By Martin Banks - 14th July 2011
Damanaki has shown that she is willing to challenge the business-as-usual approach
Linda McAvan
Commission plans for a major shake-up of the EU's fisheries policy has met with a mixed response.
The proposal, due to take effect from 2013, aims to stop catches being wasted and would give fleets quota shares guaranteed for at least 15 years.
"Discards" will be phased out - the practice whereby up to half the catch of some fish is thrown back into the sea to avoid going above the quota.
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has been in effect for 28 years but EU maritime and fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki admits that it has been a failure.
A campaign led by the British celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall resulted in over half a million people signing a petition calling for the EU to reform its policy to put an end to discards.
The proposals announced on Wednesday mark the start of lengthy negotiations in Brussels over new fishing rules.
It is hoped that the reform could spell the end of annual bargaining between EU governments over fishing quotas that are largely seen to have failed to prevent the decline of fish stocks in European seas.
MEP reaction to the reform was swift with it being condemned as "modest" and "disappointing" by UK Tory MEP Struan Stevenson.
Stevenson, a deputy chair of parliament's fisheries committee, also called on fellow MEPs to use new powers to press for a more comprehensive reform package.
He said, "After months of waiting, great excitement and anticipation of a radical package of reform for the CFP, these proposals have turned out to be a disappointment. They are far from the radical change needed. At best they can be described as modest.
"It looks like the bureaucrats have scored a victory, retaining the central role of Brussels in all fisheries decisions, rather than devolving day-to-day management responsibility to the member states, as most had wanted.
"Although de-centralisation was the key recommendation arising from the extensive debate in parliament on the green paper on CFP reform last year, there is little reference to it in Damanaki's new package."
British S&D member Linda McAvan said, "This is an important first step on the road to reform, but there is still a long way to go until we have a fisheries policy that is fit for purpose.
"Damanaki has shown that she is willing to challenge the business-as-usual approach that has prevented proper reform in the past.
"The commission proposal isn't perfect, but it is at last a recognition that we cannot continue with the current discredited policy.
"We are facing the real prospect of many fish species being wiped out because the policy is wrong. That is bad for the biodiversity and bad for our fishing communities.
"The clock is ticking to put things right. We must now keep up the pressure for real and effective change."
Elsewhere, Labour's European agriculture and fisheries spokesperson, Brian Simpson, said, "The public have shown that they are outraged by the way the existing rules result in dead fish being thrown back into the sea.
"We need to find ways of ending discards while giving fish stocks time to recover.
"That means not just looking at rules on what is landed but also promoting the use of equipment and techniques that don't result in overfishing, and encouraging people to consider putting other types of fish on their menu.
"Today we have seen proposals to decentralise decision making and end discards. It is a welcome new direction by the commission.
"We must now look at the proposals in detail and see how they can be built upon through the coming months of negotiations to deliver a fisheries policy that is good for fish and good for the long-term interests of our fishermen."
NGOs and other groups were also quick to respond to the planned reform with Tony Long, director of WWF's European policy office, saying, "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. It may be the last one.
"While the 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."
Xavier Pastor, executive director of Oceana Europe, said the plan had "some positive" aspects but stronger measures were needed.
It called the plan "an incomplete work that does not provide the urgently needed strong solutions to restore European seas and ensure the long term sustainability of fishing".
Uta Bellion, of the environmental group Oceans2012, said, "The commission's proposal includes solid targets for the recovery of European fish stocks, including requiring that measures be taken in accordance with the best available scientific advice. This could bring an end to overfishing in EU waters and by its fleet internationally."
Monica Verbeek, of Seas At Risk, said: "More ambitious management targets for stocks will only halt overfishing if ministers are obliged to set fishing quotas based on the best available scientific advice. We can no longer afford to put fish stocks at risk with the annual horse trading of quotas."
Further comment came from Greenpeace EU fisheries policy adviser Saskia Richartz, who said, "Making sure fish stocks recover before they're wiped out by overfishing makes a lot of sense.
"Anyone will tell you that more fish means more business for fishermen and a healthier sea. But right now it’s hard to see how the EU wants to get there. Trading around fishing quotas won't stop overfishing, especially without a clear pathway to bring the fleet size in line with how much fish is left in the sea."
