The European Parliament and the Council should be able to begin negotiations towards the month of March 2017 in their quest for agreement on the sustainable management of the external fishing fleets (see EUROPE 11682).
Following the vote in the Parliament’s fisheries committee on Monday 5 December, the plenary session vote on the report by Linnéa Engström (Greens/EFA, Sweden) should be held in February of next year.
The Commission has proposed a new system for granting fishing authorisations that will allow the authorities to more closely monitor both EU vessels fishing outside Union waters and international vessels fishing in EU waters (the aim is to replace the current regulation which dates from 2008).
“The EU is one of the major players in the fisheries world and must lead by example. We must use our influence to improve standards and transparency in international fisheries and this regulation is an important step stone in a race to the top towards sustainable global fishing”, said Engström.
The chair of the fisheries committee, Alain Cadec (EPP, France) stated: “We have adopted a balanced report that will allow the external fleet to fish sustainably, responsibly and economically viable. We are calling for more transparency from our fleet”.
In the fisheries committee voting, 20 of the 21 compromise amendments were approved.
Public register. An EU electronic fishing authorisation register would be set up and updated by the Commission. It would contain data on vessels’ International Maritime Organisation number, the name, town and country of the company and beneficial owner and the type of authorisation and fishing opportunities.
Authorisation eligibility criteria. An amendment for deletion was adopted on Article 5. In fact, authorisations could be granted even though the vessels had been the subject of sanctions for serious infringements in the previous 12 months under the terms of the control regulation or the regulation on combatting illegal fishing. In other words, a penalty for a serious infringement in the previous year would no longer disqualify a vessel from being granted a fishing authorisation. The position of the fisheries committee is exactly the same as the Council’s.
Reflagging. The regulation prevents vessels that leave the EU fleet (leaving the Union register) from returning within two years of reflagging. It is not permitted either to “re-flag” in an EU member state if the vessels has engaged in illegal fishing activities or has operated under the flag of a third country identified as allowing non-sustainable fishing.
Removal of authorisations. In terms of management of fishing authorisations, if the member state fails to monitor vessels fishing illegally or if there is the risk of a serious threat to the sustainable exploitation of the resource, the Commission will be able, subject to certain conditions, to withdraw the fishing licence (at present only states monitor authorisations). The Commission would have a new role as mediator and police officer.
Re-allocation of unused fishing opportunities. It will be possible for the Commission temporarily to reallocate fishing opportunities from fisheries agreements with third countries if they have not been fully used by certain member states. The fisheries committee restricted Commission powers on reallocation, which may take place only once in the course of an agreement, in line with a set timetable and must be duly justified.
Direct authorisations. Flag states will have to prove that the third state has a surplus and the vessel will have to hold a fishing authorisation from that third country.
Chartering. Chartering will be more closely monitored: it will not be possible to use EU fishing opportunities when an EU fishing vessels has been chartered. Chartering will only be allowed if the charter state is a member of a regional fisheries organisation. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)