The NFFO played a full role in a major meeting organised recently by the European Commission to hear the annual scientific advice on the stocks and to prepare for the Commission’s proposals for next year’s TACs and quotas.
The annual meeting was for the first time attended by MEPs and members of the fishing press, in preparation for the changes in the pipeline for this autumn, if as expected, Ireland votes to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
There is no doubting the calibre of many of the Commission officials struggling to put together a proposal on the basis of often weak scientific advice and in light of the contrasting pressures from the industry and the environmental lobby; but the overwhelming impression was of a system that often had no answers to many of the issues raised by the industry and was looking toward CFP reform for salvation.
