Though different fish stocks in the North Sea are caught together at the same time they are managed on a single stock basis, primarily through the setting of Total Allowable Catches. However, individual fishers or fleets use up their quota for each stock at different rates. Under a landing obligation this leads to their fishing activity being “choked” by the stock with the most limiting quota.
This report explores the potential of four proposed multispecies-based management approaches to address this issue. This was done through simulating each management approach in a multi-stock, fleet-based model which included multiple demersal fish stocks and Norway lobster Functional Units from the North Sea.
The results show that while all the management approaches went some way to lessen choking effects, only three of the approaches also kept stock sizes at healthy levels. Moreover, some fleets benefited more than others in terms of economic sustainability. The findings presented in this report identify which of the management approaches show the greatest potential for addressing the choke effect and would therefore be suitable candidates for further refinement and evaluation.