COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
C0MC86) 302 final 
Brussels, 12 June 1986
GyiDELINES_AND_INITXATlVES 
FOR THE DEVELOPMENT_OF_THE_ÇOMMON_FISHERIES_POLIÇY
(Commission Communication to the Council)
COM(86) 302 final

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION
I. THE POLICY SOFAR 1
II. ENLARGEMENT 5
III. OUTLOOK 7
A. THE CONSTRAINTS 7
1· iQ^®£Qii_£Ê22y££SS 7
2. internal_resourçes ^
i) NE-Atlantic 7
ii) Developing Countries 8
iii) NW-Atlantic 8
iv) SE-Atlantic 9
v) Mediterranean 9
vi) Indépendant resources 9
3. The economic and social environment 10
B. GUIDELINES
1■ ê2QË£âi_2£iD2iEi2§
2. Methods_of_intervent ion
3. Initiatives11
11
12
13
1° External aspects 13
i) Trade concessions 13
ii) Negotiation capacity 13
iii) Exploratory fishing campaigns 13
iv) Joint ventures 14
2° Internal aspects 1^a
16
16a) Resources
i) Protection of fish stocks 
ii) Improvement in fish stocks 16
b) The products ^
c) The fleet
d) The Integrated Mediterranean Programmes 18

INTRODUCTION
The enlargement of the Community on 1 January 1986 has had particularly 
important consequences for the Common Fisheries Policy and especially for its 
structural component because of the size of this sector in Portugal and Spain.
At the same time, the structural policy measures laid down in 1983 
expire at the end of this year, 1986.
The enlarged Community must now define its attitude 
With a view to the continuation of the structural policy and to
provide the framework within which it will be developed as a essential 
element of the third generation of the Common Fisheries Policy, while 
respecting the decisions taken by the Council on 25 January 1983.
In this respect, it appears necessary not only to take account of the experience 
of the past, but, more importantly, to build future policy on firm 
foundations, starting from new factors relating to the fisheries sector after 
enlargement. The basic element which characterises the new equilibria 
resulting from enlargement can be found in the external policy aspects given 
the necessity to maintain and develop fishing possibilities.
An examination of the sectoral situation shows that the Community 
authorities should widen the debate beyond the framework of the structural 
action itself and situate the reflection on a wider plane, to include the 
various elements making up the Common Fisheries Policy.
Such reflection, which the Commission would ask the Council to 
undertake without delay, should permit, at a later date, the drawing up of 
formal proposals which take account of the political guidelines 
developed at Council level.
The use of this procedure allows the Commission to propose and the
Council to decide on the principal objectives which should guide the Common 
Fisheries Policy in future years.
A number of points made by Parliament have been taken into account 
in this document.

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In regard to content, this Communication reviews past action and then 
briefly analyses the new environment of the fisheries sector after 
enlargement. On the basis of these elements the out cook is described in two 
areas :
Firstly, the new situation involves certaines constraints, which can br 
associated with three themes :
- internal resources, in Community waters and in the areas of aquaculture and 
mariculture;
- external resources examined according to major fishing zones and by type 
of agreement concluded with non-member countries,  including fishing 
possibilities in international waters;
- the economic and social environment of the sector and its regional 
importance.
Secondly, the Commission proposes lines of approach which, having due regard 
to the constraints mentioned, should guide future action on the level both of 
general principles and of more concrete action to be taken in respect of the 
internal and external components of the policy.

