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Fisheries – “Bold steps needed to counter desperate situation”/
Des mesures audacieuses pour lutter contre une situation désespérée
This was the main message of the Swedish Green MEP Isabella Lövin, during a workshop on Fisheries at the EGP Congress in Paris. Before giving a Green alternative to the proposals of the European Commission, Lövin, author of a book on overfishing Silent Seas (Tyst hav)* , which is quite famous in Sweden, gave the backgrounds.
Tel était le message principal de l’eurodéputée verte suédoise Isabelle Lövin, lors d’un atelier sur la pêche au Congrès du Parti Vert Eeuropéen à Paris. Avant de donner une alternative verte aux propositions de la Commission Européenne, Lovin,auteur d’un livre sur la surpêche “Mers silencieuses (Tyst HAV)*, qui est très célèbre en Suède, a donné les antécédents.
There is a divide between the north and south of Europe, she says. Northern European countries are more into conservation, whereas France, Spain, Portugal, and Greece want to keep as many European subsidies as possible to protect their fisherman. If we want to reform fishing policy, France has to be won over”.
She shows us maps of the Atlantic Ocean, indicating the density of ‘table fish’ and how stocks have evolved compared to a hundred years ago. You can easily tell much of the fish has disappeared. She also shows us a picture of fishermen being proud of a large catch – and a similar one taken in the same place a couple of decades earlier. The difference is telling: the fishes on the old picture are bigger than a child standing next to them. I can hear sounds of shock from other people in the room. Together, the photographs clearly demonstrate that we have less fish and have gotten used to catching it smaller and younger.
Isabella Lovin
EU Commission: tradeable quotas
In a policy paper released in July, the European Commission recognises the problem of ddramatically dropping stocks. If we don’t have a reform at all, it says, only 8 out of 136 stocks would be within safe biological limits in 2022. If we don’t do anything now, we will lose one stock after another. Fleets will operate with a loss. We will lose jobs, and we will need the fish to come from elsewhere.
The Commission identifies five major problems to be addressed :
1. Fleet overcapacity; the number of boats has to be reduced
2. Conflicting unclear policy objectives resulting in no guidance for decisions and implementation instead of social, economic and environmental sustainability.
3. The decision-making system is focused on the short term: quotas are set every year, which means people tend to compromise. It’s easier to focus on long-term policy and adhere to that.
4. A framework that does not give sufficient responsibility to industry.
5. Lack of political will to ensure compliance and poor compliance by industry.
The Commission proposes the following reforms:
1. A legally binding Maximum Sustainable Yield, the amount of fish that you could fish of a certain fish stock eternally, comparable to the interest of your bank savings. If you use up more than the interest, you will end up with less and less.
2. A discard ban, prohibiting to throw back into the sea fish that you are not allowed to catch because it exceeds your quota or because the fish is undersized, because most of those fish are already dead. On average, 25% of the fish caught are discarded, but in for example cod and shrimp fisheries it can be up to 80/85%. In the new regulation, all fish has to be brought ashore and the whole catch would be counted.
3. Regionalisation: this important part of the Commission proposal, which is also a wish from many member states and fisheries, is to have fewer and less detailed decisions taken on a central level. The member states have to invent the practical structures for it.
4. More multiannual management plans: long-term policy.
5. And the most controversial point: transferable fishing concessions (TFC’s, ITQ’s). Each vessel will be granted a quota, guaranteed for 15 years, which may be sold to others. By selling his fishing rights, fishermen can make money allowing them to quit the profession and another fisher to catch that fish in a more economical way. The risk of this proposal, criticists say, is a concentration of fishing power in the hands of a small number of operators.
6. Sustainable partnership agreements with third countries.
The Green aternative
The Greens are working on a plan for a sustainable fishing policy. It should, Lövin says, address three main questions:
1. How much fish can safely be caught? Lövin wants to stick to levels below Maximum Sustainable Yield, to create a buffer. If you use up all the ‘interest’, she says, you might damage the ecosystem.
2. How and where should it be caught? The Greens support the proposed discard ban, but want to include all species, not just commercial ones. Furthermore, they want to get rid of as many subsidies as possible except for those stimulating sustainable fisheries. It’s logical to set technical policy on a regional level, they say, but the overarching policies have to be set at the European level.
3. Who should have the right to fish, who should have prioritised access? According to the Greens/EFA, fish are common property, whereas fishermen tend to think they have a right to fish somewhere just because they have been doing so for a long time. Lövin shows us an image of a traditional fisherman, the one everyone wants to protect.
“The fact is”, she stresses, “that that type of fisherman hasn’t been the one profiting from the EU policy, on the contrary”. When it comes to who should have the right to fish, she adds, we should favour the least environmentally damaging fisheries and support small scale, local coastal fisheries with differentiated licence fees as a tool. And the EU should not access third country fish stocks unless strict conditions are being met.
Moreover, she argues, we need an integrated approach, because apart from fishing, there are also tourism, wind energy, gas winning etcetera, and these will sometimes come into conflict. “We want clear objectives, sustainability coming first. By doing that, we can stop the loss of biodiversity, save jobs, reduce imports, improve food security in Europe and the world and improve food security in the rest of the world. “
A greener fishing policy can put breaks on climate change as well, she says. 70% of carbon is stored in marine realms in coastal ecosystems. “That’s where the degradation of marine ecosystem is really taking place. “
Unfortunately, the Greens are a minority in the EU Fisheries Commission. Therefore it is important, she says, that national Greens work towards a more sustainable policy as well. “The European Parliament isn’t known for bold decisions on sustainability. And the Council is going to be difficult to convince”.
Anyone who wants to help protecting our seas, is invited to contact Lövin.
• Click here for the fisheries resolution adopted at the EGP congress
• Visit the site for news on the CFP reform and other EU fisheries issues.
* I’m afraid the bok hasn’t been translated into English.
