Brussels, 29/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - The main priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers are reforming the common fisheries policy (CFP), reforming the way the markets for fisheries products are managed by the EU, several year plans for stocks of fish like anchovy, horse mackerel and Northern hake stocks, and eco-labelling of fish products. Elena Espinosa, Spain's minister for the environment, the countryside and the marine environment, unveiled on Thursday 28 January a programme for the next months that contained little of surprise. She refused to be drawn on controversial issues like referring decisions to the regional level, and individual saleable fishing quotas.
CFP reform. The Spanish Presidency wants to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the CFP and EU's future policy to manage and preserve fish stocks, which has to take a joined-up approach to environmental policy and maritime policy, explained Espinosa. Several discussions will be held on this topic in the first six months of the year.
Five year plans. Special criteria need to be introduced for the fishing of anchovy off the Bay of Biscay because the fish stock is desperately depleted (fishing of anchovy was banned there in 2005 and has only just re-opened), explained the Spanish minister. The anchovy fishing fleet is not huge but it has a big impact on the fish processing industry on the coast. When it comes to horse mackerel, the Spanish Presidency hopes agreement will be reached by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament during the Spanish Presidency once disagreements about the areas covered by the stock management plan have been ironed out. On Northern hake, the recovery plan that has been in place for a number of years has managed to stabilise the stock. The plan has to be reviewed but scientific advice will not be available until March this year.
The minister pointed out that in the future, the CFP has to ensure sustainable fishing and ensure decent earnings for fishermen so that people can continue to live in coastal areas.
The chair of the EP's fisheries committee, Carmen Fraga Estévez (EPP, Spain), asked the minister what she thought of the EP environment committee's view that bluefin tuna should be covered by Annex 1 to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES). Espinosa said the Commission would soon be publishing its views and as chair of the Council of Ministers, Espinosa herself recommended to wait and see what the Commission says. Later, the issue can be discussed at the Council of Ministers, she added.
Antonello Antinoro (EPP, Italy) asked what the Spanish Presidency was planning to do to ensure that fishermen from countries around the Mediterranean toed the line and respected fishing rules. Espinosa said that regional fisheries organisations existed to this end.
Ulrike Rodust (S&D, Germany) asked the Spanish minister about the EU's integrated maritime policy and measures to be taken to reduce the size of the fishing fleet. Espinosa explained recent history, how fishermen had made a lot of effort in recent years to improve the image of fishing and had agreed to the idea of sustainable fisheries. She said the fishermen hugely supported rules to tackle illegal fishing and also supported long-term plans to restore fish stocks (because they enable the fishermen to plan their work and earn more in the long-term by preventing fish from going extinct). The new factor these days is that fishing also has to respect the environment, has to be sustainable and has an impact on ecosystems, said Espinosa. Fishing should not be blamed for all the problems because transport, industry and other activities also impacted on the sea. Work is needed at all levels, she added, and this should be possible under the joined-up maritime policy.
Pat the Cope Gallagher (ALDE, Ireland) called for uniformity in the fines imposed on fishermen breaking the rules because there is already uniformity in inspecting fishing. Espinosa said she was prepared to discuss the issue but pointed out that EU member states do not agree among themselves in the talks on fisheries inspections, disagreeing on harmonised fines. The minister said that there should be some kind of coherence in the fines.
Raül Romeva i Rueda (Greens/EFA, Spain) brought up the fisheries agreement with Morocco, which needs to be adjusted, particularly in terms of the scope of the agreement. EU fishing vessels are reported to be fishing in some areas without the local population benefitting in the slightest. The Spanish minister said the joint EU-Morocco committee on implementation of the fisheries agreement would be meeting in Rabat, Morocco, next week and it was on that committee that solutions to the problems raised by Romeva i Rueda could be found. She promised to keep the EP informed of progress.
Marek Józef Gróbarczyk (ECR, Poland) asked Espinosa what she thought of CFP reform decisions being taken at regional level. The Spanish Presidency does not want the CFP to be returned to the member states because this would spell the end of a European policy as such, explained the minister. Espinosa said that the CFP should take account of differences in different areas as far as possible but did not want each fishing vessel to be covered by different legislations. She said the right approach was to improve the way Regional Advisory Councils operated or to set up new bodies with a similar aim.
Struan Stevenson (ECR, UK) said that now that 80% of fish stocks are over-fished, why on earth should money go to updating fleets and should it be the market that dictates where cash is spent? In response, Espinosa asked a different question: Are fishermen not entitled to work in better conditions than in the past, particularly when it comes to safety?
A new look at fishing quotas.
Alain Cadec (EPP, France) asked what the Spanish Presidency thought about the idea of making fishing quotas transferable (Ed: Cadec does not want transferable fishing quotas to be used by small-scale and family fishing because it would not be to the benefit of the industry). Espinosa took a cautious approach, saying that the transferable quotas could work well, depending on the size of the ships involved. She admitted that such quotas could cause problems to small-scale fishing.
Espinosa gave a few details about Spain's big battle over its predominance in fishing. She told the MEPs that there should be a review of the relative stability of fishing quotas (allocating them in line with previous years' catches) and policy of quota management based on total allowable catches. Spain is isolated on the issue of a root-and-branch overhaul of the fishing quota system. (L.C./transl.fl)