Activities of Marco AFFRONTE related to 2016/2079(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Status of fish stocks and socio-economic situation of the fishing sector in the Mediterranean (debate) IT
Status of fish stocks and socio-economic situation of the fishing sector in the Mediterranean (debate) IT
Reports (1)
REPORT on the status of fish stocks and the socio-economic situation of the fishing sector in the Mediterranean PDF (344 KB) DOC (76 KB)
Amendments (25)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard the UN Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015 entitled "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development "
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
- having regard to the Regional Conference on "Building a future for sustainable small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea" (Algiers, Algeria 7-9 March 2016)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Mediterranean has to take up the major challenge of reachieving MSY for most stocks by 2020ng the objective of progressively restoring and maintaining the populations of fish stocks above biomass levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield, at the latest by 2020 for all stocks; whereas in the Mediterranean basin the overall level of overfishing is broadly between 2 and 3 times the FMSY; whereas, despite the considerable efforts made both within and outside the EU to develop an effective legal framework and ensure implementation and compliance in the fisheries sector, over 93% of the assessed species in the Mediterranean are still regarded as being overfished;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. Whereas fisheries in this region is of great socio-economic importance to coastal populations. The sector employs hundreds of thousands of people including through the secondary processing sector. Many women depend on the sector for employment. Mediterranean makes a vital contribution towards food security particularly for the region's most vulnerable populations. It offers a way to supplement income or food supply contributing to regional stability.
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. Whereas in the basin, small-scale fisheries represents 80% of the fleet and 60% of the jobs; regrets that there is no commonly agreed definition of SSF at European level and acknowledges that this is very difficult due to the variety of specificities and characteristics of the marine ecosystem and the fishing sector. "Small-scale coastal fishing" is formally defined only for the purposes of the European Fisheries Fund (Regulation 1198/2006) as "fishing carried out by fishing vessels of an overall length of less than 12 metres and not using towed gear" (such as trawls); considers that the definition of small-scale fishing should take account of a range of national and regional characteristics;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas at the high-level meeting on the status of stocks in the Mediterranean (February 2016, Catania), an agreement was reached on the urgent need to reverse these negative trends, taking note of the major challenge of achievingrestoring and maintaining populations of fish stocks above biomass levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield MSY for all species by 2020 at the latest;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas in its resolution of 2 February 2016 on the mid-term review of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy (2015/2137(INI)), Parliament acknowledges the vital contribution that marine protected areas established under the Natura 2000 network will play in achieving a good environmental status under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and in delivering the global target of 10 % of coastal and marine areas being protected, as set out in Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, by 2020, and regrets that this target is still far from being achieved;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. Whereas, apart from overfishing, Mediterranean sea is facing numerous challenges; the majority of which are due to a densely populated coastline (excess of nutrients, pollutants, habitat and coastline alterations) but also from the maritime transport, overexploitation of resources (oil & gas harvest, among others). Furthermore, Mediterranean is very vulnerable to climate changes that in combination with intense maritime traffic, is favouring the introduction and establishment of new invasive species;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers it urgent to provide a response that is collective, based on multi- tier cooperation – international, European, national and regional; considers that all stakeholders, including fishermen, scientists, managers of marine protected areas and NGOs, should be involved in an inclusive, bottom-up process;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the CFP recognises that access to fishing opportunities should be distributed primarily among small-scale non-industrial fishermen, or those in small coastal areas, and should include incengives incentives including fishing opportunitives (Article 7(1)(d) of the CFP regulation) in order to promote more selective fishing techniques which have a, to fishing with lower impact on the marine ecosystem and fishery resources; notes that, for this reason, efforts should be made in this direction, to ensure that incentives and preferential access to coastal fishing areas are given to the small-scale (artisanal) fleet as opposed to those fisheries segments that are not selective and have a greater impact;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Takes the view that it is not feasible to protect and safeguard Mediterranean fisheries and environmental resources through effective fisheries management policies unless they are backed up by strong, wide-ranging and urgent policies and measures to counter the anthropogenic factors that affect and have an adverse impact on those resources: climate change (warming, acidification, rainfall), pollution (chemical, organic, macro- and microscopic), gas and oil exploration and extraction, shipping traffic, invasive species and destruction or alteration of natural habitats, especially coastal; Considers thus important to better understand the impact of those factors on fish stock; in that respect calls for strengthening the use of existing European capacities to observe and monitor the Mediterrenean sea like the Copernicus programme and its marine component and EMODnet
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers it feasible tothe introducetion of non- transferable quotas as one possible conservation measure, especially for species subject to single-species fisheries; is of the view that, to avoid social inequalities, fishing opportunities should be allocated using objective and transparent criteria, including environmental, social and economic criteria, giving due consideration to low impact methods and should also be fairly distributed within the various fisheries segments, including traditional and small- scale fishing; is of the view, in addition, that incentives should be provided for fleets to use more selective fishing equipment and techniques that have a reduced impact on the marine environment, in keeping with Article 17 of the CFP regulation;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Welcomes the increase in the number of inspections of the European Control Agency and stresses the need to strengthen efforts for tackling the two major problems in terms of compliance in 2016: false declaration of documents (logbook, landing and transfer declarations, sales notes etc.) and the use of prohibited or non-compliant fishing gear.
