Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-10-20-Speech-1-205"
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"en.20081020.18.1-205"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission has presented a good, constructive proposal for amending the existing recovery plan for cod in, for example, the North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat. Despite the existence of the present recovery plan, far more cod are continuing to be caught than are generated through reproduction. The Celtic Sea has been included in the recovery plan because new evaluations indicate that cod stocks are also being overexploited there and are in a poor state.
The object of these amendments is to ensure the recovery of cod stocks within the next five to ten years. This objective is intended to be achieved by reducing fishing mortality by between 10% and 25%, depending on the state of the stock. This is to be supplemented by regulation of the fishing effort as well as provisions relating to monitoring and control. The objectives are to be revised in order to obtain the highest sustainable yield even if oceanic conditions change as a result of global warming. The effort management system is to be simplified. It has progressively become so complex that a new system is needed, based on effort ceilings to be managed by Member States, which will have greater flexibility and therefore achieve more efficient implementation.
The plan is to be adapted to different levels of recovery and it therefore incorporates a modular strategy where the adjustment of fishing mortality is a function of the level of recovery achieved. Clear rules are introduced that are applied when scientists cannot provide precise estimates of stock status. There is a need to reduce discards by introducing new mechanisms to encourage fishermen to engage in cod-avoidance programmes. Overall, the Commission wishes to amend the existing cod recovery plan in order to make it more complete, updated to recent developments, simpler, more efficient and easier to implement, monitor and control.
TACs: New rules are being introduced to establish the total allowable catches, where the size of the stocks is measured in relation to either the minimum quantity or the target quantity. When setting the TAC, the Council is also to deduct a quantity of cod corresponding to the size of the expected discard, calculated on the basis of the total amount of cod caught. Other factors contributing to fishing mortality will also result in a revolution in the total cod caught when the TAC is established.
Every three years the Commission's Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries will evaluate the recovery of the cod stocks. If the trends in the stocks do not prove satisfactory, the Council shall set a lower TAC than that specified in the aforementioned rules, together with a lower fishing effort.
As rapporteur, I have tabled a number of amendments to the Commission's proposal, and my colleagues have also tabled some amendments. The most important amendment is to change the reference years from 2005-2007 to 2004-2006, as the data for 2007 are so new that we cannot be certain of them, and it is therefore better to use the data that we are sure of.
Account is taken of the fact that cod stocks at a particular point in time are being rebuilt, which is why we cannot simply make reductions, but rather changes are needed. The system of transferring from one type of gear to another is made more flexible so that it is possible to respond to external circumstances, such as rising fuel prices, which, even after the fall over the last few weeks, are at a particularly high level. The Regional Advisory Councils are to be involved as much as possible. Both fishermen and Member States are to be encouraged to introduce measures to reduce fishing mortality and discards.
Finally, I would like to thank the French Presidency and the Commission for their particularly constructive cooperation."@en1
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