News
March 28, 2012
Danish Minister talks up a sustainable CFP at NGO conference
In a well-attended conference in the Danish Parliament last Friday, Mette Gjerskov, the Danish Fisheries Minster laid out her ambitions for the CFP reform. The event was organised by a group of Danish NGOs and also featured presentations from the rapporteurs Ulrika Rodust (S&D, DE) and Isabella Lövin (Greens, Sweden), along with coastal fishermen’s representative, Naseegh Jaffer, and the researcher Seth Macinko.
March 20, 2012
External dimension first step forward on reform
At yesterday’s Council meeting, a set of conclusions were adopted on the External dimension, marking the first formal step of agreement on aspects of CFP reform.
March 20, 2012
MSY discussed in Poland: a difficult road ahead?
On March 13, a seminar on ‘Restoring ecological balance as a priority for the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy’ was organized by the OCEAN2012 coalition, in close collaboration with the Polish Parliamentary Group on Maritime Economy. The aim of the seminar was to discuss potential changes the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy may bring upon the Polish fisheries sector, such as the implementation of the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) limit, and the inevitable economic pitfalls if fisheries management persists ‘business-as-usual’ without regard for maintaining ecological balance.
March 19, 2012
Fisheries Council supports closing loopholes on shark finning
Today, a proposal from the European Commission to adjust the current regulation on shark finning was debated in Council. The changes put an end to derogations from the current shark finning ban which allows some vessels to remove fins onboard and it was agreed that the Council supports this.
March 19, 2012
Fishery-based approach will be taken for EU discard ban
At the Fisheries Council meeting today, Commissioner Damanaki made clear that the Commission is willing to listen to the Member States and revise its approach to the EU discard ban, moving from a species approach to a fishery-based approach.
March 16, 2012
Commission fines Spain for overfishing
Due to overfishing of horse mackerel, blue whiting and monkfish in Galicia, the European Commission has fined the Spanish government and cut their quotas for 2012.
March 16, 2012
Does selectivity reduce sustainability?
A recent study published in the journal Science has challenged the concept of selective fishing as an efficient way to maximise the harvest of fish stocks in a sustainable way. It may be questioned, however, to what degree these results are valid and applicable for modern large-scale fisheries.
March 15, 2012
Fish Fight campaign launch in Poland
On Friday, March 30, Fish Fight will launch its Europe-wide discards ban campaign in Poland. The event will take place in front of the Polish Parliament (Sejm), and will be led by a Polish celebrity chef, Robert Makłowicz. According to Fish Fight, up to 15% of all fish caught in the Baltic Sea is discarded.
March 14, 2012
“100,000 jobs and €3 billion per year lost because of overfishing”
The new economics foundation (nef) recently launched their report, entitled “Jobs lost at sea”. They investigated the economic effects of overfishing and analysed its impact on employment in the EU. In the study they took 43 fish stocks in European and neighbouring waters and looked at the what the effects of managing at the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) would be in terms of additional revenue and jobs. They found that over €3 billion is lost every year due to overfishing these stocks, which could support 100,000 jobs in the industry.
March 14, 2012
Stevenson outlines position on the EU Common Market Policy
In a presentation to national parliamentarians in the European Parliament, Struan Stevenson (ECR/UK) outlined his position on the reform of the Common Market Organisation (CMO), for which he is the Fisheries Committee rapporteur. Stevenson stated that his report will feature suggestions on how to reform the role of POs in fisheries management, comments on the proposed storage mechanism, as well as amendments on the consumer information provided on fish products.