In an interview with EUROPE on Wednesday 8 April (interview conducted by Lionel Changeur), Virginijus Sinkevičius, the European Commissioner for Oceans and Fisheries, said that the immediate requirement for support to deal with the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic “must not compromise the fundamental ambition of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)”.
Agence Europe - You have proposed measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the fisheries and aquaculture sector. But without fresh money.
Virginijus Sinkevičius - To assist the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, we adopted, on 19 March, a temporary framework for state aid, allowing EU countries to support companies with up to €120,000. On 2 April, we proposed an additional series of measures to address the very legitimate concerns that had been raised by the sector, members of the European Parliament and ministers in recent days and weeks.
They include financial support for temporary cessation, but also for fish farmers who have been unable to harvest and sell their products due to the drop in demand. The EU will pay up to 75% of this compensation. Producer organisations will also be supported to organise temporary storage of fisheries and aquaculture products to stabilise the market.
We have proposed a more flexible reallocation of financial resources within the operational programme of each Member State, as well as a simplified procedure for amending those programmes to introduce new measures. This will help us to act quickly on the ground.
Do you have an idea of the allocation per Member State?
Each Member State is responsible for managing the financial resources in their operational programmes. So the amount available varies from country to country. Nevertheless, there are significant funds available in the existing budgets of most Member States, currently around €2.2 billion in total.
Why was it necessary to present these proposals? What is the sector’s status in Europe?
It’s too early to provide a thorough analysis. But we see clearly that the entire sector is facing market disruption, mainly because of the lock-down and the closure of restaurants.
The demand for fresh fish has decreased. Prices have dropped, and very often our fishermen simply can no longer sell their products. This is putting tremendous pressure on the income and livelihoods of coastal communities. Fish farmers are seriously affected, as well as other members of the supply chain.
In some areas, consumers continue to put trust in short supply chains, buying directly from small-scale fishermen. This is encouraging.
Do you believe that the situation could have an impact on the resource?
The development of marine biological resources, meaning the exploited fish stocks, is affected by the level of fishing activity. But this relationship is not linear. There are many other factors that influence stock development, including the natural growth and recruitment of new fish into the stocks.
That said, the Commission, together with Member States and our scientific bodies, is monitoring the possible effects of changes in fishing patterns following the pandemic. However, it is impossible to draw conclusions at this early stage.
Some Member States would like any fishing quotas not used this year to be carried over to 2021. What do you think of that?
The current disruption to fishing activities could lead to an under-utilisation of fishing quotas in many EU countries. However, we don’t know how long this lock-down period will last, and this will probably vary between Member States. So until then, it is not possible to estimate the exact levels of under-utilisation, which may change anyway according to stocks and fishing seasons.
Once fishing activities resume, and for the remainder of 2020, Member States will still be able to re-allocate their quotas amongst various national operators and extend fishing activities until the end of the year in order to fully use up their quotas. If quotas still remain, it will be possible to trigger the ‘inter-annual flexibility’ clause, which allows Member States to bank 10% of their unused 2020 quota and use it in 2021.
Do you think that the COVID-19 crisis will have an impact on the EMFF 2021-2027 negotiations?
The negotiations on the next EMFF will continue on the basis of the 2018 Commission’s proposal.
The immediate need for support to address the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic should not undermine the basic ambition of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP): to achieve long-term environmental, social and economic benefits through sustainable fisheries management.
The next EMFF has to remain focused on that objective. In this respect, EU support for creating suitable conditions for profitable, sustainable fishing activities is essential, and always has been. This approach is fully compatible with the new support measures, which are temporary (until the end of 2020), and limited to this exceptional pandemic context.
In 2022, an evaluation of the CFP will be carried out. Do you think this policy should be ‘greener’?
The CFP aims to achieve sustainability, economically, socially and environmentally, and as such is already very green – or in this case blue – by its very nature. We have very ambitious conservation policies, we’re interested in marine protected areas, and we will invest further in the restoration of biodiversity, including marine biodiversity. And our policy of achieving maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is already contributing successfully to the restoration of fish stocks.
In many parts of the Union, fisheries are in the best shape they have been in for decades. In the EU waters on the Atlantic side, the number of stocks that have reached healthy levels has increased from 5 out of 35 assessed stocks ten years ago to 62 out of 77 assessed stocks for 2020. In 2019, an estimated 70% of the volume of stocks was fished sustainably, and we expect this to grow to 90% in 2020.
We see that the exploitation of sustainably managed stocks has improved the economic performance of EU fleets. This is especially the case for the fleets targeting haddock, megrim and plaice in the Irish Sea, herring, northern hake and sole in the English Channel, and monkfish in the Bay of Biscay.
We will prepare a report on the functioning of the CFP, which we have to submit to the Council of the EU and the European Parliament by the end of 2022. But to avoid any misunderstandings: this will not yet equal a decision to review the policy. We are still very much focusing on effective implementation of the existing policy. A successful CFP always has to be firmly grounded on the three pillars of sustainability and achieve a healthy balance between these pillars, not only on paper, but also on the ground.
And would you agree to further reward fishermen for their mission as ‘guardians of the seas’?
We should reward them for taking care of our common resources. Helping to clean our oceans, through ‘fishing for litter’ schemes, is just one, small example of how to recognise this role, but there are many more.
Under the EU Green Deal, we will put the restoration of biodiversity, including marine biodiversity, high on our agenda. I strongly believe that there is no long-term conflict of interest between the environment and the economy.
Should on-board cameras (CCTV) be in general use to monitor compliance with the ban on discards?
I am aware of the challenges and concerns regarding discards and the landing obligation. The main issue is compliance with the ban on discards. Unfortunately, our audits on the ground, and those carried out by the European Fisheries Control Agency, indicate a general lack of compliance. This is extremely worrying, as the failure to enforce the landing obligation – and thereby the gradual elimination of discards – jeopardises the objective of the CFP in its entirety.
Member States have a responsibility to ensure monitoring, enforcement and inspection of all CFP-related activities, including the landing obligation. This has proven difficult by conventional means of control.
Part of the solution must therefore come from new and innovative control tools, such as closed-circuit television, a remote electronic monitoring tool, which we proposed for the next fisheries control framework. The proposal for the next EMFF introduced new measures to properly support and fund those tools. I hope that the co-legislators will progress swiftly with adoption of the proposal.
Will you present new management plans for stocks?
The Commission is working very closely with the scientific bodies (mainly ICES and STECF). They tell us that at this stage, there is no need for new multiannual plans in the north-east Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
Regarding the Mediterranean, the Commission is considering whether new multiannual management plans are needed. If needed, they will need to be adopted at the appropriate level, on the basis of scientific advice, and for the Mediterranean priority species.