Brussels, 28/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) backs the 2015 deadline for bringing in management of fish stocks according to the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) criteria, and measures to tackle discarding fish at sea, but is severe in its criticism on proposals to bring in individual transferable concessions (market for fish quotas). That is what comes out of the EESC opinion on European Commission proposals for the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP) adopted in plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday 28 March.
Rapporteur Gabriel Sarro Iparraguirre said that the social dimension is not taken sufficiently into account in the Commission's proposals and he summarised the points of the opinion on which there is general agreement: - the balance between the economic, social and environmental pillars has to be maintained for there to be sustainable fishing; - the EESC supports the objective of managing fish stocks according to the MSY; - the principle of relative stability (allocating fishing quotas in accordance with previous fishing record) should be reviewed; - the issue of discards must be tackled but a gradual approach must be taken; - the EESC is against individual transferable quotas (a sort of market in fishing rights among private companies), on the grounds that fishing rights should be managed solely by the member states; - the dialogue between scientists and fishermen has to be maintained; - the definition of small-scale fishing (12-metre vessels or less) needs to be reviewed.
The EESC is keen to avoid unfair competition on the EU market and argues that imported products must meet the same conditions as European products in terms of requirements on health, hygiene and control (full traceability from sea to plate).
With regard to the management of fishing capacity, the EESC believes that the Commission should carry out a detailed assessment of fishing capacity, by 2014 at the latest, covering not only power and tonnage, but also types of fishing gear and other vessel characteristics, and that, on the basis of this assessment, member states should be obliged to align fishing capacity with available resources. The Committee considers it crucial for ecosystem-based fisheries management that data collection include the greatest possible amount of environmental data in accordance with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the GES (Good Environmental Status) criteria.
The EESC welcomes the proposal to include a transparency clause in future fishing agreements with non-EU countries.
EESC President Staffan Nilsson said he hoped that, little by little, sustainable fishing would be achieved. Fishermen, he said, need it because there have to be fish in the sea.
In an opinion, the EESC approved the European Commission proposal to end exemptions from the ban on “finning”, a practice consisting of cutting off the fins of sharks before throwing the body back into the sea.
The Committee is concerned, however, about the economic and social consequences of these measures and feels that more appropriate, alternative methods should be sought to ensure compliance with the ban on finning without seriously affecting the profitability of businesses and the safety of crew members. The EESC suggests the following alternative measures: - an obligation to land bodies and fins in the same port; - abolishing special permits for the wet fish fleet; - authorising special permits for freezer vessels provided that they use a traceability mechanism which guarantees the link between bodies and fins that are landed; - the introduction in all Regional Fisheries Organisations (RFOs) of a statistical document programme for the shark fin trade. (LC/transl.rt)