Europêche has set out its position on the Barents Sea snow crab fishery in a position document sent to EU Ministers ahead of this week’s Council of Ministers.
They are calling on the EU to claim its right to exploit snow crab and other species in the Svalbard zone, in line with the Treaty of Paris.
According to the Europêche and EAPO position document, crab fishing in the Barents Sea began in 2013, with twelve EU vessels involved in the fishery as of October 2015. The Norwegian and Russian position is that crab is a sedentary species and belongs to their continental shelf, and while the EU has gone along with this interpretation, it has not been endorsed by the UN and has not been accepted by the Baltic nations taking part in the fishery.
Norway and Russia banned the crab fishery in their waters, bringing to an end the activity by EU vessels, but Norway has since issued licenses to Norwegian vessels to fish for snow crab in the Svalbard zone.
Europêche and EAPO are now urging Ministers to push for the rights of EU vessels to operate there alongside Norwegian and non-EU vessels already operating there, quoting the terms of the Treaty of Paris that sets out conditions for the Svalbard zone, and which incorporates a non-discrimination clause.
‘In line with the LDAC recommendation, we urge the Council of the EU to issue a unilateral declaration, following a proposal by the Commission on setting fishing opportunities, to exercise its legitimate rights to permit the issuing of fishing authorisations by Member States for EU snow crab vessels operating in the area,’ a Europêche spokesman said.
‘This subject must be entirely separated from the annual bilateral negotiations with Norway on the management of shared stocks and the exchange of fishing opportunities. ’
According to Europêche, the EU objection on the limited access to the fishery in the Svalbard zone to those flags already fishing the stock inside the Norwegian EEZ is a first positive step in the right direction.
‘In order for this stance to be solid and legally sound, this strategy must be extended to all the fisheries in similar situations, such as haddock, as the circumstances are exactly the same case, as well as the similar cases of Greenland halibut and redfish. If not, the European position will be inconsistent and incoherent under international practice and therefore prejudicial to the interests of the EU.’
‘Therefore, the EU must claim its right to sustainably exploit, in line with the best available scientific advice, other species in the area such as cod, haddock, redfish, Atlanto-Scandian herring or Greenland halibut, among others, on a non-discriminatory manner similarly to the other signatory parties’ fleets, which are primarily Norway and Russia.’
