After five years of tough negotiations, new fisheries control rules are hot off the press and MEPs will have to decide next week whether or not to endorse the text. The sector represented by Europêche and EAPO, finds positives in the text such as stronger provisions on traceability to ensure that imported and processed products have the same traceability requirements as EU produced seafood. Also, both organisations welcome the adoption of specific margins of tolerance for small-pelagic and tropical tuna species. These new rules will better account for the specificities of these fisheries when reporting their catches and will help to avoid unfair sanctions and penalty points they are receiving due to the impossibility of complying with previous generalist rules. The new text also strengthens the monitoring of recreational fisheries to better evaluate and control its impact on commercial fish stocks.

However, the regulation imposes burdensome and costly technological demands on fishers. The sector regrets that, rather than working to make the landing obligation workable, the common decision was to double down on enforcing and controlling an unapplicable piece of legislation. The mandatory roll-out of CCTV will not suddenly make the landing obligation regime workable nor will it prevent unwanted catches from reaching the fishing nets. Same rationale applies to the mandatory introduction of engine power monitoring devices for certain vessels.

In this context, Europêche and EAPO request clarity on the methodology to be used at EU and national level to implement these new digital tools, particularly on how the risk-based approach will work in practice. Likewise, industry representatives demand their involvement in the policy implementation process to ensure a pragmatic and feasible approach.

The challenge to ensure equal and harmonized implementation of the new rules and requirements across EU Member states is not clearly addressed in the new proposed regulation, and neither is the interoperability of the data systems and technologies that EU countries can use under the new regime.

When the new regulation is implemented in the EU, Europêche and EAPO call for the extension of these rules and devices (including CCTV and engine monitoring devices) to the non-EU fleets operating in EU waters, in line with the Regulation on Sustainable Management of External Fishing Fleets (See article 38.1 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2403), and to avoid any exemption to be granted under trade or fisheries agreements.

Similarly, in order to keep coherence between the internal and external dimension of the CFP, the EU should seek to implement these rules in international waters. For that purpose, the EU should use Regional Fisheries Management Organizations and fisheries agreements with third countries to try to level the playing field for all fleets.

The sector welcomes the harmonization of the enforcement regime but reminds the importance of having proportionality when it comes to sanctions to ensure that fishers do not pay the price twice.

Finally, EAPO and Europêche call for a level playing field when it comes to weighing plans, since the differences in implementation between Member States is detrimental to EU vessels landing in other member States.

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche: +32 489 26 81 07 daniel.voces@europeche.org

Paul Thomas, Policy Officer of EAPO: +32 470 41 78 38 paul.thomas@eapo.com  

EP and EAPO Press Release – Control Regulation

The Plenary vote respected the majority of the compromises found within the European Parliament committee on Fisheries. These agreements will help enhance the traceability of seafood products, digitise tracking and catch reporting across the value chain and harmonise sanctions and enforcement measures across Member States. Europêche welcomes the flexibility provided in terms of timing, scale and bureaucracy thus showing closer ties with the fisheries reality.

Europêche appreciates the flexibility on the estimates recorded in the fishing logbook for each species which are extremely difficult to match with the quantities actually landed. The sector appreciates the introduction of higher margins of tolerance for mixed, small pelagic, tuna and industrial fisheries. According to Daniel Voces, managing director of Europêche: “Many have accused fishers of using this measure to under declare fish. These voices neglect the current hefty fines faced by fishers, forget that the quantities reported in the logbook are just estimates and ignore that these estimates could be lower or higher than the actual landings without any malicious intention from the fisher. With or without a margin of tolerance, compliance with a faithful declaration on the fish caught is ensured when contrasted with the weighing on landing and the sales notes.”

Contradicting the position previously adopted in the fisheries committee, the European Parliament adopted by a very slight majority (8 votes difference) the introduction of cameras on board fishing vessels. These will be mandatory for vessels over 12 metres identified as posing a high risk of non-compliance with the landing obligation.

