Brussels, 11/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - At a meeting on Monday with fishermen's representatives in Greece, European Commissioner Franz Fischler called for a more determined approach to fisheries management in the Mediterranean and stressed the Commission's commitment to promoting and strengthening international cooperation in the Mediterranean in order to "achieve sustainable fisheries in this area". The only international measures currently in place are those established by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) for bluefin tuna and swordfish.
Mr Fischler said that to guarantee the future of fishing, we needed "better scientific data, strengthened control of fisheries activities, improved compliance with the rules and increased cooperation among all the parties involved. The efforts of these who apply conservation measures must not be undermined by those who do not. We want to address all these questions, including greater involvement of the Greek fisheries sector, in the proposals to review the Common Fisheries Policy which the Commission will put forward by the end of the year". Mr Fischler said that the conservation measures specifically designed for the Mediterranean had not had the desired impact on fish resources and that this had left many fish stocks, as well as the coastal marine environment, in a vulnerable state.
In response to complaints by Greek fishermen that Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) measures put them at a disadvantage with regard to their counterparts in neighbouring countries (who are not subject to these rules), Mr Fischler said, "If progress is to be made, I think the attitude of fishermen not only in Greece but also in all the Mediterranean countries has to change. EU fishermen and national administrations need to lead the way in the search for sustainable fisheries".
As the Commission suggested in its Green Paper on the review of the CFP, the Union should help and encourage fishermen's organisations from all the Mediterranean states to create or strengthen organisations aiming to promote cooperation among the interested parties. Acknowledging the socio-economic contribution made by aquaculture in Greece, Mr Fischler said that the EU "encouraged the development of methods of production which respected the environment. To produce quality products, aquaculture needed healthy ecosystems". The Commission Green Paper also suggests setting up a forum at ministerial level to provide the political guidelines for a Mediterranean fisheries policy for issues such as the control and monitoring of fishing activities on the high seas and the activities of vessels from non-Mediterranean flag states which intensively fish tuna and other valuable species in international waters.