Brussels, 17/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - The association of national organisations of fishing enterprises in the EU (Europêche) and the fisheries division of COPA-COGECA take the view that the European Commission has presented proposed quotas for 2013 in the Atlantic and North Sea “that either go beyond the scientific opinions or use the most negatively ranking of these, in so doing once again giving privileged position to the recommendations of the environmentalists to the detriment of economic and social factors”. The reductions in TAC (total allowable catch) for many stocks will certainly affect the viability of undertakings in the sector and lead to a reduction in the number of jobs across the entire industry, the professionals argue. The Fisheries Council on the 2013 quotas opens this Tuesday 18 December (see EUROPE 10752).
Europêche and COPA-COGECA consider that the Commission's objective of achieving, by 2015, sustainable levels of exploitation of all stocks (maximum sustainable yield) “has no fundamental justification”. The ongoing discussions on the reform of the CFP (common fisheries policy) show, these organisations feel, that there is now a desired flexibility with respect to this objective to be obtained between now and 2020.
For many years, Europêche and COPA-COGECA, supported by the entire European fisheries sector inter-profession, “have constantly reminded those concerned that cuts of more than 15% in TACs and/or fishing effort from one year to another were economically totally unbearable, the more so when little scientific data are available or where data is simply lacking”.
Europêche and COPA-COGECA observe with concern the Commission's desire to drastically reduce the TACs for different stocks: - anglerfish (-20% to -38% depending on the fishing zones); - blue ling (-20%); - cod (-20% to -25% depending on the fishing zones); common sole (-20% to -80% in certain fishing zones); - haddock (-20% to -55% depending on the fishing zones); - hake (-32%);
- herring (-18% to -20% depending on the fishing zones); - megrims (-20% to -40% in certain fishing zones); - Norway lobster (-18% to -21% in certain fishing zones); - plaice (-19% to -36% depending on the fishing zones); - pollack, saithe, sole, sprat and whiting (-20%).
Here are the principal demands of Europêche and COPA-COGECA:
Anglerfish (zones VII and VIII abde): according to scientific reports, the 2012 quotas could be maintained in 2013, given the upward trend of the biomass. They therefore ask to maintain a certain consistency in the management of this species and not make any reduction in the TAC for 2013.
Cod: a 20% reduction “will only increase discards and will not be welcomed by fishermen”. They therefore propose a rollover of the 2012 TAC to 2013.
Hake (zones VII and VIII abde): the real state of the stock is different from that presented by the Commission: the biomass is rising sharply, reaching its highest level since 1978. To be consistent, a moderate increase in the TAC is therefore requested.
Haddock (Celtic Sea): the biomass is abundant and the professionals therefore oppose a 55% cut in catch.
Common sole (Bay of Biscay): the proposed reduction is “incomprehensible”.
Megrim (VII and VIII abde): according to scientific reports, the 2012 quotas could be maintained in 2013, given the upward trend of the biomass.
Warning from the WWF
The NGO WWF has called on the Council to follow the scientific advice rather than the short-term interests of the profession. A study by the WWF shows that over the last decade, scientific opinions have been followed by the European Fisheries Ministers in just 13% of cases. The fishing quotas as laid down by the Council of Ministers of the EU have, on average, been 45% higher than recommended by the scientific opinions. “Which means that the ministers approved fishing off 6.2 million extra tons of fish, (…) this is legalised overfishing”, the NGO laments.
Roberto Ferrigno, of the European office of the WWF, commented: “We expect the Council this year to follow scientific logic and not the short-term interests of a few in setting the annual quotas. Over the past nine years, fisheries ministers have only followed scientific advice one out of 10 times. We see the consequences of this bad decision-making in the depleted state of our fish stocks. We hope this year will be different”.
The WWF went on to lay emphasis on the need to respect the scientific opinions and adopt multi-annual management plans, and stressed the damage caused by the quota race at the end-of-year Fisheries Councils. (LC/transl.fl)