Required Report - public distribution

**Date:** 3/13/2008

**GAIN Report Number:** E48029

E48029

**EU-27**

**Fishery Products**

**EU Fisheries Policy**

**2008**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Kelly Stange

U.S. Mission to the EU

**Prepared by:**

Hilde Brans

**Report Highlights:**

One of the main objectives of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy is to
prevent fish stocks from being overexploited. Key conservation measures
include the adoption of annual Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and
multi-annual conservation plans. Bilateral fisheries agreements between
the EU and third countries ensure a substantial additional supply to the
EU industry. Due to diminishing resources, the EU's processing industry
heavily depends on imports of fresh products and raw materials form
third countries. For certain fishery products, the EU has suspended the
import duties or reduced duties within tariff quotas.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Annual Report

Brussels USEU \[BE2\]

\[E4\]

**EXECUTIVE SUMMARY**

One of the main objectives of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy is to
prevent fish stocks from being overexploited. Key conservation measures
include the adoption of annual Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and
multi-annual conservation plans. Bilateral fisheries agreements between
the EU and third countries ensure a substantial additional supply to the
EU industry.

Illegal fishing poses a serious threat to the sustainability of
fisheries. The European Commission has tabled a draft regulation which,
if adopted, requires all fishery products to be certified as having been
caught legally.

The European Fisheries Fund (EFF) covers a 7-year period (2007-2013)
with a total budget of EUR 3.8 billion. Funding is available to all the
different fishery sectors, including the EU aquaculture industry which
faces a number of scientific and technological challenges.

Due to diminishing resources, the EU's processing industry heavily
depends on imports of fresh products and raw materials form third
countries. For certain fishery products, the EU has suspended the import
duties or reduced duties within tariff quotas.

This report complements the EU Fishery Marketing Report (GAIN Report
E48031) written by the Office of Agricultural Affairs in The Hague, the
Netherlands. This report can be downloaded from
<http://www.fas.usda.gov/scriptsw/attacherep/default.asp>.

**COMMON FISHERIES POLICY (CFP)**

The objective of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is "to ensure
the sustainable development of fishing activities from an environmental,
economic and social point of view". To prevent fish stocks from being
overexploited, the EU has adopted the following conservation measures:

-   Total Allowable Catches (TACs) limiting the amount of a specific
    species that can be caught over a given period of time

-   Technical measures (mesh sizes, closed areas, minimum landing sizes,
    by-catch limits)

-   Limiting the number of fishing days at sea

To preserve fish stocks, the EU has established two types of
multi-annual conservation plans: recovery plans to help rebuild stocks
that are in danger of collapse and management plans to maintain stocks
at safe biological levels. Recovery plans contain formulas for
calculating annual TACs and quotas based on scientific stock estimates.

**TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCHES (TACs)**

The EU's main resource management measure is setting TACs for about 150
fish species and dividing them between the different Member States in
the form of quotas. TACs are adopted annually by the Council on the
basis of Commission proposals. The Commission's proposals are based on
scientific opinions delivered by the International Council for the
Exploitation of the Sea (ICES) and the Scientific, Technical and
Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF).

Each year, threatened species such as cod, sole, hake, lobster, anchovy,
etc. are the focus of Member States negotiations. For 2008, despite
strong opposition from environmental groups, the Council agreed to an 11
percent increase of the TAC for cod in the North Sea accompanied by a
reduction of 10 percent of days-at-sea. For Eastern Baltic cod, the TAC
has been cut by 5 percent plus a 20 percent cut in days-at-sea. The TAC
for Western Baltic cod has been cut by 28 percent plus a 10 percent cut
in days-at-sea. In other areas, the quota cuts for cod are less severe
than proposed by the Commission (18 percent instead of 25 percent).

TACs for southern hake and Norway lobster in Iberian waters have been
cut by 5 percent plus a reduction of 10 percent in fishing effort. The
TAC for North Sea sole has been cut by 15 percent and by 8 percent for
sole in the Bay of Biscay. By-catches of herring and blue whiting in the
North Sea have been cut by 41 percent and 37 percent respectively. The
Council also adopted the controversial proposal to keep the fishery of
anchovy in the Bay of Biscay closed until spring 2008, when stocks will
be re-examined.

