The European Commission has welcomed with mixed feelings the outcome of the meeting of Heads of Delegation of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) held in London last week, attended by the European Union, Iceland, Denmark in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, Norway and the Russian Federation. The EU endeavoured to give an effective response to the 2006 UNGA resolution demanding that vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) be closed for bottom-gear fishing activities. The EU delegation proposed an extensive list of areas inside the NEAFC area to be identified as VMEs. The EU proposal covered areas that have been either recommended by ICES or identified through the work of the OSPAR Commission, an intergovernmental organisation to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. The EU list also included VMEs proposed by Norway which are stretching from Iceland down to the Azores. In doing so, the European Commission’s motivation was to follow a precautionary approach and prevent damage to sensitive habitats. The EU also considers that the current thresholds of corals and sponges taken during fishing operations, identifying the existence of potential VMEs, are too high and need to be reduced in 2009. Unfortunately, NEAFC parties were not able to agree on the ambitious EU plan. In order to make at least some progress in the right direction, the EU decided ultimately to support the Norwegian proposal for the closure of a smaller number of areas. “The proposed NEAFC measures can only be a first step and need to be extended urgently if NEAFC is to respond to the expectations of the international community and protect vulnerable marine ecosystems in the Atlantic effectively” said Joe Borg, EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. The Commission has stated that the EU will continue to work with the other NEAFC Parties during 2009 in order to ensure that the organisation gives a more positive and effective response to the UNGA Resolution.
