Ministers flounder newly reformed EU fishing rules | WPN World People News

Decision by the EU Fisheries Council on fishing quotas in the Baltic Sea violates the EU’s agreed objective of halting the overexploitation of stocks by 2015, said Greenpeace.

Saskia Richartz, Greenpeace EU oceans policy director said: “It is a scandal that ministers are still endorsing overfishing on depleted stocks, including cod. This will only prolong the degradation of the environment and the socio-economic hardship of fishermen. In the coming days, ministers must at least confirm publicly that, when allocating national quotas, they will give priority to fishermen who catch fish most selectively and with the smallest environmental impact".

For the first time, the decisions on total allowable catches fall under the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The new CFP requires the EU to lower its fishing pressure by the start of next year (2015) to levels below the so-called FMSY mortality rate – i.e. a fishing mortality rate below the Maximum Sustainable Yield. Any exceptions must be justified on the basis that meeting the 2015 deadline “would seriously jeopardise the social and economic sustainability of the fleets involved”, and ministers should provide appropriate evidence to support this justification. However, the Council failed to give any reason for its decision to continue overfishing for several Baltic stocks, including both Baltic cod stocks.

Source: Greenpeace EU Unit