Fish stocks in Northeast Atlantic recover, whilst serious overfishing in Mediterranean
27 Jun 2014 04:17 PM
Fish stocks in the North
and West of Europe are recovering, but there are still serious problems of
overfishing in the Mediterranean Sea. That's the key message in this
year's report on the state of fish stocks and the preparation of setting
next years' fish quotas. The document is now open to the views of
stakeholders via an online public consultation, before the Commission makes its
proposals for the 2015 fishing opportunities during the
autumn.
For the first time, the
Commission could take into account scientific advice for the state of the
stocks in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
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The fish stock data for the
Mediterranean show a dismal picture: 96% or more of the Mediterranean
bottom-living fish are overfished, and for the middle-water stocks like sardine
and anchovy the figure is 71% or more. For the Black Sea, all bottom-living
fish and 33% of pelagic stocks are overfished.
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But there is good news
elsewhere, as in the Northeast Atlantic area, and that includes the Baltic and
North Seas, overfishing has fallen from 86% (30 stocks overfished out of 35
assessed) in 2009 to 41% (19 out of 46 stocks) in 2014.
"I am very worried how
badly things are going in the Mediterranean Sea", European
Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki,
said. "Now that scientists have assessed many more fish stocks
over the last five years, the time of denial is over: the Mediterranean Sea is
heavily overfished. I see a long struggle and hard work ahead: We need to build
up the science, adopt regional fishing plans to bring fishing down to
sustainable levels. If we do not act now, we will lose the tremendous potential
of these resources for future generations. The new Common Fisheries Policy
offers an opportunity that we must live up to, and I shall be discussing this
with all the Fisheries Ministers in the Mediterranean Member
States".
On the situation in the
Northeast Atlantic area, Commissioner Damanaki stated: "The
successful recovery of fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic proves to me that
with the right rules in place, it is possible to bring overfishing to an end.
When good science is available, when catches are set at the right level and
when – most important of all - the fishermen join in the efforts to
protect the stocks, then I am sure we will see further improvements ahead.
These are the principles that the reformed Common Fisheries Policy is based
on."
Background
In its annual consultation
paper, the European Commission sets out its views and intentions for setting
fishing opportunities – the levels of Total Allowable Catches (TACs),
quotas and fishing effort - for 2015 and asks for the views of Member States,
the fishing industry and non-governmental organisations in regional Advisory
Councils, as well as interested citizens and organisations via an
online public
consultation.
On this basis, the Commission
will make its firm proposals for fishing opportunities for 2015 during the
autumn.
This is the first fishing
opportunities consultation paper since the entry into force of the reformed
Common Fisheries Policy on 1 January 2014. The Commission's main intentions
are to phase out overfishing according to the new Common Fisheries Policy's
objective, to phase out the practice of throwing unwanted fish back into the
water and to give decision-making power back to regional
stakeholders.
The Commission relies heavily on
scientific advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of
the Sea (ICES), the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries
(STECF) and other independent bodies.
For further
information
Questions and Answers about
Fishing Opportunities in the EU for 2015: MEMO/14/442
The Communication can be read
at: Link