Brussels, 04/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament fisheries committee hopes to be in a position, on 31 March, to vote on the report by Cornelius Visser (EPP-ED, Netherlands) on the conservation of fisheries resources through technical measures. Parliament could then adopt its opinion at the plenary session in Strasbourg on 21-24 April. The European Commission has admitted that the member states, within the Council working group on fisheries, are finding it difficult to agree to certain points in the proposal. However, until such time as the EP has adopted its opinion, the Commission does not intend to amend its proposal.
The Commission representative summarised the discussions among member states' experts.
Several delegations are against certain technical measures (net meshes, reducing discards, restricting fishing activities, etc) being laid down in future by the Commission, under the comitology procedure. Most countries, including France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Portugal, want technical measures to be determined by the Council, while some, such as the United Kingdom and Sweden, can accept the transfer of adoption of certain technical measures to the Commission. Visser's draft report proposes an amendment which would leave the Council with decision-making powers on important technical measures (meshes, etc).
The proposed one net rule, whereby vessels would not be allowed, throughout the whole fishing year, to carry nets of more than one mesh size, has been strongly resisted (in particular by Spain, France, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands), and many countries have sought exemptions to this rule.
EU countries, the Commission representative said, “are not against” planned measures to reduce discards - real time moving to another area when maximum by-catches are exceeded and the real-time closure of certain areas to protect stocks. Member states want information on how these measures would be applied. The Commission, however, feels that these arrangements have to be withdrawn from this regulation on technical measures (affecting on the Atlantic and the North Sea) so that they can be included in the regulation on strengthening controls which is currently under negotiation and which applies to all Community waters.
Virtually all delegations called for more species to be included in Annex 1 of the regulation on minimum landing sizes. In reducing the number of species subject to market sizes, the Commission hoped to reduce discards and reduce controls. Most countries disagree and, like the EP rapporteur, want a much fuller list of species subject to minimum landing sizes. (L.C./transl.rt)