Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - Promoting more environmentally-friendly fishing methods : the role of technical conservation measures
Date: 2004-06-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: common fisheries policy, conservation of fish stocks, exploitation of resources, fishery management, fishery resources, fishing controls, fishing fleet

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 21.6.2004 
COM(2004) 438 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL  
AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

Promoting more environmentally-friendly fishing methods: the role of technical 
conservation measures 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL  
AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

Promoting more environmentally-friendly fishing methods: the role of technical 
conservation measures 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

7.1. 

7.2. 

7.3. 

7.4. 

7.5. 

8. 

Scope and purpose of this Communication.................................................................. 3 

What are environmentally-friendly fishing methods?.................................................. 3 

How can we reduce fishing effort to sustainable levels? ............................................. 4 

How can we optimise the catches of target species and minimise unwanted catches? 5 

How can we reduce the impact of fishing on the habitat? ........................................... 7 

The need to balance environmental and economic sustainability................................ 7 

The way forward .......................................................................................................... 7 

A more decentralised approach.................................................................................... 8 

Greater involvement of the fishing sector.................................................................... 8 

Sharing and developing knowledge at Community level ............................................ 9 

Simplification of the rules.......................................................................................... 10 

Changing fishermen’s behaviour by new incentives ................................................. 10 

Next steps ................................................................................................................... 11 

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1. 

SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF THIS COMMUNICATION 

The  objective  of  the  Common  Fisheries  Policy  (CFP)  is  to  ensure  exploitation  of 
living  aquatic  resources  that  provides  sustainable  economic,  environmental  and 
social conditions.  

It is further stated in Article 2 of the Framework Regulation1 that “the Community 
shall  apply  the  precautionary  approach  in  taking  measures  designed  to  protect  and 
conserve living aquatic resources, to provide for their sustainable exploitation and to 
minimise  the  impact  of  fishing  activities  on  marine  eco-systems.  It  shall  aim  at  a 
progressive 
fisheries 
implementation  of  an  eco-system-based  approach 
management”.  

to 

To achieve these objectives the Framework Regulation provides for limits on fishing 
technical 
possibilities  (TACs  and  quotas),  a  range  of  measures 
conservation measures, and direct fishing effort limitation.  

including 

The  aim  of  this  Communication  is  to  propose  ways  in  which  the  Community  can 
further  promote  the  use  of  environmentally-friendly  fishing  methods,  particularly 
through technical conservation measures, while taking account of the need to find a 
balance between environmental and economic objectives. 

2. 

WHAT ARE ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY FISHING METHODS? 

Making  fishing  activities  more  environmentally-friendly  is  an  objective  in  its  own 
right  but  will  also  contribute  to  promoting  sustainable  economic  and  social 
conditions  in  the  fishing  sector.  Fishermen  need  healthy  fish  stocks  in  a  balanced 
environment. Any upset in this balance leads to the cycle of “boom and bust”, which 
is  unsustainable  in  economic  terms.  Environmentally-friendly  fishing  is  also 
fishermen-friendly,  as  it  helps  maintain  the  necessary  environmental  balance  for 
stable and predictable economic activity. 

Within an integrated management approach there are three main objectives related to 
conservation and the development of environmentally-friendly fishing: 

(i) to reduce fishing effort to sustainable levels and keep it there : 

Reduction  of  the  fishing  pressure  to  sustainable  levels  is  the  single  most  important 
challenge for the CFP. In spite of recent decisions of the Council fishing mortalities 
for most species are substantially higher than needed in order to take optimal yields 
from the stocks. For some demersal stocks fishing mortalities have recently been so 
high  that  the  stocks  are  under  threat  of  collapse;  for  many  more,  fishing  mortality 
rates are judged to be unsustainable in the longer term.  

1 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2371/2002  of  20  December  2002  on  the  conservation  and  sustainable 
exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy, OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59. 

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(ii) to optimise catches of target species and minimise un wanted catches 

Here the aim is to make fishing operations as selective as possible, by retaining target 
specimens  of  the  right  species  and  size  with  minimum  impact  on  other  species  or 
juvenile fish of the target species.  

(iii) to minimise the impact of fishing on habitats 

The use of some types of fishing gears can damage or even destroy sensitive marine 
habitats. Gear specifications and area restrictions on the use of certain gears may be 
necessary to reduce this risk. 