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I. THE POLICY SO FAR
Nearly ten years ago, the Community had to face a political and economic 
challenge when the fishery zones of most of the North and Centre Atlantic 
maritime states were extended to 200 miles from the base lines.
It reacted by strengthening the basic instruments adopted in 1970 of the "fir|jL 
generation" of the common fisheries policy. This involved a logical combination 
of the various aspects of the policy so as to conserve and rationally manage 
internal resources, .ensure access to external resources,
and facilitate the adjustment of capacity and production
facilities to foreseeable availabilities ana requirements. The _.ggçQng_  
generation" of the policy, having four inseparable components, bore fruit:
- Technical conservation and monitoring rules enabled the Community to reverse 
the alarming developments undermining its main stocks^ and safeguard others;
- Fisheries agreements with non-member countries served to consolidate, or at 
least protect in part, the Member States' essential fishery interests, either 
by the establishment of reciprocal rights or through financial compensation or 
trade concessions^'
^  . » ' » L U- The market oraanis^tion rules were amplified or amended in line with the new 
production conditions;
- As for policy on structures, the schemes introduced in 1983, following up 
temporary and specific schemes operated since 1978, were designed to provide
a framework for Community and national intervention under multiannual
guidance programme! whereby developments concerning structures could be 
properly related tq the overall policy. The aim was also to cushion the 
impact on operators of the changes in the law of the sea, the quadrupling of 
oil prices and the precarious state of stocks of certain species fished
in the Community's fishing zones.
Despite the introduction of a Community fishery zone the resources of which were 
assigned on a priority basis to meeting the requirements of Member States firms, 
'the Community suffered "heavy losses in terms of access to external resources, 
which it could not offset by an increase in its internal resources; alos ,  the 
oil crises generated formidable problems, especially for fishermen operating 
in non-Community waters.two

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The industrialized coastal states of the North Atlantic, enjoying
a windfall fishing potential, pursued a policy of eliminating foreign fleets 
from their own waters combined with increased pressure for better access for 
their own production to the very attractive Community market; this pressure 
persists in the form of a calls for a greater liberalization of 
trade in fishery products which make no allowance for the new restrictions 
on fishing.
To offset this pressure, the Community is seeking to strengthen its 
bargaining power in fisherynegotiationsby establishing as far as possible an 
equilibrium between access to resources and access to the market.
By the end of this period, a balancedrelationship between the Member 
States had been established in the share-out of available overall resources 
(except in the Mediterranean), although the permanence of these resources 
in their entirety could not be guaranteed.
With regard to measures concerning structures, not enough time has 
passed nor are there sufficiently complete, up-to-date and reliable statistics 
to allow of a final assessment of the impact of Community measures. Data 
in the Commission's possession on this questionare given ina working document. It is 
clear, however, that the impact has not been uniform: it has been important 
for aquaculture and the establishment of artificial reefs, substantial with 
regard to changes in the fleet and for processing and marketing, but negli­
gible in other cases (joint ventures). This suggests that further
study is needed of the relevance of these latter measures and/or of the extent to 
which they need adjustment.
Nonetheless, the new relationship between the available fleet and 
exploitable resources shows an equilibrium, in practice between economic^ 
requirements and political and social realities; it expresses the determina­
tion of the Member States to maintain a high level of activity despite un­
certainty as to their future, and a deliberate choice by entrepreneurs in 
favour of fishing even where theoretically the return on the investments 
falls short of the optimum.
H .  ENLARGEMENT
The Community now faces the consequences of the enlargement and must 
give its fisheries policies all the impetus needed for the achievement of 
the fundamental objectives, in maintaining its external situation, and the 
conservation of the internal equilibria particularly as fishing is an 
important economic activity in both Portugal and Spain.
The table below shows the unprecedented changes in the configuration of 
the industry since Spain and Portugal joined on 1 January 1986; in addition 
to the sharp increase in production capacity and the Volume of trade and in 
the size of the populations directly or indirectly involved in fishing, it 
must also be remembered that the Community fleet has now become heavily 
dependent on acess to third country waters to such a level that this 
dependence constitutes one of the fundamental aspects of the basic equilibria 
in the policy.