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that the system of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean covers an inadequate area, with major coverage disparities between the various basins; considers it crucial to increase the percentage of marine protected areas and a general shortage of economic resources; considers it crucial to recognise and enhance the role marine protected areas already play as advanced laboratories for scientific research, for the implementation of specific measures and for cooperation and shared management with fishermen, to increase the percentage of marine protected areas, to secure a stable increase in funding for the system and to identify areas to be covered by protection measures, in addition to implementing an effective monitoring and control system to check they are effective;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Stresses the importance to develop fisheries restricted areas and marine protected areas so as to cover at least 10% of the Mediterranean sea by 2020, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development goal 14.5; Invites the GFCM during the 2018 annual session to agree on a progressive calendar with qualified objectives to achieve this target;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Calls the European Commission and the Member-States to take measures in order to address the problem of marine litter and plastics in the sea that create very severe environmental, ecological, economic and health damages;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Stresses the importance of cooperation and the need to promote compliance and level playing field in the fisheries control with third countries and RFMOs and to strengthen horizontal coordination for the management of marine areas and fish stocks beyond national jurisdiction:
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to assist non-EU Mediterranean countries in modernising their fisheries sectors and to achieve sustainable fisheries, also through a policy of fisheries agreements that are more balanced, fair and sustainablekeeping an open channel of communication and to establish the necessary dialogue between the different national administrations involved, in order to adequately support the implementation of the GFCM mid-term strategy (2017–2020) and reverse the alarming trend in the status of Mediterranean stocks;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Urges riparian States to cooperate in order to establish fisheries restricted and marine protected areas including in international waters;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Considers that the Commission and the Member-States should issue guidelines on how best to use funding from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the European Neighbourhood Instrument;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2 a (new)
Subheading 2 a (new)
DATA
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Observes that, despite the recent improvements, the number of stocks without a real assessment of their status remains high and that the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) deplores the fact that we have witnessed an actual reduction in the number of assessments, from 44 in 2012 to a mere 15 in 2014;Stresses the importance of ensuring rapid and proper data collection and enhancing the knowledge on the stocks and the impact of recreational fisheries and external factors such as pollution in order to achieve sustainable management of stocks;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Recogniszes that the data available for measuring the extent and impact of small-scale fishing activities are limited and can vary from country to country; observes that, because of this lack of data, non-industrial fishing tends to be underestimated, which marginaliszes it in decision-making and impedes the proper estimation of its impact;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses the strong and crucial need to share data and combat their inaccessibility and dispersion, by developing an all-embracing online archive, which common database with comprehensive and reliable fisheries data and establishing of a network of experts and research institutions covering different domains of fisheries science; This database should be publiclyEU funded and should contain all the data on fisheries and fishing, so as activities by geographical subarea, in order to facilitate the monitoring of quality and multiple, independent analyses and thus to adopt a constructive approach tod comprehensive data and thus enhance stock assessments;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Notes that the impacts, as well as the quantities, extent and characteristics of IUU fishing (i.e. illegalillegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU), are currently not assessed and are therefore underrepresented in information about the current status of fisheries and about trends over time, yet ought to be adequately taken into account in the development of scientific assessments for purposes of fisheries management;