Category: Press

Brussels, 14 July, 2021:- In response to today’s publication of the European Commission’s “Fit for 55” package – a package of policy and laws to bring the taxation of energy and electricity into line with the European Green Deal and EU commitment to carbon neutrality, Rebecca Hubbard, Program Director for Our Fish said:

“The proposed review of the Energy Taxation Directive (1), as part of the “Fit for 55” package, provides a critical opportunity for the EU to remove perverse subsidies that artificially inflate fossil fuel consumption, like fuel tax exemptions for the EU fishing industry.”

“Globally, the fishing industry produces the same amount of CO2 emissions by trawling the seabed as released by the aviation industry (2), with the EU having the heaviest trawled seas and a chronic overfishing problem (3). But instead of grabbing the bull by the horns and proposing a rapid elimination of all fuel exemptions for the EU fishing industry, the Commission has given it a free pass to continue destroying marine life and worsening climate change.”

“The European Commission’s bizarre and outrageous blind spot is especially concerning considering that 87% of EU citizens that responded to the consultation support complete removal of tax exemptions for the fishing industry. Why does the fishing industry get a free pass when everyone else has to pay the true price of carbon pollution and environmental destruction? This is not fair, nor does it match the goal of carbon neutrality that the EU has committed to. The EU must do better”.

Contacts: 

Dave Walsh, Communications Advisor, Our Fish dave@our.fish, +34 691 826 764

NOTES: 

(1) COM 2021, 563 final. Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE restructuring the Union framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity (recast). 2021/0213 (CNS). https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/revision_of_the_energy_tax_directive_0.pdf

(2) Sala.E et al (2021). Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food and climate. Nature, 17 March 2021. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03371-z

(3) European Environment Agency (2019), No 17/2019. Marine messages II: Navigating the course towards clean, healthy and productive seas through implementation of an ecosystem‑based approach. https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/marine-messages-2/

For more information on the campaign to eliminate EU fossil fuel subsidies go to https://decarbonisenow.eu/

 

Brussels, 28 June, 2021″- Following today’s adoption of the EU AGRIFISH Council position on future fisheries controls, the EU Fisheries Control Coalition condemned the failure of ambition demonstrated by fisheries ministers. The Coalition urges fisheries ministers, the European Parliament and the European Commission, to make an urgent and determined effort during upcoming negotiations to ensure that fisheries management in the European Union effectively safeguards ocean health and marine life for generations to come. 

In response to a strong proposal from the European Commission and the steps taken by the European Parliament, EU fisheries ministers sought to weaken ambition for stronger regulation by adding loopholes to rules that have existed since 2010, rather than updating and improving the laws to ensure the protection of fish populations and the communities who depend on them.

To safeguard the future sustainability of EU fisheries, fisheries ministers must establish a robust Control Regulation by ensuring EU fisheries activities are fully documented and that European seafood supply chains become transparent.

Margin of Tolerance

“The Council position includes a proposal that would legalise the misreporting of EU fish catches, undermining all positive efforts made by the EU and its fleet over the past decade to manage fisheries sustainably, as well as the objectives of the European Green Deal and the global 2030 Agenda”, said Goncalo Carvalho, Executive Coordinator of Sciaena. 

“The Council proposal significantly weakens the existing rules to report the amount of catches estimated at sea and the catches actually brought to port,resulting in catches of individual fish species being grossly underreported and leading to large amounts of EU catches being omitted from the EU fleet’s records”, he added. “This would create an unlevel playing field, undermine scientific data to evaluate the status of EU and international fish populations, and render fisheries control efforts ineffective.” 

The EU Fisheries Control Coalition is calling on the Council to strengthen, not weaken the rules on the margin of error when estimating fish captures by using a 10% margin for all catches, and to maintain the rule in the existing Control Regulation of 10% per species, which has aided the rebuilding of EU fish populations.

Sanctions

Far from creating “a more effective and equitable sanctioning system” for EU fisheries, as the Presidency outlined in its progress report, the Council proposal would gravely undermine it. Most concerningly, fishing without a license is no longer included in the list of serious infringements. Any commercial vessel caught fishing without a license would be permitted to request a permit within two days of committing such a serious infringement. Keeping unlicensed fishing a serious infringement is critical to ensure a level playing field between fishers that play by the rules and those that do not.