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Although, taken as a whole, fishing still accounts for less than 1% of 
GDP, it enjoys a proportionately more important place in national
economic policy-making as this industry is generally regarded as a uniquely 
sensitive one in the Community. This is explained by the input of fishing
and related activities into the economy and employment in certain coastal 
regions.
Therefore, the Community must prepare the "third generation" of its 
fisheries policy, adapting the various components to the new political, 
economic and social circumstances which characterize the new situation.
PERCENTAGE
INCREASETOTAL 12-COUNTRY 
COMMUNITY *
NUMBER OF VESSELS +41% 78.000
- of which, less than 25 GRT +40% 63.700
- of which, between
25 GRT and 250 GRT +46% 13.200
- of which, more than 250 GRT +94% 1.100
TOTAL GRT +64% 1.930.000 GRT
NUMBER OF FISHERMEN +108% 250.000
LANDINGS (3)
- quantity +29% 5,9 mio tonnes
- value +50% 5,1 mia ECU
IMPORTS (3) (1) (2) (1) (2)
- quantity 1.000 t +9% +18% 2.405 1.232
- value MECU +12% +14% 3.417 2.928
EXPORTS (3)
- quantity 1.000 t +6% +9%1.243 739
- value MECU +14% +13% 1.061 788
* Not including the Canaries ;  (1985) Source :  Spanish Guidance Programme
The figures for the Canaries are as follows :
- number of vessels :  2 161
- of which, 1 750 of less than 25 GRT
245 between 25 GRT and 250 GRT 
166 more than 250 GRT
- total GRT :  118 583
- number of fishermen :  11 720
(1) All fishery products (1983)
(2) Excluding oil, meal and waste not intended for human consumption.
(3) Including aquaculture products.

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III. OUTLOOK
With a view to the drafting of Community regulations preparing for 
the future by reference to the recent past, the Commission believes that 
there should be a debate in the Council designed to prompt study of the 
longer-term outlook for fishing in the Community, of the conditions in 
which fishing can be carried out and of the choices which must be made 
to determine stock exploitation objectives and, by the same token, the 
volume of resources that can be directly fished by the Community.
The Commission itself plans to establish an objective assessment of 
the outlook in the light ofthe range of unavoidable constraints which set the 
framework for the activities concerned and influence its development, 
particularly with regard to production and marketing.
A. The constraints
1. Internal resources
- The future of the autonomous stocks depends upon the rigour with which 
the conservation policy is pursued. Insofar as the efforts made
since 1980 are kept up, the Community may reasonably look forward to 
fishing possibilities that are stable averall. .
- The Community also has substantial fishery resources in aquacul­
ture and mariculture. Much of this work is carried out on the coast and 
involves some of the local seafaring population. The potential is consid­
erable and this type of work may play an important role in the supply of 
the Community market and in improving the incomes of coastal populations; 
it may also in certain instances offer an alternative to sea fishing.
2. External resources
Not all the fishing rights in the waters of non-member countries can 
be regarded as guaranteed for the future.
i) The agreements with the countries of the North-East Atlantic, mainly based 
on the concept of reciprocal rights, can probably be maintained in the long 
term without disadvantage to the Community, because of the combined 
influence of the following factors :
- The situation of the joint stocks, which account for much of the Community's 
overall catch, depends on the concerted action of the partners, the 
principles of which are now consolidated by longstanding practice and
real shared interests;
- Conservation measures concerted by Norway and Sweden with partner
countries (including the Soviet Union) have allowed reversal
of the unfavorable developments affecting the main demersal stocks
in which the Community is interested north of 62° N. or in the Baltic
Sea.

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- The general framework of trade and economic relations with the EFTA- 
countries has served to strengthen the solidarities based on fishery 
interest between the partners, so that fishing possibilities no .longer 
appear’  to be systematically' dependent upon a purely arithmetical 
assessment of the balance of reciprocal rights.
In this new, permanent situation, the outlook for the enlarged 
Community is good and the present indicators can be taken as a realistic 
basis for future activity, a basis which might be gradually if modestly 
improved.
ii) With regard to the developing countries, the future of Community 
fisheries is less easy to predict in that access to resources depends not 
only on the situation with regard to exploitable stocks (on which infor­
mation is often inadequate) but also on the rate of expansion of the 
national fleets and on the relations of these countries with other non­
member countries, including Soviet bloc or Far Eastern countries, which 
are just as keen as is the Community to expand fishing possibilities in 
the relevant areas.
Under the Community's policy in relation with the Lomé Convention, there 
will be more fishing than at the present time under joint ventures, 
entailing greater control by the coastal state of the exploiration of its 
own fish resources. The future of Community fishing will depend in part 
on the extent to which fishermen are prepared to integrate more fully 
into the national economy by the development of specific relationships 
entailing significant participation of the economy of the coastal states 
concerned in the management of the fishing undertakings and in access to 
the control of international marketing networks; the solidarity based on 
interest developed in this way will temper the uncertainty inherent in 
the present situation, under which agreements have to be renegotiated too 
frequently.
iii) With regard to the waters of the north-west Atlantic, especially 
those off industrialized states, the outlook is again uncertain :
- the fisheries agreement with Canada, based on the concept "access 
to resources - access to the market", runs out in 1987 and no plans 
for its renewal can be made without reference to the development of 
the conflict between the Community and Canada on fundamental questions 
relating to the principles governing fishing outside the exclusive 
economic zones of coastal states;
- the agreement with the United States, based o<i access to surpluses, 
could also be the vehicle for a lasting relationship in so far as it 
can also be developed through cooperation between the interests of 
European fishing enterprises and the commercial”interests of American 
operators;

