Parliament vote fails to protect deep-sea stocks

At yesterday’s plenary vote at the European Parliament on deep-sea fishing in the North-East Atlantic, the Commission proposal to phase out deep-sea bottom trawling and bottom gill netting was narrowly defeated by 342 votes to 326.

“It is a sad day for deep-sea life,” said Matthew Gianni, policy advisor to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition and The Pew Charitable Trusts. “The European Parliament came close but ultimately could not find the resolve to phase out deep-sea bottom trawling, one of the most destructive fishing practices. None the less, a number of the measures agreed to by the Parliament today would, if effectively implemented, help limit the damage to deep-sea ecosystems.”

Deep-sea stocks are fish caught in waters beyond the main fishing grounds of the continental shelves. Most of these species are slow-growing and long-living, which makes them particularly vulnerable to fishing. Their habitats and ecosystems are largely unknown and their fragile environment, once damaged, may take centuries to recover.

In order to protect vulnerable habitats, the plenary approved an amendment that all fishing activities should be banned in areas with vulnerable marine ecosystems, and the Commission will be responsible to mapping these habitats based on information provided by Member States.

Within the EU, a segment of the French fishing fleet is the most dependent on deep-sea fishing and campaigned against regulations on fishing practices on the basis of a negative impact on employment and the local economy in Brittany.

However, on the same day as the Parliament vote, Carrefour, the largest company in France, announced that they would stop selling three more deep-sea species next year, following on from their discontinuation of two stocks earlier this year. Another supermarket chain, Casino, also decided to stop selling all major species caught by deep-sea bottom-trawling as of next month.

Rapporteur Kriton Arsenis (S&D, GR) said “Parliament gave in to industry demands and voted against an immediate ban on bottom trawling and a switch to more selective gear. Now is the moment of truth for the Council.”

Despite the Parliament’s vote, a conclusion to the deep-sea file is a distant prospect. The Council has repeatedly put the issue on the backburner and the forthcoming Greek Presidency has shown little inclination to take up the file, having already cancelled the January Council meeting at which discussions between Member States could have moved forward.