[Council Regulation
40/2008](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:019:0001:0203:EN:PDF)
lists the TACs for 2008 (published in Official Journal L 19 of January
23, 2008).

In December 2007, the European Court of Auditors published a report in
which it audits the implementation of the CFP by the Member States, and
more specifically, the effectiveness of the TACs (published in [Official
Journal C 317 of December 28,
2007](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2007:317:0001:0033:EN:PDF)).
The Court concludes that catch data are incomplete and that the real
level of catches is unknown. As a consequence, the TAC and quota systems
cannot be applied properly. The report also concludes that inspection
systems do not provide assurance that infringements are effectively
prevented and detected. The procedures for dealing with reported
infringements are ineffective and the Court recommends the establishment
of adequate inspection and sanction systems. In response to the Court of
Auditors' report, the Commission said that they will table a new
regulation on fisheries controls in the second half of 2008.

**RECOVERY PLANS**

The following plans have been adopted/proposed:

-   Multi-annual plan for the sustainable exploitation of the stock of
    sole in the Western Channel (Council Regulation 509/2007)

-   Multi-annual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the
    fisheries exploiting those stocks (proposal)

-   Multi-annual plan for fisheries exploiting stocks of plaice and sole
    in the North Sea (Council Regulation 676/2007)

-   Recovery plan for blue-fin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and
    Mediterranean (Council Regulation 1559/2007)

-   Recovery plan for Northern hake (Council Regulation 811/2004)

-   Recovery plan for Southern hake and Norway lobster in the Cantabrian
    Sea and Western Iberian peninsula (Council Regulation 2116/2005)

-   Recovery plan for Greenland halibut in the framework of the
    Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (Council Regulation
    2115/2005)

-   Management plan for plaice and sole in the North Sea (proposal)

**ILLEGAL FISHING**

Illegal fishing disregards conservation measures and poses a serious
threat to the sustainability of fisheries. As it is a highly profitable
activity, operators have developed a number of techniques to conceal the
illegal origin of their catches. In October 2007, the Commission tabled
a [proposal establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and
eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated
fishing](../Council%20Regulation%20(EC)%20No%20676/2007%20of%2011%20June%202007%20establishing%20a%20multiannual%20plan%20for%20fisheries%20exploiting%20stocks%20of%20plaice%20and%20sole%20in%20the%20North%20Sea).
If adopted, all fishery products (including processed products) will
have to be certified by the flag state as having been caught legally.
Fishery products lacking such certification will be rejected.

**AQUACULTURE**

Aquaculture is a fast growing sector in the world food production
industry. According to the FAO, aquaculture is the only way to meet the
increased demand for fishery products. Worldwide aquaculture production
would have to double by 2030, representing an increase of 37 million
tones of fish per year, in order to maintain current fish consumption
levels.

In the EU, aquaculture production consists of three main activities: sea
fish farming, marine shellfish farming, and fresh water fish farming. In
2005, the EU-27 aquaculture production amounted to 1,272,455 metric
tons, representing only 2% of the world production. Five Member States
accounted for 73% of the EU-27 production in 2005: France (20%), Spain
(17%), Italy (14%), U.K. (14%) and Greece (8%). The EU aquaculture
sector faces a number of challenges which include limitation of space
and water of good quality, technical problems, risk from diseases and
environmental issues. For some of the farmed species, the market has
become saturated which results in lower prices and lower profits for
aquaculture producers.

While aquaculture production is rising in other parts of the world
(mainly Asia and South-America), EU aquaculture production is
stagnating. To increase the sector's competitiveness, the EU provides
financial aid under the European Fisheries Fund to support innovative
and environmentally friendly aquaculture projects. The EU is also
funding research programs to tackle scientific and technological
challenges faced by the aquaculture industry. One of the funded projects
is "Consensus", a 3-year project that will identify the need for further
research, biotechnologies and other innovative technologies, considering
legislation affecting aquaculture, and economic constraints. A revised
EU strategy for aquaculture is expected by the end of 2008.

