Brussels, 28/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - In order to reach an agreement on the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP), a number of issues, such as the ban on discards, the environmental dimension and the multi-annual management plans for certain species require an in-depth examination, European fisheries ministers conceded on Monday 28 January. Simon Conveney, the Irish minister, reiterated his aim to reach a political agreement on the reform of the CFP by the end of June, with talks with the European Parliament on market measures due to start in February. He called on the Council to conclude the general approach to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) in April. “There is a head of steam we need to capitalise on”, said Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki.
According to the French minister, Frédéric Cuvillier, a “good agreement” will require the balance reached by the Council on maximum sustainable yield (MSY), discards, multi-annual management plans, extremely remote regions and aid to the fleet and start-up aid for young people to be respected. This view was shared by his Spanish counterpart in particular. Germany's representative said that progress must be made in dialogue with the European Parliament “in order to respect what was decided by the Council in June 2012”. The United Kingdom observed that “there is still much work to be done”.
Ban on discards. As regards the details for phasing out discards, the new policy in this area must “respect the fishing opportunities the member states currently have”, said Spanish Minister Miguel Arias Canete. He argued that the ban on discards should not bring about any reduction in fishing quotas. If this objective is not achieved, “we will not be able to accept the reform”, Spain stressed. The country called for a harmonisation of TACs to take account of the obligation to land all catch. There should also be pilot projects to look at the composition of catch. This may presuppose having to postpone the date of entry into force of the ban on discards, Canete stressed. Spain called for tolerance on the obligation to land all catch: de minimis exemption, flexibility of 15%, creation of a by-catch “stock exchange” for “inevitable accidental catch”.
France feels that this plan should apply only to species covered by a TAC (total allowable catch) and quotas and species subject to minimum size in the Mediterranean. The committee on fisheries of the EP recommends a phasing-out of discards for all species caught and regulated species. France also argued in favour of a credible timetable to allow fishermen to adapt to these rules. “A ban on discards from 2014 for certain stocks does not seem realistic”, the French minister said. This, however, is what the EP fisheries committee has voted for, recommending several phases for the ban (2014, 2016 and 2017). The Council had been working on the basis of an end to discards staggered between 2015 and 2018. France also called for: - an increase of quotas, respecting relative stability, in the framework of the implementation of the landing requirement; - “de mininis exemption levels” (10%) adapted to the reality of each fishery, to be determined when setting the management plans in place; - the introduction of inter-annual flexibility mechanisms (15%), to make it easier to set this obligation in place. France is against bringing in quotas for by-catch, which it feels would jeopardise relative stability, but accepts the idea of a voluntary trading mechanism.
“We are in favour of strong measures to ban discards. But it appears that the EP has an extremely ambitious position. We have to take account of this in the Council's position”, said Germany. Portugal urged “flexible solutions” on the end of discards, taking account of the specific nature of the various fisheries. It spoke in favour of pilot projects on this, involving scientists and fishermen. The de minimis exemption levels need to be increased from 5% to 10%, according to Portugal. The country also called for quotas to be adapted to take account of the obligation to land all fish. “We need to ban discards with set deadlines”, the British minister said. But, he added, we must not “underestimate the challenges” in implementing this ban, particularly in the case of mixed fisheries. This comment was also echoed by Denmark. Estonia believes that the end of discards should start as soon as possible. It will apply from 2014 for salmon in the Baltic Sea.
Multi-annual plans. The Council must ensure that it respects its prerogatives when it comes to laying down fishing opportunities, said France. The country argued that the various options to resolve the difference of opinion between the Council and the EP should be discussed with the latter. “We need to resolve the problems” on these plans, agreed Germany. The UK said it was certain that a solution could be found. “We are open to dialogue, but we must not link progress on the reform to concessions that would run counter to the Treaty of Lisbon”, the Spanish Minister however warned.
Environment. The United Kingdom “cannot accept” the current text (Article 12 of the basic regulation). It believes that the wording needs to be “tightened up” to allow the member states to set in place non-discriminatory measures allowing them to protect marine zones and to prevent dangerous fishing operations. The CFP must not be subordinate to other thematic policies, the French minister warned, adding (as his Spanish colleague also did) that there must be no form of repatriation of the CFP. He argued that when a state plans to adopt framework measures for fishing activities in special protection zones which could affect the historic rights of another state, these measures should be taken at European level. Spain and Portugal called for a balance to be reached between the socio-economic dimension on the one hand and the environmental dimension on the other.
EMFF. United Kingdom feels that the tax payer's money should be used properly on an objective basis, “rather than maintaining historic allocations”. France called for the actual consumption level of the current fund (EFF 2007-2013) to be one of the criteria for dividing up the EMFF (2014-2020). However, this criterion (historic consumption) is of concern to the new member states and Portugal. This latter favours taking account of the exclusive economic zone, historic allocations and the weight of small-scale fisheries. The EMFF should focus on innovation, the Netherlands argued. We should concentrate on small coastal fisheries, added Italy. (LC/transl.fl)