WRITTEN QUESTION E-0498/02

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(22 February 2002)

Subject: Recovery plan for hake

The plan proposed by the Commission for rebuilding stocks of cod and hake in Community waters is being strongly contested by the industry, the Member States affected and Parliament itself, particularly with regard to hake. The reason is the discrepancy between the conclusions of the various scientific reports and the drastic measures being proposed by the Commission.

Firstly, the conclusions of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), on which the Commission based its proposal, do not tally with those of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF). The latter committee is proposing a TAC of 35 000 t for 2002, against figures of between 16 500 and 22 000 t being quoted by the Commission. The committee's assessment is backed up by scientific research carried out in the area, for example by the Spanish oceanographic ship Vizconde de Eza.

Secondly, Parliament, the Member States affected and the industry are advocating a recovery plan for hake which would be implemented step-by-step over a longer period of time, thus cushioning the socio-economic impact and avoiding the irreversible measures of fleet decommissioning and job losses. Specifically, Parliament is calling for the plan to be implemented over a period of at least seven years, rather than the five proposed by the Commission. Moreover, the Commission does not appear to understand that the problems are different for cod and for hake, and that the measures to be taken must therefore also be different.

What is the Commission's view of the opposition voiced by Parliament, the countries concerned and the industry with regard to its proposal for hake? Will it take account of the scientific reports on hake stocks which refute the critical state of stocks on which the Commission has based its drastic proposal? Will the Commission draw up a global socio-economic risk analysis of the plan's implications in the short and medium term, as Parliament has demanded? Is the Commission aware of the scientific research conducted in the area which confirms that there has been a substantial deterioration in the state of hake stocks in zone VIII (Bay of Biscay and French coast), but that the situation is better in zones VI and VII (Irish Box)? Has the Commission not considered submitting a fresh proposal?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(21 March 2002)

Industry agrees that cod stocks in Community waters are depleted. There is less concordance of opinion with respect to hake.

STECF nowhere proposes a total authorised catch (TAC) of 35 000 tonnes for 2002. The only definitive reference by STECF to a possible TAC for 2002 states that from the economic point of view, the TAC level should be maintained at the 2001 level . The Commission maintains that, according to the analysis of International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the stock is outside safe biological limits and is threatened with collapse. Against this background, the Council decided upon a TAC of 26 960 tonnes for 2002 whereas the TAC for 2001 was 22 623 tonnes.

While the Commission has not defined a period for the recovery plan, the Commission has always been clear that, under the plan as proposed, recovery is expected to be achieved after seven-eight years.

The measures proposed for hake and for cod are identical in principle but are different in detail and take into account, in particular, the different recent levels of exploitation of these stocks. For cod, the Commission proposal aims at a 30 % increase in quantities of mature fish from year to year whereas for hake the intention is to achieve a 15 % increase.

The Commission is unaware of any refutation of the current critical state of the hake stock. Any scientific evidence that is relevant to the evaluation of this stock will, however, be taken into account by ICES in its 2002 assessment of the stock, which has been brought forward to its May meeting.

The Commission is aware of the situation with hake in areas VIII and VII and as a result of these differences has advocated allocation of a larger part of the overall TAC to area VII than would otherwise have been the case. Council agreed to this approach.

The Commission has not considered submitting a new proposal.