Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-14-Speech-2-404"
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"en.20060314.31.2-404"2
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".
Mr President, I wish to begin by thanking the rapporteur, Mr Ó Neachtain, and the Committee on Fisheries for the constructive report on more environmentally friendly fishing methods and for the interest they have shown in the communication from the Commission. I cannot agree more with what the rapporteur has just said regarding the honesty and integrity of fishermen; the abuses of the few should not be blamed on everyone at large and we need to clamp down strongly on the real culprits.
Turning to the amendments: with regard to Amendment 1 on centralisation and co-management, the Commission would like to see substantial RAC involvement in the elaboration of technical measures without, however, any change to the decision-making process. The Commission agrees with taking into account initiatives of RACs so as to improve fisheries management and can accept that point on condition that the positive effects of such measures are confirmed by scientific assessment. I would like to emphasise that we already have examples to illustrate that the Commission takes into account proposals from the RACs, such as the case of the French square-meshed panel, the Swedish grid and the proposed new rule under which – for safety reasons – the cod line is to be placed as far as ten metres, instead of one metre, away from the meshes of the cod end when using an onboard pump system in pelagic fisheries.
It is premature to give a definitive reaction to Amendment 2, since discussions on depleted fish stocks are still under way. They will hopefully be concluded by April. However, the draft proposal from the Commission already provides for socio-economic compensation linked to recovery plans, and I can assure you that this topic will be given the necessary attention.
The Commission attaches great importance to the development of more environmentally friendly fishing methods. Improving selectivity is one of the objectives of the technical measures that we propose in that context. In that regard, I am pleased to note that some progress has been achieved on the technical measures in the Baltic that were adopted by the Council in December, and the Commission intends to increase selectivity and the new technical measures to be proposed for the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and North Sea.
I have noted your interest in combating ghost fishing. The Commission is prepared to be at the forefront of this battle. Following the Deepnet report, measures were decided, in the last TAC and in the quota regulation for 2006, to ban temporarily deepwater gillnet fishery in the areas covered by the report and concerned by this activity until such time as permanent measures – also applicable to other areas, in lieu of a complete ban – are adopted, hopefully, during this year. I have also reserved funds to support retrieval surveys of ghost nets. The Commission will continue to follow these issues with particular attention.
The reduction of discards will be a major objective of the new technical measures for the Atlantic and the North Sea. It needs to be underscored that, due to the variety of the catch composition and the level of discards in European Union waters, the regional aspects of the different fisheries will be taken into account. The various areas to be considered will correspond to the spheres of influence of the different RACs, thereby incorporating more easily the proposals made by those councils, a positive evaluation being made by the relevant RAC.
The Commission is encouraging the industry to engage in pilot programmes by making use of the RACs for this purpose. Two such pilot projects have already been carried out in France and Sweden. Further pilot projects, in full cooperation with the industry, will allow us to test on a case-by-case basis possible measures to reduce discards effectively.
The Commission is also encouraging the development of efforts in fisheries management in the Kattegat in cooperation with Denmark, Sweden and Germany. This will hopefully lead to positive results later this year. This kind of management, among other objectives, is aimed at reducing or eliminating discards.
Bycatch reduction is linked to selectivity and discard issues and, at international level, the Commission has promoted a global approach for bycatch issues within the FAO. This could result in an international plan of action on bycatch reduction and/or technical guidelines elaborated by the FAO.
Most of the measures to promote environmentally friendly fishing methods will be included in the new technical measures for the Atlantic and the North Sea. As you know, technical measures are considered as a complement to effort limitations, TACs and quotas, long-term management and recovery plans, and as part of the overall package of management measures.
I have noted your request to simplify the regulatory system and can inform you that these new technical measures will be a fundamental test case in the simplification programme led by the Commission. They are one of the principal points of the action plan on simplification."@en1
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