Brussels, 15/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission hopes that an agreement may be reached by the end of this year, under the Italian Presidency, on the proposal to bring in a ban on driftnet fishing, which is practised mostly in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, in 2015 (see EUROPE 11079).
Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Fisheries, reminded a small group of journalists on Wednesday 15 May that this fishing gear works like a vertical wall, unselectively trapping all marine wildlife in the area where it is deployed.
The Commission justifies its position in favour of abolishing the practice, which has already been adopted by the United States and Australia, amongst others, on the grounds of the “loopholes” in the regime in place. Since 1992, the current rules have banned all driftnets of more than 2.5 km in length. Since 2002, the use of these gears has been banned for the purpose of catching a range of vulnerable species, such as bluefin tuna and swordfish.
However, as small driftnets are still authorised to catch sardines and anchovies, for instance, it is easy for fishermen to get round the law and extremely hard for the states to impose effective checks, the Commission explains. Consequently, driftnets are also used illegally to catch tunas and swordfish.
Damanaki explained that driftnets were used mainly by Italy (a case before the Court of Justice of the EU has recently concluded), Slovenia and the countries fishing in the Black Sea (Romania and Bulgaria). France still makes limited use of them, as do the United Kingdom and Portugal. The Commission is not aware of any use of these gears by Spanish vessels.
Economic impact of ban expected to be marginal. According to Damanaki, between 800 and 3,000 EU fishing vessels practise this seasonal fishery, not including the Baltic Sea, where a full ban has been in place since 2008. The Commission believes that the negative economic fallout of the ban will be marginal and the effects on employment negligible. However, its calculations are based only on the estimation of legal activity rather than on the actual profit turned by the illegal practices it aims to get rid of. The commissioner said that the fishermen in question could receive financial support to change their fishing gears of up to 85% of the costs, under the new common fisheries policy.
Under its Presidency of the Council of the EU, Italy hopes to put the proposal on the agenda of a ministerial meeting. The Commission therefore has reason to hope that there will be in agreement on this text by the end of 2014. “We have had interesting signals from the Council, as it will be a relief in some quarters no longer to have to control” these practices, the commissioner explained. The countries which fish in the Baltic Sea (Germany, the Scandinavian countries and the Baltic states) are in favour of the ban, as it is already in place in the Baltic.
Next week, Damanaki also plans to ask third countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean (Libya and Turkey in particular) to join the ban on this method of fishing. She reiterated that in the Mediterranean, 90% of fish stocks are overfished, compared to 50% in the Atlantic and Baltic.
Cautious welcome from NGOs. The proposal received a mixed welcome from environmentalists. Although the American foundation Pew sees it as a way to put an end to poaching at sea, particularly for bluefin tuna, Oceana felt that the approach was “the wrong one”. “The measures proposed (…) could penalise thousands of sustainable artisanal fishing boats (…) rather than targeting the few vessels that have continued illegal fishing activities”, the NGO states in a press release.
The NGO Greenpeace told EUROPE that the proposal confirmed the “EU's intention to put an end to destructive and/or illegal fishing activities”. Greenpeace criticised the inability of the national authorities, particularly those of Italy, to enforce the existing bans. In order for the recommended ban to be effective, the organisation believes that the national governments and the EU must “step up controls and take the necessary measures against vessels fishing illegally”. (LC)