It is found that in her speech in the European Parliament hearing Fisheries Commissioner designate Maria Damanaki clearly supported the Baltic cod management plan, and praising the Baltic Sea RAC cooperation as “excellent”. She told that she would soon introduce a program on pelagic fisheries in the Baltic Sea.
She faced questions from members of the EP Fisheries Committee as she has less time to fig into fisheries issues. But she plainly made clear that she would not budge on the commitment to reform the Common Fisheries Policy in a more sustainable direction. She conceded that some decisions should be brought down to a lower level, but stressed that she was “not talking of re-nationalisation”.
According to her the CFP reform would be a central focus of her work, stressing the keywords “sustainability”, “democratic responsibility for all partners of the sector”, “global dimension” and “compliance”. She stated to strike right balance while making the CFP more efficient.
Damanaki agreed with Isabella Lövin, a Swedish Green MEP and fisheries specialist, that there is “drastic” overfishing resulting from fleet overcapacity. To reduce it without striking a blow to fishing communities, resources should be directed to modernisation in terms of equipping vessels with selective gear that helps to eliminate discards.
