The European Commission is not proposing to reform the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), but is encouraging EU Member States to phase out mobile bottom fishing in all marine protected areas by 2030 at the latest, according to four documents adopted on Tuesday 21 February aimed at encouraging more sustainable fishing in the EU.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, the EU Commissioner for Oceans and Fisheries, told the press that the proposed actions were aimed at “reducing the impact of the sector on marine ecosystems and the climate. We also want to promote the use of cleaner energy sources and move away from our dependence on fossil fuels”.
Two Commission reports on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the Common Market Organisation (CMO) for fisheries products (https://aeur.eu/f/5f4 ) conclude that the current rules should be maintained. It would have been impossible anyway for the current Commission, whose mandate expires in just over a year, to launch a reform of the CFP. The EU institutions are already trying to complete the complex reform of the control system.
The Commissioner stressed that “we have made great progress since the 2013 CFP reform, but more needs to be done” to fully implement the rules of this policy.
The Communication on the CFP (https://aeur.eu/f/5f2 ) opens a new phase of discussion and cooperation between all fisheries stakeholders (fishermen, producer organisations, Regional Advisory Councils, national authorities, civil society and others).
The aim is to reach a common understanding of the direction the CFP should take, so as to ensure that fisheries and aquaculture are ecologically sustainable in the long term while providing economic, social and employment benefits. To achieve this, the Commission suggests a ‘Fisheries and Oceans Pact’ which should bring all stakeholders together.
The most significant measures in this sustainable fisheries package are found in the Action Plan to protect and restore marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries (https://aeur.eu/f/5f1 ), the content of which was revealed by EUROPE (see EUROPE 13108/1). The action plan contributes to the EU’s commitment to legally protect 30% of the seas.
The Commission calls on Member States to propose common recommendations and take national measures to phase out mobile bottom fishing in all marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2030 at the latest and not to allow it in newly created MPAs. The first measures should be taken as early as March 2024 for Natura 2000 sites under the Habitats Directive, according to the action plan.
The action plan also proposes measures to increase the selectivity of fishing gear and practices and to reduce the incidental catch of threatened species, setting out a timetable to help Member States prioritise the species most in need of protection.
For the NGO Our Fish, the Action Plan to protect marine ecosystems allows for the mapping of seabed carbon and the impact of bottom trawling in EU waters, but this proposal is “too weak, too slow and does not address fish extraction and CO2 emissions”.
Devastating effect. The European Bottom Fisheries Alliance (EBFA) believes that the Commission is aiming to “phase out mobile bottom gears without offering a real alternative”. These 7,000 vessels contribute 25% of total landings and generate 38% of the total income of the EU fleet, the organisation notes. “This policy will devastate entire European fishing communities. But there will be one obvious beneficiary: non-European bottom trawlers. These vessels will increase their seafood exports to the EU to fill the gap left by the EU fleet, without facing any of these bans”, says EBFA.
“The Commission is not proposing a ban as such”, replied Virginijus Sinkevičius: “We call on Member States to implement all relevant measures in MPAs by March 2024. Then, when we assess the Member States’ measures, we can present a legislative proposal, but before that, an impact assessment will have to be carried out”. The approach advocated for is “prudent”, the Commissioner insisted.
The Commission also proposes, in a Communication on Energy Transition (https://aeur.eu/f/5f3 ), to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to move towards a climate-neutral fisheries and aquaculture sector, in line with one of the ambitions of the ‘European Green Deal’, namely to achieve climate neutrality in the EU by 2050. The proposed measures will help the sector to accelerate its energy transition, by improving energy efficiency and switching to low-carbon renewable energy sources.
Green energy sources include green electricity, hydrogen, some biofuels, ammonia, as well as batteries and wind power.
One of the key actions is the creation of an energy transition partnership for the EU fisheries and aquaculture sector. It will bring together all stakeholders (fisheries, aquaculture, shipbuilding, energy, NGOs, national and regional authorities) to collectively address the challenges of the sector’s energy transition.
There will be no additional EU financial support for energy transition, on the grounds that the tools already exist under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) 2021-2027.
For the NGO Oceana, the sustainable fisheries package represents an attempt to “put a thin green veneer on business as usual”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)