Steve Trent, CEO of the Environmental Justice Foundation said, “Weakening the sanction system would undermine the EU’s ability to fight and eradicate illegal fishing, including globally, as it would undermine the credibility of EU policies against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and EU actions against IUU fishing in non-EU countries.” 

Instead, the Council must standardise the enforcement and sanctioning system to improve the enforcement of the Common Fisheries Policy, and to ensure that EU fishers feel that they are treated equally and fairly.

Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM)

“The EU Council has completely overlooked the need to install cameras on board vessels to collect reliable data of bycatch occurrences – the incidental capture of sensitive and protected species in fishing nets.These data are essential to inform urgent mitigation measures to reduce the impacts of fishing activities on these species. This is a huge missed opportunity to implement tried and tested technologies to protect marine mammals and seabirds in EU waters”, said Christine Adams, Fisheries Policy Officer at Seas At Risk. 

“By making the decision to limit the installation of REM to only some vessels above 24 metres, the EU’s AGRIFISH Council is consciously ignoring the risk of discarding posed by vessels of all sizes, and especially those vessels above 12 metres. Only 3.2% of the EU fleet is above 24 metres, and the Council is only considering this technology for a small portion of these vessels deemed at serious risk of non-compliance with the Landing Obligation (i.e. those at serious risk of discarding catch). This is very disappointing, as the EU is lagging behind many countries, such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia, which already have well-established REM programmes”, said Marta Marrero Martin, Director of Ocean Governance at The Nature Conservancy. 

The EU Fisheries Control Coalition is calling on the Council to consider this technology for all vessels above 12 metres, as well as for those below 12 metres at risk of non-compliance with the Common Fisheries Policy. “New technologies are enabling fleets to drastically increase fishing power, and so we must modernise monitoring capabilities to know exactly how much is being taken from our seas and how this impacts the marine environment”, Martin said.

 

Traceability

The Council position removes the requirement for digitised seafood traceability, and excludes preserved and processed products such as tinned tuna from the scope of traceability. “The Council would put one out of six products that are imported to the EU market at risk of being untraceable, lowering EU standards for a host of products that can be at risk of being sourced from illegal, unsustainable or unethical fishing practises,” said Agnieszka Korbel, Seafood Policy Officer at WWF European Policy Office. “Without robust traceability and risk assessments of these products, Member State authorities will face increasing difficulties in ensuring that no illegally caught seafood ends up on their citizens’ plates.” 

The EU Fisheries Control Coalition is calling for the EU to introduce a number of key advances on seafood traceability, such as digitalisation and inclusion of processed and preserved seafood, as proposed by both the European Commission and the European Parliament. 

“When buying any seafood product, regardless of whether it is EU-caught or imported, fresh or processed, wild-caught or aquaculture, EU consumers must be reassured that it comes from a legal source. Only digitalisation and inclusion of processed and preserved fisheries products in scope of the EU’s traceability system can allow for this”, Korbel concluded [2,3]. 

 

Small-scale fisheries

“We are extremely disappointed that fisheries ministers have not seized the opportunity to establish a level playing field by requiring vessel trackers across the fleet. Instead, the ministers propose allowing vessels under nine meters to be excluded from mandatory onboard trackers under certain conditions. This goes against the very essence of the reform, which aims to increase knowledge of fisheries activities and simplify the control rules. We know from experience that these systems increase fishers’ incomes and safety, sector transparency, and improves fisheries management,” said Vanya Vulperhorst, Campaign Director for Illegal Fishing and Transparency at Oceana in Europe.

The EU Fisheries Control Coalition is calling on Fisheries Ministers to require vessel trackers for all EU vessels, and to remove the exemption that is currently proposed for vessels under nine meters. In March, the European Parliament supported vessel trackers for all EU vessels.

 

Transparency

In response to the refusal of EU fisheries ministers to increase public information on control efforts, the EU Fisheries Control Coalition demands that the Council increase access to such public information. Specifically, it calls for the annual reports in article 93a to be made public and for the veto of Member States in Article 113 to be removed. This is in accordance with the European Parliament position that Member States should no longer be allowed to veto the release of this fisheries control information without having to give justification. 

