Brussels, 14/03/2014 (Agence Europe) -On Friday 14 March, the EU and the ministers of the United States, Japan, the Philippines, Colombia and Indonesia signed a joint statement in Thessaloniki on efforts to be made to promote a sustainable management of fishing capability at global level.
The signatory countries reiterate the international commitments already made (in particular, an FAO action plan was approved in 1999) and stress the need to act to reduce fishing capacity, a source explained to EUROPE. The statement calls for the creation of a global register of fishing vessels and for data on stocks and fleet capacity to be improved in order better to manage fishing capacity.
The EU has cut the size of its fleet by 25% since 2000, European Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki pointed out. “With around 87% of the world's fisheries overexploited, global action to address the problem of overcapacity is essential to restoring some of the world's fisheries”, comments the NGO Oceana. Greenpeace has welcomed this step, but argues that it is high time for the governments to move from words to deeds by setting in place actions to reduce overcapacity, in order to ensure a sustainable future for fisheries and fishermen around the world. (LC)