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\
- the exploitation of the waters covered by the NAFO Convention also 
provides a permanent field of activity for external fishing; conservation 
efforts concerted at international level and an increased effort with 
regard to prospection should make it possible to stabilize in the 
longer term the level of exploitable resources, and even to achieve
a modest improvement;
- the development of the fisheries agreement with Greenland and its
natural extensions at the time foreseen in the original protocol mean 
that fishing here should be fairly stable; the actual level
of fishing remains essentially dependent upon the restoration of a 
biologically favourable situation; and both partners are giving this 
their full attention.
iiv) With regard to the other waters, including those of the south-east 
Atlanti c, the outlook for the Community depends on trends in stocks, 
influenced by developments in overall fishing, and on the future of 
fishing agreements with the coastal States concerned; in this connection, 
the accession of Spain and Portugal opens new prospects, which must be 
explored without delay.
v) With regard to the Mediterranean, the outlook here, too, is disturbing 
because of exceptional geopolitical constraints and the peculiar biology 
of this area.
The stocks are heavily interdependent and the fishing is concentrated 
inshore; they are particularly sensitive to variations in the very brittle 
marine environment, such as is found in a "closed sea". Also, Community 
fishing is heavily dependent on access to the coastal zones of the non­
member countries, which, themselves facing difficult economic circumstances, 
are reluctant to embark on cooperation policies liable to bring Community 
vessels into their waters.
There has also been an alarming increase in fishing fleets in this area 
from non-member countries located outside it.
Accordingly, the Community's fishing interests cannot be properly protected 
without strengthened cooperation between all the coastal States, this also 
entailing constraints at international level with regard to non-coastal 
states.

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vi) The intensive development of fisheries research by many industrialized 
countries, progress made in the detection of fish, technical improvements with 
regard to safety and in the use of the most efficient fishing gear now point 
to the exploitation of fishing resources known to exist but fished little or 
not at all in the remote areas of the oceans of the southern hemisphere.
3. The economic and social environment
i) Fishing compatible with resources will be developing in a context of 
international competition within which there is a very strong trend towards 
the gradual elimination, by all the industrialized countries, of
trade barriers.
With this prospect, the structural adjustments must be properly 
related to the commercial environment, and action by the authorities must 
not aim at building up permanent walls of protection for firms against 
international competition or at constituting a permanent factor in their 
competitive strength.
ii) Fishing tends to be concentrated off the coasts of areas which are 
relatively poor and this constitutes a natural obstacle to the process 
of adaptation to change; because the fundamental elements of the social 
framework must be maintained in these areas and because there are few alter­
native jobs, the Member States concerned are apt to resist, passively or even 
actively, pressure to adapt, and this has to be borne in mind when
it comes to the development of a realistic process of reducing fleets.
iii) The relatively small share of fishing in GDP must also be borne in 
mind by the authorities when making the choices required to establish the 
budget appropriations for this sector, failing which distortion harmful 
to the balanced development of the Community economy could be introduced, 
but the regional importance of the fishing industry must not be forgotten.