Vulperhorst continued, “EU decision makers, fishers and civil society do not currently have the information necessary to assess whether the Control Regulation is being effectively implemented. This lack of transparency creates a culture of mistrust, and the potential for misinformation and mismanagement. Ultimately, putting the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy in jeopardy. It is therefore necessary to increase transparency of how the EU fisheries control system is implemented, with a view to creating a culture of trust, collaboration and compliance”.

The European Parliament has proposed the annual publication of the budget for controls, the number of controls, the number of infringements, to name a few. This will help bring about a culture of compliance and will inform other Member States, EU fishers and citizens about these activities. Instead of maintaining the current veil of secrecy, the Council should follow the lead of the Parliament and bring public information on fisheries control in line with the rest of the EU. 

ENDS

 

Contact:

Notes:

REM SUCCESS STORIES: Protecting our seas,Safeguarding livelihoods

http://www.transparentfisheries.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/REM-Success-Stories.pdf 

[1] Remote Electronic Monitoring – A Tool to Save Dolphins: 

http://www.transparentfisheries.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/EU-Fisheries-Control-REM-and-bycatch-Fact-Sheet.pdf

[2] Brussels, 30.5.2018 COM(2018) 368 final 2018/0193 (COD)

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, and amending Council Regulations

(EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1005/2008, and Regulation (EU) No

2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards fisheries control

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2018/0368/COM_COM(2018)0368_EN.pdf

[3] P9_TA(2021)0076

Fisheries control ***I

Amendments adopted by the European Parliament on 11 March 2021 on the proposal

for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council

Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, and amending Council Regulations (EC) No 768/2005,

(EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1005/2008, and Regulation (EU) No 2016/1139 of the

European Parliament and of the Council as regards fisheries control (COM(2018)0368 –

C8-0238/2018 – 2018/0193(COD))1

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2021-0076_EN.pdf

 

About The EU Fisheries Control Coalition

The EU Fisheries Control Coalition is an alliance of leading NGOs: The Environmental Justice Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Oceana, Seas At Risk, and WWF, together with ClientEarth, The Fisheries Secretariat, Our Fish and Sciaena that works with organizations and individuals throughout Europe to secure a fisheries control system that safeguards ocean health and marine resources for generations to come.

Brussels, 7 June 2021:- More than 40 businesses, think tanks and NGOs today called on the EU to eliminate vast and continuing subsidies to fossil fuels, which the group say run directly counter to the goals of the European Green Deal.

The groups are demanding the change as part of the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) – one of a number of EU regulations that will be updated to be consistent with the European Green Deal and the ambition to radically reduce emissions by 2030 (known as the “FitFor55 package”) – set to be released on July 14 [1,2].

This directive – which sets minimum tax requirements for activities for the whole bloc – currently allows lower taxes or tax exemptions for commercial fuel in the aviation, transport, fisheries, energy generation and maritime sectors, and for the production and extraction of coal, gas and oil.

The joint statement argues that these tax breaks – which amount to around €35 billion per year of fossil fuel subsidies across the EU – directly undermine the bloc’s climate objectives, including the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies [3].

“The EU is currently using public money to subsidise the burning of fossil fuels amidst a global climate and biodiversity crisis – this is completely crazy”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Program Director of Our Fish. “In the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive, the EU must stop paying businesses to pollute, or risk the consequences of further contributing to collapsing ecosystems, natural disasters and health crises.”

“Decarbonising the European economy while subsidising fossil fuels is like swimming with one arm behind your back. Fair, green taxes can help slash emissions and tackle growing inequality in Europe,” said Tim Gore, Head of Climate Programme, IEEP.

“Imagine if taxpayers knew how much they are subsidising fossil fuels so that EU fishing vessels can chase dwindling fish stocks around the world. This is the EU’s chance to convince citizens the Green Deal is for real – it must rule out these huge incentives to pollute”, said Flaminia Tacconi, fisheries lawyer at ClientEarth.

“Fossil Fuel Subsidies aren’t just a problem in the Middle East, China or the United States – the EU-27 granted over US$ 41 billion (€34 billion) in 2019. Now is the time for the EU and its Member States to stop all subsidies to coal, oil & gas production and show when they will reform subsidies to consumers of all kinds – and no later than 2025,” said Peter Wooders, Senior Director, Energy, IISD.