Methods of achieving each of these objectives are briefly examined in the following 
sections. 

3. 

HOW CAN WE REDUCE FISHING EFFORT TO SUSTAINABLE LEVELS? 

With the adoption of the reform of the CFP in 2002 the Council recognised the need 
to develop multi-annual approaches in form of recovery plans and management plan 
and to include limitation of fishing effort when considered necessary to achieve the 
objectives of the plans. 

The  implementation  of  multi-annual  management  plans,  to  ensure  that  the  fishing 
effort  is  in  line  with  sustainable  fishing  possibilities,  is  a  pre-condition  for  the 
development  of  environmentally-friendly  fishing  methods.  First  priority  should  be 
given  to  recovery  plans  for  stocks  outside  safe  biological  limits,  followed  by 
management plans for stocks within safe biological limits. 

The  Council  in  early  2004  adopted  recovery  plans  for  several  cod  stocks  and  for 
Northern  hake2.  Two  other  proposals  for  recovery  plans  tabled  by  the  Commission 
are expected to be adopted by the Council during 20043.  

The Commission will in 2004 take further initiatives to: 

•  include other stocks, such Celtic Sea cod, into existing recovery plans; 

•  propose  a  recovery  plan  for  the  North  Sea  plaice  combined  with  a  management 

plan for North Sea sole; 

•  develop  in  cooperation  with  Norway  multi-annual  management  plans  for  the 

fisheries on haddock, whiting and saithe in the North Sea; 

2 

3 

Council Regulation (EC) No 423/2004 of 26 February 2004 establishing measures for the recovery of 
cod  stocks,  OJ  L  70,  9.3.2004,  p.  8;  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  811/2004  of  21  April  2004 
establishing measures for the recovery of the Northern hake stock, OJ L 150, 30.4.2004, p. 1. 
COM(2003) 819 final: Proposal for a Council Regulation establishing measures for the recovery of the 
sole  stocks  in  the  Western  Channel  and  the  Bay  of  Biscay;  COM(2003)  818  final:  Proposal  for  a 
Council  Regulation  establishing  measures  for  the  recovery  of  the  Southern  hake  and  Norway  lobster 
stocks in the Cantabrian Sea and Western Iberian peninsula and amending Regulation (EC) No 850/98 

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•  develop a multi-annual management plan for the fisheries on sandeel in the North 

Sea and the Skagerrak; 

•  develop a multi-annual management plan for the fisheries on sandeel in the North 

Sea and the Skagerrak; 

•  implement in Community regulations the multi-annual management plans agreed 
by the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission for Baltic cod and salmon. 

4. 

HOW  CAN  WE  OPTIMISE  THE  CATCHES  OF  TARGET  SPECIES  AND  MINIMISE 
UNWANTED CATCHES? 

Apart  from  the  fact  that  many  Community  fish  stocks  are  heavily  overfished,  the 
exploitation of fisheries resources by Community fishing fleets is far from optimal. 
Very  high  fishing  pressure  on  juvenile  fish  results  in  yields  (whether  expressed  in 
tonnes  or  economic  value)  that  are  well  below  what  they  could  be  if  the  fisheries 
were  better  managed.  Since  undersized  fish  cannot  be  landed,  this  also  leads  to 
conspicuous waste of a valuable resource. 

The  large  quantity  of  fish  caught  and  then  discarded  by  fishing  vessels,  much  of 
which  is  made  up  of  immature  fish,  is  the  most  important  area  of  concern  about 
environmental damage caused by fishing. It has been estimated that, on average, 20 
million  tonnes  are  discarded  each  year  from  marine  capture  fisheries  worldwide4. 
This  corresponds  to  about  23%  of  the  annual  catches.  There  are  no  estimates 
available on  the total amount  of discards in Community  waters.  However,  the  total 
amount of fishery discards in the North Sea in 1990 was around 260,000 tonnes of 
roundfish, 300,000 tonnes of flatfish, 15,000 tonnes of rays, skates and dogfish, and 
150,000 tonnes of bottom invertebrates5. These discards correspond to about 22% of 
the  total  landings  from  the  North  Sea  and  are  in  line  with  the  worldwide  figures. 
Obviously the problem is not restricted to the North Sea. In other fishing areas of the 
Community the problem of discarding is probably of a similar order of magnitude. 

