Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Council Regulation amending for the sixth time Regulation (EC) No 850/98 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms"

(2001/C 123/18)

On 26 September 2000 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 37 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 20 December 2000. The rapporteur was Mr Chagas.

At its 378th plenary session (meeting of 25 January 2001), the Economic and Social Committee unanimously adopted the following opinion.

1. Introduction

1.1. Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 introduced technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms.

1.2. The present proposal is designed to clarify or correct some of the conditions established in this regulation, which is now being amended for the sixth time.

1.3. The proposed measures concern:

a) the calculation of the proportion by live weight of marine organisms on board after sorting or on landing, with respect to catches taken by nets of mesh sizes less than 16 mm;

b) the installation of square-meshed panels into towed nets of mesh size range 70 to 79 mm and the installation of sorting grids into towed nets of mesh size range 32 to 54 mm;

c) fishing with dredges;

d) landing of parts of crabs or damaged crabs;

e) ensuring that area-specific minimum sizes of crabs are duly observed;

f) informing competent control authorities of required information relating to fishing in an area established for the protection of mackerel;

g) the establishment of areas and time periods closed to defined methods of fishing, for the protection of hake;

h) the mesh size of fixed gears to be used when fishing for a variety of species in the North Sea and adjacent geographical areas;

i) the use of combinations of nets with mesh sizes 16 to 31 mm and greater than or equal to 100 mm or of 80 to 99 mm and greater than or equal to 100 mm in Regions 1 and 2 except the Skagerrak and Kattegat;

j) minimum sizes of crawfish, plaice, surf clams and a species of horse mackerel;

k) the measurement of the size of crawfish.

2. General comments

2.1. The Committee approves the proposal, on condition that the following recommendations are taken into account.

2.2. The Committee points out that in order to be feasible and effective, technical measures must strike the best possible balance between the desired purpose and fishing activity.

2.3. The Committee also recommends that technical conservation measures must reflect scientific and technological developments and must be preceded by dialogue with members of the sector.

2.4. The proposed new wording of Article 18(4) will disrupt crab fishing, as it stipulates that edible crabs may only be retained and landed if they are whole.

2.5. By not defining the word "whole", the regulation makes this provision inoperable. Is a crab still whole if it has lost just one small claw?

2.6. The Committee therefore has misgivings about the feasibility of such provisions for fishermen at sea. The same applies to checks on these provisions. Such proposals do nothing to improve the credibility of CFP management measures in the eyes of the sector.

2.7. It must be remembered that different parts of the EU have different customs and cultures, with ensuing variations as regards the market for and consumption of this product.

2.8. This problem should be resolved by applying the subsidiarity principle and leaving the Member States to find a solution that fits in with local practices and traditions.

2.9. The Committee reiterates that technical measures will only be effective and achieve their aim if they are simple, workable and easy to police.

2.9.1. Amendments to the basic regulation should only be made when there is practical justification for them, as they complicate fishing activity and increase costs both for the sector and for consumers.

2.10. The Committee notes that this latest set of amendments, clarifications and corrections brings the total number of modifications to Regulation (EC) No 850/98 to over 40.

2.11. The Committee therefore recommends that a consolidated version be issued the next time the regulation is amended.

3. Specific comments

3.1. The proposed amendment 4 should be deleted.

3.2. The proposed amendment 6 should be moved to an annex listing the competent control authorities in the Member States.

3.3. There appears to be a mistake in Annex I. The 90-99 mm mesh size is applicable not only in ICES divisions VIId and IIIa and in the North Sea. It also applies in ICES division VIIe.

Brussels, 25 January 2001.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke Frerichs