For more information, visit our website: https://decarbonisenow.eu/

Note to editors

This statement marks the launch of a joint NGO campaign led by Our Fish and ClientEarth, supported by CAN Europe, to stop funding fossil fuels and eliminate these harmful subsidies from the Energy Taxation Directive. https://decarbonisenow.eu/

[1] Revision of the Energy Taxation Directive:

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12227-Revision-of-the-Energy-Tax-Directive

[2] Fit For 55 Package, Commission Work Programme 2021: https://ec.europa.eu/info/system/files/2021_commission_work_programme_new_policy_objectives_factsheet_en.pdf

[3] Euractiv, 9 September 2019, EU countries have ‘no concrete plans’ to phase out fossil fuel subsidies: report. https://www.euractiv.com/section/climate-environment/news/eu-countries-have-no-concrete-plans-to-phase-out-fossil-fuel-subsidies-report/

Contacts:

Diane Vandesmet, ClientEarth Communications officer, dvandesmet@clientearth.org ; +32 493 41 22 89

Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, dave@our.fish, +34 691 826 764

Press Briefing, 3rd June 2021

Brussels, 28 May 2021:- Responding to today’s publication of annual scientific advice for 2022 EU fishing limits in the Baltic Sea by ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea), a group of non-governmental organisations is demanding that the European Commission follow the scientific advice and calls for an immediate transition to ecosystem-based, climate-smart, low-impact fishing. This would require, for example, closing the fisheries for eastern Baltic cod and western herring and effectively protecting cod spawning grounds from all fishing.

The scientific advice shows that the Baltic Sea is going through an ecosystem shift, with western herring and eastern cod stocks depleted to such low levels that ICES advises that they cannot support any commercial fishing at all in 2022, and that the herring fishery in the central Baltic must be greatly reduced. ICES will not deliver advice on two key fish stocks, the western Baltic cod and the salmon populations; both release dates are postponed to September. 

“The trend is clear: because we are losing the ability to manage our Baltic fish populations with fishing quotas, we must transition to an ecosystem-based management system with low impact fishing only. Considering the overall ecosystem health, we really must also consider the option not to fish at all on a larger scale, on any fish stock in the Baltic Sea,” said Nils Höglund, Fisheries Policy Officer, Coalition Clean Baltic.

“Fisheries management in the fragile Baltic Sea ecosystem requires more caution. We call on the European Commission to not only propose Baltic fishing limits for 2022 that do not exceed scientific advice, but also to implement an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management in line with Common Fisheries Policy objective, and consider setting Baltic Total Allowable Catches at lower levels”, said Ottilia Thoreson, Director, WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme.

“The latest scientific advice clearly confirms the failure in the management of Baltic fish populations. Consistently exceeding scientific advice has depleted fish populations such as eastern Baltic cod or western Baltic herring to the extent that scientists recommend the closure of these fisheries”, said Javier López, Campaign Director for Sustainable Fisheries at Oceana in Europe. “There is an urgent need to recover these fish populations and incorporate wider ecosystem considerations into their management. Only in this way can fishing activity be part of the solution to the environmental crisis in the Baltic Sea”. 

“The collapse of eastern Baltic cod shows that when too many vessels chase too few fish, overfishing, illegal discards and damage to the ecosystem occur”, said Jan Isakson, Director at FishSec. “To reverse the negative trends for Baltic Sea fish populations the EU Commission and coastal state governments must implement all aspects of EU fisheries and environmental law, including reducing the number of fishers and vessels operating there, and giving preferential access to quota and fishing areas for low impact passive gear fishers. Fishers should be supported to transition into new jobs with retraining, paid for by the EU fisheries fund”.

“The Baltic Sea is going into cardiac arrest – after years of fisheries ministers approving continued overfishing, allowing illegal discarding and turning a blind eye to misreporting of catches, scientists are now recommending radical halts to fishing due to population crashes. The European Commission must introduce full ecosystem and climate impact assessments for all fishing fleets through the EU Biodiversity Strategy’s Action Plan, and Baltic Member States must only allow access to low-impact fishing”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Program Director with Our Fish. 

 

SUMMARY OF ICES ADVICE FOR SELECTED FISH POPULATIONS

Eastern Baltic Cod (Subdivisions 24-32) 

The status of the eastern Baltic cod population remains very poor, with declining reproduction and growth. The current biomass (population) is among the lowest in 70 years. This all points to a population in distress and ICES again notes that the population will not recover in the medium term even with no fishing. All fishing in area 24 must be limited to help manage the risk of the Eeastern Baltic cod, as the most vulnerable fish population. The ICES advice for eastern Baltic cod catches in 2022 is zero tonnes, for the third year in a row. 