Mr Voces, declared: “Will EU policy-makers agree to install CCTV systems in their own offices to ensure that tax-payers money is well managed, spent and maximized and to guarantee that nobody breaches the Law in their daily activities? We believe the answer is no. Why then fishers, who actually hold an excellent record of compliance? We cannot feel but persecuted and criminalised by an EU that constantly applies a presumption of guilt based on mistrust towards the sector.”

The EU fishing industry is confronted with an ill-conceived policy, the landing obligation, not fit for the EU fisheries reality which EU decision-makers are trying to enforce through intrusive control and monitoring tools. Important fishing nations such as Norway and Iceland, with landing obligation policies in place, are against the use of cameras and yet can perfectly control their fleets’ operations. According to Europêche, this refutes the Commission’s claim that infringements will never be detected without CCTV.

Negotiations with Member states will now follow in the coming months, after which a final decision will be taken.

Press contacts:

Rosalie Tukker, Policy Advisor of Europêche: +32 2 230 48 48  rosalie.tukker@europeche.org

EP Press Release – Plenary vote Fisheries Control System

Crucial decisions have been taken last night to make decisive progress towards a new EU control system. The European Parliament has enhanced traceability of seafood products, digitised tracking and catch reporting across the value chain and harmonised sanctions and enforcement measures across Member States. This will create a true level playing field on EU control efforts so all fishers are fairly and equally treated.

Europêche welcomes the Fisheries Committee proposal to introduce cameras on board fishing vessels (CCTV) on a voluntary provided that an incentive such as catch quota uplifts or freedom of choice of method in conducting a fishery is granted by the competent authority. Alternatively, fishing vessels shall equip CCTV technology on a temporary and mandatory basis provided that they have committed two or more serious infringements, as an accompanying sanction.

Daniel Voces, managing director of Europêche, declared: “We favour the use of high-tech remote electronic monitoring tools to modernise data management and enhance compliance. However, the introduction of intrusive technologies such as cameras clearly clash with business confidentiality, privacy and workers’ rights. The introduction of CCTV must therefore be done step by step, with incentives and in close cooperation with the industry as suggested by the Fisheries Committee”.

The Parliament also limits the mandatory introduction of monitoring of engine power devices to vessels that operate in areas subject to fishing effort regimes or restrictions on engine power. According to Europêche, the rationale behind this approach is clear: “in fisheries subject to catch limits, the size or power of the boat does not matter, it will always be limited by the allocated quota”. However, Europêche regrets the increased bureaucracy specially for the fleets operating in the Mediterranean.

In line with the Commission, the Parliament supported the idea that from now on all quantities of each species caught and kept on board, even below 50 kg, must be recorded. The small-scale fishermen represented by Europêche are disappointed with the removal of that threshold which will exponentially increase the red-tape and working hours of fishers.

The Fisheries Committee, however, has introduced more flexibility on the estimates recorded in the fishing logbook for each species which are extremely difficult to match with the quantities actually landed. Europêche appreciates the introduction of higher margins of tolerance for mixed, small pelagic and industrial fisheries, for species retained on board that do not exceed 100kg and for tuna species.

Other important control measures such as the weighing of fishery products, vessel monitoring systems, electronic logbook, traceability, prior notification of landing, transhipment operations, stowage of demersal catches, transport, enforcement measures, point system and recreational fisheries have been decided by previous compromises between political groups. Europêche welcomes the flexibility provided by these agreements in terms of timing, scale and bureaucracy thus showing closer ties with the fisheries reality.

Mr Voces concluded, “The current EU fisheries control system is one of the most advanced in the world and has undoubtedly contributed to step up compliance with the Common Fisheries Policy and to the sustainable management of our fish stocks. Our fishermen do not need more red-tape but clear and efficient rules uniformly applied across the EU to guarantee equal treatment, reduce costs and make their life easier.”

EP Press Release – PECH vote Fisheries Control System