WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1097/96 by Josu IMAZ SAN MIGUEL to the Commission. Efficiency of fishing gear
Date: 1996-05-13
Institutions: European Parliament, IMAZ SAN MIGUEL
Subjects: average price, competitiveness, consumer price, fishery management, import policy, product quality, production cost, restriction on competition, sea fish













EUR-Lex - 91996E1097 - EN






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91996E1097

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1097/96 by Josu IMAZ SAN MIGUEL to the Commission. Efficiency of fishing gear  


Official Journal C 305 , 15/10/1996 P. 0047 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1097/96 by Josu Imaz San Miguel (PPE) to the Commission (13 May 1996)Subject: Efficiency of fishing gearIn the course of 1995, the weighted average price for fish of the species Merluccius at first sale in the market in the port of Pasajes caught in ICES zones VI, VII and VIII stood at 463 pts/kg.Fish prices in general, and those for hake in particular, have been frozen for more than ten years due to the large amounts imported, principally from South America and South Africa. Fishing costs have risen significantly in the same period, at a rate similar to or higher than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).The size of the Spanish fleet fishing in Community waters has fallen from 460 to 200 vessels since 1981 due to the loss of competitiveness in the face of an excessively liberalized market resulting from the high relative level of social contributions compared to competitors and the policy of conserving and managing resources.What strategy does the Commission believe might be taken to protect undertakings in view of the difficulty encountered in competing under the current arrangements?In order to cover operating costs in these conditions, sales need to be boosted, since prices are frozen. The only option appears to be to increase fishing per vessel, while respecting the demands of rational fishing, complying strictly with technical measures and respecting TACs and quotas.In these circumstances, what valid arguments does the Commission see for restricting the use of certain fishing gear which increase the catch, while respecting the technical measures and their necessary selectivity?Answer given by Ms Bonino on behalf of the Commission (11 June 1996)The state of fish stocks, and specifically stocks of hake in the zones listed, means catches are not going to get any larger overall in the short term. The only prospect for any increase in individual operators' sales must come, indirectly, from:- regeneration of resources to ensure that the decline is not permanent; obviously this will involve, paradoxically, a severe short-term cutback in production, and operators must be prepared for this;- cuts in the number of production units; this is the only way to ensure higher levels of activity for individual operators while the total catch is held stable or reduced;- better organization and greater specialization on the part of operators, which would allow landings to be staggered and thus prevent excessive fluctuations in supply;- efforts by operators to improve the quality of landed catches and add value to their product by becoming involved in processing activities and the promotion of currently undervalued species.Clearly, if operators are to remain competitive in these difficult times they must try to cut costs, and one way to do this is to use more efficient fishing gear. The various cost-cutting devices can quite well be regulated under the subsidiarity principle, however, while action at Community level can be confined to ensuring that they do not run counter to Community objectives, in particular the regeneration of stocks.