Brussels, 29/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - The differences among EU fisheries ministers on various issues in the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP) - and, in particular, on the future of the system of total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas - were clear for all to see in Luxembourg on Tuesday 29 June. The European Commission will hold a major conference on the reform in November, before bringing forward its proposals for amending CFP rules around June 2011. France, Germany and Poland presented a joint statement (see EUROPE Document 2537) on the reform of the CFP, with which Ireland has associated itself.
European Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki gave a somewhat bleak presentation of the current situation and warned that the CFP could not continue to be managed as it was. If the same measures were applied in the future, then, by 2022: - of 136 species of fish, only eight stocks will be healthy; - 94% of stocks will be fished at levels above the maximum sustainable yield (MSY); - more than 30% of fish stocks will be threatened with extinction. She noted, too, the serious economic situation in the sector, with its negative social impact, such as the use by ship owners of cheaper labour from outside the EU. Between 1990 and 2010, 70% of the jobs in the fishing industry have disappeared.
Poland, Germany, France and Ireland in particular oppose the creation of a European quota market (transferable quotas). The Commission, however, believes that transferable quotas would solve the problems of overcapacity, without any need for public funds. Damanaki repeated that, in future, she did not want to commit any Community funding to vessel decommissioning, believing that such programmes had not met their objectives. Italy, it is thought, backed the Commission on this, while France, Ireland and Poland felt that funding had to be made available for fleet adjustment. Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (and also the Spanish delegation) supported the idea of transferable quotas.
The Commission believes that the issue of discards could be resolved by replacing certain quotas with fishing effort measures (time at sea and types of gear used). Several countries, however, took the view that catch quotas should remain the principal system for managing fishing resources. Only Spain came out clearly for ending quotas.
All the delegations supported the idea of greater decision making at regional level (a sea basin level, for example) and of protecting small-scale coastal fishing. Landlocked eastern European countries, such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia, said they had to be allowed to further develop their aquaculture.
Fishing opportunities for 2011. The Council held an exchange of views on the Commission communication of 18 May (see EUROPE 10140) on fishing opportunities for 2011. The Commission noted the state of stocks and spoke of possible new rules on setting certain TACs. Most countries said that a reduction in quotas could not be justified when there was no scientific evidence of a reduction in the stocks concerned. Several countries highlighted the need to work towards maximum sustainable yield targets and advocated regional scientific instruments which would mean that the state of the resource could be assessed area by area.
Mackerel. At the request of Ireland, supported by the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Poland, Germany, Denmark and Spain, ministers discussed progress in negotiations with Iceland and the Faroe Islands on the management of mackerel in the North-East Atlantic. At the start of 2010 the EU and Norway concluded a 10-year agreement on allocation of fishing opportunities for mackerel (see EUROPE 10065). Iceland and the Faroe islands did not, however, join the agreement and allocated themselves very large mackerel quotas (130,000 and 90,000 tonnes respectively in 2010, when the total amount of mackerel for all coastal states is 572,000 tonnes). The Irish have asked the Commission to step up negotiations with these two countries so that an agreement on the management of mackerel might be reached. The Commission has promised to do all it can to achieve this result. Some member states wanted sanctions to be brought against Iceland and the Faroe Islands, claiming they were engaging in illegal fishing by claiming outrageously high rights.
The Commission informed the Council of delays in the implementation of the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) for the period from 2007 to 2013. Only 5% of the budget has in fact been implemented, compared with 20% of the cohesion policy budget. (L.C./transl.rt)