Lars Tysklind, a Swedish liberal MP, hosted a stakeholder event in the Swedish Parliament alongside GLOBE and WWF Sweden. To work on the CFP reform, WWF formed an alliance in 2009 with processers, retailers and chefs. The latter groups all work with fish products once they have been landed and the meeting highlighted their desire to supply sustainable produce to consumers.
The alliance has a number of suggestions for the CFP, notably that there should be obligatory multiannual management plans (MAPs) for all fisheries by 2015. Regionalised management with more responsibility decentralised, and improved selectivity so that discards are minimised. Moreover, they suggest that as 60% of EU fish products are imported, the figure is 80% for Sweden, sustainable aquaculture production is a necessity. These policy recommendations are laudable, yet further detail is required for how these would be implemented. To this end, a launch event will take place at the European Seafood Exposition in April.
Per Baummann of Svensk Dagligvaruhandel and Euro Commerce highlighted the benefits of sustainable fisheries management for the processing industry and consumers. He argued that all stakeholders have a shared interest in our seas becoming healthy again and, along with several other participants, referred to the New Economic Foundation report, which stated that if EU fisheries were managed at MSY 100,000 new jobs would be created and revenues would increase by over €3 billion per year.