery operates at South Georgia during the winter months, and there is also an occasional fishery at South Georgia for mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari), a species notable for its lack of haemoglobin. 

All SGSSI fisheries are managed under the auspices of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, an international agreement established in 1982 to conserve Antarctic marine life. Under the terms of the Convention, conservation includes rational use, and an international Commission (CCAMLR) meets annually to agree a set of Conservation Measures that govern fishing activities in the Southern Ocean, including quotas, acceptable gear, reporting systems, bycatch limits, seabird & marine mammal bycatch mitigation, spatial restrictions, and a framework for research and exploratory fisheries.  

CCAMLR pioneered the ecosystem approach to fisheries management. As well as considering research and stock assessments for the target species, CCAMLR also takes into account the needs of dependent species (those that feed on the target species or are impacted by their removal from the food web), and associated species (those impacted directly by fishing, e.g. through bycatch or incidental mortality). Under the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP) there are two monitoring sites on South Georgia at Bird Island and Maiviken, where the British Antarctic Survey undertake long term monitoring of higher predators that spend significant time on land (fur seals and penguins). This allows us to detect and record significant changes within study colonies, and to distinguish between causes of change – for example, from environmental variability or potentially as a result of fishing activity.

Besides CCAMLR, GSGSSI implements further conservation measures

In addition to the CCAMLR Conservation Measures, GSGSSI then implements further, stricter requirements to deliver an even more precautionary management approach, including setting catch limits that are lower than those set by CCAMLR. Through our Marine Protected Area measures there are restrictions that further govern where, when and how vessels are allowed to fish, and our fisheries licence conditions cover a suite of requirements relating to quota allocations, vessel safety, fishing gear, bycatch mitigation, electronic monitoring, biosecurity, raising standards and scientific research. 

GSGSSI undertakes a rigorous application process for each of its fisheries to ensure that only vessels which meet our high standards are offered a license. All applications are assessed for compliance with certain minimum standards to establish a consistent operational baseline for all vessels in the fisheries, and in particular to ensure that appropriate standards of safety and compliance are met. This includes providing evidence of safety certificates, insurance certificates, sanitation certificates, records of where the vessel has operated previously, and emergency response plans. Vessels must also prove that they are compliant with the International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels.
For the fisheries with a competitive licence process, all applications that meet the minimum standards are then assessed and scored against four criteria (compliance, welfare and safety, raising fishery standards, and experience) which underpin the management of the fisheries. Once vessels have completed this process they may then be offered a license, which is contingent on passing a pre-licensing inspection by Government Officers at South Georgia where documentation, safety equipment, fishing gear, mitigation measures and a range of other criteria are all physically checked.

All vessels fishing in SGSSI must have independent scientific observers on board

As part of their license conditions, all vessels fishing in SGSSI water are required to have independent scientific observers on board who carry out specific tasks under the CCAMLR Scheme of International Scientific Observation (SISO). These tasks include collecting information on gear configuration, fishing operations, biological measurements of target and by-catch species, details of fish tagging and tag-recaptures, and vessel sightings. The observers also follow additional GSGSSI research protocols such as deploying underwater cameras and temperature sensors, completing additional seabird and marine mammal observations, and collecting samples for research projects. Data collected by observers are critical to assess ecosystem impacts of the fisheries on target species and on dependent and related species, and this underpins our entire fisheries management approach.

Once a vessel has caught their fish, GSGSSI also regulates what happens next. Krill vessels are only allowed to transship their catch with approved support vessels within Cumberland Bay, allowing Government Officers to maintain oversight of the process. Toothfish vessels can only offload their product in Stanley, Falkland Islands, under the watchful eyes of a GSGSSI catch verification team, who ensure that the amount of fish on the vessel matches the catch records submitted throughout the season, before the fish then enters the CCAMLR Catch Documentation Scheme which regulates the import/export of all toothfish catches.

GSGGSSI use multiple methods of monitoring the Maritime Zone (MZ).

Compliance and enforcement are fundamental to delivering sustainable fisheries management. This includes the prevention of Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing, often called pirate fishing, and also ensuring the licensed fleet are abiding by all CCAMLR and GSGSSI management measures. We use multiple methods of monitoring the Maritime Zone (MZ). Physical surveillance is primarily conducted by our Fisheries Patrol Vessel, the Pharos SG, which conducts regular patrolling, particularly in areas that are most vulnerable to potential IUU incursions. Government Officers will also use Pharos SG as a platform from which to undertake at-sea boardings of licensed vessels during the fishing season to carry out compliance inspections. 

In association with British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) we are also able to conduct maritime patrol flights on a regular basis, known as Operation ‘Coldstare’. The aeroplane used for these missions has sufficient endurance to cover the entire MZ, looking for IUU vessels and overflying the licensed fleet so they know we’re watching them as well. Given the significant costs involved in fishing at SGSSI, our licensed vessels don’t want to see IUU vessels taking “their fish” so they will report any suspicious activity they see, effectively creating a fleet of patrol vessels. “Eyes on the water” will however only cover a small proportion of our 1.24 million km2 MZ, so physical monitoring is supplemented by remote sensing techniques. This includes analysing vessel position (AIS) data, satellite surveillance using a range of different sensors, passive acoustic monitoring, and other new and emerging technologies.

Income generated by license fees is ploughed back into marine management

All fishing vessels operating in South Georgia waters are charged a license fee by GSGSSI which is critical in enabling us to deliver the strong environmental management that protects our MPA. The income generated by license fees is ploughed back into marine management, funding the year-round charter of our Fisheries Patrol Vessel as well as the supporting the science that underpins our sustainable fisheries.    

Environmental protection is one of the guiding values for GSGSSI, but we strongly believe that ensuring the welfare of the people who fish at South Georgia is as important as protecting the waters they sail on. Our fishing licence conditions include requirements for vessel operators to provide safe and ethical living and working conditions for all on board, and by making these conditions compulsory our aim is to drive up standards across our fleets which will hopefully then be maintained wherever else in the world the vessels may fish. 

Whilst we think we do an excellent job of managing our fisheries, it is always beneficial to have external validation of sustainability and management procedures. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an independent, non-profit organization which sets a standard for sustainable fishing, assessing 28 performance indicators under 3 core principles – Sustainable Fish Stocks, Minimizing Environmental Impact, and Effective Management. In 2004, the South Georgia toothfish fishery became the first toothfish fishery to achieve MSC certification and has consistently upheld exceptionally high scores for the past 21 years. The icefish fishery has maintained MSC status since 2010, and multiple vessels within the krill fleet also hold MSC certification.

At a time when poorly regulated fisheries and climate change threaten our oceans, South Georgia offers a hopeful alternative. By combining science, strong regulations, and international cooperation, we show how vessels can operate without harming the environment and maintain fish populations for future generations.

The ongoing sustainable management of SGSSI’s fisheries is very much a team effort, and wouldn’t be possible with the support of many different organizations, including the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), the Marine Management Organization (MMO), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Workboat Services Ltd, the Marine Resources Assessment Group (MRAG) & Capricorn Marine Environmental (CapFish), and the Blue Belt Program.