The conference entitled “Another Future for Fisheries” took place on 16 November in Brussels. The event, hosted by European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki, feature speeches by Commissioner for Research and Innovation Ms Màire Geoghegan-Quinn and by Environment Commissioner Mr Janez Potocnik.
The conference is a mark of closing the consultation on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy before the Commission starts drawing up concrete proposals. It is a new format in that the key note speakers in the conference were not be the customary interested parties or politicians, but rather people who, by working in the fisheries sector, have come up with remarkably effective and ground-breaking projects.
Commissioner Damanaki is of view that the industry often contains unsuspected centres of excellence, with smart, hard-working men and women who find original solutions to the sector’s problems. She added that there is a need to look at those practical solutions to find inspiration for a greener, simpler and more effective CFP, which should be shaped around the people it affects.
After the speeches of the Commissioners there were number of success stories which virtually cover all aspects of the reform – from conservation, aquaculture and discards to the role of women and consumers – and which, whether carried out with private or public money, have one thing in common: they mark undisputed progress in the fisheries sector and could forge new approaches for the future policy. The conference is organised by the Commission and is destined to participants from the fishing industry, administrations, scientists, researchers, conservation organisations, NGOs and the press.
