Last week the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation gathered the Swedish candidates running for the European Parliament to see where they stand on environmental issues. We checked in to hear what they had to say on fisheries.
On the question of technical measures all parties are under the same opinion apart from two issues i) on individual transferable quotas (ITQs) and ii) bottom trawling. All parties said they are against bottom trawling whereas Christofer Fjellner from the Moderate Party explained that they per definition are not against bottom trawling but that bottom trawling should be banned where it has been shown to have a negative impact on the sea floor.
On the issue of ITQs, Isabella Lövin from the Swedish Green Party explained ITQs as a system where fisheries are able to buy fishery rights from poor fisheries as a way to organise fisheries, a system which the European Commission is keen to apply to European fisheries. ITQs would mean that fisheries are seen more as large companies where for example Spanish fisheries can buy quotas in Swedish waters Lövin continued. The Swedish Green Party is of the opinion that allocation of national fishing resources is a question that should take place on a regional level and not on EU level. The Swedish Moderate Party on the other hand are pro an EU led ITQ system.
The debate continued, in light of expanding aquaculture businesses and EU being the largest importer of seafood in the world and as such has a vast impact on the world oceans, with link between illegal fishing and fish feed. It is extremely difficult to have a regulatory framework which covers this issue, it is an important issue but the question is whether it is possible to implement this in practice said Fjellner. Thus leaving it open if the Swedish Moderate Party are pro or against a possible regulatory framework that would set out to prohibit illegal fished fish in fish feed.
Isabella Lövin from the Swedish Green Party emphasised that illegal fishing is a huge challenge for the international trade of fish but stayed positive that there is space for a regulatory framework, referring to the great steps taken by EU with the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) hindering the import of illegal fish into the EU. As of the new CFP all fish that comes in to Europe is required to be accompanied by a catch document that certifies that the fish has been legally fished or at least that the fish has been caught in countries where coastal surveillance, at sea controls and harbour controls take place. “How will we know that the farmed fish we eat is not reared on fish that has not been caught illegally when approximately 50% of the fish we eat is farmed?” Lövin said. It is a pertinent question as to where this fish comes from she continued, illegal fishing is an extremely important issue for which traceability is of highest importance.
The election for the European Parliament will take place May 25.