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B- Guidelines
A structural surplus of fishing capacity in terms of actual available 
resources generates fundamental disequi libria, leading to unemployment, 
protest and harship. The Community must contribute, on objective bases, to 
establishing a permanent balanced relationship, accommodating unavoidable 
constraints and respecting general Community policy goals.
However, it must also ensure necessary change without causing situations 
unacceptable in social terms which could be avoided by methods involving 
gradual and steady progress.
1. General principles
i) Most investments in fishing involve a gamble as to the future in that 
the lifetime of the equipment averages nearly 20 years, during which the way 
in which it is used cannot be very substantially changed. Assigned to specific 
types of fishing, used in waters determined in advance, such investment is 
not flexible and is therefore particularly burdensome. Accordingly, the 
Commission takes the view that Community action must concentrate on 
establishing a lasting and stable framework indicating the limits within which 
fishing and competition between economic operators will develop, rather than 
specific and limited intervention in the natural development of the dynamics 
of individual firms.
ii) The guidelines and structural measures must be defined in an overall 
long-term perspective. For this purpose, the Commission takes the view that :
- guidelines should be set for a ten-year period and the financial 
allocation should be agreed for shorter but multiannual periods;
- measures should be developed and put in hand entailing financial support 
with a view to promoting in the medium term an industry made up of 
economically viable enterprises.
iii) As funds are necessarily limited, the impulse to be given to the policy 
must be based :
- on better exploitation of all the non-financial instruments already 
available;
- on concentration of funds available for the policy on the realization of 
priority objectives which cannot be achieved without direct and 
substantial financial support.

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iv) All this action must be consistent with the guidelines for national aid 
schemes which have already been adopted or may be adopted in accordance with 
the principles and rules of the Treaties.
v) It must also be organized within a single regulatory framework, and it 
must be possible to approve implementation on the basis of a simplified 
procedure allowing for short-term fluctuations and specific local or regional 
situations. Also, it must be possible to pursue it with maximum "transparency" 
and with the least possible administrative constraint.
The effectiveness of action to adapt fishery structures will also depend on 
the flexibility of implementing procedures. In this connection, the rules 
concerning the preparation of applications, the drafting of decisions and 
their follow-up must be so framed as to avoid the creation of bottle-necks; 
present machinery must be reviewed and adapted to simplify it as regards both 
scrutiny of applications and payments.
2· Methods_ofintervention
The proposals which the Commission is submitting the Council for 
guidelines to govern the instruments of the common fisheries policy with a 
view to maintaining the policy's fundamental equilibria are designed to 
ensure, by providing a framework for the schemes operated by the Member States 
and by giving coordinated support to those which Lead most directly on the 
achievements of overall objectives, that the industry makes a proper 
contribution to the economic and social cohesion of the Community.
The considerations set out in this Communication show that the achieve­
ment of the objectives depends in the first place on the Community's 
unwavering determination to use its powers of organization and negotiation to 
serve the protection of its interpendent fisheries interests as a whole. The 
specific initiatives to be fostered through public financial assistance must 
support the overall approach and be concentrated on schemes essential to the 
achievement of the guidelines.
These interventions of a sectoral character must be conceived and 
implemented within multiannual guidance programmes, the relationship of which 
with regional development programmes must be clearly shown. In addition, the 
possibility of applying specific regional actions should be envisaged covering 
the whole range of fisheries activities, involving the coordinated 
intervention of the various Community financial instruments and involving a 
priority in the granting of Community aid, as well as the chance to 
participate, within the sectoral financial means, in integrated Community 
actions.
Beyond traditional subsidy methods, support for investment should be 
contemplated by use of the methods available under the "financial engineering" 
arrangements, with a view to obtaining a multiplier effect.
Similarly, the allocation of financial intervention within the overall 
budget allocation assigned specifically to fisheries, and the way actual 
amounts paid are set or varied, should reflect the degree of priority given to 
each of the operations and the degree of incentive needed to given impetus to 
the development process aimed at.
As a guide, it may be recalled that the Commission has entered in its 
preliminary draft budget for 1987 an overall total of 127 MECU as appropria­
tions for commitment and 10 MECU as appropriations for payment for the new 
policy on structures.

