Brussels, 07/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - On a visit to Denmark, first stage of a round of several capitals to present his new proposals for reforming the European fisheries sector, Commissioner Franz Fischler acknowledged that the capacity of the Danish fleet had been considerably reduced, but that more had to be done to protect the threatened stocks. He also justified the proposal of putting an end to public aid for the renewal of the fleet and defended the country's industrial fishing, often decried for its harmful effects on resources. Mr. Fishcler was to go to Madrid on Friday, then London on Monday, to present his proposals on the sector's future. Here is a summary of the main subjects raised at his meeting with Danish fishermen.
Reduction of fishing capacities: the Danish representatives of the sector told Mr. Fischler that they were concerned at the fact that the Commission proposed continuing the reduction of the fleet's capacity, whereas Denmark had already done more than what was provided for in the Multi-Annual Guidance Programme (Magp). The Commissioner stressed that the fleet reductions required by the current Multi-Annual Guidance Programme (Magp IV), which expires at the end of the year, were still too inadequate to produce the effects sought on fish stocks. He explained that all the EU fleets would have to make further sacrifices. He also stipulated that all fleets would be concerned proportionally to the state of the stocks they exploit: the more the stocks in question are depleted, the more the reduction of fishing required, and thus the fishing capacity, will be great. He referred to his determination to encourage Member States, which have not yet met the objective set by the Magps, to do so as soon as possible. Here, he recalled that the Commission had already taken legal action against a certain number of Member states and that the proposals for reform also provided for further penalties for those contravening them (suspension of EU aid except when it concerned the demolition of vessels, reduction in fishing possibilities of the fishing effort….).
State aid: certain Danish fishermen explained that the average age of the Danish fleet was high and that State aid should be maintained to ensure its renewal and guarantee its competitiveness. While acknowledging that the fleets had to be modernised, Fischler stipulated that it could no longer be justified that this should be done with taxpayers' money. "Not only is competitiveness not necessarily linked to subsidies, but it even risks being distorted by them", he said.
Industrial fishing: Mr. Fischler said that Danish industrial fishing was just as legitimate as all others, on condition that it is practised in the respect of the appropriate rules of control and execution. He pointed out that the sampling system used by Denmark to control this type of fishing had proven to be an effective and useful tool. "Industrial fishing, like other types of fishing, is regulated, and will of course be submitted to measures of conservation and management elaborated in the framework of the MAGP, notably the multi-annual management plans", he stressed. The Commissioner recalled that Community funds were available to help in the restructuring of the Danish sector under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG). The amount allocated to Denmark by the FIFG, for the period 2000-2006, amounts to 213.3 million euro.
In Spain, Fischler says that reform will have more effect on Northern than Southern fleets
Visiting Spain, Mr. Fischler considered that the reform "is not aimed against the South": "in the South, thank God, the state of stocks are better than in the North Sea. That's why the repercussions of the reform will not be hardest in the South, but lesser", he declared. He explained that his proposals "privilege countries which, like Spain, have already reduced their fleets (…) there where stocks ae in a poor state, like Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the fishing effort will have to be further reduced than in Mediterranean countries". To Spanish MEPs who claim that these proposals go counter to the principle of EU cohesion, the Commission replied that the so-called "cohesion" countries would continue to receive many more credits from the structural Funds for their social measures and vessel demolition than the others. Thus, Spain will continue to have the right to half of all structural credits for that sector. Fischler added that the Commission was assuming its "social responsibility" by presenting actions aimed at finding substitution jobs for the fishermen concerned (the suppression of Community aid for the modernisation of vessels will mean that 460 million euro will be released to that effect).