**EUROPEAN FISHERIES FUND (EFF)**

Council Regulation 1198/2006 establishes a new financial support scheme
for the EU fisheries sector. The EFF covers a seven year period, from
January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2013, with a total budget of around EUR
3.8 billion. Funding is available to all the different sectors of the
industry: sea and inland fisheries, aquaculture, producer organizations
and the processing and marketing sectors. The EU's less developed areas,
the so-called convergence areas, have been allocated the biggest shares
of the EFF. It is up to the Member States to decide how they allocate
EFF aid between the different priorities. Member States have set up
operational programs (OP) for the entire period 2007-2013 in which they
describe and justify their priorities. The OPs were adopted by the
Commission and checked for consistency with the objectives of the Common
Fisheries Policy.

EFF Priorities are:

-   Adaptation of the EU fishing fleet to available sources

-   Aquaculture, inland fishing, processing and marketing of fishery and
    aquaculture products

-   Measures of common interest

-   Sustainable development of fisheries areas

-   Technical assistance to facilitate the distribution of EFF aid

Member States operational programs are published on the Commission's
website at
<http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/structural_measures/operational_programmes_en.htm>.

**TRADE AGREEMENTS**

Bilateral fisheries agreements between the EU and third countries are
key elements of the CFP. They ensure a substantial additional supply to
the EU industry and provide employment in the fisheries sector.
Bilateral agreements allow access of the EU fleet to surplus fish
resources in the territorial waters of non-EU countries. Each agreement
includes a "protocol" which lays down the specific conditions for its
implementation. The type of agreement varies in terms of the partner
country. "Reciprocity agreements" are usually concluded with Northern
European countries which have the means to fully exploit their own
resources. Such agreements take the form of a simple exchange of fishing
quotas in their respective waters. With other countries, mainly
developing countries but also with Greenland, which do not fully exploit
their resources, the EU concludes "partnership agreements". Under such
agreements, the EU pays a financial contribution to access the third
country's fishing zone.

+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| **FISHERIES     |                 |                 |                 |
| PARTNERSHIP     |                 |                 |                 |
| AGREEMENTS**    |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| **Country**     | **Duration of   | **Species**     | **EU financial  |
|                 | Protocol**      |                 | contribution    |
|                 |                 |                 | (euros/per      |
|                 |                 |                 | year)**         |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Cape Verde      | 5 years (until  | Tuna            | 385 000         |
|                 | 2012)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Comoros         | 6 years (until  | Tuna            | 390 000         |
|                 | 2010)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Ivory Coast     | 6 years (until  | Tuna            | 595 000         |
|                 | 2013)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Gabon           | 6 years (until  | Tuna            | 860 000         |
|                 | 2011)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Greenland       | 6 years (until  | Cod, redfish,   | 15 847 244      |
|                 | 201)            | halibut,        |                 |
|                 |                 | shrimp,         |                 |
|                 |                 | capelin,        |                 |
|                 |                 | snowcrab        |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Guinea          | 5 years (ends   | Mixed           | 1 400 000       |
|                 | in 2008)        |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Guinea-Bissau   | 4 years (until  | Mixed           | 7 000 000       |
|                 | 2011)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Kiribati        | 6 years (until  | Tuna            | 478 400         |
|                 | 2012)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Madagascar      | 6 years (until  | Tuna            | 1 197 000       |
|                 | 2012)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Mauritania      | Ends in July    | Mixed           | 86 000 000      |
|                 | 2008            |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Micronesia      | 3 years (until  | Tuna            | 559 000         |
|                 | 2010)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Morocco         | 4 years (until  | Mixed           | 36 100 000      |
|                 | 2011)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Mozambique      | 5 years (until  | Tuna            | 990 000         |
|                 | 2011)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Sao Tome        | 4 years (until  | Tuna            | 663 000         |
|                 | 2010)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Seychelles      | 6 years (until  | Tuna            | 5 355 000       |
|                 | 2011)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Solomon Islands | 3 years (until  | Tuna            | 400 000         |
|                 | 2010)           |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| **RECIPROCITY   |                 |                 |                 |
| AGREEMENTS      |                 |                 |                 |
| (EXCHANGE OF    |                 |                 |                 |
| QUOTAS)**       |                 |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Faroe Islands   | Until 2012      | Whitefish       | \-              |
|                 |                 |                 |                 |
|                 |                 | Industrial      |                 |
|                 |                 | species         |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Iceland         | Until 2009      | Redfish         | \-              |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| Norway          | Until 2009      | Cod, haddock,   | \-              |
|                 |                 | saithe,         |                 |
|                 |                 | whiting,        |                 |
|                 |                 | plaice,         |                 |
|                 |                 | mackerel,       |                 |
|                 |                 | herring         |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+

