Brussels, 12/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - It is on 13 July that the European Commission will unveil its legislative proposals on the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP), sources revealed on Tuesday 12 April. “The prime objective of my mandate is to leave fish stocks in a better condition for future generations. We have more than 72% overfishing in the EU and we urgently need to readjust towards more sustainable policies and legislation. This is why we are now preparing a proposal for a new fisheries policy. I intend to present it this July”, said Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki at a press conference on Tuesday 12 April.
Answering a question from a journalist, she stated that the first watchword will be moving towards sustainable fishing. Another aim of the reform will be to bring about greater regionalisation (and decentralisation) of decisions and radical changes, such as eliminating discarding fish, and “ideas” for simplifying the CFP. (L.C./transl.rt)