Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-05-19-Speech-5-071"
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"en.20000519.4.5-071"2
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"Mr President, I should like to express my gratitude for the fact that my suggestions were taken into account when this report was drawn up and, in particular, the recommendation that the size of deepwater rose shrimps be set at 22 millimetres rather than at the 24 millimetres proposed by the Commission.
Although I think that the Commission’s proposal is not unreasonable, we have to bear in mind that the size limit is being set for the first time and that this species is an important part of the catches of certain fleets in southern Spain and Portugal where, until now, they have been fishing for shrimps without any size restrictions.
In a species that does not grow very large, 2 millimetres is a great deal when trying to determine whether the profitability of some very small-scale fisheries will be increased or decreased. As I said, such fisheries are not used to fishing with minimum size restrictions.
What is more, Portugal, the other Member State involved, wanted this minimum size to be even smaller. As a result, I feel that the compromise reached is acceptable and to be commended.
I should like to thank the Commission for being so prepared to listen and to accept both suggestions from this House as well as from the Council, which were along the same lines.
I am also especially interested in the Commission’s proposal on the temporary halt on sand eel fishing in Scottish and English waters. I must also welcome the fact that Denmark, the country most dependent on fisheries, has not raised any major objections to this measure. Their attitude should enable us to progress towards a more realistic management system of fishery resources used for industrial purposes.
I have often expressed my doubts about the idea that we should maintain large fleets in depleted ecosystems, such as those of the Community, which means that fish stocks are being destroyed in order to produce fish meal or oil.
In the European Parliament Resolution of June 1998 on this type of fishing, which was based on a report drawn up by Mr Kindermann, it was highlighted that 60% of Community yields in the North Sea, Skagerrat and Kattegat are intended for this type of industrial use. Reports from the FAO and environmental organisations estimate that 70% of fisheries production is used to this end and say this is contributing to the destruction of stocks on a worldwide scale.
Evidently, these figures also highlight the high socio-economic dependency of some Community regions on such activity. For this reason, while I have no desire whatsoever to eliminate this activity completely, it may be an opportune moment to debate the possibility of achieving a greater balance, taking account of the various fleets’ objectives in the use of resources. Eventually, this new balance should be borne in mind when distributing Community funds for structural measures as well as administrative and market policy measures."@en1
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