Coastal fishers from Germany, Sweden and Denmark recently travelled to Poland to support their colleagues who believe that their cod catches are adversely affected by illegal and unregulated trawling for sandeel in the exclusion zone, and discussed the need to establish of a common European coastal fishing organisation.
The fishers from the Baltic region attended the Greenpeace action of dropping boulders within the exclusive three nautical mile zone off the Polish coastline, in which trawling is prohibited. This action has resonated amongst the coastal fishermen, who feel they are left on the sidelines of the political process with regard to fisheries policy.
In order to better affect policy, the coastal fishermen feel they need to investigate the possibility of establishing a common European coastal fishing organisation. According to a Danish representative “an organisation of small-scale fisheries in each state which can cooperate with the EU must be a top priority.”
Moreover, they argue that significant funds are made available each year to fisheries development from the EU and Member States, but only a tiny fraction goes to small-scale fisheries. In order to remedy this and a perceived lack of influence over EU fisheries policy, they plan to improve the organisation and cooperation amongst themselves.