The European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries set out its position on Monday 12 October on a thorough revision of the management plan for demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean (see EUROPE 13906/17).
Adopting Carmen Crespo Díaz’s (EPP, Spanish) draft own-initiative report on the plan by 21 votes to four, with no abstentions, MEPs called on the European Commission to propose a targeted revision of the regulation by 1 December.
In force since 2019, the plan aims to keep stocks above levels capable of producing the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). But, according to MEPs, the progress made has come at a considerable cost to the sector: trawling effort fell by more than 40% between 2020 and 2024, while employment and average wages declined.
MEPs want fishing opportunities to increase when scientific evidence allows and stocks are managed sustainably.
MEPs are calling for a revision of the rules on reducing fishing effort (permitted days at sea) to take better account of mixed fisheries, where several species are caught simultaneously. They want to abandon the principle of determining annual fishing effort by reference to the most vulnerable stock, which can create a “choke effect”: where the limit imposed for one species also restricts fishing for other, more abundant species.
The proposed changes include allowing 10% of unused fishing effort to be carried over to the following year and capping reductions in the number of fishing days at 20%, where scientific advice permits. Decisions should also explicitly take account of employment, fishers’ incomes, business viability, the supply of fishery products and food security.
MEPs are calling for stronger data collection and more transparent publication of scientific advice before the Council of the EU takes its annual decisions on fishing opportunities.
MEPs also advocate better coordination of EU import controls, including consideration of a European import control office, to prevent products from illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries from entering the EU market.
MEPs are also calling for support measures for the sector, particularly to modernise vessels and use more selective gear.
See the compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/nvq (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)