On Monday 30 March, the European Commissioner for Fisheries, Costas Kadis, presented to Member States’ ministers the outcomes of the dialogue on coastal and small-scale fishing, organised on 24 November.
Coastal and small-scale fisheries account for around three quarters of the EU’s active fleet, and more than half of employment at sea (see EUROPE 13758/11).
Mr Kadis stressed the need to ensure fair competition within the EU and with third-party operators, to simplify access to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMAFF) and to ensure “predictability of funding calendars, and better alignment of support measures with the operational realities of small-scale fleets”, to apply environmental measures, including marine protected areas, in a “proportionate manner, reflecting the limited environmental footprint of small-scale fleets”, and to improve access to fishing opportunities, in particular by giving priority to the 12 nautical mile zone and with “transparency and predictability in allocation systems (...) including environmental and social considerations”.
These conclusions will feed into the revision of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) Regulation and the preparation of the ‘Vision 2040 for Fisheries’. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)