At the Council meeting in Brussels on Monday 6 March, Italy, Spain, Croatia and Slovenia expressed their opposition to the European Commission proposal for total allowable catches (TACs) for anchovy and sardines caught in the Adriatic Sea (see EUROPE 11733).
The countries most concerned by this proposal, in particular Italy, Croatia and, to a lesser extent, Slovenia, were highly critical of the proposal that would put a multiannual management plan in place for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic.
Italian Secretary of State Giuseppe Castiglione criticised the proposal for anchovy and sardine TACs and was particularly scathing of the extra bureaucracy that would result from the additional control measures contained in the proposal. Several ministers made the point that greater account had to be taken of the fact much of the fishing fleet in the Adriatic was made up of small vessels.
Spanish minister Isabel Garcia Tejerina argued that, in the Mediterranean, only Bluefin tuna and swordfish can be managed effectively. She is very mindful of the possible effect of this “Adriatic plan” on future management plans in the rest of the Mediterranean. The Commission is due shortly to adopt a western Mediterranean management plan.
France backed the proposed provisions on safeguard and conservation measures (which are identical to those in place in the Baltic). France is willing to accept that the requirement for vessels to have a satellite monitoring system be extended to vessels of between eight and twelve metres in length but said that it had problems with extending electronic logbook requirements to vessels of less than twelve metres.
“Measures must be applied blindly”, warned Croatia, for which the Adriatic provides 90% of its catch. Slovenia has only four vessels fishing for sardine and anchovy in the zone and it called for these vessels to be allowed to continue their activities.
European Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella urged ministers to adopt the management plan swiftly so that sustainability can be restored. He said that, under the proposal, scientific opinion would provide the basis for determining fishing opportunities and control measures would be appropriate to the size of the vessels. According to the Commission, the proposal should make it possible to increase the stocks of these small pelagic species by 20% by 2021. The Commission also expects a 5% rise in fishermen’s wages and a 10% increase in profits for vessel owners. Commissioner Vella acknowledged that the measures would have a socio-economic impact. There would, therefore, have to be a transition period during which time the countries could make use of financial instruments to help the sector adapt. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)