Brussels, 12/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - As we anticipated (see EUROPE 11268), the European Parliament called, on Thursday 12 March, for the creation of a management plan for fishing activities for seabass. It has suggested a number of options, whilst the European Commission is discussing the measures to be taken with the member states.
“I now call upon the European Commission to launch a public consultation on seabass in order to propose a proper management plan for this species”, said Alain Cadec (EPP, France), chair of the committee on fisheries of the European Parliament.
In its adoption of the resolution submitted by the committee on fisheries of the EP (which was not modified in the plenary vote), the EP takes the view that in order to draft a multi-annual management plan for seabass, various management measures on commercial fisheries should be evaluated, particularly bringing in a TAC (total allowable catch) and the need for a science-based decision on minimum landing size and bans in specific areas or during certain periods, as well as other technical measures.
The EP recognises the problems that the introduction of a TAC would generate, particularly as regards the calculation of historical catches, the distribution of quotas at national level between the different activities and the difficulty of covering recreational fisheries. However, in the light of the absolute necessity of dealing with the state of seabass stocks, it stresses that such a measure must be looked into. The MEPs consider that the European Union should take measures on recreational fishing, laying down quantitative limitations, “the shape of which remains to be defined”.
Commissioner Johannes Hahn (speaking instead of the Commissioner for Fisheries, who was not present in Strasbourg) pointed out that seabass stocks have been on the decline since 2012. The Commission has proposed to bring in total allowable catches (TAC), but the countries failed to agree on dividing the quotas up between themselves. In November 2014, the Commission proposed alternative management measures (limiting the number of days at sea for fishermen targeting seabass, freezing the number of commercial fishery licences and restrictions for recreational fishing). The Council failed to reach an agreement on these measures in December of last year.
In view of the worrying state of the stock, on 26 January of this year the Commission adopted a regulation banning vessels fishing with bottom trawls from holding on board, transferring, trans-shipping or landing seabass, until the end of April 2015. The Commission has proposed other measures to manage seabass stocks in 2015 (see EUROPE 11239). For recreational fishing, which represents 25% of seabass catches, the Commission has proposed a limit of three fish per day per person. “The Council seems to be going in the right direction on this proposal”, the Commissioner said. The Commission is discussing measures concerning the commercial sector and the impact on seabass stocks and catch levels with the EU countries, Hahn explained. “Once the package is in force, seabass will have to be included in the management plan for the Atlantic. All the stakeholders must be consulted and the most recent scientific data must be fed into the preparations for this management plan”, the Commissioner concluded. (Lionel Changeur)