WRITTEN QUESTION E-1127/02

by Luciana Sbarbati (ELDR) to the Commission

(18 April 2002)

Subject: Fishing activities and marine resources

Fishing is one of the activities which in Europe has a significant socio-economic impact because it involves small owners, cooperatives and major employers, employing thousands of workers, processing thousands of tonnes of fish and derived products, worth many millions of euros.

Given that:

- the basic principle underlying Community directives in this sector is that funding should be directed towards measures to adapt fleet capacities to resources,

- in the formulation of Community policies, the environmental impact of certain measures is given priority consideration,

- in the drafting and implementation of Community directives in this sector, an assessment is made of the impact on workers and biological resources, and this always takes due account of actual and proven maritime production capacities,

- other international organisations have made statements on this subject, and most recently the FAO, which has drawn up a Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

Considering that the operators in this sector are faced with a reduction in fishing capacities (Ancona CNR survey), accompanied by an increase in the number of vessels present in the same maritime zone, which in the short term may cause maritime resources to collapse (maritime fisheries research institute).

Will the Commission state whether, in implementing Community directives, Member States are allowed to create conditions of competition between fleets belonging to different regions of the same country or between fleets from the same region (as is currently the case in Italy, in the Marches Region, because the decision of the Ministry for Agricultural and Forestry Policy to authorise vessels from the Ascoli province to fish in Ancona province waters is having serious economic and social repercussions and leading to public unrest), which have a significant impact on fishing capacities and the quality of catches in that area and damage the interests of small owners in particular?

Will the Commission state whether the current crisis can be tackled using the aid instruments referred to in Article 16(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999(1), which provides for a plan [] for the recovery of a resource threatened with exhaustion, rather than by displacing fleets, as the Italian Government Ministry has done, or whether other Community instruments can be used to deal with this situation?

(1) OJ L 337, 30.12.1999, p. 10.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(22 May 2002)

The distribution of fishing rights between fishing vessels of a Member State is a competence of that Member State. In the case mentioned, the impact of the situation described, such as a conflict between local fleets, is something that the Italian authorities should evaluate and decide on, provided that an increase in fishing rights does not lead to an over-exploitation of the resource.

Article 16(1c) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 of 17 December 1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector, establishes that Member States may grant compensation to fishermen and owners of vessels for temporary cessation of activities when a plan is introduced for the recovery of a resource threatened with exhaustion. In the event of unforeseeable circumstances, particularly those caused by biological factors, (Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 Article 16.1a), compensation may last no more than two months per year. In order to apply this option a favourable report from the Scientific, technical and economic committee for fisheries (STECF) on the corresponding recovery plan would be required. However, it must be stressed that this type of aid is designed to assist the recovery of threatened resources, not to solve conflicts about rights to resources. Further, tie-up aid schemes are designed to address short-term difficulties associated with stock recovery. Events that occur repeatedly in a fishery should be taken into account in multiannual management plans and be taken in charge by the sector itself.