On Thursday 4 September, European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries and the European Commission acknowledged that the stock management objectives of the common fisheries policy (CFP) had not been achieved in the Baltic Sea (see EUROPE 13699/8).
Isabella Lövin (Greens/EFA, Swedish) called for the rules governing the multi-annual plan to be reviewed. Isabelle Le Callennec (EPP, French) asked the Commission what would happen if the plan’s objectives were not achieved.
The Commission is currently evaluating the CFP regulation and has acknowledged, with regard to the Baltic Sea, that “nobody contests that looking at the current state of the fish stocks, the objectives of the CFP have not been reached”. It is important to determine whether the problem lies in the rules themselves or in their implementation, the institution added.
The representative for the Commission also pointed out that, according to reported catches, quotas had not been exceeded. The problem therefore lies in setting the quotas themselves, not in exceeding them. Finally, he acknowledged that it was impossible to implement the scientific advice advocating “zero catch” for certain species: in the case of cod, there are always by-catches, whatever the type of fishing. “Implementing the zero catch advice would mean stopping every fishing activity in the Baltic Sea”, concluded the Commission, which is not viable. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)