WRITTEN QUESTION E-3437/00

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(7 November 2000)

Subject: Countering the unintended catching of marine mammals by ensuring strict compliance with, and if necessary improving, existing protection measures

1. Is the Commission aware that, every year, thousands of marine mammals such as dolphins die as a result of accidentally getting into fishing nets as by-catches, even though they are not being fished for?

2. Can the Commission confirm that marine mammals are protected under the Berne Convention, the Bonn Convention and the Habitats Directive (92/43/EC) and come under Annex I to CITES?

3. Is the Commission aware that, over the past 10 years, it has funded 20 research projects dealing with the problem of by-catches and that, despite extremely clear evidence of a serious problem, Member States are continuing to carry out research instead of finally fulfilling their obligations on the basis of the Habitats Directive?

4. Does the Commission recall Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment, which states that, In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation. And is the Commission aware that some Member States are not yet applying this precautionary approach in the area of fisheries?

5. Is the Commission aware that the 1999 Annual Report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states that the basis for any successful international, regional or national initiative with regard to protection of the environment is a consensus underpinned by the law, and that the United States and New Zealand have solved the problem of by-catches of marine mammals to a large extent by implementing this strategy?

6. Is the Commission prepared to take action to actually resolve this problem of by-catches of marine mammals by, for example, taking measures under the Common Fisheries Policy to make it impossible for marine mammals to be caught accidentally by European fishermen or to reduce such catches to a minimum?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(14 December 2000)

1. The Commission is well aware of the problem of incidental catches of marine mammals, mainly small cetaceans, and shares the Honourable Member's concern.

2. The Commission is well aware of the international agreements and conventions to protect and conserve marine mammals. Community law has been conceived to take into consideration all the provisions foreseen within international agreements and conventions regarding nature conservation that have been ratified till now.

3. Research on marine mammal incidental catches supported by the Community has thrown light on the problem. However, none of the studies are conclusive about measures to prevent or reduce incidental catches or the relative importance of mortality rates compared to population sizes. Further research is needed.

4. The adoption of the precautionary principle represents progress towards sustainable development but strategies, tools, targets and benchmarking are not yet clearly defined for marine ecosystems and the human activities exploiting them. There is still scientific debate on the precise formulation of a practical approach for the implementation of the precautionary principle. Taking measures to ensure the survival of marine mammals goes beyond just avoiding negative interactions between fisheries and these animals. It also implies trying to protect the marine environment as a whole. In fact, in addition to interactions with fishermen, there are many other causes of cetacean death and strandings. They cannot always be determined with certainty but include marine pollution, acoustic disturbance (shipping, seismic surveys, clearing shipwrecks, high-speed ferries, acoustic systems developed for military purposes) and mortality generated by epidemics.

5. and 6. The Commission will explore all realistic solutions to mitigate the problem. However, before new legislation, proper implementation of existing Community provisions is necessary. Member States play a very important role in the definition and implementation of both environmental and fisheries measures as well in their control. In particular, under the Habitats Directive(1) Member States should implement the requirements of Articles 11 and 12.4 dealing with the surveillance and monitoring of fishing activities associated with by-catches of cetaceans. It is the legal responsibility of Member States to implement these rules and to ensure compliance with them. The Commission reminded Member States of their obligation to propose sites which will form part of the Natura 2000 network for cetacean species included in Annex II of the Habitats directive.

Community fisheries legislation already includes a ban on the use of drift nets, a prohibition on encircling mammals with the purpose of catching tuna and a prohibition on fishing for sandeels in areas where they constitute a major food item for marine life.

The Commission considers that a dolphin-free fishery might be an unrealistic goal in several fisheries, while a dolphin-safe fishery could be an objective to be firmly pursued. To this end, the Commission has asked its scientific, technical and economic committee for fisheries to convene a meeting in 2001 on the issue of incidental catches of small cetaceans. The Commission has also requested from the International council for the exploration of the sea as soon as possible during 2001 an overview of fisheries that have significant impact on small cetaceans, an assessment of the risks created by fisheries on identified populations and advice on possible remedial actions to reduce the impact of fishing.

(1) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ L 206, 22.7.1992).