The European Commission has decided to reorganize the EU fisheries policy because both the ecological balance of oceans and the sector’s economic profitability are at stake. The Commission finds overfishing as the numero uno problem. In a statement EU maritime affairs and fisheries commissioner Joe Borg said that in its present form, the common fisheries policy does not encourage responsible behaviour by either fishermen or politicians.
According to him the current management tools rewarded narrow-minded, short-term decision making while they penalised those fishermen acting responsibly. In 1983 the common fisheries policy was formally established. It has seen revision every 10 years.
The latest reform dates back to 2002 and is up for review at latest in 2012. Borg listed a number of obstacles that stood in the way to achieve “truly sustainable fishing in EU waters.” He told that the list is topped by the overcapacity in the EU fleet as at present, the fleet is capable of catching between two and three times the maximum sustainable yield.
The Commission considers a slash of 40 percent in EU fishing fleet urgently to stop the over exploitation of the stocks. Earlier this year, it stated that 88 percent of EU fish stocks were overexploited and suggested a new way of quota calculation for 2009. The Commission also states that the fishermen must be made responsible and accountable for the sustainable use of a public resource, while the goal of ecological sustainability must be placed before economic and social sustainability.
