The European Parliament fisheries committee reached agreement on Wednesday 13 July on tightening the provisions of the multi-annual plan for the management of demersal stocks, such as cod and haddock, in the North Sea.
This is the second multi-annual plan under the new common fisheries policy, after the one already in operation in the Baltic Sea (see EUROPE 11773).
In adopting the report by Ulrike Rodust (S&D, Germany), MEPs have included rules which: - set the ranges (minimum-maximum) within which the Council can set the yearly total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas; - achieve maximum sustainable yield (MSY) at the latest by 2020 for all stocks affected by this regulation; - base all measures on the best available scientific advice as reviewed by the International Council of Exploration of the Sea (ICES) or the Scientific, Technical & Economic Committee for Fisheries (STEFC); - suspend the targeted fishery for one particular stock and reduce fishing opportunities when scientific advice indicates a stock is in danger; - cover also recreational fisheries.
The committee wants an evaluation of the plan by the Commission three years after it comes into force (and not five years as proposed by the Commission).
The new plan also aims to set a framework for improved cooperation between the member states concerned. Countries with a direct interest will be able to submit joint recommendations no later than a year after the plan has come into force and within a year after each evaluation of the plan. If an abrupt change in the situation of a stock occurs, then the member states concerned could again propose measures in the form of joint recommendations.
Agreements with third countries. The committee added a new article to the plan to ensure that the stocks managed jointly with third countries and total fishing opportunities “would not exceed the ranges set in the plan” and that “future agreements with third countries would take account of the plan”.
Mandate rejected. Unlike the report, the draft mandate was voted down by the Committee (19 votes against and 6 for). “It will have to go to the plenary session”, said committee chair Alain Cadec (EPP, France). The mandate will need to be given the go-ahead by Parliament at the September plenary session before negotiations with the Council can begin.
Rodust said that some tense political discussions had taken place on the agreed mortality rates by fishery and the groups of fish covered by the plan. “The EPP and the ECR even threatened to reject the whole report”, she said. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)