A Dutch trawler operating off the coast of Africa. (Photo: Pierre Gleizes/ Greenpeace)

Environmentalists urge EU govts to take action on CFP reform

EUROPEAN UNION
Monday, April 30, 2012, 04:30 (GMT + 9)

The European Commission (EC) in mid-2011 published its plan for a reform of the European Union’s (EU) Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in an effort to establish measures that would avert an environmental and socio-economic disaster. This reform may be the last chance to stop the collapse of European fish populations and the downfall of the EU fishing sector, Greenpeace believes.

The ONG argues that forty years of unsustainable fishing of Europe’s fishing grounds under the CFP have bred a serious depletion of fish stocks and degradation of marine habitats: 63 per cent of assessed stocks in the Atlantic Ocean are overfished, 82 per cent in the Mediterranean Sea and 66 per cent in the Baltic Sea.

The EC estimates that, if overfishing continues, only eight fish stocks out of 136 will still be viable by 2022.

As in some fisheries, the fleet is so large that it can catch two to three times more fish than it is sustainable, fishing has become increasingly unprofitable and dependent on public subsidies, which has led to deprivation in coastal communities and an ever-growing reliance on seafood imports.

Regardless, Greenpeace believes, the governments of Europe show little interest in changing the existing trend. They have been unable to agree on core elements of the reform, such as the fundamental objective of recovering fish stocks to sustainable levels, in line with internationally agreed timelines, and the need to regulate in favour of selective, low-impact fishing practices.

The group noted that countries like the US and New Zealand have changed how they manage their fisheries and are now reaping the benefits. 

The new CFP must require EU countries to reduce fishing rates to allow for the long-term recovery of stocks to levels that can sustain catches without risking further depletion. This maximum sustainable yield (MSY) can be reached if governments agree to temporarily limit their fishing, and this would allow populations to recover and eventually allow higher catches to be sustained over time, Greenpeace explained, and this should happen within the agreed international timeline of 2015.

Meanwhile, a majority of fisheries ministers at Council last week said they oppose making transferable fishing concessions (TFCs) mandatory in the new CFP. They believe TFCs should be voluntary.

“We could hear that the proposal from the Commission about having mandatory TFCs was questioned a lot by the member states,” the Danish fisheries minister, Mette Gjerskov, stated, CFP-reformwatch.eu reports.

Maria Damanaki, European fisheries commissioner, said the EU is "on the right track" with its plans for a radical change of the CFP. She noted that quotas for 2012 had been increased, generating an additional EUR 135 million for fishers.

"This is what we need to achieve for many more fisheries in Europe," she added.

Related article:

- Fisheries Council to debate CFP reform

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

 Greenpeace International - The Netherlands

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