Brussels, 01/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - In an interview with French TV channel France 3 on Monday 30 June, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was less belligerent towards the common fisheries policy (CFP) than a few months ago, when he said he wanted the system of total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas abolished.
Fisheries is a European responsibility, because fish stocks must be managed at a higher level than the national, Sarkozy said, pointing out that fish “do not recognise our countries' borders. He said that the EU had two problems. The first is the resource: “Scientists say that the resource is being reduced and that we have to stop fishing … and fishermen say that the species they catch are migrating because of global warming, that it has nothing to do with disappearing stocks,” the French president said. In his capacity as President of the EU, he will propose a meeting of scientists and fishermen. “I can't understand how people who make their living from the sea are not listened to more attentively by scientists,” Sarkozy said.
When asked about his comments in January on quotas, Sarkozy said: “What I want is that we ask about the resource, not about quotas. If I can be shown that the resource is disappearing, then we need quotas”. He added: “I am not challenging quotas, I'm challenging the scientific analysis which has to tally with the opinion of the specialists”.
The second problem is that, with the doubling of the price of fuel to make the vessels work, “you have fishermen who spend three weeks at sea and come back to port with a handful of fish. You can't go on like that!” he said. He justified the aid granted to fishermen since the start of the year, saying that, “unlike road hauliers”, for example, they cannot pass on the increases in fuel prices to the cost of fish. Asked if it would be useful to have a price cap on fuel for fishermen, Sarkozy pointed out how difficult it was to get agreement among all 27 EU countries on any tax issue. (L.C./transl.rt)