The European Parliament’s report on the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy calls for better adaptation to the problems that fishermen face on a daily basis.
‘The European Parliament is calling for the CFP to be better adapted to the different fishing zones in Europe. The problems are not the same in the Bay of Biscay and in the Mediterranean. Regionalisation is far from complete,’ said MEP Pierre Karleskind, who chairs the European Parliament’s fisheries committee.
He commented that problems relating to the landing obligation, such as the lack of capacity on board fishing vessels, urgently need to be addressed.
To provide a greater level of stability in the distribution of fishing quotas, MEPs agreed on a call for the implementation of annual quotas over several years.
‘The European Parliament echoes the requests expressed by the French government, on the establishment of multi-annual quotas for certain species,’ Pierre Karleskind confirmed.
The report outlines that the CFP fails to adequately take into account the specificities of outlying regions, and MEPs have consequently asked the Commission to propose a programme of options specific to remoteness and isolation (POSEI) for fishing and aquaculture, identical to those relating to agriculture.
‘It is essential that the European and French authorities support the modernisation of the artisanal fleet in outlying regions,’ he stated.
The Report was adopted in the Fisheries Committee with 16 votes for, 4 against and 1 abstention.
