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Eu Strategy Is Hitting Fish Stock Health, Claim Groupings


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#1 Barry McCrindle

Barry McCrindle

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Posted 14 December 2011 - 04:59 PM

From www.fishnewseu.com

Quote

     MONDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2011 10:55
THE EU Court of Auditors today published a report which conservation groups claimed is a damning indictment of “costly failures” to eliminate overfishing in Europe.
Birdlife Europe, Greenpeace, OCEAN2012, Seas At Risk and WWF say the report found that the multi-billion euro European Fisheries Fund, designed to balance fishing activities at sustainable levels, is actually doing the reverse.
Loopholes mean, they contend, that some European fleet owners are receiving subsidies to increase the capacity and fishing power of their vessels, adding to fleet overcapacity. A small fraction of the money available for scrapping is being used as intended, with most being spent on vessels that are old or no longer active.
The NGOs add that the Court did not stop at criticising the mis-spending of taxpayers’ money, but highlighted fundamental flaws in the existing fleet adjustment rules.
The report warns, they say, that fleet overcapacity is driving the depletion of fish stocks, threatening marine life and the viability of fishing sector and coastal communities. The result is that three out of four European fish stocks are overfished.
Birdlife Europe, Greenpeace, OCEAN2012, Seas At Risk and WWF are now urging the European Parliament and Council of Ministers to follow the Court’s recommendations. The report shows, they contend, that the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform will be “meaningless” unless measures are based on a full assessment of the fishing capacity coupled with deadlines for fleet reductions.
The European Commission’s reform proposals are not up to the task the groupings contend.
Later , Today, the European Commission said they   welcomed the report, and as the NGOs claimed, the Commission conceded that the Court  had concluded that current measures have failed.
The  Commission  said that overcapacity of the fishing fleet continues to be one of the main reasons for the failure of the Common Fisheries Policy in ensuring sustainable fisheries.
A new approach may be needed or existing measures must be better enforced and they said  that  the Commission share most of the observations and the recommendations of the Court.
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki added : “The report of the Court of Auditors reinforces my conviction that business as usual is not an option. We need new ideas. In our proposals for a new Common Fisheries Policy we want to break with the past. We are addressing overcapacity through a system of transferable fishing concessions at national level and with safeguards to avoid concentration of ownership. In the new financial instrument, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, we propose to no longer finance scrapping of vessels, but instead spend the money on projects which will make a real difference."
  


I always see both sides of the argument, the one that's wrong and mine.....



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