On Wednesday 30 May, the European Commission adopted a proposal aimed at considerably amending the 2009 regulation on the control of fishing activity.
The Commission is proposing that the text should be updated in light of technological development and in order to take into account the landing obligation rule (end of discards).
In particular, the Commission proposes measures to ensure that Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) rules are better upheld: a common list of serious infringements and the corresponding sanctions, and strengthening of the existing points system for vessels.
Monitoring of vessels and catches. Member states should be able to monitor all fishing vessels, including small fishing boats. The Commission is suggesting extending the obligation of coming under the vessel surveillance system to all vessels, including those under 12 metres in length. Also, all catches should be accounted for and reported electronically, whatever the size of the vessel and the number of fish caught. Paper-based reporting will therefore be phased out and the current derogations removed, including that consisting of not declaring catches weighing less than 50kg.
Fishing gear. The declaration of lost fishing gear will be easier and systematic. Notification of the loss of fishing gear will be done by the vessel’s fishing log book, to be submitted electronically to the relevant authorities. Given that the loss of fishing gear can be of relevance to any category of fishing vessels, whatever the size of the vessel, the declaration via the fishing log book should be made by all categories of vessels. All vessels should have the necessary equipment for retrieval of lost gear.
Landing obligation. The landing obligation is difficult to monitor. Remote electronic monitoring technology with integrated close circuit television (CCTV) is considered by the Commission as an effective way to control the landing obligation. It is therefore proposed that some vessels should be equipped with electronic monitoring equipment with continuous recording, including CCTV. The selection of vessels to be equipped will be made depending on their level of discard risk.
Recreational fishing. The Commission is proposing to introduce specific tools allowing for recreational fishing to be better monitored. Thanks to a simple recording or licensing system, member states will know how many people fish for recreational purposes and may gather reliable data on catches and practice. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)