Western Spring Spawning Herring (Subdivisions 20–24, Skagerrak, Kattegat, and western Baltic)

The western Baltic spring spawning herring is in very bad shape. The biomass is crashing and recruitment and catches are very low. The stock is divided into three different management areas (Division 4a., SD 20-21 and SD 22-24), which means that reduced fishing pressure needs to be applied in all areas in order to allow the stock to recover. The Brexit agreement has added additional uncertainties to the population projections, as catches of western Baltic herring also occur in the eastern part of the North Sea. ICES advises a fishing limit of zero tonnes in 2022, for the fourth year in a row. This advice has been ignored every year.

Atlantic salmon in the Baltic Sea (in subdivisions 22–32, excluding the Gulf of Finland)
Catches of salmon have declined since the 1990s but the commercial landings have been rather stable in recent years. ICES is not releasing any advice on salmon at this stage and note that this as well as advice on western Baltic cod is postponed to September.

Western Baltic Cod (subdivisions 22-24)

The advice for the western Baltic cod will be postponed until September due to high uncertainty in the assessment. However, the stock is not in a good condition and significantly reduced catches will probably be needed, according to interim information. 

Gulf of Bothnia Herring (subdivisions 30 and 31)

Central Baltic Herring (subdivisions 25–29 and 32, excluding the Gulf of Riga)

Gulf of Riga Herring (in Subdivision 28.1)

Sprat (in subdivisions 22–32)

Plaice in Kattegat, Belt Seas, and the Sound (subdivisions 21–23)

Plaice in Baltic Sea (excluding the Sound and Belt Seas, subdivisions 24–32)

NOTE: NGOs will produce our recommendations for fishing limits for all Baltic fish stocks for 2022 in the coming weeks.

 

ENDS

 

Contacts: 

Nils Höglund, Fisheries Policy Officer, Coalition Clean Baltic, nils@ccb.se, +46 708 679249

Dave Walsh, Communications Advisor, Our Fish, dave@our.fish, +34 691 826 764

Emily Fairless, Communications Officer Oceana, efairless@oceana.org, +32 (0) 478 038 490 

Jan Isakson, Director, FishSec, jan.isakson@fishsec.org, +46 70 608 74 83 

Ottilia Thoreson, Director, WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme, ottilia.thoreson@wwf.se, +46 8 624 74 15

Cathrine Pedersen Schirmer, Senior Marine Policy Officer, The Danish Society for Nature Conservation, Cathrine@dn.dk, +45 31 19 32 26

Earth Day, April 22, 2021:- As EU leaders gather for today’s Leaders Summit on Climate, the Our Fish campaign called on the EU and member states to incorporate protection of the ocean – including the ending of overfishing – into EU and national climate commitments. 

“During today’s Leaders Climate Summit, EU leaders must act on the findings of the United Nations Second World Ocean Assessment (WOA II), launched yesterday, which finds that we are still failing to manage human use of coasts and the ocean, and there are increasing risks to food safety and security, human health, coastal safety and other key ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration”, said Our Fish Programme Director Rebecca Hubbard. “Ending destructive fishing will prevent this risk to ecosystem and human health and should be pursued as a key climate action”.

Contacts:

Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, dave@our.fish, +34 691 826 76

Notes:

Leaders Summit on Climate, 22 April 2021

https://www.state.gov/leaders-summit-on-climate/

Launch of the Second World Ocean Assessment (WOA II), 21 April 2021

https://www.un.org/regularprocess/woa2launch?fbclid=IwAR2lD9i-nlPg9dda7LzfsiSzoq2HyMTrSvAS1pqZ0x423VVRjd7V4X0fBPA

https://www.un.org/regularprocess/sites/www.un.org.regularprocess/files/2011859-e-woa-ii-vol-i.pdf

About Our Fish

Our Fish is working to end overfishing and restore a healthy ocean ecosystem. By collaborating with others, and deploying robust evidence, we are calling for an end to overfishing as a critical and significant action to address the biodiversity and climate crisis. https://our.fish

More Robust Response Urgently Needed for Long Term Problems Facing Ocean Health, say NGOs 

Brussels, 17 March 2021:- The conclusion of the first post-Brexit trilateral negotiations over shared fish stocks in the North Sea between the EU, Norway and the UK has demonstrated some progress to end overfishing, but gives little cause to celebrate said Our Fish and ClientEarth today. The three Parties missed opportunities for joint rebuilding of North Sea cod, establishment of effective controls and monitoring of catches, and greater transparency.

