Brussels, 12/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 11 September, MEPs voted for the adoption of safeguard measures by the EU for the European eel, which is threatened with extinction through overfishing and pollution.
By adopting (427 votes in favour, 249 against and 25 abstentions) the report by Isabella Lövin (Greens/EFA, Sweden) on eel stocks, MEPs call on the European Commission to table a draft law by March 2014, including sanctions against the member states that delay in providing the data needed to assess the stocks.
The European eel - the stock of which has declined by at least 95% in the past 30 years according to scientific estimates - “is critically endangered and the member states are doing too little to save it”, said Lövin. New rules must “close the loopholes in the current legislation which have led to the continued overfishing and unsustainable trade in eels”, she added.
MEPs call on the Commission to evaluate the current restocking measures of the member states by the end of the year, in order to save the species. Only two European countries - Ireland and Norway - have until now banned the fishing of eel - an option which, in Lövin's opinion, should remain among those on the table.
The Parliament also calls on the states to report more often (every two years and not every six) on the impact of eel stock management measures. If they do not comply with the reporting, they risk seeing their catch right reduced.
The protection of this species - the habits of which are still little known by scientists - comes up against much uncertainty, both with regard to the reasons for, and ways of confronting, its rarefication, and with regard to the real breadth of its fishing and trade.
Lövin has obtained a report from the Commission which notes a “significant increase in illegal trade over the last two years”. The eel is greatly prized by the Asian market, where it commands a high price. Using the latest scientific estimates on the state of the stock, which are expected in November 2013, the Commission will table a report by the end of the year on the effectiveness of the national management plans, said European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Maria Damanaki. In Alain Cadec's opinion (EPP, France), who voted against the report, there is no need to be alarmist. He believes that “the weight given to the environmentalist arguments is out of proportion with the real threat to this stock and the preservation measures already taken”. “This report calls on the Commission for a new proposal on the recovery plan by March 2014, as well as a review of the national plans every two years. I find these measures pointless - and even counterproductive. Although it is of great importance to preserve the eel stock, which is an environmental marker, it should not be forgotten that a multitude of other factors have a direct impact of the eel population - harnessing the power of water, parasites, dispersion, pollution, obstacles to migration and the channelling of estuaries”, Cadec said. With regard to the efforts made by the glass eel fishing industry to adapt to the 2007 plan, “we must not impose further constraints on them”. “The French sector is one of the best managed. It will doubtless reach its objective of a 60% reduction in the species' mortality by 2015. Additional restrictions would weaken this fast changing sector”, Cadec concluded (our translation). (LC/transl.fl)