The fishing fleet in the EU will decline by 1.4 million tons, which means 30 percent less fish by 2022 compared to the indicators from 2009. The European Commission proposes a thorough reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.
The latest study on fisheries conducted by the World Wild Fund (WWF) warns of the urgent need for reforms, otherwise catastrophic consequences could ensue. A recently conducted study shows alarming results; the fishing fleet in the EU will decline by 1.4 million tons, which means 30 percent less fish by 2022 compared to the indicators from 2009. The European Commission has taken on this issue by imposing stricter regulations in EU waters, but not at the expense of the industry. It proposes a thorough reform of the Common Fisheries Policy as the current policy is completely unsustainable and leads to the extinction of certain fish species.
The current system does not work in favor of sustainability; 75 percent of the fish stock is exposed to overfishing, and one-third is in a worrying state. The system is also ineffective regarding the European market: Europe imports two-thirds of the fish it consumes. Too many fishing vessels operate on small profits and depend on subsidies. Without reform, only eight out of 136 fish species will be at sustainable levels by 2022.
Fishing concessions
If urgent action is not taken, current laws could have serious consequences for employment, predicting a loss of 50,000 jobs in fisheries by 2022. It is emphasized that long-term stable fish supply is possible, but with ‘sustainable management of fish resources.’ While EU countries are experiencing a catch decline of about 3.7 percent, Norway and Iceland maintain their exports at relatively stable levels.
WWF suggests that the growth of fish populations should be allowed at levels that can support maximum sustainable yield by 2015. The maximum yield of certain species that can be caught year after year without harming fish stocks.
One of the more important elements of the reform is the introduction of the possibility of selling fishing concessions, which aims to reduce the excessive fishing fleet. Fishermen could sell their concessions on the market. Instead of the previous annual catch quotas, the Commission now proposes the introduction of multi-annual planning with the goal of reaching sustainable catch levels by 2015. The Commission also proposes a gradual ban on discarding caught fish that is not marketable, and from 2016 all caught fish must be landed in ports and all would count towards the allocated quota.
