MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EC determined to radical fisheries reform and lower catch capacity

EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg said the EC is questioning the fundamental aspects of the CFP

The European Commission (EC) has raised the issue of radically reforming the European Union (EU) Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to Member States, in favour of an important reduction of the fishing capacity, among other points.

The proposal is included in the Green Paper which is a document on the future of the CFP adopted Tuesday by the EC, wherein the deficiencies of the present policy are probed and a comprehensive debate on how to solve them, called for.

“We are asking questions even on the fundamentals of the current policy. [We] should leave no stone unturned,” Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Joe Borg said in presenting the Green Paper.

“We are not looking for just another reform. It is time to design a modern, simple and sustainable system for managing fisheries in the EU, which is able to last well into the 21st century,” Borg added.

The purpose of the 25-page document is to raise awareness on the sector’s challenges in recent years, and to elicit a public response that can translate into a new, innovative and more consensual approach to fisheries regulation.

The Paper raises several points: ensuring the long-term sustainability and viability of fisheries; adapting global fleet capacity while addressing the social concerns that affect coastal communities; and the best way to improve systematic compliance to the norm. It also probes the question of how the CFP can best contribute to fisheries sustainability outside EU waters, among others issues.

The EC recognises that the depletion of European fish populations is one of the problems not addressed by the present fishing policy. On the issue, it describes how 88% of stocks are over-fished (against a 25% global average) while 30% are ‘outside safe biological limits,’ that is, they cannot reproduce at a normal rate because the breeding population is too small.

The overcapacity of the fleet is to a large extent responsible for this state, and has not only led to the depletion of stocks, but also to the constant diminution of sector profits.

The document singles out another four structural deficiencies in the current approach:

• The lack of precise policy objectives, particularly on ecological responsibility and general maritime issue integration;

• A decision-making system that is too centralised and geared to implementing short-term solutions which often endanger long-term sustainability;

• Regulations that do not make the sector responsible enough;

• The shortage of political will in following through with the reduction of the fishing effort.

The EC is aware that initiating a process of CFP reform is urgently needed, given the state of today’s fisheries. To this end, it is inviting fishers and other interested parties from the sector, like scientists, civil society and interested citizens, to respond and offer their opinions through 31 December 2009 on the future of European fisheries.

The Commission will summarise the results of the consultation in the first half of 2010 and draft a proposal for new basic regulations. This will then be sent to the European Parliament and the Council in early 2011, with a view to adoption by 2012. (FIS)