European fishing industry body Europêche has strongly criticised the list of vessels published by Bloom and its demands for supermarkets to boycott fish caught by these listed trawlers. The list is based on flawed and misleading information, misrepresenting the European fishing industry and the actual purpose of Marine Protected Areas (MAPs), Europêche states.
‘We are not surprised to see that Bloom’s report is riddled with inaccuracies, and this has come to be expected of them,’ said Ivan Lopez of Europêche.
‘As always, Europeche will continue its relentless fight through a scientific, open and transparent approach against inaccuracies and destabilisation attempts by radical activists.’
He commented that it is important to bear in mind that there are a multitude of categories of MPAs (more than 11 in France alone) which meet specific and different objectives, ranging from protecting seabed habitats, protecting cetaceans or protecting bird species, and more. Not all MPAs pursue the goal to eliminate all human activities, as Bloom claims, and only few MPAs are defined as no-take zones.
According to Europêche and industry sources, the methodology used by Bloom is both structurally inaccurate and unreliable. As such, the report is riddled with errors, falsely accusing vessels of illegally fishing in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) – highlighting Bloom’s lack of knowledge and serious scientific work on the matter.
Ivan Lopez pointed out that Bloom’s claim that AIS data identifies trawling activity is misleading, as the use of AIS does not indicate a vessel’s activity, but simply provides its position.
‘As such, a vessel transiting through an MPA to reach its targeted fishing zone outside the MPA is accused of illegal fishing activities in MPAs by the NGO,’ he said, adding that Bloom uses vessel speed in MPAs as evidence of fishing activities.
‘This demonstrates a serious lack of knowledge of the issue. Numerous MPAs have speed limits in place for safety and security reasons, which explains the recorded low speed of boats crossing them.
‘Finally, Bloom accuses several boats of illegal fishing in MPAs while the said MPAs have no fishing restriction for all fishing or marine activities. Even more astonishing, the list includes non-fishing vessels, such as a Belgian research ship.’
He stated that Europêche remains committed to open dialogue and urges policymakers to base decisions on scientific evidence and sustainable management principles, rather than misleading activist campaigns.
‘The industry is more than open to regulation of economic activities in MPAs but calls for a science-based decision-making process and a selective and specific approach rather than global one as some NGOs are demanding,’ he said.
‘This case-by-case approach for MPAs is mandated by EU environmental legislation such as Natura2000 and underlined by both the European Commissioner for Oceans and Fisheries, Costas Kadis and the French Minister for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forestry, Sea and Fisheries, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.’
