At a Fisheries Committee hearing in the European Parliament, Commissioner Damanaki along with the rapporteurs for the four segments of the Common Fisheries Policy reform gave presentations and answered questions from delegates of national parliaments from around the EU. Damanaki gave a robust defence of the Commission’s proposals for the reform, that sought to underline why their proposals should not be diluted.
The key message was that the entrenched problems of European fisheries, such as overfishing and depleted stocks, overcapacity, wasteful fishing practices, and destructive subsidies need to be confronted now or they will become even more difficult to solve. Moreover, Damanaki lambasted her critics who were accused of attempting to weakening her proposals and delay measures which aim to secure the sustainability of European fisheries.
Particular focus was given to the target of reaching at least the Maximum Sustainable Yield for fish stocks by 2015. She argued that by including MSY “where possible” in the CFP, could mean it never happens. To emphasise the benefits of raising fish stocks to beyond the MSY target, Damanaki referenced the new economic foundation report which demonstrated that 83,000 jobs and 1.8 bn euros would be generated. Furthermore,since 2009, the number of EU stocks that have reached this target has jumped from 5 to 38. However, she did not elaborate on why so many fish stocks have insufficient scientific data to estimate what the MSY is.
For the proposed discard ban, she repeated that subsidies will be available for selective gears to aid fishers in their transition, and this meant the implementation of the landing obligation should not be delayed. She was also highly critical of Mediterranean states who are in opposition, stating that “too many baby fish are eaten there….we need to stop this market for juveniles”.
On mandatory TFCs, in a somewhat hostile exchange where Damanaki was labelled a “liberal”, the Commissioner countered that “for the first time the CFP gives explicit recognition of public ownership of fish”. She put forward the argument that with safeguards, quota concentration would not occur. While the small-scale fleet, which accounts for 40% of EU landings, could be excluded by Member States.