Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-09-Speech-4-029"
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"en.20050609.6.4-029"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I have suggested a balance that I believe can be struck between the conservation of eco-systems and the social and economic interests of the fisheries sector. Although such a balance will be difficult, it is often an attainable target, as evidenced by this compromise.
As rapporteur of this proposal for a decision on the conclusion by the European Community of the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Programme, I was delighted to see that it is possible to coordinate strategies that can meet the interests of fishermen and of all of those involved, while ensuring that eco-systems can be preserved.
The programme on which this Agreement is based, and which the Community intends to conclude, has three key priorities: firstly, to monitor the abundance of dolphins and levels of dolphin mortality linked to tuna fishing in the area covered by the Agreement; secondly, to study the causes of dolphin mortality during fishing operations, whilst at the same time promoting fishing techniques and gear capable of minimising these effects; and thirdly, to study the impact of various fishing models on various species of fish and other creatures in the pelagic ecosystem.
In order to accomplish the objectives, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), which is coordinating this programme, is proposing to put in place a range of measures, among which I should like to highlight the implementation of sustainable fishing quotas for tuna caught in the Agreement area and the presence of on-board observers during each fishing trip. As they are aware of the importance of conserving fishing stocks, the vessel owners and fishermen have developed fishing techniques that are less harmful to the target species and to the by-catch concerned. It is important to emphasise that the efforts led to a reduction in the by-catch of dolphins in the Agreement area as a result of purse-seine fishing from around 150 000 in 1989 to 1 500 in 2002.
As well as playing an important part in preserving dolphin communities in this region, this Agreement has also helped to preserve the ecosystem as a whole by preserving communities of other species in addition to dolphins, such as sharks, turtles and other aquatic animals often killed, thanks to the use of different fishing gear specially designed to catch these species of tuna. This demonstrates the high level of selectivity achieved thus far and goes to show the value of this programme that the Community is seeking to sign up to.
In addition to the technical measures involved, the programme encompasses a ‘dolphin-safe’ certification scheme for products caught without any harm being done to dolphins. Let me stress the point that this certification can only be awarded to products where no dolphin – or other species not being fished – is harmed. The issue of certification has been extensively debated in the UN’s Committee on Fisheries and Food and Agriculture Association and in the European Commission, which, as I understand, is in the process of drawing up a communication on the issue of eco-labelling. This is a very important subject, which is worthy of debate, because in the case of tuna there are a number of non-governmental organisations that have, sometimes less than transparently, influenced the trade flow of processed tuna products in the EU.
I therefore feel, Commissioner, that following discussion in the Committee on Fisheries, this was an important time to raise awareness among the Commission and all of the members of the Committee on Fisheries of the fact that the European Union needs to regulate the issue of eco-labelling, and it was to an extent with this in mind that some amendments were tabled. I feel that there must be a public body in charge of this process, although private firms and non-governmental organisations can be partners prior or subsequent to this process. For the entire certification process to have the highest possible credibility, however, there must be a public body in charge.
For these reasons, and in line with the guidelines of the common fisheries policy, I believe that this programme deserves a favourable opinion from Parliament with regard to the conclusion of this Agreement by the EU.
I should also like to point out that this report was adopted unanimously by the Committee on Fisheries, and I am grateful to the members of that Committee. I also wish to thank the scientists, the organisations, the Commission, of course, and non-governmental organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund, which attended a mini-hearing that I had arranged. I feel that this mini-hearing helped to convey the importance of this programme and to show that it is possible to have Agreement between fishermen, scientists and politicians on such an important issue. It might also serve to show the EU’s future role, as I said, in a good light, as regards this Agreement, by safeguarding its content, and throughout the eco-labelling process in the EU."@en1
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