WRITTEN QUESTION P-0281/03 by Ulpu Iivari (PSE) to the Commission. Reform of the common fisheries policy and restoration of wild salmon stocks.
Date: 2003-02-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Baltic Sea, common fisheries policy, conservation of fish stocks, fish, fishery management, fishing rights, recreational fishing

C 78 E/698

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

On 9 December 2002, he was arrested with no reason given. Two weeks later, on 23 December, he was
released on bail but was told to return to India by 22 January 2003 at the latest.

If that does not happen, Mr Chellappa will be re-arrested. The authorities gave no reason for the arrest on
this occasion either.

Mr Chellappa has been a priest in a community of Christian Indians in Qatar. His family and friends
suspect that the reason for his arrest is connected with his faith and Christian activities.

In what way does the Commission work to influence governments in such cases and what is the
established practice? Is the Commission aware of the above case? Is the Commission able to take any
action on this specific matter concerning human rights and religious freedom?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(28 February 2003)

The Commission does not have any precise information on the case raised by the Honourable Member.
Without a delegation in the country, it is difficult to obtain details.

If it possesses the necessary evidence, the European Union can intervene in individual cases of abuse of
human rights by making representations to the authorities of the countries concerned. The appropriateness
of such representations is assessed on a case by case basis through a confidential consultation procedure.

In addition it should be pointed out that the Commission is in the process of negotiating a free trade
agreement between the Community and the Gulf Cooperation Council which would include the human
rights clause as one of the essential elements. The Commission has also put a proposal to the Gulf
Cooperation Council on opening a political dialogue on human rights. The purpose of this dialogue would
be to regularly discuss issues of respect for fundamental rights as enshrined in particular in the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights and its complementary International Covenants, and to encourage the GCC
party states which have not yet signed and ratified these instruments to do so. Individual cases might also
be raised during this dialogue.

(2004/C 78 E/0747)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0281/03

by Ulpu Iivari (PSE) to the Commission

(3 February 2003)

Subject: Reform of the common fisheries policy and restoration of wild salmon stocks

Baltic wild salmon are very important for recreational fishing and hence for tourism in the northern part
of the Gulf of Bothnia and northern Finland. However, wild salmon are currently being overfished at sea
and in estuaries, and they are often fished at the wrong times. As a result, salmon are being prevented
from migrating to their spawning rivers, or at least their migration is being seriously disrupted.

The European Union’s fisheries policy completely disregards the issue of restoring wild salmon stocks in
the Baltic, although the EU’s competence extends to the Member States’ sea and river fishing. In the Baltic,
the EU uses its authority over salmon fishing only as a member of the Baltic Sea Fishery Commission, and
restrictions on fishing mainly take the form of fishing quotas for each species.

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/699

By joint ministerial decision, Sweden and Finland have restricted salmon fishing in the northern Gulf of
Bothnia, particularly in the estuary of the River Tornio, but only Finland has enforced this agreement
strictly. Sweden has granted exemptions to its own fishermen, more or less in accordance with the rules,
and the Swedes’ salmon catches from the river mouth have increased to a level which exceeds many times
over the recreational catch from the whole of the River Tornio.

Does the Commission attach importance to restoring wild salmon stocks and promoting recreational
fishing for wild salmon? How will the Commission take Baltic wild salmon into account in the current
reform of the EU’s fisheries policy?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(3 March 2003)

As the Honourable Member rightly mentioned, Baltic salmon during its marine life stage is managed in the
framework of the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission (IBSFC), which in accordance with the
Gdansk Convention of 1973 is the body responsible for the management of the living resources in the
Baltic Sea.

This organisation adopted in 1997 a long term management plan on salmon, known as Salmon Action
Plan. Its main objective is to improve the status of wild salmon stocks in the Baltic and to gradually
increase the natural production of wild Baltic salmon in order to reach by 2010 at least 50 % of the best
estimates of the potential capacity of each wild salmon river. Other objectives include the re-establishment
of wild salmon populations in potential salmon rivers and the improvement of wild salmon habitats where
possible.

Even if not all elements of the Salmon Action Plan fall within the responsibility of IBSFC, the latter closely
monitors the implementation of the Action Plan in all its aspects. Contracting Parties are required to
regularly report on the activities falling within their responsibility,
like releases of reared salmon or
restocking of wild salmon.

National regulatory measures in coastal areas aiming at reducing the fishing pressure on wild salmon and
measures taken at IBSFC level go hand in hand. The most effective measure at IBSFC level was definitely
the reduction of the salmon total allowable catch (TAC) based on the need of the wild salmon populations.
In the late 1980’s, the off-shore and coastal fishery captured not less than one million salmon annually.
The TAC for year 2003 for the Main Basin and the Gulf of Bothnia is set at 460 000 fish.

These measures are already paying off. According to the International Council for the Exploration of the
Sea (ICES), the status of the wild populations in the Main Basin and the Gulf of Bothnia improved in
general over the last years, and the wild smolt production in 2000-2002 was very high. Good spawning
runs are therefore expected for years 2003-2005. Further significant improvement of the status of wild
salmon is expected through the implementation, from 2004, of an alternative harvesting strategy for Baltic
salmon, which was adopted at last IBSFC Annual Session and which aims at shifting more from a mixed
wild and reared population fishery to a selective harvesting of reared populations.

This might illustrate why the Commission is of the opinion that the conservation measures to protect wild
salmon taken at both national and IBSFC level represent a success story for fisheries management in the
Baltic. As long as this is the case, the Commission does not see a need for enhanced responsibilities
regarding salmon. With regard to recreational fisheries, the Commission can inform the Honourable
Member that the Community has no policy on Baltic wild salmon.