Brussels, 15/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 14 December, the European Commission adopted a proposal that will allow genuinely dissuasive penalties to be imposed on Iceland and the Faroe Islands which, for some time, have been overfishing mackerel. The proposed regulation, which, on the grounds of conservation of fish stocks, contains a number of measures against countries which authorise unsustainable fishing, does not specifically target the two above-mentioned countries. The proposal will now go to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament for approval.
Once the new rules come into force, “the EU will have a new powerful tool to discourage unsustainable fishing practices swiftly and to promote international cooperation on shared fish resources”, the Commission says in a press release.
The proposed measures against non-EU countries which plunder the resources of the seas will range from restricting imports of fish products from the concerned stock and also associated fish species to prohibiting the conclusion of chartering agreements with economic operators from countries allowing non-sustainable fishing.
The framework proposed will guarantee strict compliance with international law. The Commission will carefully assess the likely environmental, trade, economic and social effects of measures and the administrative costs of their implementation. The countries concerned will be granted an opportunity to be heard before the measures are adopted, and to take corrective actions to avoid these measures.
“This is a ground-breaking measure. If backed by member states and the European Parliament, we will have for the first time an effective legal instrument to help us secure the conservation of fish stocks that the EU shares with other countries”, said Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki. She had to fight hard with her fellow commissioners to win their support for this instrument which poses a number of trade and international problems - not to mention political, as the measures could be directed against a country, Iceland, seeking accession to the EU.
Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Fisheries Richard Lochhead said that, for more than a year, “we have been asking the Commission to bring forward concrete measures for sanctions, to address excessive mackerel fishing by Faroes and Iceland outwith an international agreement. Therefore I welcome that these proposals have at last been published”. “We need to explore all options as we seek a resolution and with a sanctions proposal on the table that can be applied against any country engaging in unsustainable fishing. This would give the EU more leverage when talks resume in January, while providing added incentive for Faroes and Iceland to negotiate reasonably”, he went on to say. He hoped that an international agreement on arrangements for fishing mackerel would be reached in 2012, while underlining the importance of having the power to use sanctions, if that were to prove necessary.
In 2011 the Faroe Islands unilaterally set themselves a mackerel catch of 150,000 tonnes, up 75% on 2010 and more than five times their internationally agreed share in 2009. Meanwhile, Iceland, which caught very little mackerel prior to 2008, set its own increased TAC of around 147,000 tonnes earlier this year.
Addressing EU fisheries ministers on Thursday, Damanaki spoke of the mackerel talks with Iceland, making clear that, for the moment, she hoped for agreement through negotiation, though, she said, it would be useful to have a measure that could be used if talks failed. France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Denmark all expressed support for the proposal. (LC/transl.rt)