News

• Analysis from the May Council on the CFP reform

  Published: 17/05/2013
  The message from Council is clear: this is their final offer under the Irish Presidency. However, on the key issues Member States have made such minor compromises that rapporteur Ulrike Rodust (S&D, DE), who said “Ministers have made certain concessions but I would have liked to see a more courageous decision”, finds herself in a dilemma ahead of the final trilogue meeting on 28 and 29 May. Read more »

• Council prepares for a long evening – will Ministers get lost at sea or chart the course for fish stock recovery?

  Published: 14/05/2013
  This evening, the Council is expected to conclude their discussions on the basic Regulation of the CFP reform and provide the Irish Presidency with a revised negotiating mandate for the upcoming trilogue meetings. Unless Member States compromise amongst themselves to move away from the General Approach, negotiations with the European Parliament will break down causing further delays to the already much drawn out CFP reform. Read more »

• Council in make-or-break talks to conclude the CFP reform

  Published: 13/05/2013
  On 13 and 14 May, the crucial Council meeting to decide on their final negotiating position on the basic Regulation takes place. In order to bridge the divide between the European institutions, rapporteur from the Parliament, Ulrike Rodust (S&D, DE), wrote to Ministers last week informing them she was willing to make sacrifices “in order to achieve a compromise”. Read more »

• All aboard for sustainable fishing

  Published: 07/05/2013
  Invite your Minister to get on board the good ship sustainable fishing. This website encourages EU citizens to call on their representatives to pass laws which let fish stocks recover, supports sustainable fishing and ends harmful subsidies. Read more »

• CFP reform timeline gets squeezed as trilogue makes slow progress

  Published: 26/04/2013
  As the much-delayed reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy draws toward its conclusion, a last-minute deal between the European Parliament and Council may have to be brokered due to the lack of progress thus far on key issues. Read more »

• First EU discard ban approved by European Parliament

  Published: 17/04/2013
  The proposed discard ban in the Skagerrak, a body of water between the North and Baltic seas, will lead to vessels being obliged to land all fish caught and count these against quotas. These measures will apply to 35 species , will be controlled by a mandatory automated CCTV system, and will apply to vessels of any national flag operating in these waters. The ban will the phased in from 2014-2016. Read more »

• Join the Race for the Baltic!

  Published: 09/04/2013
  FISH, Coalition Clean Baltic, Oceana and other stakeholders in the region have come together in a call for action to improve practices and protection in the Baltic Sea. The targets are there; now we have to meet them! Read more »

• Chinese fleet accused of gross misreporting

  Published: 05/04/2013
  In a new article academics have sought to re-evaluate the catches of the Chinese distant-water fleet during 2000-2011. They claim that the official figures provided to the FAO represent a mere 9% of their actual catch, and the revised estimate of 4.6 million tonnes per year of fish caught should instead be valued at close to €9 billion per year. Read more »

• EU decision on fish subsidies may pose risk to global negotiations

  Published: 25/03/2013
  Today, some Members of the European Parliament and Member States are in favour of bringing back subsidies for construction of new vessels and modernisation measures as part of the new EU fund for fisheries and maritime affairs. This would be contradictory to the UN Rio+20 agreement on subsidies and could harm global negotiations in the WTO. Read more »

• ENVI Committee votes in favour but PECH Committee delays vote

  Published: 25/03/2013
  On March 21, 2013 the ENVI Committee voted in favour (58 to 1) of a deep sea trawling ban at depths below 200 m. Unfortunately, the PECH Committee delayed their discussions because of an intervention by the industry as little as 12 hours before they were to meet. This delay tactic enables the deep-sea fishing industry’s desire to weaken or destroy the regulation. Read more »