Because  many  fish  stocks  inhabit  the  same  fishing  grounds,  it  is  impossible  to 
eliminate  catches  of  unwanted  specimens  (or  by-catches)  completely  but  it  is 
possible  to  reduce  them  significantly  by  adapting  fishing  gear  to  make  it  more 
selective. A significant reduction in by-catches will reduce the fishing mortality on 
the fish stocks concerned and contribute to optimizing the yield from these stocks.  

In  addition  to  being  more  species-selective,  fishing  methods  should  be  more  size-
selective. 

Reducing the catch of small fish has been and continues to be an important objective 
of fisheries management. This is not just a matter of increasing minimum mesh sizes; 
as indicated above, an overall reduction in fishing effort will rebuild the abundance 
of  adult  fish  and  contribute  to  the  reduction  of  juvenile  catches.  However,  the 
promotion  of  more  environmentally  friendly  fishing  methods  should  also  try  to 

4 
5 

FAO, 1998 The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 
ICES, 2003 Environmental Status of the European Seas 

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maximize  the  contribution  of  technical  conservation  measures  to  the  reduction  of 
small fish. 

There seems to be little possibility to increase mesh sizes substantially (except in the 
Mediterranean  Sea)  because  of  the  mixed-species  nature  of  most  fisheries 
(particularly  demersal  ones).  While  the  Commission  does  not  rule  out  possible 
increases in mesh sizes in some cases, more innovative approaches are necessary. 

The  general  approach  should  be  to  make  fishing  more  species-  and  size-selective 
without compromising catches of target species. Enhanced species selectivity can be 
achieved by a range of technical measures, including: 

–  gear  specifications  such  as  the  use  of  square-meshed  panels  or  other  devices 

which permit non-target species to escape from the net; 

–  closed areas and seasons to protect spawning grounds or nursery areas; 

–  bans on the use of certain fishing gears, or restrictions on the size composition and 

species composition of landings. 

The  measures  needed  will  depend  on  the  type  of  fishery  and  the  nature  of  the 
unwanted catches. Priority should be given to unwanted catches that are considered 
non-sustainable and may endanger the species concerned. A lower priority should be 
given to by-catches that both in biological and economic terms are insignificant.  

The Commission in 2002 issued an action plan to reduce discards of fish6, in which it 
gave  an  overview  of  the  magnitude  of  the  problem,  the  reasons  for  discarding  and 
evaluated  the  possibilities  of  reducing  discarding.  Based  on  the  action  plan  the 
Council requested the Commission to initiate pilot projects to assess the possibilities 
to reduce discards.  

During  2004  the  Commission  will,  in  cooperation  with  Member  States,  the  fishing 
industry and other stakeholders, launch a number of pilot projects covering a range 
of species, fisheries and areas within the Community. The pilot projects will address 
all possible measures to reduce discarding including trials of fishing gear, voluntary 
departure  from  fishing  grounds,  real-time  closures,  discard  bans,  by-catch  quotas, 
quota  flexibility,  effort  management  and  better  use  of  low-value  fish.  They  will 
include cases (stocks and/or fisheries) for which discard bans will be implemented on 
a mid-term basis, as mentioned within the 2002 Discard Action Plan. They will also 
include  other  cases  for  which  a  discard  ban  is  not  realistic  for  the  next  few  years 
despite (and to some extent) because of high levels of discards. For this second group 
of fisheries the intention would be to reduce discards over a period to be agreed (4 to 
5  years?),  in  close  cooperation  with  the  fishing  industry.  A  commonly  agreed 
protocol for estimating discards (before and at the end of the pilot projects) will be 
agreed, while the fleet involved could use a variety of measures to achieve the target 
reduction. 

6 

COM(2002)  656  final:  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European 
Parliament on a Community Action Plan to reduce discards of fish. 

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In both cases the fishing industry will be directly involved in the preparation and in 
the  monitoring  of  the  pilot  projects,  including  through  the  Regional  Advisory 
Councils (RACs) once they have been established. 

As part of the pilot projects the direct impact of  reduced discards on the fish stock 
concerned as well as the indirect impact on fish and seabirds feeding on discards will 
be studied.  

