Activities of Nora MEBAREK related to 2022/2148(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implications of Chinese fishing operations on EU fisheries and the way forward
Amendments (21)
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 states that the importation of fishery products obtained from illegal, unreported and unregulated (hereinafter: ‘IUU’) fishing shall be prohibited; whereas the European Union, as the largest import market for fishery products in the world, has a central role to play in the fight against IUU fishing worldwide;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas there are currently four third countries with a red card and eight third countries with a yellow card; , but the People's Republic of China has never been subject to a procedure under the IUU Regulation, despite considerable evidence of the PRC's significant and growing involvement in IUU fishing, as analysed in a December 2022 study on 'The role and impact of China on world fisheries and aquaculture' commissioned by the PECH Committee1 a; _________________ 1 a Pauly, D. et al., ‘Research for PECH Committee – Role and impact of China on world fisheries and aquaculture’, European Parliament, Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies, Brussels, 2022, pp.14 and 28.
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas China has the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet, with more than 2 700 vessels according to official Chinese figures, and is the world’'s largest importer of fishmeal7; whereas the EU's distant-water fleet is comparatively much smaller, with 259 vessels; _________________ 7 Pauly, D. et al., ‘Research for PECH Committee – Role and impact of China on world fisheries and aquaculture’, European Parliament, Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies, Brussels, 2022, pp.14 and 28.
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the People’'s Republic of China ratified the Agreement to prevent unregulated high seas fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean in June 2022 but has not yet ratified numerous key international conventions to tackle IUU fishing, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Agreement on Port State Measures (APSM) and International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No 188 on Work in Fishing;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the EU and the People’'s Republic of China signed a bilateral agreement in 2018, known as the Blue Partnership, which aims to improve cooperation on global ocean governance and whereas the standing Blue Partnership working group meets once or twice a year; whereas the Long Distance Advisory Council (LDAC) and Market Advisory Council (MAC) joint advice of 15 December 2022 states that 'the pace at which [cooperation between the EU and China in fighting IUU fishing] is achieved is not commensurate with the rapid expansion of the Chinese distant water fishing fleet and the global impact of its vast, unsustainable, and opaque activities';
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the US Treasury’'s Office of Foreign Assets Control has placed sanctions under the Magnitsky Act on several Chinese fishing companies, covering a total 157 vessels, for alleged use of forced labour;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas China’'s global marine catch is currently between 14 and 16 million tonnes, of which 3 to 4 million tonnes come from distant water fishing including a large proportion caught in the waters off West Africa and off western South America (Ecuador and Peru)8; whereas, according to the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products, the PRC was, in 2022, the third-largest exporter of fishery and aquaculture products in terms of value to the European Union, after Norway and the United Kingdom; whereas imports from the PRC amounted to EUR 1 815 371 000 in 2022, i.e. 5.6 % of total EU imports; whereas the EU's trade balance with the PRC for fishery and aquaculture products is running at a considerable deficit (-EUR 1 095 600 000); _________________ 8 Idem, p.14.
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Deplores the lack of transparency concerning the number of vessels making up China’s distant-water fleet; notes that the total Chinese fleet amounts to almost 27 000 vessels; regrets that the ‘'control’' regulation adopted by China applies only to its distant-water vessels, which represent a mere fraction of its entire fleet; calls on the Commission to encourage and guide the PRC Government in drawing up and adopting standards governing distant- water fishing with a view to moving towards sustainable fishing techniques;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Encourages the Commission to support innovation and research to develop monitoring, tracking and geolocation instruments for vessels on the high seas by supporting the implementation of international initiatives designed to coordinate data systems and provide complete, precise data and transparent information on the location, origin and activity of fishing vessels;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Encourages the Commission to require all fishing vessels to have an IMO identification number and to prohibit the use of flags of convenience; calls for public access to information on the beneficial ownership of fishing vessels of all flags; calls on the European Commission to improve its system for identifying vessels engaged in IUU fishing, as provided for in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1184, so that a boat's country of origin can be identified even if its flag state is unclear and so that boats on which human rights violations have been detected are also included;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Asks the Commission to demand more transparency from the Chinese authorities on the fishing activities undertaken by and the fishing agreements entered into by that country’s distant-water fleets; calls on the Commission to launch a catch identification system in cooperation with the PRC, based on the recommendations in the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Catch Documentation Schemes; points out the importance of using all the international tools available in the fight against IUU fishing;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes the multiplication of fishing agreements between the People’'s Republic of China and third countries; deplores the lack of transparency on these agreements, licences and authorisations, particularly regarding possible unsustainable cumulative effects on the fisheries resources of third countries that also have fisheries agreements with the Union;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Requests that China ratify and implement the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures, as well as other international agreements and treaties designed to combat IUU fishing, and ensure fishing vessels on the high seas follow international marine ecosystem management and conservation measures; invites coastal states to disclose the infringements made and sanctions applied on distant-water fishing vessels;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Asks the Member States to strictly enforce EU law on the system for traceability and reporting of catches; wishes to know how many products are caught by Chinese vessels that subsequently enter the EU market; points out the need to harmonise controls at ports and on commercial platforms of all imported fisheries products in order to restrict the movement of products from illegal fishing on the internal market; calls for enhanced certification of origin for imported fishery products so that fisheries are subject to European legislation rather than flag state legislation, in order to ensure that products entering the internal market come from sustainable sources and their origin and compliance have been checked;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Encourages China and the countries with which it has signed fisheries agreements to strengthen their capacity to monitor, detect, prevent and respond to IUU fishing incidents; suggests that the Commission should provide technical and financial support to that end;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that China has considerably increased its imports into the EU by means of autonomous tariff quotas; takes the view that this creates market distortions, such as the wholesale imports in January, that are out of line with the specific demands; observes that these imports have gradually increased from 25 000 tonnes in 2017 to 50 000 tonnes in 2020; calls on the European Commission, therefore, to reassess the relevance of those tariff quotas in view of their impact on the European fishing industry and to propose changes or suspension thereto if necessary;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Advocates the establishment of management plans in countries with which the EU has signed sustainable fisheries partnership agreements (SFPAs); notes that the SFPA with Mauritania, which includes a management plan for pelagic species, has reduced the fishing pressure imposed by all vessels targeting these stocks; highlights the direct and indirect impact of overfishing on the EEZs of developing countries, whose economies are highly dependent on fishing, leading to more piracy and to artisanal fishers distrusting the EU;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. InvitesCalls on the Commission to invokenforce EU Regulation 2020/1998 against Chinese companies already sanctioned by the US Treasury and, if necessary, to extend this measure to other companies accused of human rights violations;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Emphasises collaboration with China at global level, under the banner of the FAO, regional fisheries management organisations and the WTO, with a view to devising global policies and regulations to combat IUU fishing; reminds the Commission of the need for the EU to be a leader in international negotiations in order to promote its ambitions, vision and goals for sustainable fisheries;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Invites the EU and China to cooperate closely on the sustainable use of marine biological resources, on ocean governance ‑ in particular in the fisheries sector ‑ and in combating IUU fishing; calls on the Commission to assess the results achieved by the initiative for a 'blue partnership' with the PRC;