Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2016/1139, (EU) 2018/973 and (EU) 2019/472 as regards the targets for fixing fishing opportunities (COM(2023) 771 final — 2023/0449 (COD))
Date: 2024-01-17
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: Atlantic Ocean, authorised catch, catch by species, catch quota, conservation of fish stocks, deep-sea fishing, fishing area, fishing controls, fishing rights, sea fish








C_202402105EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2024/2105


26.3.2024






Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2016/1139, (EU) 2018/973 and (EU) 2019/472 as regards the targets for fixing fishing opportunities
(COM(2023) 771 final — 2023/0449 (COD))
(C/2024/2105)







Rapporteur-General:



Panagiotis GKOFAS











Referral


Council, 13.12.2023




Legal basis


Article 43(2) and 304 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union




Section responsible


Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment




Adopted at plenary


17.1.2024




Plenary session No


584




Outcome of vote
(for/against/abstentions)


178/0/4




1.   EESC position









1.1.


The objective of the legislative proposal is to amend the multiannual plans for certain stocks fished in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Western Waters, and for fisheries exploiting those stocks, in order to ensure the consistency of the rules governing the fixing of yearly fishing opportunities by the Council.












1.2.


All three multiannual plans contain a so-called ‘5 % rule’, which provides that fishing opportunities shall be fixed in such a way as to ensure that there is less than a 5 % probability of the spawning stock biomass falling to the point below which there may be reduced reproductive capacity.












1.3.


However, under certain circumstances relating to the status of a given fish stock and the short-term forecast for its biomass development, the application of the 5 % rule may mean that fishing opportunities cannot be set and the targeted fishery must be suspended, with potentially severe socioeconomic implications.












1.4.


Therefore, the EESC agrees with the proposal to delete the 5 % rule in these three multiannual plans. This amendment serves the purpose of implementing a more coherent and consistent approach on the fixing of fishing opportunities, which will allow for an environmental and socioeconomic balance to be achieved in equal terms.












1.5.


It is important to underline that no administrative, institutional or budgetary impact has been foreseen after the implementation of this clause. Additionally, no negative impact has been foreseen for economic stakeholders, SMEs, research, audit or digitalisation processes.






Brussels, 17 January 2024.


The President of the European Economic and Social Committee

Oliver RÖPKE
            





ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/2105/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)