Brussels, 09/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - During a press conference devoted mainly to presenting proposals on total allowable catches and quotas for the year 2005, the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Joe Borg, said on Wednesday that he hoped, towards mid 2005, to rekindle the debate with Member States on measures governing fisheries in the Mediterranean. The European Commission awaits the European Parliament's opinion on this issue, to be delivered in March or April.
Mr Borg recalled that the Commission's proposal (dating back to 9 October 2003) could not be accepted by Parliament before the European elections. It had even been rejected in April this year by the EP (see EUROPE of 2 April 2004, p.9). Since then, "we have reactivated the debate with the EP's Committee on Fisheries", the Commissioner explained, pointing out that "we were quite willing to take into account" all the "reasonable" changes that do not compromise the aim of ensuring "sustainable fishing in the Mediterranean". The EP Committee on Fisheries provides for adoption of the draft report by Carmen Fraga Estevez (EPP-ED, Spain) during its meeting on 25 January 2005. According to Mr Borg, the report will be examined by the European Parliament in March or April. If the report is adopted in plenary, the Commission "will assess the parliamentary amendments and seek to take into account suggestions that are acceptable to the Commission", the Commissioner continued.
Draft EU report resolves certain highly controversial technical matters
During the last meeting of the members of the EP Committee on Fisheries, on 24 and 25 November, Ms Fraga Estevez presented the amendments contained in the draft report after a series of meetings with the Commission. In her view, the draft compromise allowed a number of very controversial matters to be settled. She specified that a new compromise text could be drawn up in January before the vote in committee. The draft report envisages the following changes to the Commission's proposal:
Protection of swordfish stocks: While the Commission hopes to introduce into the regulation proposed technical conservation measures for certain highly migratory fish stocks, swordfish in particular, the parliamentary amendment provides for this responsibility to be left up to the relevant regional fishing organisations, in this case the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). In the assumption, however, that the ICCAT rules are not considered sufficient for ensuring protection of swordfish, the European Commission should then suggest changes to be made to the regulation, the amendment states.
Fishing nets: An amendment clearly sets out the ban, in the Mediterranean, of using set gill nets or anchored floating nets for catches of long-finned tuna, blue-fin tuna, swordfish, bream and shark. Another amendment provides for the obligation, as of 1 January 2007, to replace current towed nets (of 40 mm) by square mesh nets of the same size. The Commission proposes to gradually increase the size of towed nets (from 40 to 50 mm as of 1 January 2006 and then from 50 to 60 mm as of 1 January 2009). Also, the draft report provides for regulation of the use of longlines depending on the number of hooks rather than depending on the length. Thus, the amendment provides, for example, for a ban on keeping on board or throwing into the sea over 3,000 hooks per vessel (compared to a ban in the initial proposal for over 7,000 metres of longline per vessel).
Minimum size for species offloaded: The draft report states that, until 31 December 2006 (the date when the square mesh is to be introduced), there will be dispensation on the minimum offloading size for hake: a margin of tolerance of 15% of the weight of the species for hake measuring between 15 and 20 cm (the Commission provides for 15 cm hake until 31 December 2008 then 20 cm from January 2009). Also, the amendment provides for a minimum size of 11 cm for sardines (13 cm in the Commission proposal). Other changes to the initial proposal are suggested, above all on the minimum size of lobster and bivalve molluscs.