On 27 July a WWF meeting “New Common Fisheries Policy – challenges and chances”, under the patronage of the Polish EU Presidency, explored the proposed measures in the CFP reform package and provided a forum for about 70 stakeholders— NGOs, fishermen, scientists, fish processors— to express their opinions on the current reform proposals. Long term management plans and regionalisation issues also formed a significant part of the discussions. Representatives from across the Baltic participated in the meeting, including Poland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, and Germany.
The general opinion among all the participants was that the current Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform proposals are a step in the right direction, although more discussion is needed on the details of some of the CFP package aspects.
One such aspect relates to the mandatory introduction of the controversial Transferable Fishing Concessions (TFCs) for all European Union (EU) Member States, for at least a 15-year period. It was agreed that the timeframe for implementation of this is too long, and instead of proposing only one compulsory tool, Member States (MS) should have the possibility to choose from a range of schemes, as they do today. Leszek Dybiec, the Adviser to the Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, expressed caution and stated that MS should be able to make individual decisions on implementing TFCs, a process, which would be in line with the proposed regionalisation framework. Richard Lochhead, Member of the Scottish Parlament and Minister of Environment and Rural Development, stated that Scottish government does not support this proposal as it is not correct to put publicly owned resources at risk. He added that this scheme may also lead to a market monopoly of rights to fisheries.
Another worry related to the sustainable management of coastal fisheries, which have been defined by the European Commission as fisheries in the 12 nautical mile zone, which refers to an area where each MS has sovereignty over its territorial waters. Although the European Commission prioritises the protection of coastal fishermen in the current reform package, all aspects of management of this segment remains in the hands of individual Member States where there is a clear lack of legal framework on how this will be dealt with, aside from the fact that it should be aligned with EU regulations.
Another concern which has been posited is a proposal which refers to an international commitment, which obliges the European Union (EU) to achieve Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) for all stocks by 2015, despite the fact that most commercial fish stocks in the Baltic Sea are currently fished above the levels of MSY. Carl O’Brien, vice-chairman of International Committee on the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), stated that it is not possible to achieve MSY for all stocks simultaneously, in this case by 2015. He continued by saying that more multi-species fisheries management plans are needed , and although a challenge, this will ensure biological diversity in our seas/oceans and maintain fish stock levels within safe biological limits. This type of management needs to be carried out using the ecosystems based approach and adhere to the Good Environmental Status (GES) criteria under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, although more complex knowledge is still required to understand the interdependence factors among various stocks.
In terms of the discards ban proposal, the participants agreed that a regional approach to this problem is needed and only a decision which is based on Member State consensus, will work out in practice. Dr. Zimmerman of the German Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, stated that there should be an onus on the fishermen to increase the use of highly selective tools in fisheries. He added that in relation to the Baltic Sea cod, minimum landing size limits should be replaced with minimum market size limits to avoid discarding of this fish.
In general, there was a feeling that not enough detail is included in terms of the regionalisation aspect in the reform proposals, and support was expressed for the creation of more stakeholder regional platforms. BALTFISH served as an example but only on condition that Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council (BS RAC) is included into its structure with voting powers. One of the fishermen stressed that there should be attention paid to the interdependence between fish and fishermen, and not solely to the relationship between fish and the environment. He claimed that in the multiannual plan discussions, the aspect of human capital is often neglected.
Marcin Rucinski, Fisheries Counsellor representing EU Polish Presidency in Brussels, concluded that there is a need to integrate the internal and external dimensions of the CFP in the EU. He added that the European Union, as the global market force, should take responsibility for fish stocks globally. He added that Poland will take all the steps necessary to ensure an effective reform process, although, he warned, the reform work will not finish with the Polish Presidency. Denmark will take over from Poland with the start of their presidency in January 2012.