The  Council  has  already  taken  action  to  reduce  by-catches  of  certain  non-target 
species  such  as  cetaceans.  The  first  step  was  taken  in  1997  by  the  adoption  of 
limitations on drift-net fisheries7 to protect species including cetaceans that might be 
endangered  by  drift-net  fishing.  A  further  step  was  taken  in  March  2004  with  the 
adoption of a regulation aiming at reducing incidental catches of cetaceans8. 

Addressing  the  problem  of  unwanted  catches  should  also  include  the  fishing 
mortality caused by lost fishing gears. Scientific studies have confirmed that gillnets, 
in particular, may continue to catch fish long after they have been lost. Fish caught in 
lost gears, often called “ghost nets”, will die and, like discards, can be considered as 
waste  of  resources.  Measures  are  needed  to  identify  such  gear,  encourage  the 
reporting of lost gear and to recover such gear from the seabed. 

5. 

HOW CAN WE REDUCE THE IMPACT OF FISHING ON THE HABITAT? 

The  direct  physical  effects  of  fishing  gears  on  the  seabed  can  alter  its  physical 
structure and thereby change the biological community in the area. Some habitats are 
more  vulnerable  to  fishing  gears  than  others.  Examples  of  especially  sensitive 
habitats  within  Community  waters  are  reefs  (cold-water  coral  reefs,  stone  reefs) 
which  are  often  highly  productive  and  are  host  to  very  diverse  fauna  and  flora. 
Fishing on reefs may alter the physical structure to the extent that it threatens their 
unique biological status.  

To  protect  sensitive  habitats  it  may  be  necessary  to  close  the  area  to  some  type  of 
fisheries.  A  recent  example  of  such  a  measure  is  the  Commission  Regulation  to 
protect deep-water coral reefs off North-West Scotland. The Commission intends to 
be  proactive  in  taking  more  measures  of  this  nature  in  well-identified  cases.  Gear 
specifications may also play a useful role. 

6. 

THE NEED TO BALANCE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY 

The  application  of  more  environmentally-friendly  fishing  methods  may  not  come 
cheap in some cases. Whether in terms of investment in new equipment or of short-
term losses of revenue, there will be some economic effects. The Commission, when 
introducing  significant  new  proposals  in  this  domain  will  carry  out,  as  appropriate 
and  on  the  basis  of  available  information,  an  assessment  of  possible  economic  and 

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8 

Council Regulation (EC) No 894/97 of 29 April 1997 laying down certain technical measures for the 
conservation of fishery resources, OJ L 132, 23.5.1997, p. 1. 
Council Regulation (EC) No 812/2004 of 26 April 2004 laying down measures concerning incidental 
catches of cetaceans in fisheries and amending Regulation (EC) No 88/98, OJ L 150, 30.4.2004, p.12. 

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social  impacts.  These  impacts,  however,  will  not  be  limited  to  the  evaluation  of 
short-term losses but will include the estimation of future long-term benefits. In the 
context of multi-annual management, impact evaluation should be multi-annual, too. 

7. 

THE WAY FORWARD 

A fresh impetus needs to be given to the promotion of more environmentally-friendly 
fishing within the CFP. This calls for action under the following headings:  

•  a  more  decentralised  approach  to  the  development  of  more  environmentally-

friendly fishing methods; 

•  greater involvement of the fishing sector in the regulatory process; 

•  sharing and developing knowledge at Community level; 

•  simplification of Community rules; 

•  changing fishermen’s behaviour through the development of incentives. 

•  Further  development  of  impact  assessments  on  the  ecological,  economic  and 
social effects of environmentally friendly fishing methods, particularly as regards 
their long-term effects. 

7.1. 

A more decentralised approach 

The  development  of  environmentally-friendly  fishing  methods  under  the  CFP  must 
be adaptive, recognising the wide diversity of both eco-systems and fisheries within 
the Community. Measures may be effective in one area or fishery and useless or even 
counterproductive in another. There is a need to consider carefully which measures 
need to be applied throughout the Community and which ones only at a regional or 
local level. 

This  will  imply  a  more  decentralised  approach  to  certain  aspects  of  fisheries 
management, particularly technical conservation measures in which the specificity of 
particular  fisheries  in  particular  areas  will  be  recognized.  While  some  management 
instruments,  such  as  catch  or  effort  limitations,  should  apply  to  the  whole  area  of 
distribution  of  the  concerned  stocks,  technical  conservation  measures  are  more 
amenable to decentralised approaches, taking into account the features of fisheries in 
different areas and building on local experience. This approach should not, however, 
imply that different standards of environmental protection and fisheries conservation 
should  apply  in  different  areas.  The  Community  should  aim  at  a  consistently  high 
level  of  environmental  protection  and  conservation  of  fisheries  resources  in  all 
Community waters, as well as in other waters fished by Community vessels. 

