Today the European Commission, continuing to deliver on its commitment to Better Regulation, presented a proposal
for new conservation measures for fisheries in European seas. These are
rules on how, where and when fishermen may fish, also determining gear,
catch composition and ways to deal with accidental catches. Up until
now, these rules have been decided at EU level through a lengthy
adoption process, and over the years this regulatory structure has
become highly complex.
EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella said:...
"With
this proposal we ensure that our objectives for sustainable fisheries
and the protection of marine habitats are reached throughout the EU. Its
'regionalised approach' simplifies the rules, in line with our better
regulation agenda. It allows for fisheries management decisions to be
made locally, closer to the people they affect."
With the new Common Fisheries Policy and to comply with the Better Regulation Agenda principle and the REFIT
programme, a new simplified approach has been proposed. The Commission
is tabling a more flexible system of governance, empowering regional
actors, who know their local context best, to customise technical
conservation measures in their own sea basins. The proposal also
condenses a number of distinct Regulations into one single text which
should ease interpretation and facilitate compliance.
The EU will prescribe the general principles and the overall
objectives of fishing activities; there will still be a set of basic
rules that will be applicable to prohibited fishing gear or the
protection of certain species and habitats. However, for technical
measures which affect a specific sea basin, national governments and
operators will be able to customise the proposed rules to the local
context so as to achieve the desired results.
If, for example, a specific fishing area needs to be closed to
protect a particular habitat, such as a sensitive coral reef, or if
derogations need to be allowed for specific vessels that do not impact
the seabed, all this can be done through technical measures decided by
the Member States around that sea basin, in consultation with their
stakeholders.
The proposal includes measures for the protection of the marine
ecosystem and marine habitats and for avoiding by-catches of
non-commercial and sensitive species, such as seabirds and mammals.
