Brussels, 20/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Commissioner-designate for fisheries and maritime affairs, Joe Borg, who is taking over from Franz Fischler on 1 November, has made a commitment to paying particular attention to the concerns and conditions of fishermen throughout Europe. He made this commitment during a meeting on 14 October with Europeche (Association of National Organisations of Fishing Enterprises in the EU) and the "fisheries" section of Cogeca (General Committee of Agricultural Co-operatives in the EU). The respective presidents of Europeche and Cogeca "Fisheries" Niels Wichman and José Ramon Fuertes Gamundi pointed out to Mr Borg that the difficult situation for fishermen due to restocking plans for several species of fish reduced days spent fishing. They also criticised the European Commission for not having sufficiently taken into account, in its proposals, economic and social consequences of the planned measures. Wichmann also underlined the importance of improving scientific data on fish stocks and to increase the ways of carrying out scientific research.
According to a press release from the organisations, discussions with Mr Borg focused on: measures for the Mediterranean; the importance of maintaining a common market organisation (CMO) "viable for the sector"; fishing activities inspection; the proposal on European Funds for Fisheries (2007-13)n which, according to the organisations "continues to harm the catch sector" (stopping of fishing activities, hypothetical reconversion of fishermen); the international chapter of the Common fisheries Policy (CFP) and the EU's role as a driving force in the regional fisheries organisations.