Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2549/2000 establishing additional technical measures for the recovery of the stock of cod in the Irish Sea (ICES Division VIIa)"
Date: 2001-05-30
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: Irish Sea, conservation of fish stocks, fishery management, fishing net, fishing regulations, sea fish

C 221/90

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

7.8.2001

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Regulation
amending Regulation (EC) No 2549/2000 establishing additional technical measures for the
recovery of the stock of cod in the Irish Sea (ICES Division VIIa)’

(2001/C 221/14)

On 5 April 2001 the Council of the European Union decided to consult the Economic and Social
Committee, under Article 37 of the Treaty establishing the European Community on the above-mentioned
proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for
preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 11 May 2001. The rapporteur
was Mr Scully.

At its 382nd plenary session on 30 and 31 May 2001 (meeting of 30 May 2001) the Economic and
Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 122 votes with 1 abstention.

1.

Background and scope

Scientific advice on cod stocks in the Irish Sea (ICES
1.1.
Division VIIa) in 1999 indicated a very serious situation which,
if allowed to continue, would result in a collapse of the stock.

1.2.
Emergency meetings were called by the Commission
in early 2000, involving the Commission, the relevant Member
State administration and the fishing interests concerned to
examine the options through which effective emergency
measures could be introduced to arrest the decline and to
bring about a recovery.

1.3.
The first measures were introduced for a limited period
in spring 2000 and were based on closed access or restricted
access to ‘boxes’
in the northern part of the Irish Sea. In
addition, a number of technical measures involving the design
of nets were introduced, as well as a system of on-board
observers. These measures, with adaptations, have been carried
forward to 2001.

1.4.
The purpose of the present regulation is to introduce a
further amendment related to the thickness of the twine used
in the netting. Instead of allowing nets to be constructed of
single twine, of 6 mm maximum thickness, as at present, it is
now proposed to allow the option of using double twine at
4 mm per strand.

2. Comments

are likely to lead to a negative result in this regard. Any such
measure introduced should be firstly put on trial
in real
practice and then, following appropriate evaluation, become
of a permanent nature if needed.

2.2.
In general terms, adjustments in technical measures, in
themselves, are unlikely to solve the problem of Irish Sea cod.
Neither is it clear that the other measures involved in the
recovery programme are adequate to address the fundamental
problem of depletion of the stock.

2.2.1.
The fact is that too many fish are being caught
considering the reproductive capacity of the fishery. The main
factors involved are the number of relatively large high-
powered vessels targeting the species combined with the use
of semi-pelagic techniques which, though legal, catch large
quantities of cod at the most vulnerable (i.e. spawning) period.
As cod group in large numbers in the water column during
spawning, they are easily caught by this method of fishing. In
fact, since the introduction of the semi-pelagic method, stocks
have fallen consistently to their present level.

2.3.
The Committee believes that additional measures are
required to deal with semi-pelagic operations in order to
provide a reasonable chance for the stock to recover and to
protect the economic and social importance of the industry
for the adjacent coastal areas.

2.3.1.
Such issues will be further examined in the frame-
work of the forthcoming work of the Committee on the Green
Paper on CFP.

2.1.
It is not clear what positive aspects this measure
possesses in relation to stock recovery. Mesh thickness is an
important factor for escapement and the dimensions proposed

2.4.
In conclusion, having regard to the above-mentioned
remarks, the Committee is ready to support the present
Commission proposal.

Brussels, 30 May 2001.

The President.

of the Economic and Social Committee.

Göke FRERICHS