At a meeting in the European Parliament, Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki emphasized the need for a radical reform of the CFP, continued efforts to reduce discards and the importance of the small-scale fisheries sector and “blue growth”.
She also spoke of the importance of integration of different maritime sector policies, regionalisation and marine spatial planning.
In late March, the new Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Maria Damanaki, spoke at a meeting about the Integrated Maritime Policy organised by the Intergroup of Seas and Coastal Affairs in the European Parliament. Her focus was on “blue growth”, jobs, integration and the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
Europe’s new economic strategy – Europe 2020 – was mentioned several times. It will replace the Lisbon Strategy, which has been criticized under the current financial crisis, and aims for “smart, sustainable and inclusive growth”.
The meeting attracted a lot of attention from Parliamentarians as well as other stakeholders and Ms. Damanaki was met by a full room. While beginning her presentation with integration and maritime policy, emphasising the need for regional solutions and marine spatial planning, she ended up talking quite a bit about fisheries policy during the question time.
It was clear that the Commission still wants to see a radical reform of the CFP, and not just tinkering around the edges. The issue of discards and the associated waste of resources also remains high on the agenda, and she went as far as to suggest that effort management would replace quotas in mixed fisheries. This would be combined with efforts to reduce bycatch through strong promotion of selective gear, as well as better control and information through the use of onboard surveillance cameras.
Ms. Damanaki also talked about the need for long-term management plans for all stocks and better use of the scientific advice that is provided. She expressed support for the current advice system and said that she would not accept last minute bargaining with Member States based on their own studies – which may have drawn peoples thoughts to the December decision on anchovy in the Bay of Biscay.
Jobs, sustainability and the small-scale fishing sector came up several times in the discussion and are clearly important to the Commissioner as well. She also highlighted the need for greater policy coherence and suggested that this should be facilitated by the use of public funds for, among other things, greater selectivity, more sustainable practices at sea and a general greening of the maritime sectors.