EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/857

(2004/C 78 E/0910)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3795/03

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(11 December 2003)

Subject: Meeting UN sustainable fishing targets

Will the Commission outline its 12-year step-by-step strategy to ensure that by 2015, the date set by the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development, all fishing activity within EU waters is taking place in a sustainable manner?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(16 January 2004)

The Commission will make all efforts to observe the commitment made at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development to ‘Maintain or restore stocks to levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield with the aim of achieving these goals for depleted stocks on an urgent basis and where possible not later than 2015’.

In order to achieve this objective, the Commission will make use of the legal instruments adopted during the recent reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, and in particular the following:

— the setting of recovery plans for stocks which are outside safe biological limits, in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 (1). At present the Commission has made proposals for recovery plans concerning five stocks of cod and one stock of hake, which have been recently adopted by the Council, and has made proposals for hake and nephrops in the Iberian peninsula and for the stocks of sole in the western Channel and in the Bay of Biscay. Other proposals may follow afterwards;

— the setting of management plans for maintaining and exploiting stocks within safe biological limits, in accordance with Article 6 of the above-mentioned Regulation;

— the adoption, where required, of the emergency measures foreseen in Article 7 of the same Regulation;

— the adjustment of fishing capacity and the elimination of structural aid leading to its increase, as foreseen in Chapter III of the same Regulation and in subsequent implementing legislation.

As a complement of the above-mentioned strategy, and with a view to improving the effectiveness of the measures, the Commission also envisages:

— an improvement of the scientific basis for management decisions, based on the Communication ‘Improving scientific and technical advice for Community fisheries management’ (2003/C 47/06);

— an improvement of the participation of the relevant stakeholders in the decision-taking process, through the setting of Regional Advisory Committees as indicated in Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 and the proposal for a Council Regulation establishing Regional Advisory Councils under the Common Fisheries Policy (2);

— an improvement of the enforcement of fisheries management measures in the lines indicated in the Communication ‘Towards uniform and effective implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy’ (3).

As far as stocks outside Community waters are concerned, the Commission will contribute to attain maximum sustainable conditions by developing the policy outlined in a number of recent policy documents, and in particular in the Communication from the Commission on an integrated framework for fisheries partnership agreements with third countries (4) and in the Communication ‘Community action plan for the eradication of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing’ (5).

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy, OJ L 359, 31.12.2002.

(2) COM(2003) 607 final.

(3) COM(2003) 130 final.

(4) COM(2002) 637 final.

(5) COM(2002) 180 final.