Posted on 13 July 2011
European Parliament & Member States
handed the challenge of saving Europe’s
fisheries
Brussels, Belgium – A disappointing lack
of ambition in Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)
reform proposals from the European Commission
is passing responsiblity for saving fisheries
and giving fishing a long term future to
the European Parliament and Member States,
WWF noted yesterday.
“There is growing alarm among civil society,
businesses and consumers about the disastrous
management of Europe’s fisheries. The CFP
reform is a once in a ten year opportunity
to ensure fish stocks recover and Europe’s
fisheries return to prosperity,” said Tony
Long, Director of WWF’s European Policy
Office said.
“It may be the last one," Long said,
noting the warning from Fisheries Commissioner
Maria Damanaki that only nine per cent of
EU fish stocks are likely to be at sustainable
levels by 2022, when the next CFP reform
is due, if the current reform fails to move
beyond a situation of status quo.
"While the European Commission’s proposal
contains some potentially good elements,
too much is being left to chance. Ministers
and MEPs must demonstrate the political
courage to invest in sustainable fisheries
management now or be prepared to carry the
responsibility for ravaged stocks in the
near future.”
On the positive side,
the proposal establishes the need to exploit
fish populations at levels that guarantee
their survival and identifies multi-annual
plans as a way to achieve this. However,
crucial delivery mechanisms, responsibilities
and timeframes for these plans (outlining
who should do what and by when) are missing.
Furthermore, the Commission’s paper lacks
a clear vision for reducing the overcapacity
of Europe’s fleet, proposes an ineffective
discard ban, and falls flat on expectations
about stakeholder involvement at a regional
level and the EU’s leadership role in the
international fisheries arena.
Too many boats, too
few fish
Currently, three out of four assessed fish
stocks in Europe are overfished, the EU
fleet continues to be two to three times
too large to be sustainable. Landings at
EU ports fell by 30% between 1998 and 2008.
The mechanism proposed to deal with the
overcapacity of the fleet, i.e. transferable
fishing concessions, a very specific form
of Rights Based Management (RBM), is inflexible
and excludes safeguards to prevent a concentration
of fishing activities to a small number
of vessels or to guarantee a timely revocation
of the concessions should conservation goals
not be met.
While WWF is supportive
of RBM it advocates a wide toolbox of schemes
to suit any specific fishery, unlike what
has been proposed by the European Commission.
“There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution
for the overcapacity of the EU fleet given
the variety of fisheries that exist in Europe,"
said Long. "Nor will ‘the market’ automatically
solve this problem. WWF believes it is important
to give fishermen a more secure stake in
the fishery to boost stewardship, but this
should be linked to clear conservation goals.
As the proposal stands, this isn’t the case.”
Regional co-management
of fisheries
WWF looks to the European Parliament and
Member States to ensure that a genuine decentralisation
of fisheries management takes place. Stakeholders
at a regional level, including fishermen,
officials, scientists, industry and NGOs,
need to be recognised as co-managers of
their fishery, working together to implement
multi-annual plans.
A clear co-management mechanism – although
essential for transforming Europe’s fisheries
– is missing from the proposal. It is also
disappointing that the artisanal fishing
sector and fisheries issues in the Mediterranean,
a region accounting for 6 out of 10 European
fishing jobs, are not addressed in the proposal.
Selective gear not commercialisation the
answer to discard issue
WWF welcomes the Commission’s intention
to end the wasteful practice of discarding.
However, the proposed discard ban alongside
the new option to commercialise undersized
fish and fish caught in excess of quotas
is the wrong solution for a pressing problem.
It is likely to encourage fishermen to fish
less selectively whereas the widespread
adoption of selective gear is precisely
one of the most effective measures for ending
discards.
Vague statements won't ensure good behaviour
abroad
With 60% of fish consumed within the EU
being caught abroad, it is disappointing
to see just a few vague statements in the
Commission’s proposal short of clear targets,
measures or deadlines to ensure that the
EU positions itself as a global leader in
promoting sustainable fisheries.
An independent poll
commissioned by WWF and carried out in 14
EU countries earlier this year revealed
that 78% of EU citizens support a reform
of the Common Fisheries Policy that ensures
that all European fish products come from
sustainable, non-overfished stocks (see:
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/data_fish_poll_results.pdf)
