With only three days remaining in 2009, the public comment period for the European Commission's green paper on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is about to end.
Released in April, the green paper, the first step toward reforming the CFP for the first time since 2002, is intended to elicit feedback in an effort to adopt "a new, innovative and more consensual approach to fisheries regulation."
Last week, the British government became the latest to weigh in on the green paper, submitting its official response to the EC.
It laid out five key changes that it would like to see to the CFP: greater regional responsibility to bring decision making closer to fisheries managers; greater flexibility and clearer rights for fishermen; greater involvement for industry in fisheries science and management; long-term conservation of the marine environment; and extending the principles of sustainable and responsible fisheries internationally to improve global food security.
"Our vision for fisheries is to have healthy fish stocks and a healthy marine environment while supporting the fishing industry and the communities it serves. A new CFP is essential in achieving this vision so we must grasp this opportunity to make the changes needed on the way our fisheries are managed," said UK Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies.
"What fishermen need is to be able to plan for the long-term and adapt to changes in the economy and the environment, as any sound business should," he added. "We want fishermen to have greater flexibility in how they fish, landing more but catching less, and to have greater freedom to transfer, buy or sell quota so allocations match what happens at sea, helping to reduce discards."
Also last week, the Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) sounded off the green paper, submitting its response to Irish Minister of State Tony Killeen.
"Clear, concise regulations applied in a transparent, even-handed manner in all EU waters would go a long way to restoring faith in the CFP," said FIF Chairman Sean O'Donoghue. "Our comprehensive document covers issues such as regionalization and self-management by the fishing industry."
Earlier this month, the environmental NGO Oceana emphasized the importance of conservation in its submission to the EC.
"Environmental and fisheries administrations must manage fisheries together. The oceans are not just the place to find our exploitable marine resources, but they also fulfill other roles," said Xavier Pastor, executive director of Oceana in Europe. "As such, the new CFP must go from being based on an industry of fishing as much as possible, to being an integrated policy that takes other environmental issues into account."
December 28, 2009