The NGOs welcomed the setting of fishing limits at, or below the maximum advised by scientists for four out of six fish species. But they warned that a failure by all parties to stop overfishing in the North Sea overall, or to take action to prevent illegal discarding, continues to undermine the urgently needed progress to restore ocean health.

Our Fish and ClientEarth strongly recommend that fisheries management by all three parties must become more precautionary [1], especially where data are limited and compliance low, and more effectively safeguard healthy, resilient marine ecosystems [2], in order to minimise the dangers of biodiversity loss and climate chaos.

“While we welcome the agreement made by the EU, UK and Norway to follow the scientific advice for the majority of fishing limits for shared fish stocks in 2021, we remain perplexed as to why the UK did not more strongly advocate for a rapid rebuilding of the North Sea cod population, which is suffering from persistent overfishing, especially because its recovery could support a thriving coastal UK fishing community,” said Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish Program Director.

“Setting fishing limits in line with scientific advice is crucial – but not enough unless everybody plays by the rules. In reality, while throwing dead fish back into the ocean is now largely illegal in the EU, it’s still happening at sea. To ensure actual catches are sustainable, the EU, Norway and the UK also need proper fisheries control and monitoring [3],” said Jenni Grossmann, Science and Policy Advisor at ClientEarth. “Turning a blind eye to illegal discards will lead to unsustainable catches at sea, even if fishing limits seem to follow the science on paper. Tools such as remote electronic monitoring can help fill the compliance gap.”

The EU, UK and Norway agreed to 2021 fishing limits for six jointly-managed North Sea species – cod, haddock, saithe, whiting, plaice and herring [4]. Total Annual Catches (TAC) for saithe, whiting, plaice and haddock were set at or below the maximum advice from scientists. However, Our Fish and ClientEarth called the setting of the limit for North Sea cod 8% above scientific advice “deeply concerning”, due to the long-term overfishing of this population and the three parties’ acknowledgement that illegal discarding poses an ongoing risk to the health of all fish populations. In addition, some of the herring TACs jeopardise the vulnerable Western Baltic Spring Spawning herring for which scientists advised zero catches.

 

Behind Closed Doors

Transparency of, and privileged industry influence to, the negotiations between the EU and third countries remain an issue of concern for NGOs. As in previous years, the EU Commission rejected NGO applications to officially join the EU delegation for the negotiations, suggesting that NGOs instead ask Member States to include them. However, while members of the fishing industry retain exclusive access to all Member State delegations, no Member State agreed to include civil society organisations. NGOs instead receive separate briefings from the Commission and UK delegation.

“The failure of the EU to grant NGOs equal access to these negotiations, while allowing the fishing industry carte-blanche involvement, is a blight on the otherwise improving EU reputation for fisheries management. We cannot have true transparency and accountability for setting fishing quotas if industry has an unquestioned place at the negotiating table, while civil society can only gain access at the whim of individual Member States. While Commissioner Sinkevičius has signalled support for equal stakeholder access going forward, Member States continue to refuse, and the issue remains unresolved,” said Ms Hubbard.

“The reality is that small-step improvements will not rebuild fisheries overnight – chronic overfishing and increasing impacts from climate change mean that the EU, Norway and the UK must all make extraordinary efforts to urgently transition to ecosystem-based management, if we are to restore ocean health and ensure sustainable fisheries help protect us from worsening climate change,” Hubbard concluded.

ENDS

Contacts:

Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, dave@our.fish, +34 691 826 764

Diane Vandesmet, ClientEarth Communications officer, dvandesmet@clientearth.org ; +32 493 41 22 89

Background:

In previous years, the EU and Norway normally agreed the annual fishing limits (Total Allowable Catches) for 17 shared stocks based on a long-term agreement. With the UK leaving the EU, these negotiations have become trilateral negotiations, and a new agreement has been formed to address the changes in access by the three parties. Six species are now shared between the EU, UK and Norway.