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Thus, the common fisheries policy cannot be conducted along dynamic lines without 
the convergent development of all its components, and the structural schemes 
proper, based on direct public financial intervention, must be framed and 
implemented from this point of view in order to provide the essential Impetus 
enabling the industry as a whole - bound by links of solidarity - to m 
progress.
3. Initiatives
The Community is now more heavily dependent on fishing outside Community waters 
and there is also more generally, a wide gap between capacity and fishing possibilities  
theCommunity must make every effort to stimulate, on a coordinated bas1^, the 
initiatives needed if the fundamental equilibria now achieved 
are to be maintained; the main objectives of initiatives taken must be the 
consolidation of a satisfactory outlook for fishing, both within the Community 
and outside, and the optimum exploitation of catches, ensuring chat fishing is 
a profitable activity.
Along these lines, the Community takes the view that the following measures should 
be put 1n hand simultaneously;
1‘  External aspects
To consolidate external fishing possibilities on a lasting basis, the Community 
must endeavour to strengthen its negotiating position with non-member countries and  
enhance its independence by the combined use of the following measures:
(i) systematic preservation of scope for trade concessions so as to render more 
attractive the trade relations based on the "access to resources - access 
to the market" principle; this was indeed the method adopted by the 
Community in connection with the recent adaptation of the agreements with the 
EFTA countries following the enlargement and the Community must'maintain this  
-pproach in the present negotiations in Geneva m  the context of Article XXIV(6) ot
ths GATT. Provisionally, the Community should in the immediate future endeavour 
to confine autonomous tariff suspensions to operations in line with this 
approach. Similarly, it must ensure
possibilities are preserved in the preparation and in the conduct of the 
New Round of trade negotiations.
\
\

- 14 -
ii) Full use of politi cal negotiating capacity to induce partners to 
accommodate essential fishing interests on the occasion of 
negotiations.
In connection with the adaptation of the cooperation agreements with 
the Maghreb countries following enlargement, and the development of 
economic and trade relations with the Latin American countries, this 
approach must be borne in mind consistently with the spirit of reci­
procity of interest which must inform the contracting parties.
The first way in which this mutual interest can be expressed is through 
close bilateral cooperation on applied research for the identification 
and assessment of stocks of common interest.
Also, to allow for the special features of the Mediterranean, the 
Commission takes the view that an initial step '  could be taken
with the Maghreb countries to start the process of establishing prin­
ciples and rules for strengthened international cooperation for the evaluation, 
conservation and exploitation of fish resources in the western Mediter­
ranean.
iii) Enhanced independence for the Community fleet of. the waters of non- 
member countries through exploratory fishing campaigns involving more 
systematic and more thorough prospecting of fishing areas access to 
which is not controlled by non-member countries. The commercial 
exploitation, even if only gradual, of such areas, for which reasonable 
resource estimates have already been made, constitutes a deterrent which 
could provide a valuable counterbalance to the excessive requirements 
expressed by a number of non-member countries before they are prepared 
to authorize access to their surpluses; also, distant-water fishing 
undertakings can use such grounds to top up their catches, thus 
underpinning profitability ("geographic complementarity").
Prospecting through exploratory fishing campaigns with a view to 
commercial exploitation on a scale in line with the fishing needs of the 
twelve calls for Community action, to establish conditions for 
progressive developments towards an economically viable operating 
structure.
Being the response to a Community interest of very great importance,
Community action must prompt collective rather than individual 
initiatives, so as to establish for the future a concerted operating 
structure on a basis of solidarity within which individual undertakings 
work in the service of common objectives and interests.
The Commission is of the view that joint action should take form of the 
planning of successive fishing campaigns by a fishing fleet made up of 
enterprises of the interested Member States, combining' available fishing 
opportunities in the waters of non-member countries with potential 
availabilities in waters other than those of the EEZ of non­
member Countries, making the most of "geographic complementarity".