7.2. 

Greater involvement of the fishing sector 

Because  of  the  inherent  difficulties  of  enforcement  of  fisheries  regulations  at  sea, 
technical rules governing fishing will not be properly applied unless fishermen want 
them  to  be  applied.  Achieving  the  cooperation  and  consent  of  the  fishing  industry 
requires  greater  stakeholder  involvement  in  devising,  testing,  and  implementing 

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technical  measures.  The  fishing  industry’s  participation  in  assessing  the  value  of 
existing measures and formulating new ones should also help to ensure that the rules 
are  more  clearly  expressed  and  understandable  and  that  any  potential  difficulty  in 
implementation has already been tackled. 

Once  they  have  been  established,  the  Regional  Advisory  Councils  (RAC’s)  will 
provide  a  forum  for  this  direct  involvement  in  the  management  process.  They  will 
give the fishing industry and other stakeholders a bigger role in the development of 
environmentally-friendly fishing measures on a regional basis, in terms of influence 
on  their  content  and  responsibility  for  oversight  of  their  implementation  and 
enforcement. 

Technical and financial support of the RAC’s from public authorities may have to be 
stepped up in future to allow them to take on this responsibility fully. 

In order to encourage RAC’s to take initiatives to develop environmentally-friendly 
fishing methods, a procedure could be put into place whereby technical measures that 
are  developed  and  endorsed  on  the  basis  of  consensus  within  RAC’s  may  be 
implemented  by  the  Commission,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in 
Article 30(2) of the Framework Regulation (Management Committee decision). The 
Commission will prepare a proposal in this sense. 

7.3. 

Sharing and developing knowledge at Community level 

Scientific  and  technical  research,  including  on  the  development  and  testing  of  new 
fishing  gear,  has  an  important  role  to  play  in  developing  environmentally-friendly 
fishing methods.  

Further cooperation in research in this area would be helpful. A major effort has been 
made in the European Union in this field over the past 10 years: the EU budget has 
contributed € 8 million each year to over 400 research projects aiming at increasing 
gear  selectivity,  reducing  discards  or  quantifying  the  impact  of  fishing  on  the 
environment. 

This  work  has  been  carried  out  with  the  participation  and  support  of  national 
administrations,  marine  research  institutes  and  sections  of  the  fishing  industry 
throughout the EU.  

This  research  effort  should  continue  under  the  7th  Framework  Programme  for 
Community research, with priority being given to: 

•  more  detailed  analysis  of  the  impact  on  marine  eco-systems  of  different  fishing 

gears, in terms of target species, by-catches and impact on habitats; 

•  the development of low-impact, species-selective fishing gears; 

•  examining the consequences of discards for marine ecosystems; 

•  exploring  the  economic  dimension  of  discarding,  in  terms  of  the  motivation  for 

discards and the consequences of non selective fishing techniques; 

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•  closed areas or Marine Protected Areas as a means of protecting habitats and non-

target species. 

A  second  step  would  be  for  the  Community  to  promote  greater  transnational 
cooperation  in  technical  work  aiming  at  the  development  of  new  fishing  methods. 
Similar  work  is  often  conducted  on  the  improvement  of  selectivity  for  the  same 
fishing gear in different Member States. More collaboration between national bodies 
could be cost-effective. 

A  third  area  in  which  the  Community  could  contribute  is  by  increasing  financial 
support for the experimental use of new fishing methods by fishing vessels. Only by 
encouraging  the  fishing  industry  to  use  new  methods  and  better  identify  their 
advantages and drawbacks will it be possible to gain acceptance by the industry of a 
change  of approach. The  Commission will  consider  this  possibility  when preparing 
its proposals for a structural fund in the fisheries sector for the period 2007-2013. 

7.4. 

Simplification of the rules 

As indicated in previous sections, environmentally-friendly fishing measures must be 
part of the wider management system. The ad hoc approach that has prevailed until 
now, where technical measures have largely been developed in isolation from other 
management measures, should be replaced by an integrated management plan where 
environmentally-friendly  measures  are  developed  as  part  of  long-term  management 
plans. 