Bilateral negotiations are still taking place between the EU and UK to decide 2021 fishing limits for approximately 80 shared fish stocks. It is expected that these negotiations will continue for some weeks, and will be finalised in March.

A recent analysis of joint EU, Norwegian and UK fishing practices, published by Our Fish, demonstrates how for the last 20 years, Norway and the EU, including the UK, have consistently set annual fishing limits for shared stocks above scientific advice. On average, Total Allowable Catches (TACs) as part of the EU-Norway Agreement exceed scientific advice by an average of 11% between 2001 and 2020.

Ending the Blame Game Carousel: 20 Years of EU, Norway and UK Overfishing

https://our.fish/publications/ending-the-blame-game-carousel-20-years-of-eu-norway-and-uk-overfishing/

 

Notes:

[1] ClientEarth (2020). Caution! A TAC-Setter’s Guide to the ‘Precautionary Approach’. December 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/documents/caution-a-tac-setter-s-guide-to-the-precautionary-approach/

ClientEarth (2020). How (not) to implement the ecosystem-based approach when setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs). December 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/documents/how-not-to-implement-the-ecosystem-based-approach-when-setting-total-allowable-catches-tacs/

“Fisheries management under the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has to follow the ‘precautionary approach’. This means that uncertainty or a lack of knowledge or data cannot justify delaying or failing to take action to conserve fish stocks and the ecosystems they depend on. Decision-makers need to be more, not less, cautious when information is more limited.”

[2] ClientEarth (2020). How (not) to implement the ecosystem-based approach when setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs). December 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/documents/how-not-to-implement-the-ecosystem-based-approach-when-setting-total-allowable-catches-tacs/

[3] ClientEarth (2020). Setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs) in the context of the Landing Obligation. July 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/documents/setting-total-allowable-catches-tacs-in-the-context-of-the-landing-obligation/

ClientEarth (2020). (Lack of) catch documentation under the landing obligation and how exemptions may defeat rather than prove the rule. December 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/documents/lack-of-catch-documentation-under-the-landing-obligation-and-how-exemptions-may-defeat-rather-than-prove-the-rule/

AGRIFISH Press Briefing: How EU Decisions On Fishing Quotas Will Set Tone for 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw783NtRdCg&feature=youtu.be This short 5 min presentation (starting at 15:35) visualises the risk that catch-based TACs pose in combination with illegal discards.

[4] AGREED RECORD OF FISHERIES CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION, NORWAY AND THE UNITED KINGDOM FOR 2021, 16 MARCH 2021,

https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/international/agreements/norway

 

Brussels, Belgium – Thursday, 11 March

The EU Fisheries Control Coalition applauds the positive steps taken by the European Parliament towards more transparent fisheries and traceable seafood. With their vote in plenary this week, EU parliamentarians have called for all fishing vessels to report everything they catch, including sensitive and protected species, which will make data for over 49,000 EU vessels available for the first time. Further, EU vessels will be tracked through electronic monitoring tools, seafood available in the EU market will be digitally traceable from net to plate, and EU Member States will be required to report more transparently on their control measures.

At the same time, the decision to significantly backtrack on accurate reporting of seafood catches casts a dark shadow over the voting outcome, as up to 40% of catches (and up to 50% in the case of tuna) may now be omitted from the EU fleet’s records. This would undermine scientific data to evaluate the status of fish stocks, could render fisheries control efforts ineffective, and will put the last decade of progress for seafood sustainability and marine species’ recovery at serious risk – as the European Commission itself has warned.

On behalf of the The EU Fisheries Control Coalition, Marta Marrero Martin, Director of Ocean Governance at The Nature Conservancy said: “Today, MEPs displayed the courage needed to turn the tide on overfishing by voting to make Remote Electronic Monitoring mandatory on vessels that are at a high risk of not complying with the rules. This is unfortunately overshadowed by the vote to extend the so-called ‘margin of tolerance’ for fishers, which will allow up to four in ten fish to go missing from the records, signaling a huge blow for sustainability. MEPs and Member States must urgently reverse this course in their upcoming negotiations, while also going one step further by ensuring that cameras record the incidental catch of sensitive and protected species.”

