The European Parliament's committee on fisheries voted on Tuesday 9 October in favour of a minimal management plan for the management of small pelagic stocks (sardines and anchovies) in the Adriatic Sea (see EUROPE 11948). Ruža Tomašić’s report (ECR, Croatia) was adopted with 14 votes in favour, 11 against and one abstention.
The ECR Group welcomed the good work of the rapporteur, who obtained a refusal of the catch quotas as proposed by the European Commission. "In Croatia alone, 10,000 jobs have been threatened”, the group says.
The agreed amendments provide that from 2020 onwards catches of pelagic species should be reduced by 4% per year, for each member state concerned (mainly Italy and Croatia), until 2022. The provisions also emphasise regional cooperation by allowing groups of member states to submit joint recommendations on landing obligations and conservation measures. A scientific evaluation of the approved measures is also requested three years after their entry into force.
The text will still have to be approved by the whole Parliament at a forthcoming plenary session before negotiations with the Council begin. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)