An article by Richard Black, Environmental Correspondent for BBC, presents the current proposals for the CFP reform. Among other things, the current draft’s center points are planned to consist of eliminating discards, encourage the use of selective fisheries, multi-annual management plans for stock recovery, and restoring fisheries to a Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) level by 2015.
One of the most concerning proposals however is the mandatory adoption of individual transferable quotas (ITQs) “for all fishing vessels of 12m or more… and for all fishing vessels under 12m length fishing with towed gear [such as trawls].” The implementation of this system could have grave consequences for the future of fisheries in Europe, including: fewer operators, concentration of shares in the hands of a few strong fleets, eradication of artisanal/small scale fisheries, and a decrease in employment share within the fisheries sector.
BBC’s Richard Black quotes Markus Knigge of the OCEAN2012 coalition, who reminds us that “Fish stocks are a public resource, we all own them; and access to this resource should be given to those who demonstrate they fish in the most environmental and socially beneficial ways, and it should not be for any great length of time” he said.