With the Baltic Sea 2020 conference on achieving sustainable fisheries the Common Fisheries Policy is getting the reform ball rolling. In his speech Dr Joe Borg said that this kind of initiatives are a welcome complement to our own analysis – all the more so because they involve independent sources and are based on input from highly regarded researchers and experts.
He is sure that all member states will play a pivotal role in helping us gather a broad spectrum of views to ensure this reform is a radical one making a real and lasting difference to Europe’s fisheries sector. It is true that Europe today stand on the verge of a major turning point for its fisheries policy.
Europe has made steady progress towards its goal of making fishing activities sustainable since the 2002 CFP reform – a reform agenda which all can continue to pursue vigorously today. Borg opined that the current global economic downturn, compounded by intermittent hikes in fuel prices, has exposed the vulnerability of Europe’s fisheries sector.
He explained that structural changes have become more inevitable than ever before, if we want our fishing industry to become economically robust and achieve lasting sustainability in environmental and social terms. It is high time to restore the productivity of our oceans and seas. He informed that the Green Paper to be adopted by the Commission in the coming weeks, and that will launch this consultation, analyses the current situation under the CFP and poses a series of questions, to which all of Europe’s citizens are invited to respond.
According to him the CFP needs more sharply focused objectives. For many years ecological sustainability has been compromised to cushion short-term economic or social difficulties. This has led to a decline in the state of stocks – and eventually, of course, to a consequential decline in the economic and social fortunes of fishermen. In order to help the industry become both economically viable and robust, to stimulate growth in coastal communities and to provide Europe’s consumers with fish from sustainable sources, it is crucial that decisions taken under the reformed CFP rigorously uphold the principle of ecological sustainability.
