The upcoming CFP reform will include organisational and funding upgrades that emphasise the growing role of aquaculture, Commissioner Maria Damanaki said after the fisheries ministers’ April Council meeting.
Her remarks were in connection with the ministers’ discussions over a ten-point declaration on freshwater aquaculture launched by the Union’s five landlocked member states.
At the press conference after the conclusion of the fisheries part of the Council meeting, Hungary’s Sándor Fazekas, the meeting president, pointed to the fact that 20 countries had spoken in the debate as proof of the importance of the issue.
Damanaki reiterated the “great importance”, and specified three aspects:
- Fish overall is a “very good, healthy product for our consumers”.
- A growing demand for fish products in the EU is now mainly covered by imports. This demonstrates a “great potential” for growth and new jobs within the Union.
- As an alternative to overfishing, aquaculture in itself is “a conservation measure for our stocks”, she said.
Taking this into consideration, Damanaki continued, her intention was to include in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform some new ideas:
- An “advisory council” on aquaculture will be established. “We need the participation of the Member States in order to have the best results”, she said, adding that the sector and other stakeholders, as well as local authorities, would be included in this “shared competence” process.
- “We will cooperate with and facilitate for member states to prepare their own national management plans on aquaculture”, she announced, “in order to give the sector a real good push”.
- She said that the Commission will also “go for proper funding” of the sector. Asked by a Hungarian reporter about specifics, she admitted however, that the Commission, under the current financial crisis, “is not very willing to use new money”.
Damanaki emphasised that freshwater aquaculture was included in her plans.
The other fisheries point on the agenda for the April meeting in Luxembourg was initial discussions on a new fisheries regime for the Western Waters, a huge part of EU territory.
The current regime is from 2003, and the Commission staked out new principles in a communication last fall.
One key point is access to the so-called outermost regions – the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands. Fazekas said there was general agreement in the Council that the current regime needed to be “updated”, but Damanaki made it clear that since this was to be included in the new CFP and that proposal is not scheduled to be presented until 13 July, she had little to say on the subject now.