Brussels, 22/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - Europeans believe the fishing industry has a vital role to play in feeding people and have accused Governments of failing to do enough to support the sector, according to a survey of consumers across the continent published by Europêche on Tuesday 21 April.
The survey found that 71% of those responding (in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands) thought the industry had a vital role to play in feeding a growing world population. 84% said that Governments should do more to support the sector and fishermen. The survey also revealed that 70% of Europeans eat fish at least once a week. In Spain, almost 75% eat fish at least 2-3 times each week. The majority of consumers said they bought fish at the supermarket rather than at a fishmongers but felt the stores did not offer a wide enough choice.
Over two thirds of consumers across Europe (68%) noted that they would like to know more about where and how their fish had been caught, and who had caught it. In addition, the majority of consumers said that knowing a species was sustainably caught would influence their buying decision. These concerns are addressed, as all EU fishermen meet strict EU standards on fisheries practices to ensure that fish are sustainably caught.
Europêche Managing Director Kathryn Stack said: “Fishing is a heavily regulated industry and the fishermen we represent have made huge strides in recent years, not only to comply with new European regulations but secure the sustainability of fishing practices”. She highlights “a huge disparity” between the level of support provided to the agricultural and fishing sectors.
Europêche points out that 36 stocks are now fished at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels, compared to 27 fisheries at MSY in 2014, and just two in 2003. (Lionel Changeur)