Andrea Ripol, Fisheries Policy Officer at Seas At Risk said: “Today’s vote is a mixed bag for dolphins, seabirds and turtles across the EU. Even though the mandatory collection of data on incidental catches in logbooks is a bold and promising step to help reverse biodiversity loss, the rejection of Remote Electronic Monitoring for data collection on sensitive species undermines its effectiveness, as it is an essential tool to ensure the data is recorded accurately.”

Katrin Vilhelm Poulsen, Senior Seafood Policy Officer at WWF European Policy Office said: “As the EU imports the majority of its seafood, the introduction of digital traceability from sea to plate will bolster the EU’s fight against illegal fishing and lay the groundwork for providing clear information to European consumers. However, this milestone achievement in the fight against illegal fishing internationally is undermined by the parallel decision to legalise underreporting for European vessels.”

Vanya Vulperhorst, Campaign Director, Illegal fishing and Transparency at Oceana said: “We welcome the outcome that all EU vessels – including 49,000 small-scale vessels – will have to report their catches and track their location, and that Member States can no longer hide information about their control efforts from the public. But MEPs’ foolish vote in favour of fishers underreporting up to 40% of their catches risks reversing decades of recovering fish populations.”

Steve Trent, Executive Director at the Environmental Justice Foundation said: “More transparent reporting by EU Member States on their fisheries controls and abolishing their veto to publish fisheries information mean the EU can continue to be a pioneer in the effort for a transparent global fisheries sector. Yet, crucially, the giant misstep of allowing four in ten fish to go missing from the records must now urgently be remedied by MEPs and Member States in their upcoming negotiations.”

Positive outcomes from the European Parliament vote include:

• Fishing vessels of 12 metres length or more that are at high risk of discarding unwanted catches (a violation of the EU Common Fisheries Policy) will be required to use Remote Electronic Monitoring, including CCTV cameras.
• Seafood products will need to be digitally traceable from the point of catch to the point of retail, with the same requirements for products sourced from EU and non-EU countries.
• Thanks to more transparent reporting provisions, European citizens and decision makers will have more information on how EU Member States implement EU fishing rules and manage fisheries resources.
• All EU fishing vessels – including over 49,000 small-scale vessels – are required to have a location tracker and to report their catches.

The negative aspects include:

• The increased margin of error that fishers have to estimate their catches will allow up to 40% of caught seafood to go missing from the EU fleet’s records; in the case of tuna, even up to 50% of catches may now never be reported.
• The requirement of Remote Electronic Monitoring (including CCTV) on vessels to monitor and curb the bycatch of sensitive species, including dolphins, seals and seabirds, has been rejected.

With the European Parliament’s position on the fisheries Control Regulation now adopted, Members of the European Parliament, the representatives from EU Member States and the European Commission are scheduled to begin negotiations to finalise the future fisheries control system later this summer.

It is crucial that the gains secured for sustainable fishing and healthy seas in Wednesday night’s vote are maintained in the trilogue discussions. However, both MEPs and EU Member States must urgently remedy the dramatic increase in the margin fishers receive to estimate their catches. The European Commission has warned that the 40-50% of catches missing from fishers’ logbooks could jeopardise the recovery of fish stocks in European seas, putting the future of fisheries at risk and stands in stark contrast to the goals of the European Green Deal. It is now up to EU parliamentarians, EU Member States and the Commission to make sure the robustness of our fisheries control system will not be undermined by this giant misstep.

ENDS

The EU Fisheries Control Coalition – The Environmental Justice Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Oceana, Seas At Risk, and WWF, together with ClientEarth, The Fisheries Secretariat, Our Fish and Sciaena –  is working to ensure that fisheries management in the EU safeguards ocean health and marine life for generations to come.

Notes to editors: 

The fisheries Control Regulation is the cornerstone of how fisheries are controlled and monitored in the EU. This helps to ensure seafood is caught within sustainable limits and follows legal procedures, with direct impacts for Member States, fishers and consumers, as well as the health of marine ecosystems.

The current revision process of the Regulation offers opportunities to make fisheries management more sustainable, address the lack of transparency on how the EU fleet is regulated and, as a result, increase profits for the sector. In addition, a strong future Control Regulation is key to stopping illegal fishing activities, which hurt fishers operating within legal boundaries.

For further information:

Larissa Milo-Dale
EU Fisheries Control Coalition Communications Coordinator
Senior Communications Officer for Marine, WWF European Policy Office
lmilodale@wwf.eu
+32 483 26 20 86<