Brussels, 11/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 4 January 2005, the European Commission adopted a report which gives a very mitigated picture of the way Member States have, over the period 2000-2002, complied with the rules of Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in control matters. The report is of limited interest due to the fact that it does not take into account decisions taken in December 2002 during CFP reform.
The report above all criticises the lack of uniformity when it comes to sanctions imposed on those failing to comply as well as problems relating to the offloading of under-size fish mainly by fisheries in the Baltic Sea, beam trawlers operating in the North Sea and trawlers fishing lobster or hake in the Bay of Biscay. The Commission also notes "serious problems" persisting in the Mediterranean given the use, by fishing vessels, of drift nets that are longer than the maximum authorised length and the continuation of swordfish and blue-fin tuna fishing (despite the ban on using drift nets for these species in force since early 2002). In its report, the Commission considers, by way of conclusion, that the serious failings noted earlier (from 1996 to 1999) persist and have prevented the CFP from achieving its goals.