On Tuesday 29 May, in first reading, the European Parliament approved the new regulation establishing a multiannual management plan for demersal fish species in the North Sea (see EUROPE 11986, 11922).
Parliament adopted the report on the plan by Ulrike Rodust (S&D, Germany), setting the ranges (minimum-maximum) within which total allowable catches (TAC) and quotas will be fixed in future. The Council has still to formally adopt the text. The Greens/EFA Group protested against the plan’s lack of ambition, which means there would be “fishing exceeding sustainable levels and be in contradiction with the provisions of common fisheries policy”. The amendment submitted by the Greens/EFA to address this situation was rejected.
European Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella pointed out that the landing obligation “enters fully into force in less than one year, and we are all aware of the challenges it entails for our fishing industry”. The North Sea management plan contains a range of tools to help towards this transition and, the commissioner said, he “would like to call on all member states to use the flexibilities which exist in order to ensure smooth implementation” of the rules. He invited fisheries to adapt their fishing gear so that they can alleviate choke situations in mixed demersal fisheries. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)