The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), of which the Fisheries Secretariat is a member, accused the European Commission of greenwashing a set of proposals designed to undermine the growing support for a high seas moratorium on bottom trawling, and noted that it did not seem to reflect the will of all EU Member States. This … Continued
NGO’s from a wide range of Member States were represented at the workshop “Implementing the European Fisheries Fund – Opportunities at Member State level”. There has been a lot of positive response from the workshop held in Brussels 5 October. Apart from the organisers FISH, WWF, and BirdLife International the following NGO’s participated in the … Continued
WWF, FISH, and BirdLife International will host a workshop on the implementation of the EFF and the opportunities for NGO’s to influence the fund at the Member State Level. Background The recently adopted European Fisheries Fund (EFF) provides a major opportunity to promote sustainable fisheries over the next seven years. The EFF’s 3.8 Billion Euro … Continued
In June, the European Commission proposed to decouple the de minimis aid in the fisheries sector from that in the agricultural sector and to increase it tenfold. Under the new regulation, up to € 30.000 of state aid would not need to be notified to the European Commission if given to an enterprise over a … Continued
On 24 July the European Commission published its proposal for a Council Regulation to establish a multi-annual plan for the Baltic Sea cod stocks and their fisheries. Despite the adoption and implementation of a management plan under the auspicious of the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission (IBSFC) in 2003, the two cod stocks in the … Continued
On 14 July 2006, the European Commission published their 5th annual report on serious infringements to the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Difficult to compare Member States In similar tone and conclusion to the previous reports, the Commission highlight the difficulty in using the information that Member States provide to draw clear conclusions … Continued
“…it is time to manage European fisheries in a different way, looking for success rather than to seek merely to avoid failure”, these words are used in the introduction of the European Commission’s Communication on, “Implementing sustainability in EU fisheries through maximum sustainable yield”, published on the 5th July 2006. Maximum Sustainable Yield The Communication … Continued
On Monday 19 June, EU Fisheries Ministers finally agreed on the new European Fisheries Fund (EFF) at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. EUR 3.8 billion will be set aside to provide support for the fisheries sector. The EEF, due to cover 2007-2013, will replace the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) which will close at … Continued
On the 9th June 2006 the ICES’ Advisory Committee on Fishery Management (ACFM) published their advice to the European Commission on the two Baltic Sea cod stocks for 2007. The following provides a summary and comment on their assessments and advice. Baltic Sea cod in subdivisions 22-24 (Western Baltic) The quantity of mature cod (also … Continued
On June 7th the Commission published a Green Paper named “Towards a future Maritime Policy for the Union: A European vision for the oceans and seas”. The aim is to boost economic growth in maritime sectors in accordance with the Lisbon Strategy while protecting the marine environment. Environmental groups are skeptical, saying the focus is … Continued