- 15 -
As an indication,the Commission believes that an action of this type could, 
in particular, promote the development of exploitable resources in the 
waters of the Antarctic region, bearing in mind other fishing possibilities in 
the waters of the South Atlantic and the effective oarticipation in the fishing of 
substantial surpluses in the north Pacific.
The action recommended is an extension of the principle of aid to experimental 
fishing campaigns provided for in Regulation 2909/83 but on the basis 
of different implementing procedures, better adapted to the scale of 
what is at stake and to technical and economic constraints which cannot 
be ignored without endangering the success of the enterprise.
v) Strengthening the chain of mutual interests between the Community and
non-member coastal States, particularly ACP, in the waters of which Conmjnity vessels fish, 
by development of joint ventures involving, on a permanent basis,the fishing 
interests and the commercial interests of both sides to bind them 
together on a Lasting basis. In this context, the contributions Community 
undertakings can make, in particular to "knowhow", will play an important^ 
part in meeting the interests of the undertakings of the non-member countries.
The Commission believes that the combination of mutual interests should 
be facilitated by financial support, wherever the joint ventures may 
be established; it takes the view, however, that this measure, the basic 
principle of which is already established by Reg. 2909/83, should be 
confined to initiatives presented within an overall and concerted frame­
work between the main operators of the Community for a specified geo­
graphical area, with the proviso that they involve significant and lasting 
participation of the economic and social interests of the Member States.
It should be noted that this will help to ensure that Community require­
ments are met by Community undertakings. Otherwise, these needs will 
have to be covered by imports made, in most cases, under autonomous suspension of 
CCT duties ;in the cincunstances,  the financial aids paid to joint ventures are 
of direct benefit to the Community, while customs revenue losses benefit 
only exporters located in non-member countries.
The economic viability of fishery enterprises working in regions very
distant from their administrative headquarters dependsjsignificantly on the cjjality
of the technical and commercial management of the fleet employed.

-15 a -
In this respect, particular care should be taken regarding to the logistical 
means on which they may rely and on their conditions of use. The Community 
should ensure, in its fishing relations with third countries, that the firms 
have available all the necessary technical facilities for ship repair and 
supply and for stockage of catches on satisfactory financial terms. Equally, a 
particular effort should be envisaged so that the fishing fleets used 
should have at their disposal in Member States' OCTs, adequate facilities thus reducing 
built-in charges in the maintenance and running repairs of ships avoiding 
unnecessary loading disruption in the trading cycle as well as promoting a 
greater supply concentration in order to have a better accounting available in 
the major international markets.
2° iQternal_as2£cts
The maintenance of the basic equilibria of the common policy implies combined 
actions towards firmly protecting resources, adapting productions capacities 
as a result and evaluating the results.
To this end and with the aid of the proposals which it has already submitted 
to Council in November 1985 for the coordination and promotion of research in 
the fishery sector together with those relative to the implementation of 
appropriate Community programmes, the Commission considers that priority 
should be given to efforts in the following areas :

- 16 -
(a) Resources
i) Protection of fish stocks :  the conservation policy implemented from 
1977 onwards provided a remedy for the disastrous effects of overfishing of 
certain stocks; the resources can be properly protected only if this policy is 
pursued. Therefore, effective monitoring of fishing activities is needed to 
ensure compliance at all times with the regulations on TACs and quotas adopted 
annually. The Commission is submitting on this subject a detailed report to 
the Council with a view to an assessment of the results obtained and of the 
efforts which must still be made in this field. It is already clear that even 
if the surveillance and monitoring of fishing zones remain in the competence 
of Member States, the Community can help to improve the efficiency of such 
surveillance, especially by aiding the compatibility, the coherence and the 
coordination of the differing systems of the Member States. To this effect, 
financial aid, modulated according to the differing local situations, could be 
envisaged following a stocktaking of the present situation.
ii) Improvement of fish stocks :  the efforts already made with regard to 
aquaculture and the establishment of artificial fixed or movable structures in 
the coastal zones will supplement work on conservation with a view to 
increasing the scope for redeploying fishermen by developing, in the 
less-favoured inshore areas, new operations of a related nature.
(b) The products
Improvement in marketing conditions :  the changes due to the accession 
of Portugal and Spain justify adjustments to the rules and mechanisms of the 
EEC market organization; the more extensive diversification of species offered 
for sale and the commercial features of these new products will entail the 
introduction of supplementary mechanisms designed to establish and rationalize 
the markets without prompting the formation of structural supluses of these 
products of local or regional interest. The Commission is now studying these 
problems and will submit appropriate proposals.
It has also been noted that the market machinery is not always suffi­
cient to adjust production in the desired direction or to affect the 
producer's income in a way which is in accordance with the needs of structural 
réadaptation of production capacity.
The Commission takes the view that in this field two sets of measures  
entailing financial support should be put in hand in the immediate future, for  
the following purposes, independently of those adopted under the common  
agricultural policy :
- investments in fishing harbours (auctions, cold stores, ice machines, water 
and fuel points, small repair workshops, small-scale infrastructure 
alterations, etc.) to be carried out by recognized producers' organizations 
to improve conditions of production and first sale of fish;
- research and prospection, for commercial purposes, of types of processing 
applicable to surplus products or to products deriving from underfished 
species .

