Article – ‘Fishing the last fish’: Is the EU doing enough to protect fisheries? by Lars Bevanger, Deutsche Welle, 22 February 2018:
Campaigners say EU politicians under pressure from industry routinely agree to unsustainable fishing quotas, against scientific advice. But fishermen warn big cuts to fish quotas will put thousands of jobs at risk.
But campaign group Our Fish said the agreement showed “an unsurprising lack of ambition” from the lawmakers, who they accused of failing short of their legal, scientific and moral obligations.
“It’s extremely frustrating to watch the process, when the law is quite clear about what should be done,” Our Fish program director Rebecca Hubbard said.
The industry argues it is doing its bit to turn things around, and that cutting quotas too fast would jeopardize tens of thousands of jobs.
But Hubbard believes fishery ministers should focus on the scientific advice and disregard pressure from the industry in their home countries
“The reformed Common Fisheries Policy really aims to take the politics out of the process. That gives the fisheries ministers the ability to step out of their local issues that they get stuck in,” she said.
Fishermen warn cutting quotas too quickly would put tens of thousands of jobs at risk
“But we’re seeing particular industry players who benefit from this situation in the short term, who have unfair access to large amounts of quota, saying they need more. And this is driving an increase in the total fishing limits that are being set.”
Read the article: ‘Fishing the last fish’: Is the EU doing enough to protect fisheries?
Listen to audio interview on Deutsche Welle’s Living Planet: Living Planet: Is the EU doing enough to protect fisheries?