Brussels, 05/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 5 December the European Commission presented its proposals on fishing possibilities for 2007, which aim to dramatically reduce Total Allowable Catches (TAC) of cod and flat fish in the North Sea (plaice and sole). It also aims to halt fishing of certain short lived fish like anchovies (in the Bay of Biscay) next year, or at least not until the green light from scientists (sprats and sand lance) in the North Sea. The news is much better for other species, such as northern hake, sole from the Bay of Biscay and some stocks of monkfish).
During a press conference Joe Borg, European Commissioner for Fisheries said that despite protection measures that had been in place for years, restocking measures for cod stocks in the North and Ireland, West Scotland and the Eastern Channel, as well as in Danish waters are not working. He announced the revision next year of the cod restocking plan covering these fishing zones. Plaice and sole in the North Sea, stocks for which the Commission proposed putting in place a management plan for several years are also being fished at an unsuitable level. Short lived species like anchovies in the Bay of Biscay, as well as sprats and monkfish in the North Sea “continue to give cause for concern”. Nonetheless, the Commissioner welcomed the fact that situation is much better than that experienced by certain stocks covered by the re-stocking plan like: northern hake stock (West of the British Isles and Bay of Biscay, for which the Commission has authorised a 15% increase in catches between 2006-07; sole in the Bay of Biscay (+12% in catches). The news is better for mackerel, added the Commissioner.
The challenge facing the Commission, when it is confronted with scientific recommendations (very seldom optimistic on future resources: Editor's note), is to find “the right balance” between biological requirements for unsuitably fished stocks and socio-economic realities facing fishermen. He acknowledged that this exercise is “not an easy task” because the EU is committed to conserving or attaining a sustainable fishing industry. The Commission in some cases is respecting its commitments of not proposing variations of more or less than 15% in its TAC from one year to the next. However, when stocks are in a bad condition, Mr Borg pointed out that “it is necessary to go further in our reductions” of quotas. The Commissioner listed certain developments that are grounds for hope: the still active participation of the different groups affected, through the Regional Consultative Committees (RCC) (according to the Commissioner, these committees are an integral part of the fishing management) process; the ever increasing commitment from Member States and the sector in fighting against illegal fishing activities (the Commission intends to present an “initiative for tackling this problem” next year); the fight against illegal fishing is enjoying success at an international level (several regional fishing organisations, like the North East Atlantic Fisheries Convention (NEAFC) recently toughened inspection measures up). Professionals from the sector presented initiatives for improving the selection of fishing gear and adoption of new management measures.
Species covered by re-stocking measures: for cod the Commission is proposing (North Sea, Irish Sea, West Scotland, Eastern Channel, Skagerrak and Kattegat) to reduce quotas by 25%, except in the North Sea, a zone which the EU and Norway have agreed a 14% decrease in catches (EUROPE 9320). It is proposing to reduce fishing days for cod by 25%. The plan for Northern Hake has borne fruit. The Commission is not authorising a 15% increase in TACs for all these stocks (North Sea, West Scotland, Channel, Celtic Sea, Bay of Biscay). On the other hand, scientific recommendations are not good for hake and lobster caught in more southerly waters by Spanish and Portuguese boats. The Commission is suggesting a reduction of 10% in TAC as well as a reduction in days spent at sea (20 in 2006 to 18 days a month). For sole in the Bay of Biscay the Commission is proposing an increase of 12% in TAC (to 4540 tonnes). For sole in the Western Channel, the Commission is seeking a reduction in catches of 4.2% and days spent at sea from 18 to less than 15 a month.
Pelagic species: the Commission is proposing TAC reductions for herring of: -35% in the Celtic Sea and -15% in Skagerrak and Kattegat. It also announced lower fishing rights for blue line next year. It is proposing increases of more than 10% for North Sea mackerel.
Technical measures: the Commission has authorised Dutch fishermen to use their electric line nets for catching sole and plaice. This technique has been banned by the EU for 10 years and its authorisation was decried by ecologists present but it does cut down on fuel. (lc)