Brussels, 14/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 14 May, the European Commission adopted a proposal to bring in a total ban on all types of driftnets being kept on board fishing vessels or used, with effect from 1 January 2015.
This plan would cover all fishing vessels and all EU waters. The Commission is also proposing to introduce a revised and more detailed definition of driftnets, in order to plug any gaps in existing legislation.
Maria Damanaki, the European Commissioner for Fisheries, has the bit firmly between her teeth on this dossier, and has suddenly decided to put the subject on the agenda of the meeting of the Commission this Wednesday. She believes that although it is banned in most cases, the practice of driftnet fishing continues to be a cause of concern as the use of these nets (small driftnets are still allowed) leads to accidental catches of marine animals, sea turtles and sea birds which are mostly protected under EU legislation.
“Fishing with driftnets destroys marine habitats, endangers marine wildlife and threatens sustainable fisheries”, Damanaki stressed. She is convinced that the only way to eradicate this once and for all is to have “clear rules which leave no room for interpretation”. “We need to close any possible loopholes and simplify control and enforcement by national authorities”, the Commissioner explained. She argues that this ban will safeguard the livelihood of those fishermen who have applied the rules over the past years. “The ban sends out a clear message that we no longer tolerate any irresponsible practices”, Damanaki stressed.
The Commission believes that banning driftnets responds to the rules of the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Depending on the priorities of the member states, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) could be used to pay aid to fishermen during the transition period towards a total ban, provided that specific conditions are fulfilled.
Since 2002, all drift nets, irrespective of their size, have been banned for the purposes of catching the species listed in annex VIII to regulation (EC) 894/97 of the Council, such as tuna and swordfish.
The Commission takes the view that the current legislative framework of the Union on driftnets has “shown weaknesses, as it is easy to get round the rules currently in force”. The fact that there are no EU rules on the characteristics of the fishing gears (maximum mesh size) and their use (maximum distance from the coast, immersion time, fishing seasons, etc), combined with the possibility of having other fishing gears on board, has allowed fishermen to use driftnets illegally to catch species using banned fishing gears, as they are able to claim that they caught them using a different gear (longliners, for example), the Commission explains in its proposal.
Furthermore, the illegal use of driftnets continues to be reported in the waters of the EU. Cases of serious violations by certain member states have also been the subject of rulings of the Court of Justice of the European union, against France (C-556/07 and C-479/07) and Italy (C-249/08).
The Commission notes that fishermen create strategies to get round the controls. Small driftnets are still allowed and the loopholes in Union legislation make it easier to use these illegally.
Impact analysis. The Commission notes that the full ban on driftnets fishing is supported by more than 52% of those who responded to the public consultation, including fishermen's associations and NGOs. Most driftnet fishing activities reported are seasonal. Fleets which actively take part in these are multi-purpose and consist of at least 840 vessels (not including the Baltic Sea), spread over a large area. For most fishermen, driftnet fishing represents only a few months of fishing activity in the course of a year, with some of them using these nets for fewer than 15 days a year. “Consequently, a total ban on using driftnets is unlikely to bring about a corresponding reduction in the number of fishermen, who will continue to do their job using other fishing gears already authorised on their fishing licence”.
For the fleets for which data are available, as is the case with the British fleet, for example, the total value of landings from small driftnets, or around 250 vessels, represented 0.14% of the total value of the United Kingdom's landings in 2011. In Italy, where a smaller number of active vessels - around 100 - is registered, the economic importance of driftnets is very low at a national level (0.8% of the value and 1.3% of the weight of all landings), even though the landed value represents between 20% and 55% (up to 90% for a given fishery) of the turnover generated by these vessels. However, the financial benefits of using driftnets are highly variable, from 1% to 54% of the turnover generated by the vessels, with an average of 22% for all driftnet fishing activities carried out by Italian vessels. (LC)