Brussels, 08/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Just 1% of the subsidies to the fisheries sector paid in the form of state aid since 2000 have been judged to be good for the marine environment, according to a report published on Monday 8 July by the NGO Oceana. 65% are deemed to be ecologically damaging.
The study, State Aid, the Hidden Subsidies, shows that the countries of the EU spent €4.9 billion in subsidies in the form of state aid to the fisheries sector. Of this total, just 1% of the public funds can be identified as being favourable to the marine environment. Additionally, Oceana points out that, since 2000, the EU has spent €8 billion on the fisheries sector, notably to reduce fishing capacity whilst modernising vessels.
Oceana puts public aid to fisheries into three categories: the good, the bad and the ugly. Of the 450 cases of state aid studied, 65% come under either bad or ugly, and less than 1% went to subsidies that benefited the marine environment by allowing fish stocks to grow or increasing checks and data collection. The study shows that 75% of this state aid comes from Spain (€1.9 billion, 48% of which is deemed to be bad for the environment), France (€663 million euros, of which just 1% directly benefited the marine environment and 29% of which had harmful effects on the environment), Italy (€662 million euros, 62% of which were used for purposes judged to be ambiguous) and Ireland (€303 million, 38% of which was harmful to the environment).
Oceana calls on the EU to “stop the vicious cycle of overfishing and overcapitalisation”, against the backdrop of the debate on the adoption of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The organisation argues that the EU should exclude subsidies which are harmful to the environment and which have the effect of strengthening fishing capacity and increase controls and investment in scientific research. (LC/transl.fl)