Activities of Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ related to 2016/2079(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Status of fish stocks and socio-economic situation of the fishing sector in the Mediterranean (debate) ES
Shadow 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 (22)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Mediterranean has to take up the major challenge of achieving MSY for most stocks by 2020 and this will require the participation and commitment of countries outside the EU; 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 of and compliance with legislation in the fisheries sector, over 93% of the assessed species in the Mediterranean are still regarded as being overfished;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas recreational fishing is of socio-economic value in many regions of the Mediterranean and it has both a direct and an indirect impact on employment;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas account needs to be taken of the role that recreational fishing plays with regard to the state of stocks in the Mediterranean area;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses the importance of enforcing, in the short term and comprehensively, the targets and measures laid down in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and of a timely, urgent and effective implementation of the multiannual management plans provided for in the CFP, taking an ecosystem-based approach; stresses, in particular, the need to achieve the Good Environmental Status (GES) goal established by Framework Directive 2008/56/EC on the strategy for the marine environment, taking into account that fisheries management measures should be decided only in the context of the Common Fisheries Policy;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Takes the view that the Mediterranean should continue to receive differential treatment by comparison with the remaining sea basins under the CFP, since much of it comprises international waters in which third countries play a decisive role with regard to the state of stocks;
Amendment 28 #
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 and NGOs, should be involved in an inclusive, bottom-up process; emphasises the strategic role played by the Mediterranean Advisory Council in this context;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the CFP recognises that acConsiders it necessary to fishing opportunities should be distributed primarily amongcontinue to provide increased support for small- scale, traditional and non-industrial fishermen, and for those in small coastal areas, and should include incentivthrough, among other measures, preferential access for traditional fishing to the 12-mile zones (Article 7(1)(d)5 of the CFP regulation) and incentives under the CFP regulation in order to promote more selective fishing techniques which have a 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 impactpoints out that efforts should be made in favour of the EU's most sustainable fleets;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that, according to the FAO, a precautionary realistic approach to the conservation, management and exploitation of living marine resources should be applied, in order totaking account of socio- economic considerations, in order to achieve sustainable fisheries while protecting and preserveing the marine environment as a whole and to; highlight thats the lack of scientific information must not be an excuse to postpone conservation and management measures, or to make them fail;
Amendment 55 #
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;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers it feasible to introduce non-transferable quotas, especially for species subject to single-species fisheries; iIs of the view that, to avoid social inequalities, fishing opportunities should be allocated using objective and transparent criteria, including environmental, social and economic criteria, 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 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Takes the view that the depletion of stocks in the Mediterranean should be tackled through fisheries management measures that include area and time- based restrictions and daily or weekly fishing limits; believes that these measures should be decided in close cooperation with the sector concerned in order to ensure efficient implementation;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Maintains that the partnership agreements with Morocco must respect the legitimate aspirations of the people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic to independence and to self-determination as regards its coastal arearights of the Sahrawi people.
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that the system of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean covers an inadequat percentage of the area, with major coverage disparities between the various basins; considers it crucial to increase the percentage of marine protected areasensure a more linked-up network of marine protected areas, using a scientific basis, 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 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers it vital for policies to take a varied and nuanced approach, within management plans, and with different criteria based on the biological characteristics of the species and technical characteristics of the fishing methods; considers, moreover, that appropriate planning in space (rotating ‘no fishing’ areas, total or partial closure depending on fishing systems) and time (biological recovery periods) should be the vitala component of any multiannual plan, in addition to the promotion of technical measures aimed at maximum gear selectivity;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Believes that coordinated action with third countries from the Mediterranean needs to be encouraged by stepping up political and technical cooperation under the aegis of international institutions active in this area; welcomes the recent launch of the European Commission's MedFish4Ever programme, a call for action to halt the depletion of fish stocks in the Mediterranean; stresses the need to do all in our power under this programme to promote sustainable fisheries in the Mediterranean countries;
Amendment 108 #
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 athe European policy of fisheries agreements that are more balanced, fair and sustainable;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls for, with a view to ensuring equal conditions for all vessels fishing in the Mediterranean area, the establishment of a regional plan, under the aegis of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, to ensure a fair balance is struck between fishing resources and the fleet capacity of all countries on the Mediterranean shore, as well as a regional centre for the vessel monitoring system (VMS) and joint inspection operations;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Stresses the need to lay down a set of ground rules for the management of recreational fisheries throughout the Mediterranean;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses that 250 000 people are directly employed on board boats and that the number of people dependent on the fishing industry increases exponentially if one includes families whose subsistence is derived from regional fishing and who are employed in secondary industries, such as processing, maintenance of boats and tourism, including activities linked to recreational fishing; notes that 60% of work involved in fishing is located in developing countries to the south and east of the Mediterranean, which shows how important small-scale fishing is for the sustainable development of those regions and, in particular, for the most vulnerable coastal communities;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers it vital to promote, emphasise and provide incentives for cooperation between fishermen, particularly small-scale fishermen, within the same area or region, for the purpose of tackling jointly the planning and management of local fisheries resources with the aim of effective and practical regionalisation, in accordance with the aims of the CFP, given that the enormous fragmentation and differentiation of occupations, targets, technical characteristics and equipment used make it practically impossible to adopt a cross- cutting and unambiguous approach;
Amendment 152 #
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 should be publicly funded and should contain all the data on fish and fishing, including recreational fishing so as to facilitate monitoring of quality and multiple, independent analyses and thus to adopt a constructive approach to stock assessments;
Amendment 155 #
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. illegal fishing), are currently not sufficiently 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;