Brussels, 16/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on Thursday 16 February, the European Parliament (EP) asked the European Commission to “acknowledge the multi-functionality of the fisheries sector and the value of its production of a wide range of common goods”. With its adoption of a joint resolution (EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA, ECR) on the contribution of the common fisheries policy (CFP) to the production of public goods, the EP asks the Commission to integrate the concept of “conditionality”, which is already employed in the common agricultural policy, into the reformed CFP “in order to ensure positive discrimination for environmentally-friendly fishing practices, for example through better access to funds”.
The EP emphasises that fisheries, if properly managed, could make a greater contribution to European society, in terms of food security, employment, and the maintenance of dynamic fishing communities, and in many other ways. It states that the existence of healthy fish stocks, healthy marine ecosystems and the preservation of marine biodiversity are in themselves common goods which are only produced if fish stocks are managed in a sustainable way and any unnecessary negative impact on the environment is minimised.
It emphasises that the CFP contributes to the achievement of the targets of the EU 2020 biodiversity strategy, “by taking precautionary measures to eliminate destructive fishing, by ensuring the recovery of over-exploited fish stocks and by taking measures to protect species not targeted by fisheries”.
In economic terms, the fisheries sector, including aquaculture, is estimated to generate €34.2 billion in annual earnings and, on the social level, creates more than 350,000 jobs. The EP points out that the fisheries sector plays an important role in other areas, such as the environment, culture, gastronomy, history, literature, etc, leisure and tourism (excursions at sea, whale watching, diving, and more), science, energy and education, and, in all this, it lays stress in particular on the importance of the small-scale fishing sector.
The EP considers that the multi-functionality of the fisheries sector should be fully taken into account in the financing of the CFP and stresses that the production of these additional public goods “must not be used as an excuse to delay necessary reforms of the CFP”.
Parliament urges the Commission to “assist small fishing ports” which have been badly affected by a decline in landings as a result of overfishing.
It says that a specific policy is needed to guarantee the environmental sustainability of the aquaculture sector, and calls on the Commission to: - establish general qualitative criteria for aquaculture which should be met throughout the EU and which take into account the environmental and social impact of aquaculture; - calls, further, on the Commission to ensure that imported aquaculture products have been produced in accordance with the relevant EU sustainability and quality standards, i.e. environmental or animal welfare standards.
Furthermore, the EP says that recreational fishing should be addressed separately as part of the CFP reform process.
It emphasises that further diversification of activities directly or indirectly linked to fisheries could “help to slow down the exodus of workers from the sector, keep regional customs and traditions alive, and halt the depopulation of some coastal areas”.
In order to promote the development of parallel activities, the Parliament asks the Commission to find a legal solution which enables fishermen to develop other sources of income within the wide range of “fishery-linked activities” without being financially penalised. (LC/transl.rt)