Yesterday the Fisheries Committee in Parliament heard diverse views on the implementation of multispecies management plans. Presenters focused largely on the proposed Baltic multiannual plan for cod, sprat and herring and ongoing issues regarding the landing obligation and technical measures. Discussion also included preparations and lessons learned for the North Sea multiannual plan and other plans in development. MEP Walesa also noted the difficult negotiations ahead when the Baltic multiannual plan returns to trilogue in the near future.
Ireneusz Wojcik from the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Poland and Olivier Leprêtre, President of the regional fisheries committee of Boulogne-sur-Mer, France both testified to the ongoing difficulties for industry to comply with both the landing obligation and prescriptive, inflexible technical measures. Wojcik noted the upcoming Baltic Sea Advisory Council recommendation, which will propose some means to resolve conflicting regulations between the landing obligation and existing technical measures.
In the second panel, four speakers focused on future management plans in development and lessons learned from the Baltic multiannual plan. From widely different backgrounds, the speakers included Simon Collins of the Shetland Fisherman’s Association, Scotland, Raul Prellezo from AZTI Research Institute, Basque Country, Andrew Clayton from The Pew Charitable Trusts and Pim Visser representing VisNed, the umbrella organization for Dutch Dermersal Producer Organizations. All spoke passionately and articulately, and with restraint given their diverse views about the course of fisheries management in Europe.
Perhaps the most foundational issue came from Collins’ who appealed for Parliament and Council to ‘fight the battle for democracy somewhere else’, referring to the current impasse over F ranges and interpretation of the Lisbon Treaty. Collins’ plea represents the frustration of fishermen during in the current management transition from regulated discarding to the landing obligation.
Swedish MEP, Linnea Engström, empathic to Collins’ frustration in the fisheries but also moved by his comment replied ‘If not us, who? If not now, when? We are the people’s voice’. Engström, along with MEPs Corbett and Rodust reiterated parliament’s promise to support exploitation rates below FMSY in the Baltic multiannual plan.