Brussels, 10/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 10 December, the European Parliament approved the compromises reached with Council on two key parts of the common fisheries policy (CFP) reform. These are: 1) the basic regulation reforming the CFP (report by Ulrike Rodust), mainly providing for a gradual ban as of 2015 on the practice of discards at sea, stock management according to the principle of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and decentralisation of the CFP; and 2) the common market organisation (CMO) regulation in the fish products and aquaculture sector, which aims to strengthen the power of the producer organisations and ensure better consumer information on the origin of products.
During the plenary debate the day before, Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said: “If these reports are adopted, I think that Parliament will have enabled the ambitious reform that the Commission was seeking with this proposal”.
Banning discards. Discarding - the practice of throwing unwanted fish overboard - is estimated at 23% of total catches (substantially more in some fisheries). This unacceptable practice will be phased out with a precise timeline for implementation (progressively between 2015 and 2019) and in combination with some flanking measures. “De minimis” exemptions are nonetheless envisaged, not exceeding 5% of the total of annual catches of all species subject to the landing obligation. Such exemptions amount to up to 7% during the first two years that the obligation is in application (2015 and 2016) and 6% the following two years (2017 and 2018). The EP has spared no effort to avoid such derogations as far as possible.
According to the regulation, fishermen will be obliged to land all the commercial species that they catch. Residual catches of under-sized fish can generally not be sold for human consumption. This ban will be an incentive for fishermen to avoid unwanted catches by means of technical solutions, such as more selective fishing gear. Member states have to make sure that their fishing vessels are equipped to ensure detailed documentation of all activities so as to monitor compliance with the obligation to land all catches.
Sustainability. Fishing sustainably means fishing at levels that do not endanger the reproduction of stocks and at the same time maximise catches for fishermen. This level is known as the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Under the new CFP, stocks must be fished at these levels, corresponding as far as possible to MSY levels by 2015, and at the latest by 2020 for all fish stocks.
Stock recovery areas. According to the regulation, the EU should ensure protection for biologically sensitive areas (high concentrations of fish whose size is below the minimum reference size, spawning grounds). In such areas, fishing activity can be “limited or prohibited”. The Commission may, as part of a multiannual management plan (for some stocks), be empowered to create biologically sensitive protected areas.
Fishing fleet capacity. Member states will have to ensure that the fleet capacity (number and size of vessels) is in balance with the fishing opportunities. Where a member state identifies overcapacity in a fleet segment, it will develop an action plan to reduce this overcapacity. If a member state does not achieve the necessary reduction of the fleet capacity, funding under the European financial instrument may be suspended.
Decentralised governance. The new CFP brings decisions closer to the fishing grounds and clarifies the roles and obligations of each actor. It will end micro-management from Brussels: EU legislators will define the general framework, the principles and standards, the overall targets, the performance indicators and the timeframes. Member states will then cooperate at regional level and develop the actual implementing measures. When all member states concerned agree, these recommendations can be transposed into rules applicable to all fishermen concerned.
Markets. The markets regulation authorises fish product producer organisations to benefit from financial support for the storage of fish products (each producer organisation may suggest a price triggering the implementation of the storage mechanism). Compulsory information must be given on fish products (commercial denomination of the species, method of production, catch area or place where product is reared and the category of fishing gear used for catching that species, and, if the product has been defrosted after freezing, the date of minimum durability. The Commission would have liked more ambition to be shown regarding consumer information, and does not support the final compromise on this point. The Commission will, by 1 January 2015 at the latest, submit a report on the possibility of creating a system for attributing ecological labels for fish and aquaculture products. (LC/transl.jl)