Brussels, 18/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Atlantic Arc Commission of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) has expressed concern about the future of the fishing industry in the maritime regions. It believes that the European Commission's proposals on the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP), presented on Wednesday 13 July, do not meet the expectations of the maritime regions.
“After two years of talks between the European Commission, member states, NGOs and representatives from the fishing sector, things have failed to meet our expectations today, since the solutions proposed in terms of modernisation, innovation and safety on board vessels fall short of the requirements of the European fleet”, stated Rosa Quintana Carballo, the Galician maritime affairs minister (Spain). She regretted, too, the lack of explicit aid for all sustainable fishing activities, including small-scale fishing.
The CPMR believes that fishing gear selectivity measures are essential for reducing discards, but that landing all catches poses a number of problems. The maritime regions fear, in particular, that the economic outlets (processing into animal meals) proposed by the European Commission for undersized fish will make it impossible to meet the initial environmental objective. They also regret the proposed model of governance, since it corresponds to a “renationalisation of the CFP without giving the regions the possibility to play a role, especially in analysing and managing fisheries, equal to the social and economic challenges they represent in the European fisheries sector”. The fact that they are not included as full members in the Regional Advisory Committees (RACs) is one illustration of this.
Vice-President of Brittany Regional Council (France) Isabelle Thomas was hoping that the Commission would “introduce a frame of reference for sustainable fisheries as well as a legislative framework for the creation of a European quality label for fisheries, shell-fishing and aquaculture products”. The CPMR is also calling for fish imports into Europe to be subject to the same health and environment norms as European products. (L.C./transl.rt)