Detailed information on the different bilateral fisheries agreements is
available on the Commission's website at
<http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/external_relations/bilateral_agreements_en.htm>.

**IMPORT DUTIES & QUOTAS**

**TARIFFS**

EU import duties for fish and processed fish products are published in
the EU's Tariff Schedule. Tariffs applicable as of January 1, 2008, can
be found in Official Journal L 286 of October 31, 2007 and can be
accessed through our website at
<http://useu.usmission.gov/agri/customs.html>. Chapter 3 of the EU
Tariff Schedule relates to fresh, chilled and frozen fish; Chapter 16 to
processed fish products.

Council Regulation 1255/96, amended by Council Regulation 1527/2007,
temporarily suspends the tariff duties on certain industrial,
agricultural and fishery products, which cannot adequately be supplied
by EU producers. Due to the EU's diminishing resources, the fisheries
processing industry heavily depends on imports of fresh products and raw
materials from third countries. Council Regulation 1527/2007 suspends
import duties on the following products for 2008:

+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| **CN      | **Description**                                          |
| Code**    |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 0302 69   | Sturgeons, fresh, chilled or frozen, for processing      |
| 99        |                                                          |
|           |                                                          |
| 0302 79   |                                                          |
| 98        |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 0302 69   | Lump fish with roe, fresh or chilled, for processing     |
| 99        |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 0302 69   | Red Snapper, fresh chilled or frozen, for processing     |
| 99        |                                                          |
|           |                                                          |
| 0302 79   |                                                          |
| 98        |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 0302 70   | Hard fish roes, fresh, chilled or frozen                 |
| 00        |                                                          |
|           |                                                          |
| 0302 80   |                                                          |
| 90        |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 0303 11   | Pacific salmon, frozen and headless, for the processing  |
| 00        | industry for manufacture into pastes or spreads          |
|           |                                                          |
| 0303 19   |                                                          |
| 00        |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 0304 19   | Fillets and meat of dogfish, fresh, chilled or frozen    |
| 39        |                                                          |
|           |                                                          |
| 0304 19   |                                                          |
| 99        |                                                          |
|           |                                                          |
| 0304 29   |                                                          |
| 61        |                                                          |
|           |                                                          |
| 0304 99   |                                                          |
| 99        |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 0305 20   | Hard fish roes, salted or in brine                       |
| 00        |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 0306 19   | Krill for processing                                     |
| 90        |                                                          |
|           |                                                          |
| 0306 29   |                                                          |
| 90        |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 1604 11   | Pacific salmon, for the processing industry for          |
| 00        | manufacture into pastes or spreads                       |
|           |                                                          |
| 1604 20   |                                                          |
| 10        |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 1604 30   | Hard fish roes, washed, cleaned of adherent organs and   |
| 90        | simply salted or in brine, for processing                |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 1605 10   | Crabs of the species "King", "Hansaki", "Kengani",       |
| 00        | "Queen" and "Snow", "Red", "Rough Stone", "Mud", simply  |
|           | boiled in water and shelled, whether or not frozen, in   |
|           | immediate packings of a net content of 2 kg or more      |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 1605 10   | Crabs of the species Paralomis granulosa                 |
| 00        |                                                          |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+

**QUOTAS**

To ensure an adequate supply of fishery products to the EU processing
industry, the EU suspends or reduces custom duties for certain fishery
products within tariff quotas. [Council Regulation
824/2007](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:184:0001:0004:EN:PDF)
opens autonomous tariff quotas for certain fishery products for the
period 2007 to 2009.