The  measures  must  be  consistent  with  the  management  objectives,  must  avoid 
unnecessary complexity and be enforceable. 

The  Commission  proposes  that  over  the  next  two  years  a  major  effort  be  made  to 
review  and,  if  appropriate,  revise  existing  technical  measures  within  the  context  of 
future  Council  decisions  on  long-term  management  of  fish  stocks.  This  process 
should also take account of regional specificities. Simplification of Community rules 
should be an explicit goal of this process. 

7.5. 

Changing fishermen’s behaviour by new incentives 

The  development  of  environmentally-friendly  fishing  methods  implies  a  change  in 
both fishing operations and fishermen’s behaviour. The Community and the Member 
States must be ready to encourage fishermen to move towards more environmentally-
friendly fishing methods. 

An example is the issue of discards where the present regulations, which prohibit the 
landing  of  under-sized  fish  or  fish  taken  in  excess  of  quotas,  force  fishermen  to 
discard a substantial part of the catches. It may be possible to develop measures that 
will give fishermen an alternative to discarding the illegal part of their catch.  

Financial  aid  is  already  available  until  2006  under  the  Financial  Instrument  for 
Fisheries Guidance for the use of more selective fishing techniques. In preparing the 
new  FIFG  rules  the  Communication  examines  the  possibility  to  compensate  for 
short-term losses resulting from the experimentation of such fishing techniques. 

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The  potential  of  introducing  other  incentives  for  using  more  environmentally-
friendly  fishing  methods  should  be  explored.  This  could  include  more  financial 
support for fishing vessels participating in gear trials and non-financial incentives for 
more  environmentally-friendly  fishing,  such  as  additional  quotas  or  effort 
allocations. 

8. 

NEXT STEPS 

The Commission intends to follow up on the ideas outlined above according to the following 
timetable. 

(i) Review of current technical measures, 2004-2005:  

Existing  technical  measures  for  the  North  Sea  and  Atlantic  waters  will  be  evaluated  and 
revised. The current proposal to update and codify Regulation 850/98 will be withdrawn, and 
the  Commission  will  initiate  a  debate  with  Member  States  and  stakeholders  on  a  more 
decentralised  approach  to  technical  conservation  measures.  The  work  will  be  carried  out  in 
close  cooperation  with  Member  States,  the  fishing  industry  and  other  stakeholders  and  will 
involve  the  RAC’s  when  they  have  been  established.  The  possibility  of  implementing  fast-
track  procedures  whereby  technical  measures  that  are  supported  by  the  relevant  RAC’  will 
also be introduced as part of this exercise.  

Concerning other fishing areas of the Community, the situation the Commission has already 
tabled  a  proposal  for  the  Mediterranean  Sea9  and  will  during  2004  present  a  proposal  for 
Council regulation on technical measures in the Baltic Sea.  

(ii) Reduction of discards, 2004-2006: 

Starting  in  2004,  the  Commission  will,  in  cooperation  with  Member  States,  the  fishing 
industry and NGOs develop a set of pilot projects covering a wide range of species, fisheries 
and areas within the Community.  

A pilot project will also be developed during 2005 to address the problem of ghost fishing in 
Community  waters.  The  project  will  include  a  retrieval  system  to  remove  lost  gears  and 
methods to reduce the losses of gears. 

(iii) Research, 2005-2006: 

The development of environmentally-friendly fishing methods is already given high priority 
in  the  6th  Framework  Programme  of  research.  No  additional  action  is  needed  during  this 
period.  Further  research  work  in  his  area  will  also  be  included  in  the  planning  of  the  7th 
Framework Programme (2007-2010). 

9 

COM(2003)  589  final:  Proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation  concerning  management  measures  for  the 
sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea and amending Regulations (EC) 
No 2847/93 and (EC) No 973/2001. 

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(iv) Proposals for new financial incentives, 2004-2005: 

Under the revised fisheries structural fund that will operate from 2007 a high priority should 
be given to schemes promoting environmentally-friendly fishing, including the development 
and  use  of  more  selective  gears  and  compensation  for  short  term  losses  for  vessels 
participating  in  trials  of  more  environmentally-friendly  fishing  methods.  The  Commission 
will include the relevant proposals in the context of the proposal on the future FIFG. 

EN 

12 

   EN