As the EU navigates towards the final stages of this legislative period (2019-2024), Europêche addressed and exchanged views with Member States on the future structure of the European Commission and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The European fishing industry calls on EU capitals to rebalance the different objectives of the CFP by strengthening the socio-economic and food security dimensions and ensuring that European fishers remain internationally competitive. Moreover, the sector urged Member States to send a strong signal against the disloyal attitude of Norway towards EU fishing rights by rejecting the EEA Financial Mechanism 2021-2028. Also, the industry stressed ongoing issues with nature protection rules and the upcoming implementation of fisheries control system. 

1. Future CFP and European Commission structure

Concerns were raised over the current imbalance between environmental and fisheries policies within the European Commission’s portfolio and policies. As a result, last year, fishers heavily protested across the EU against the increasing area closures and the Commission proposal to phase out bottom fishing. Now, Europe’s farmer protests are spreading. They are protesting against shared concerns regarding excessive EU regulations, pricing pressures, and the EU support to cheap imports with increasing tax derogations. Europêche called for an urgent surgical revision of failed EU policies such as the landing obligation. According to Europêche, the EU needs to return to a model where primary food production is placed high in the Commission’s agenda and structure, separate from environment, and that needs to happen in the next mandate of the European Commission (2024-2029).

2. Fish tax derogations granted to Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism 2021-2028:

The fishing industry expressed frustration and irritation with Norway’s aggressive stance against EU fishing interests, citing actions such as unlawful cod quota grabs, bans of traditional EU fishing methods (e.g., beam trawl) in Norway’s waters and setting excessive, unjustified unilaterally mackerel quotas, leading to overfishing. Europêche called on Member States to block the EEA agreement and stop the continuation of tax derogations to Norway’s fisheries products entering the EU market. In this sense, Europêche advocates for the EEA agreement to incorporate a direct link between trade access and fisheries management, similar to the arrangement in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the UK. 

3. Action Plan to protect and restore marine ecosystems

Europêche and the Chair of EBFA, reiterated the strong criticism from the Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee towards the Commission’s Action Plan to protect marine ecosystems. In their respective positions, the plan was deemed overly simplistic, lacking a foundation in the best available science, neglecting focus on food security, and lacking an impact assessment. The Plan lacks a legally binding nature, and therefore, the Commission appears to be attempting to legislate through a “back door”. The sector called for a different approach for the next legislative term, on a case-by-case basis and in direct contact with the sector.

Although not specifically addressed during the meeting, Europêche is deeply concerned about the manner in which the UK is implementing Marine Protected Areas in its waters, exceeding the recommendations of scientists and mainly impeding the operations of EU fishing vessels. In this regard, the European Commission, as the guardian of the Treaties, must ensure that the designation of MPAs within the UK’s jurisdiction is non-discriminatory, science-based and proportionate. Europêche firmly believes that the Commission should take this issue seriously and utilize all measures provided within the TCA to rectify the situation. Conservation objectives should never be employed as a means to restrict EU access to UK waters, preventing EU vessels from catching their rightful fishing quotas.

4. Fisheries Control Regulation: Implementing rules

In January 2024 entered into force the new EU fisheries control system. The goal: modernising and simplifying control and enforcement measures adopted back in 2009. The Commission has initiated the implementation phase of the rules, which must be both workable and cost-effective while also ensuring effectiveness and fairness. However, the sector is already appalled by the first implementing act on the margin of tolerance. To implement the flexibilities granted by co-legislators, the Commission, in its implementing act, proposes to enforce stricter control measures in third countries than those applied in the EU, making it impossible to apply the flexibility in foreign ports, especially those located in developing countries. Europêche questions why the Commission is imposing such unattainable measures to EU vessels, while having no issue in accepting fishery products landed by Asian vessels in the same foreign ports not subject to any of the proposed EU control rules.

Likewise, Europêche asked Member States to push the Commission to propose as soon as possible exemptions for the separate stowage of certain demersal species subject to multiannual plans. This is an important flexibility provided by the new law due to reasons such as limited storage space on board, the high number of different stocks caught in certain fisheries, or out of concern for the safety of the crew.

Europêche recalled that the mandatory roll-out of CCTV in the EU 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. Europêche regrets that new digital tools are implemented to monitor and survey failed policies. In this context, Europêche emphasized the need for collaborative and pragmatic approaches to address these issues and ensure the sector’s long-term viability.

Press contact:

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

EP Press Release – Meeting with Perm Reps

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

ANABAC, OPAGAC and ORTHONGEL, representing the European distant-water fleet fishing tropical tunas, have warned EU institutions for several month about the impossibility for them to comply with the control regulation on margin of tolerance. This rule imposes that there is a difference of no more than 10% per species between the estimates on board and the actual landed catches.

The sector argues that operating under temperatures above 30°C, skippers only have a few minutes to sort and freeze their catches before the apparition of histamine in the tuna, which makes fish unfit for human consumption. Furthermore, similar target tuna species cannot easily be distinguished from each other in such a short time. Technological solutions are currently being studied by the fleet but will take several years to develop.

Anne-France Mattlet, Europêche Tuna Group Director, stated: “That’s why tropical tuna fleet requests to be able to apply this 10% margin of tolerance not per species but of the whole catch on board. While the European Parliament has adopted a position that takes into account the specificities of the fishing operations in the purse seine fishery, the European Commission refuses to bring any flexibility to the rule. As a consequence, ships and skippers are being sanctioned again and again, accumulating points on their licences. This will unequivocally lead to the suspension of the fishing licences and the immobilization of EU vessels. On the meanwhile, non-EU vessels will keep fishing since they are not subject to the same control, environmental, health and social rules. Some non-EU countries do not even apply the catch limits decided at international level.”

ORTHONGEL, representing the French tuna purse seine fleet, commissioned the Rinzen firm, specialized in independent economic analysis, to evaluate the socio-economic consequences of those sanctions. The verdict is inambiguous: if nothing changes, by 2026, the weight of the sanctions on the turn-over will be so unbearable that ship-owners and 1,600 jobs can simply disappear. Ms Mattlet concluded “the situation might be even worse since the study does not consider the increasing costs of fuel nor the deficit accumulated during COVID. Even during these crisis periods EU tuna vessels kept fishing without being able to generate profit to supply canning factories and maintain employment.”

Those conclusions are equally valid for the Spanish fleet. The jobs of over 2,500 fishers are hanging on by a thread since Spain is currently applying heavy sanctions that are forcing many of their units to stop for over 2 months in port. This is a direct effect of the impossibility for the EU tropical tuna distant water fleet to apply this rule. The Europêche Tuna Group is firmly asking to have a 10% margin of tolerance for the whole catch, at least until technology can solve the complicated sorting of tropical tunas by species.

Rinzen study: http://www.orthongel.fr/special/MargeTolerance/Rinzen_Orthongel_2022_EN.pdf

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche: +32 2 230 48 48 daniel.voces@europeche.org

Anne-France Mattlet, Europêche Tuna Group Director : anne-france.mattlet@europeche.org

EP Press Release – Europeche MoT sanctions

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