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(c) The fleet
(i) Adaptation of the fleets of the Member States directly involved in 
fishing in the waters of the north Atlantic started before the first 
enlargement as a result of unilateral decisions to extend fishing grounds 
adopted by Ireland; the process gradually gathered momentum from 1976 
onwards and the action with regard to structures taken by the Community 
in 1983 has helped to achieve the present balance, which is, however, not 
a stable one.
The Commission considers that a speciaL effort, on a priority basis, 
should be pursued in this area in order to improve the relationship between 
fleets and available resources in the enlarged Community. The Commission 
view is that the desired adjustment - based on the development of the 
resources situation - to be effected during the transition period, could be 
achieved either by the permanent withdrawal of a proportion of the capacity 
of the (fleets concerned or by a temporary withdrawal of capacity, or by an 
appropriate combination of the two approaches This action may also be 
combined with a scheme for the technical modification of a part of the 
fleet to adapt vessels to other types of fishing in the same traditional 
fishing zone.
(ii) The need to achieve in the longer term a more satisfactory balance 
between fishing capacity and resources so that fishing will be profitable 
enough to ensure unaided renewal of investment does mean that further 
encouragement must still be given by financial support to the renewal and 
modernization of the .fleet, provided that schemes do not entail, directly 
or indirectly, expansion of overall capacity. In order to improve the 
flow of accurate information on overall capacity and its development over 
time, cooperation and information exchanges on a stable and regular basis 
between the Commission and the Member States must be imporved.
(iii) The Commission is aware that the Community's contribution to this 
additional effort can only be modest and selective in view of the size of 
the fleets concerned and the budgetary constraints. It takes the view,
in this context, that financial support must be directed in the first place 
at strengthening safety, promoting new techniques or new gear ensuring 
better yields, and increased profitability of the fishing effort, and 
preserving the specific social features of fishing.
For these purposes, it feels that the principle and the procedures 
governing financial intervention should not be dictated by arbitrary 
reference to maximum characteristics of the beneficiary fleets and that 
contribution levels should not be varied solely by reference to predetermined 
geographic regions.
On the contrary, given the relative mobility of the fleets, the 
Commission takes the view that special attention must be given to the 
nature and the aims of the undertakings interested in modernization in 
order to encourage also those ensuring fai— reaching and permanent integra­
tion of the operation of the vessel with the other components of the 
local or regional economy.

-  18  -
In this field, the Commission takes the view that special attention should be 
given to artisan-type fishing undertakings which require active involvement of 
the firm's managers and associates in actual fishing and in the marketing of 
the production through producers 1  organizations.
It also believes that this effort to achieve structural adaptation 
should cover direct fishing by the local populations of the Canary Islands, 
Ceuta and Melilla, and, for this purpose, it feels that Community financial 
assistance should be limited to schemes concerning the fleet.
(d) The Integrated Mediterranean Programmes
- the Integrated Mediterranean Programmes may also cover schemes 
involving fisheries. When examining the IMPs,  the Commission will 
therefore ensure that they are consistent with the objectives of the 
common fisheries policy, and more particularly with the multiannual 
guidance programmes.