During the EP plenary session (15-18 January 2018) in Strasbourg, MEPs debate on common EU rules on how, where and when one can fish in the EU. The new law would provide for common measures on fishing gear and methods and allowed species for all EU waters. It would also add some bite to Commission proposals to allow innovative methods, such as electric trawl pulse fishing (used to drive fish up out of the seabed and into the net), to be used across the EU. Gabriel MATO (EPP, ES), Rapporteur, and Karmenu VELLA, Member of the EC in charge of Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, express themselves in the Chamber.

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

VELLA, Karmenu (MT, EC)

MATO, Gabriel (EPP, ES)

sustainable fisheries (T)

common fisheries policy (T)

pulse fishing (T)

Conservation of fishery resources and protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures: extracts from the debate

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Gabriel MATO (EPP, ES), Rapporteur, Everybody agreed we needed simplification. We shouldn't reinvent the rules, we should make the rules clearer, more practical to implement to fishermen and others. There is regionalisation and results-based programming which is helpful for fishermen, with regional and local authorities being able to take decisions in line with the broad framework. So there are equal conditions for the sector with standards that are linked to the specific features of the different seabeds and the characteristics of the different fishery activities in the different regions, so that we don't lose control of the overarching principles of what the technical measures should do whilst protecting local realities.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Gabriel MATO (EPP, ES), Rapporteur, <p>We have got a packet of compromises, I think it strikes a good balance. The Commission of course is concerned about targets and so are we and in the fisheries committee we have adopted ambitious balanced aims with gradual reduction of small fish fish catches, that is one of the main aims of the technical measures, should the Member States not adopt the joint recommendations within a limited time period, to have the best possible evaluation in order to ensure key fisheries.</p>

SOUNDBITE (English), Karmenu VELLA, Member of the EC in charge of Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, <p>The deletion of EU targets represents therefore a major concern on how regionalisation may work in practice. We no longer have common objectives across union waters, we therefore run an unacceptable risk of having an uneven application of a common policy between different areas and different level playing fields between our fishermen. This is of significant concern as it undermines the chore principle of the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy).</p>

SOUNDBITE (English), Karmenu VELLA, Member of the EC in charge of Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, I would like to remind you that the current technical  regulation permits the use of pulse fishing on a limited basis. In our proposal we have proposed to remove the 5% limit but to retain the geographical restrictions to the Southern North Sea. This is based on advice by STECF (Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries) in 2012 and ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) in 2016. ICES for instance considers that the conventional way of fishing by beam-trawling has a negative impact on the eco-systems, while electric pulse stimulation, if properly controlled and applied may offer a more ecologically benign alternative way of fishing by reducing unwanted by-catch, by reducing seabed damage and by lowering CO2 emissions.