The next EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) should focus on ecological objectives over social and economic, the Polish government says in its official response to the Commission’s Green Paper on the future CFP.
In order to address the deep rooted problem of capacity, the Polish response acclaims the positives of the ITQ system.
Providing healthy and renewable fish stocks needs to precede other activities, as the restoration of marine resources is a prerequisite of their sustainable exploitation, the text charges. Thus, ecological objectives should form the basis of the policy and comply with the Marine Strategy Directive and its definition of Good Environmental Status for the marine ecosystem.
The Polish response agrees with the Commission statement that fleet overcapacity is the fundamental problem with EU fisheries, and it suggest that the ITQ system of quota management can limit this, and also help to ensure compliance with legislation. However, special dispensation would be required to prevent too much quota being hoovered up by large enterprises. While, coastal fisheries would also need to be exempted from this system in order to allow small-scale fisheries to thrive.
Key themes to emerge from the Polish vision for the 2012 CFP are that:
- There should be an increased role for fishermen in decision making process
- An end to discards
- Fisheries need to be sustainable
- TACs and quotas should continue to be the method of management, fishing effort should certainly not replace this
- Regionalisation of the CFP is the way forward. Information concerning the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region should be included, and RACs should provide regional advice to the Council on TACs.
- Decision-making over adapting the fleet to meet needs and aquaculture should be devolved to the Member States