Activites

• 2006/03/15 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T6-0091/2006 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Seán Ó NEACHTAIN (UEN, IE) on more environmentally-friendly fishing methods. It reminded the Commission that it should take a more wide-ranging view of measures to protect the marine environment and rebuild depleted stocks, in particular by considering coastal and offshore pollution, industrial and agricultural effluents, deep-sea dredging and maritime transport, so as to complement current management methods. Technical measures should be based on scientific fishing research.Parliament stated that, while ecological considerations are of major concern, future fisheries management policies must not be used to further penalise economically and socially vital fishing operations. It was essential to achieve a balance between socio-economic exigencies and environmental sustainability, while underlining the need to activate a mechanism for subsidising or compensating fishermen who are affected by the negative effects of environmentally-friendly fishing. Parliament called for the adoption of technical methods to improve selectivity and, therefore, the possibility of catching fish at the right size, in order to maintain high productivity. Only by ensuring that fish spawn and develop for a minimum specific period can the satisfactory reproduction of fish be made possible.Any significantly negative impact of fishing on marine biodiversity must be limited through the establishment of marine reserves, real-time area closures and other appropriate and balanced management measures. Parliament expressed particular concern over the issue of ghost fishing and urged the Commission to take action to combat the issue, including close monitoring of the effectiveness of any provisions that are adopted at EU level.It went on to highlight the need to reduce discards, which produce detrimental biological effects as well as having negative economic impacts, through the adoption of closed seasons, prohibited zones and mesh size regulations. Parliament asked the Commission to bring forward proposals for pilot projects aimed at reducing discards, and suggested that the option of discard bans accompanied by appropriate incentives for fishermen be considered. Parliament urged the Commission to promote actively the adoption of an FAO International Plan of Action on by-catch reduction. The Commission must avoid conflicting objectives and superfluous regulations and avail itself of this opportunity to simplify the overall regulatory system. It should consider the application of environmentally-friendly fishing technical measures as a complement to existing effort limitations in relation to stock recovery plans. In this context, it was absolutely essential to develop and implement the satellite technology needed to detect the presence of unauthorised fishing vessels in closed areas and in Marine Protected Areas, in order to guarantee effective protection of fish, their critical habitat and other biodiversity.

• 2006/03/14 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2006/02/01 Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • A6-0019/2006
• 2006/01/31 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• 2004/11/18 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• #2592
• 2004/06/21 Council Meeting
• 2004/06/21 Non-legislative basic document published
  • COM(2004)0438 summary

    PURPOSE : to propose ways in which the Community can further promote the use of environmentally-friendly fishing methods, particularly through technical conservation measures.CONTENT : Environmentally-friendly fishing activities contribute to promoting sustainable economic and social conditions in the fishing sector. Fishermen need healthy fish stocks in a balanced environment. Any upset in this balance leads to the cycle of "boom and bust", which is unsustainable in economic terms. Within an integrated management approach there are three main objectives related toconservation and the development of environmentally-friendly fishing:- to reduce fishing effort to sustainable levels and keep it there : this is the single most important challenge for the CFP. It has been estimated that, on average, 20 million tonnes are discarded each year from marine capture fisheries worldwide. This corresponds to about 23% of the annual catches. There are no estimates available on the total amount of discards in Community waters. However, the total amount of fishery discards in the North Sea in 1990 was around 260, 000 tonnes of roundfish, 300, 000 tonnes of flatfish, 15, 000 tonnes of rays, skates and dogfish, and 150, 000 tonnes of bottom invertebrates. These discards correspond to about 22% of the total landings from the North Sea and are in line with the worldwide figures. Obviously the problem is not restricted to the North Sea. In other fishing areas of the Community the problem of discarding is probably of a similar order of magnitude. In spite of recent decisions of the Council fishing mortalities for most species are substantially higher than needed in order to take optimal yields from the stocks. For some demersal stocks fishing mortalities have recently been so high that the stocks are under threat of collapse; for many more, fishing mortality rates are judged to be unsustainable in the longer term.- to optimise catches of target species and minimise unwanted catches. The aim is to make fishing operations as selective as possible, by retaining target specimens of the right species and size with minimum impact on other species or juvenile fish of the target species.-to minimise the impact of fishing on habitats. The use of some types of fishing gears can damage or even destroy sensitive marine habitats. Gear specifications and area restrictions on the use of certain gears may be necessary to reduce this risk.Methods of achieving each of these objectives are briefly examined in the communication.The paper states that a fresh impetus needs to be given to the promotion of more environmentally-friendlyfishing within the CFP. This calls for action under the following headings:-a more decentralised approach to the development of more environmentally friendly fishing methods;-greater involvement of the fishing sector in the regulatory process;-sharing and developing knowledge at Community level;-simplification of Community rules;-changing fishermen's behaviour through the development of incentives;-Further development of impact assessments on the ecological, economic and social effects of environmentally friendly fishing methods, particularly as regards their long-term effects.The Commission intends to follow up on the ideas outlined above according to the following timetable.-Review of current technical measures, 2004-2005:-Reduction of discards, 2004-2006:-Research, 2005-2006:-Proposals for new financial incentives, 2004-2005: under the revised fisheries structural fund that will operate from 2007 a high priority should be given to schemes promoting environmentally-friendly fishing, including the development and use of more selective gears and compensation for short term losses for vessels participating in trials of more environmentally-friendly fishing methods. The Commission will include the relevant proposals in the context of the proposal on the future FIFG.

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/maritimeaffairs_fisheries/', 'title': 'Maritime Affairs and Fisheries'}],

Documents

• Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2004)0438
• Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A6-0019/2006
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T6-0091/2006

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)