Brussels, 16/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - EU fisheries ministers finally reached a political agreement at around 1.30 in the morning of Wednesday 16 December on total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for 2016 in the waters of the Atlantic, the Channel and the North Sea.
It took two compromise texts, long trilateral discussion (National delegation, Luxembourg Presidency and European Commission) and a bit of a mix up to share out the blue whiting catches and draw the fisheries marathon to a close in Brussels.
The major fishing countries, such as Spain, France and the United Kingdom, welcomed the compromise reached, while environmental NGOs were somewhat less pleased with the outcome.
The agreement provides, at the request of Spain, for a 9.5% increase in the northern hake TAC (to 99,451 tonnes) when the European Commission initially proposed a 6.4% increase. Spain fought hard to limit the cuts on southern hake and a 25% reduction (10,370 tonnes) was finally agreed, compared with the initial proposal of a 62% cut. There is also an additional 3.52% increase to take account of landing obligation rules. Spanish Minister Isabel Garcia Tejerina was very pleased with the outcome of the Fisheries Council. “Over the last four years, our defence of Spanish fishermen's interests has led to an increase of 80,000 tonnes, equating to a turnover of more than €160 million”, she said. The Spanish hake quota has risen to a record 27,764 tonnes. The horse mackerel TAC has been increased by 27% (15,441 tonnes for Spain) in the Cantabrian Sea and by 15% in the Atlantic (17,444 tonnes). Spain was also successful in preventing significant cuts in hake, anglerfish and megrim catches in the Iberian waters.
For France, one of the major concerns was the seabass fishery. The six-month moratorium (from January to June) called for by the Commission was cut back to two months (February and March) for handliners, who are particularly dependent on this fishery, and for netters. Outside the closure period, handliners and netters will be able to catch up to 1.3 tonnes per month and those using other gear (including pelagic trawls) 1 tonne per month. Recreational fishing will also be banned for six months, then a limit of one fish per day per person (compared with three at present) will be imposed. Alain Vidalies, French secretary of state for fisheries, said this was a balanced agreement on 2016 quotas. France successfully managed to have the cut in sole in the Channel reduced to 14%, on the basis of the management plan proposed by European fishermen, rather than the 32% reduction initially proposed by the Commission. This level will allow commitments to be met on maximum sustainable yield (MSY) in line with the objectives of the common fisheries policy (France suggests that MSY will be achieved in 2017 or 1018). Elsewhere the following TAC increases have been confirmed: - 15% for sole in the Western Channel, 10% for sole in the North Sea, 15% for cod in the North Sea and Western Channel, and 18% for herring in the North Sea and Eastern Channel. The TAC cut has been reduced to 10% for sole in the Bay of Biscay (compared with a 37% cut initially proposed). On the other stocks in this zone, although the Commission was proposing major cuts, despite the limitations of the scientific advice, France managed to have the TACS for langoustine, pollack and monkfish maintained at 2015 levels. The anchovy TAC remains unchanged and the megrim TAC has been raised by 5%. In the Celtic Sea, France was successful in limiting the reduction in haddock to 13% and in cod to 10%. TAC increases were also agreed: 22% for ling, 25% for horse mackerel in Western waters, and 16% for whiting in the Celtic Sea and Eastern Channel.
Among the other Council decisions: the 2015 TAC has been maintained for great silver smelt, the herring TAC in the North Sea has been increased by 16% (to 310,945 tonnes) but has been reduced by 20% in the Celtic Sea; the Skagerrak cod TAC has been increased by 15% and there has been a 270% increase (370 tonnes in total) for cod in the Kattegat; in the North Sea, a 27% increase has been agreed for megrim, along with a 24% increase for monkfish and a 19% increase for haddock, but the blue whiting TAC has been cut by 35%; the whiting TAC has been reduced by 22% in the Celtic Sea; the blue whiting TAC has been increased by 5%(207,657 tonnes), the 2015 TACs for lemon sole and witch have been maintained, as has the main TAC for blue ling; the North Sea langoustine TAC has been cut by 26% (13,286 tonnes); there is to be a 36% cut for plaice in the Kattegat but a 17% increase for plaice in the Skagerrak (11,531 tonnes), while in the North Sea the 2015 TAC for plaice has been maintained and there has been a 100% increase in the plaice TAC in the Channel; the pollack TAC has been maintained and the saithe TAC has been cut by 6% in the north, while in the Bay of Biscay and more southern waters the TAC has been maintained; turbot and brill TACs have been cut by 3%, North Sea mackerel has been reduced by 14% and the Mediterranean Bluefin tuna TAC has been increased by 20%.
The NGO Greenpeace says that ministers have ignored their commitment to end overfishing. It says that fishing limits well above the levels recommended by scientists have been set for cod in the Irish and Celtic Seas, southern hake and sole in the Bay of Biscay and the Eastern Channel. Oceana is of the same opinion. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)