WRITTEN QUESTION P-2070/03 by Albert Maat (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Derogation for prawn fishermen without quotas when the Vessel Monitoring System is introduced.
Date: 2003-06-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, common fisheries policy, derogation from EU law, fishing area, fishing controls, fishing vessel, remote sensing, vehicle parts

6.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 33 E/207

(2004/C 33 E/210)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2070/03

by Albert Maat (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 June 2003)

Subject: Derogation for prawn fishermen without quotas when the Vessel Monitoring System is introduced

As from 1 January 2004, vessels whose length is 18 million or more will be required to have a Vessel
Monitoring System (VMS) on board. From 1 January 2005, this requirement will apply to vessels 15 m
long or longer.

The Commission’s website gives the following reason for introducing this requirement:

The basic function of VMS is to provide reports of the location of a vessel at regular intervals:

The monitoring authorities can check a range of factors including whether the vessel:

(cid:1) operates in an area where fishing activities are not allowed;

(cid:1) holds the necessary licences and quotas to fish in the relevant area;

(cid:1) has sailed to a port without declaring its landings.

However, these reasons do not seem relevant to prawn fishermen who do not in addition have a quota for
other species of fish.

1. Why is it important to include prawn fishermen without quotas among those to whose vessels the
VMS requirement applies, bearing in mind that the requirement will have far-reaching consequences for
small coastal fishermen because of the relatively high costs per vessel?

2. Will the Commission propose that this specific group be excluded from the requirement to instal
VMS?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(29 July 2003)

The extension of the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to smaller vessels is part of the political
1.
agreement on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reached in December 2002. The aim of
the extension is to improve the control and enforcement of the CFP in general.

From the outset, the Council has chosen not to implement VMS on a fishery by fishery basis. It is believed
that VMS is more acceptable to the fishing industry if this type of monitoring applies equally to all fishing
vessels based on the length criteria, which has the advantage of being easily identifiable and transparent.
This in turn constitutes an important factor in favour of the creation of a Community-wide level playing
field for the fishing industry.

This approach is consistent with the Communication from the Commission on the Reform of the
Common Fisheries Policy (the so-called ‘Road Map’). Therein, the Commission announced the removal of
existing exemptions and the extension of VMS to all fishing vessels exceeding ten metres in length.

In order to ease the burden for the fishermen, Member States can apply for a community financial
contribution for satellite tracking devices. For vessels already subject to VMS, a Community financial
contribution has been paid proportionally to the expenditure incurred for the acquisition of
the
equipment. For the vessels smaller than 24 meters overall, the Commission will grant aid under similar
conditions as it did in the past for the bigger vessels, within the budgetary constraints.

In the light of the above, the Commission does not have the intention to propose exemptions to the

2.
application of VMS after 1 January 2004.