0
Quote
TUESDAY, 06 DECEMBER 2011 12:02
THE question of why the European Commission is wedded to effort control when this approach has been so discredited has been posed by the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations.
As attempts continue by UK Ministers and fishermen's leaders to persuade the Commission to give the UK a fair deal on the issue, the Federation (NFFO) say the Commission's attitudes remain a mystery, given that the evidence since 2002 and from examples from around the world suggests that effort control is a "blunt and generally ineffective" measure.
The NFFO add: "One view could be is that it is an instrument suited to a top-down, command and control approach. All it requires from the Commission is an annex each December in the TACs and Quotas Regulation specifying the number of days by gear type: this is convenient, neat and clean from an administrator's point of view - but a nightmare to implement by the member states and amounts to insolvency notice for large parts of the fleet - if allowed to proceed to its conclusion.
"We seem to have reached an impasse where it is no longer plausible to believe that effort control is a useful instrument in rebuilding the cod stocks and safeguarding the fleets that depend on mixed fisheries that include cod.
"But meanwhile, we are tied into a Cod Plan that could take to 2014 to change, and which requires pre-programmed reductions of up to 25% in effort to continue annually.
"Something has to give.
"Common sense would suggest that we should build on the parts of the Cod Plan that are working, and the progress that has been made so far. The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) indicates that the buyback provisions, although too complex and ambiguous, have generated initiatives that have reduced cod discards and contributed to cod avoidance. This requires the Commission and the affected member states to work collaboratively to find a rational solution. There can be no mileage in pursuing a bankrupt approach that would put whole fleets out of business whilst wrecking the only part of the Cod Management Plan that works."
The decisions taken in the next two weeks will be critical, the NFFO underline.
Finally, it is worth recalling that STECF has concluded that a cod management plan that has the support and involvement of the stakeholders that are subject to it, is more likely to be successful than one which does not, they add.
THE question of why the European Commission is wedded to effort control when this approach has been so discredited has been posed by the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations.
As attempts continue by UK Ministers and fishermen's leaders to persuade the Commission to give the UK a fair deal on the issue, the Federation (NFFO) say the Commission's attitudes remain a mystery, given that the evidence since 2002 and from examples from around the world suggests that effort control is a "blunt and generally ineffective" measure.
The NFFO add: "One view could be is that it is an instrument suited to a top-down, command and control approach. All it requires from the Commission is an annex each December in the TACs and Quotas Regulation specifying the number of days by gear type: this is convenient, neat and clean from an administrator's point of view - but a nightmare to implement by the member states and amounts to insolvency notice for large parts of the fleet - if allowed to proceed to its conclusion.
"We seem to have reached an impasse where it is no longer plausible to believe that effort control is a useful instrument in rebuilding the cod stocks and safeguarding the fleets that depend on mixed fisheries that include cod.
"But meanwhile, we are tied into a Cod Plan that could take to 2014 to change, and which requires pre-programmed reductions of up to 25% in effort to continue annually.
"Something has to give.
"Common sense would suggest that we should build on the parts of the Cod Plan that are working, and the progress that has been made so far. The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) indicates that the buyback provisions, although too complex and ambiguous, have generated initiatives that have reduced cod discards and contributed to cod avoidance. This requires the Commission and the affected member states to work collaboratively to find a rational solution. There can be no mileage in pursuing a bankrupt approach that would put whole fleets out of business whilst wrecking the only part of the Cod Management Plan that works."
The decisions taken in the next two weeks will be critical, the NFFO underline.
Finally, it is worth recalling that STECF has concluded that a cod management plan that has the support and involvement of the stakeholders that are subject to it, is more likely to be successful than one which does not, they add.
