Brussels, 05/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Reining in the over-zealousness of the European Commission in the proposal relating to certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) agreement area: that is the goal of the report by Gabriel Mato (EPP, Spain) which is due to be put to the vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday 13 January.
The proposal aims to transpose GFCM recommendations into Community law. However, according to the Parliament's fisheries committee, the proposal ignores national measures that are already in place. Member states which have already transposed these recommendations should not be required to submit requests to the Commission for derogations provided for by the GFCM, amendments argue.
The proposal is in many cases stricter than the GFCM recommendations. For example, it bans the use of remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) for the exploitation of red coral after 2014, whereas the relevant GFCM recommendation does not preclude ROV use where scientific advice permits it. The GFCM recommendation allows the use of ROVs for experimental scientific programmes until 2016. Parliament amendments ease the rule on the swift release back into the water of sea turtles accidentally caught in fishing gear. Similar relaxation has to be applied, Parliament says, to cases where vessels using purse seines or surrounding nets have accidentally captured sea turtles. Equally, the reporting obligation should not apply to vessels that are not obliged to keep a logbook. (LC)