WRITTEN QUESTION E-4043/03 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Total allowable catch (TAC) and quotas for 2004.
Date: 2004-01-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Portugal, authorised catch, catch quota, common fisheries policy, environmental protection, fishing industry, fishing regulations, marine environment, region dependent on fishing, scientific report, social dialogue (EU)

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/517

The Commission initiative aims to avoid situations such as those that could arise where a person is dealing
with the same procedures and interlocutors for a long time without appropriate mitigating control
measures. Mobility does not mean that the expertise and knowledge are lost to the Institution. On the
contrary, it means that the professional backgrounds of the persons concerned are broadened and can also
benefit other Departments. Moreover,
Internal Control Standard No 19 on ‘continuity of operations’
specifies that, in the case of officials who hand over their work to another official, a written handover file
must be established.

In accordance with the rules in place, persons who have to move from a sensitive post do not enjoy any
privilege or preferential treatment when they apply for another post. Their appointment to the new post is
determined by the appropriateness of their expertise, profile and level of responsibility. Of course, those
persons who encounter difficulties in finding another post can benefit from the career guidance support
developed within the Commission through Reform.

The first wave of compulsory mobility for sensitive posts is currently underway. The exercise is being
conducted within a framework which ensures the proper implementation of Internal Control Standard No 5
with minimum disruption to the Services, and it takes into account the needs of the individual staff
members concerned.

(1) The inherently sensitive posts are defined as those relating to financial management and the so-called AIPN

(appointing authority) and AHCC (authority empowered to conclude contracts of employment).

(2004/C 84 E/0594)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4043/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Total allowable catch (TAC) and quotas for 2004

(12 January 2004)

The Commission’s proposal concerning the TAC and quota arrangements for 2004, based on the opinions
of the ICES, entails significant reductions in the TAC and quota levels for 2004 and introduces a
temporary system for management of the fishing effort. These proposals would involve a reduced number
of fishing days in the period February-December 2004 (51 days less), as well as substantial cuts in TAC
and quota levels for such species as monkfish, Norway lobster and hake, which, should they be
implemented, would have a considerable adverse socio-economic impact on the fisheries sector and the
regions that depend on it. Sustainable stocks are crucial to the preservation of fishing activity, and the
fishermen themselves are those most concerned by the need to preserve fish stocks. This is demonstrated
by,
the measures voluntarily taken by Portuguese fishermen on sardine seine fishing.
Nonetheless, the Commission’s apparent concern for the sustainability of the Portuguese stocks lacks
credibility in the light of its recent promotion of free access for the Spanish fleet to Portuguese waters and
the consequent increased fishing effort.

for instance,

Can the Commission state whether it has taken due account of
the
Portuguese fisheries sector? What measures will it take to offset the socio-economic impact of its proposal?
If the state of stocks is so critical, can the Commission explain why it is not putting forward recuperation
plans, which would include the necessary socio-economic compensation from the Community budget, and,
in particular, the creation of a financial mechanism to compensate income losses for the fishermen and
other fisheries sector workers affected?

the specific characteristics of

Can the Commission state which fishermen’s and vessel owners’ organisations it heard before presenting its
proposal, and to what degree those organisations were involved? What measures will it take to ensure that
fishermen and vessel owners are genuinely involved in the decision-making process under the CFP?

What measures will the Commission take to enhance the reliability and credibility of the relevant scientific
studies, notably among scientists and fishermen? Does it not consider that a more useful measure would be
to undertake a real decentralisation of the CFP in the area of resource management? What measures is it
taking on the other factors which affect fish stocks, such as pollution, maritime transport, etc?

C 84 E/518

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(17 February 2004)

The Commission’s TAC and quota proposals are based on scientific advice concerning the long-term
sustainability and the short-term catch possibilities for stocks caught by Community fishers. A common
approach is used for stocks of interest to all Member States, which is based on allowing as good short-term
catching opportunities as are compatible with maintaining long-term sustainability of the resources.
In many cases, the Commission has proposed TACs that are higher than advised by scientists in order to
maintain better short-term catch possibilities. This includes a number of stocks of interest to Portugal.

The Commission does not foresee direct financial compensation for adjustments to TACs. Longer-term
financial measures are foreseen in the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance and in the Common
Organisation of Markets, which provide for financial assistance for adapting the catching capacity of the
fleet to the productive capacity of the resource,
improvements in market stability and provisions for
assistance in emergency circumstances.

During the Fisheries Council in December 2003, a political agreement was reached on the need to adopt
recovery plans for southern hake and for Nephrops. The Commission foresees that the adoption of such
plans will result in improved stability in the fisheries, better availability of fish, and improved catching
conditions for the sectors concerned in the medium term. According to the reformed Common Fisheries
Policy, when emergency measures are needed or when new recovery plans are adopted that require large
short-term reductions in catches, certain additional financial subsidies may become available to the sector
(Paragraph 13, Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 2369/2002 (1)).

The Commission regularly consults the fisheries sector before preparing legislative proposals. Currently
these consultations are held under the auspices of the Advisory Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture
(ACFA) and that Committee is responsible for establishing its participation at regional workshops that are
held concerning TACs and other issues. A workshop with the industry concerning the TAC and quota
regulation was held in Brussels on 28 October 2003. During 2004 decisions will be taken concerning the
establishment of Regional Advisory Councils that will ensure that a wider and deeper consultation process
takes place.

Regarding scientific advice on fisheries, the Commission is taking two initiatives. A new memorandum of
understanding has been agreed between the Commission and the International Council for the Exploration
of the Sea which formally extends the scope of fisheries advice to cover environmental, ecosystem and
non-fishing effects on fish stocks and specifies better the way in which fisheries advice should be
formulated, with more emphasis on long-term issues. In parallel, the Commission is working on better
organising and improving the financial support for fisheries science in the Community, as described in the
Commission’s Communication on improving scientific and technical advice for Community fisheries
management (2).

Most of the fishery resources available to the Community are shared among several Member States, and
many resources are also shared with third countries. Because of this, there are only limited opportunities
for decentralising of fisheries management. In addition, Treaty obligations specify that the formulation of
proposals concerning fishing opportunities form part of the exclusive right of initiative of the Commission.

The Commission’s views on measures concerning management of the marine environment other than
fisheries activities have been the subject of a Communication ‘Towards a strategy to protect and conserve
the marine environment’ (3). The Commission envisages ‘inter alia’ the establishment of a marine policy
with objectives, targets and measures for good practices involving marine habitats, including the reduction
of pollution and the appropriate management of shipping practices.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2369/2002 of 20 December 2002 amending Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 laying
down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector,
OJ L 358, 31.12.2002.

(2) OJ C 47, 27.2.2003.
(3) COM(2002) 539 final.