  ------------------------------- ----------------------- ----------------
  **Description**                 **Quota Quantity (MT)** **Rate of Duty
                                                          (%)**

  Cod, fresh chilled or frozen    80 000                  0

  Cod salted or in brine          10 000                  0

  Blue grenadier, frozen fillets  20 000                  0

  Hake and Pink-cusk eel          15 000                  0

  Southern blue whiting, frozen   2 000                   0
  fillets                                                 

  Anchovies, salted or in brine   10 000                  0

  Herrings                        20 000                  0

  Herrings, spiced and/or vinegar 10 000                  6
  cured                                                   

  Loins of tunas and skipjack     27 000                  6

  Rock lobster and other sea      1 500                   6
  crawfish                                                

  Shrimps and prawns (Pandalus    20 000                  6
  borealis), cooked and peeled                            

  Tubes of squid, frozen          45 000                  0

  Squid, frozen                   1 500                   0

  Surimi, frozen                  55 000                  0

  Hake, frozen fillets            15 000                  4

  Cod, frozen fillets             20 000                  0

  Sole, frozen fillets            5 000                   0
  ------------------------------- ----------------------- ----------------

Under the Uruguay Round Agreement, the EU agreed to open tariff quotas
for certain commodities. The table below shows the WTO quotas for fish,
as published in Annex 7 to the EU's Tariff Schedule:

  ------------------------------- ----------------------- ----------------
  **Description**                 **Quota Quantity (MT)** **Rate of Duty
                                                          (%)**

  Tunas (for the canning          17 250                  0
  industry)                                               

  Herrings                        34 000                  0

  Silver hake                     2 000                   8

  Fish of the genus Coregonus     1 000                   5.5

  Fish of the genus Allocyttus    200                     0
  and of the species Pseudocyttus                         
  maculates                                               

  Cod of the species Gadus morhua 25 000                  0
  and Gadus ogac                                          

  Shrimps of the species Pandalus 500                     0
  borealis, shelled, boiled,                              
  frozen, but not further                                 
  processed                                               
  ------------------------------- ----------------------- ----------------

**IMPORT POLICY**

All imports of fishery products into the EU have to be accompanied by
sanitary certificates. A complete overview of EU certification
requirements for U.S. fishery products is given in NOAA's exporter guide
"How to export seafood to the European Union". A copy of the exporter
guide can be obtained through our website at
<http://useu.usmission.gov/agri/seafood2.html> or by contacting:

Stephane Vrignaud

National Marine Fisheries Service Representative

U.S. Mission to the EU, Brussels, Belgium

Tel: 32-2-508-2842

E-mail: <Stephane.Vrignaud@mail.doc.gov>

**GLOSSARY & SOURCES**

CFP: Common Fisheries Policy

DG: Directorate General

EFF: European Fisheries Fund

EU: European Union

FAO: Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

ICES: International Council for the Exploitation of the Sea

MT: Metric Tons

NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

STECF: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries

TAC: Total Allowable Catch

WTO: World Trade Organization

EU Legislation:

The referenced legislation can be downloaded from the European
Commission's website at <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm>.

Sources :

-   European Commission : DG Fisheries

-   Eurostat

-   European Court of Auditors

-   FAO

**Visit our website:** our website
**[http://useu.usmission.gov/agri/]{.underline}** provides a broad range
of useful information on EU import rules and food laws and allows easy
access to USEU reports, trade information and other practical
information. More information on the EU's fisheries policy can be found
at <http://useu.usmission.gov/agri/seafood2.html>. E-mail:
AgUSEUBrussels@usda.gov

**Related reports from USEU Brussels:**

  ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ ------------------
  **Report Number**                                            **Title**                            **Date Released**

  E48031                                                       EU Fishery Marketing Report          March 2008

  E47006                                                       EU Policy & Statistics               January 2007

  These reports can be accessed through our website                                                 
  <http://useu.usmission.gov/agri> or through the FAS website                                       
  <http://www.fas.usda.gov/scriptsw/attacherep/default.asp>.                                        
  ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ ------------------