“The Council took place in the context of an economic crisis afflicting the fishing industry – a crisis of which I and my ministerial colleagues are all too aware, and which we take very seriously. A large part of our debates were devoted to discussing the Commission’s plans for an emergency package of measures to help Member States find the right solutions for the sector, based on a commitment to addressing the overcapacity and overexploitation issues. I am grateful to the Ministers for a frank and productive discussion, and the Commission now hopes to be able to go back to Council in July with concrete proposals, on which a rapid decision can be taken.
I am also delighted that two of the major initiatives launched during my mandate came to fruition yesterday, as Council unanimously adopted the Commission’s proposals on both the fight against pirate fishing and the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems. These represent important steps towards more sustainable management of our oceans, not just for the EU, but for the international community as a whole.
The EU’s new regulation on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing is the first serious attempt by any major fishing power to stamp out the activities of the pirate vessels that devastate fish stocks around the world with impunity. By making traceability throughout the market chain the norm for all fish and fish products entering the EU market, we have taken a major step towards depriving these criminals of their profits. We have also extended the accountability of EU nationals, by ensuring we have the legal basis needed to prosecute them at home, wherever they may operate around the world. This regulation gives the EU and its Member States new and powerful tools not only to protect the resources of our seas from unscrupulous predators, but also to protect the livelihoods of honest fishers from unfair competition. It comes not a second too soon.
I am also really satisfied by the Council’s decision to ban bottom trawling in unregulated areas wherever fragile marine habitats may exist. In future, no EU vessels will be authorised to carry out bottom fishing operations in uncharted areas, unless a proper scientific assessment of the situation has shown that no harm will be done. Any boat encountering these vulnerable habitats will have to stop fishing and move on, and all boats engaged in fisheries in these areas will have to carry scientific observers. This is a very important decision, which closes an important loophole in international maritime governance, in line with our commitments to the United Nations.
Council also approved a new regulation on fishing authorisations for EU vessels fishing outside EU waters, which will ensure we have a single coherent framework for dealing with all EU vessels which operate away from home, whether under Fisheries Partnership Agreements, in waters managed by Regional Fisheries Organisations, or under private agreements with third countries.
I was also glad to have a chance to give a detailed explanation to Ministers about our decision to close the bluefin tuna fishery for purse seiners. I am convinced that this decision was absolutely the right one, both to preserve the resource, and to protect the interests of the small-scale artisanal fleets which are only just beginning their fishing season. The facts and figures on which the Commission’s decision was based are, in my opinion, incontrovertible. It is indeed important for Member States to understand how the decision was taken, and my services are of course more than ready to share with them all relevant data.
Our agenda was a heavy one, but these decisions were taken quickly and effectively, and in a spirit of mutual respect and full cooperation. The collaborative atmosphere which pervaded the meeting augurs well for the coming months and years, and I look forward to continuing to work with my Ministerial colleagues from across the EU and supporting them in their efforts to get the European fishing industry back onto a more sustainable footing.”
