Brussels - In an unprecedented move, the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee has today voted to seriously weaken central provisions of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Brussels - The Commission has released the first regional discard plans aimed at eliminating the practice of discarding unwanted fish back into the sea, as required under the recently reformed CFP. It is questionable, however, whether these plans will actually ensure that perfectly edible fish will no long be thrown overboard.
Brussels - A media briefing on upcoming decisions on 2015/2016 fishing limits.
Brussels, 6th October - Seas At Risk congratulates Swedish MEP Isabella Lövin, who will be leaving the European Parliament to become Minister of Foreign Aid and Development in the new Swedish government.
Today the European Commission released its Communication on fishing opportunities for 2015. It shows a clear willingness to implement the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), but also reveals a worrying deteriorating picture of the status of fish stocks in European waters.
The North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, or NEAFC, this week has adopted stronger regulations for the management of deep-sea fisheries and the conservation of deep-sea species and habitats in the North East Atlantic.
Brussels, 16th April 2014 - The European parliament adopted the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), concluding the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
Subject to adoption by Council on 6 May, the EMFF will begin to support the implementation of the CFP that was agreed in 2013.
Brussels, 29th January 2014 --- European policy makers have reached a political agreement for the future of EU fisheries subsidies, setting aside approximately €6.5 billion in the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) that will support the EU’s fisheries sector until 2020.
The EMFF will support implementing the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) that was agreed in 2013.
Fisheries in Community waters are managed under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The CFP was born in 1983 and suffered a significant review in 2002. This resulted in an increased emphasis on the reduction of the environmental impacts of fisheries, but by 2007 the CFP was still widely regarded as a failure.
Brussels, 18th December 2013. Fisheries Ministers yesterday evening agreed surprisingly fast on fishing opportunities for European fish stocks in 2014, but failed in many cases to follow scientific advice.
The Ministers’ decisions will see 27 stocks harvested according to maximum sustainable yield (MSY) in 2014, bringing this up to 30 stocks in 2015. This shows some progress, compared to the 25 in 2013, but given that all stocks in EU waters should be managed according to MSY from 2015 on, much remains to be done.
Strasbourg/Brussels, 10th December 2013 --- The European Parliament voted today and undermined efforts to protect the deep sea from the most destructive fishing practices with the narrow adoption of a weak compromise agreed earlier in the Fisheries Committee by 342 to 326 votes.
“This is a very disappointing moment for the marine environment, leading to waste one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet”, said Dr Monica Verbeek, Executive Director of Seas At Risk. “While the Council decided to stick the head in the abyss and not even look at the file, the Parliament decided to delay any solution for at least 7 years.”
The Fisheries Committee voted on 4th November on the much delayed report revising the management regime for deep sea fisheries in the North-East Atlantic. The Committee disappointed the environmental community by failing to agree on measures to phase-out the most destructive fishing activities.
Undermining the recent EU agreement on the reformed Common Fisheries Policy to end overfishing (CFP), the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament today voted to restore EU subsidies for building new fishing vessels.
During a Fisheries Committee debate in the European Parliament on 18th June, the European Commission presented new evidence showing that the economic dependence on deep sea fisheries in Europe is low.
After two years of negotiation, the European Parliament and Fisheries Council finally reached an agreement on the framework of a reformed Common Fisheries Policy. It includes a deal on rebuilding fish stocks, ending overfishing by 2015, and reducing by-catch and discarding.
The European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee has decided at the last moment to delay the adoption process of a new deep sea access regime. This may leave the EU stuck with its outdated deep sea legislation for several additional years, putting deep sea fish stocks and vulnerable ecosystems at further risk.
At the Fisheries Council meeting yesterday, EU Ministers spoke out in support of a discard ban despite a concerted effort by France and Spain to get rid of the proposal in the ongoing reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. Ministers also took the first formal step of agreement on aspects of the CFP reform by adopting conclusions on the external dimension.
After heated negotiations going on until the early hours, EU Fisheries ministers have finalised their negotiation position on the discard ban and some other aspects of basic regulation of the CFP, outlining a pretty dire approach to resolving the problems associated with discards and overfishing.
The European Parliament has achieved a historic vote in favour of several crucial reforms to the Common Fisheries Policy. Now the challenge will be getting EU ministers onboard to ensure these encouraging decisions are written into European law.
In their annual marathon meeting on next year’s fishing quota, EU Fisheries ministers have yet again fixed fishing limits for many fish stocks higher than proposed by the European Commission, which largely followed scientific advice.
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