In a well-attended conference in the Danish Parliament last Friday, Mette Gjerskov, the Danish Fisheries Minster laid out her ambitions for the CFP reform. The event was organised by a group of Danish NGOs and also featured presentations from the rapporteurs Ulrika Rodust (S&D, DE) and Isabella Lövin (Greens, Sweden), along with coastal fishermen’s representative, Naseegh Jaffer, and the researcher Seth Macinko.
In her presentation, Minister Gjerskov discussed the Danish Presidency’s plans for the CFP reform and emphasised that it was her responsibility “to act sustainably”. Healthy stocks and biodiversity were the cornerstones for fisheries management and her headline for the Presidency was “sustainability through an ecosystem approach”. To this end, she argued it was essential for discarding and the overexploitation of our scarce resources to stop.
When discussing the EMFF package, the Minister asked what should be the guiding principles for subsidies. She identified three key words – “environment, sustainability and innovation”. In order to have a coherent CFP, attention needs to be paid to improving selectivity, scientific evidence and controls.
Reflecting on the March Council meeting, Gjerskov felt that they had taken a step forward in moving toward the Council agreeing on the landing obligation, but that questions over improving selectivity, what to do with unwanted catches and the timeframe still remained. Moreover, she looked forward to the April Council, at which TFCs and regionalisation will be discussed, stating that “TFCs should not be mandatory… (they) can be a solution but they are not the only solution, we need to look at other tools for addressing overcapacity”.
Particular attention was given in her presentation to the goal of reaching MSY by 2015. The Minister emphasised that this was Danish policy and she supported the Commission proposals, with long-term management plans being a tool for reaching MSY by this timeline. The Minster stated that “all important fisheries should be managed by LTMPs with the aim of reaching MSY by 2015….if this is not possible for all fisheries then we should do it as fast as possible”.