16.6.2023
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 214/161 Thursday 19 January 2023
22.
Considers that proper storage conditions in ports could facilitate and guarantee the preservation of fish and assist commercial placement, with a view to improving the profitability of fish by acting indirectly in price formation; recalls, in this context, the possibilities provided for in the CMO and by producer organisations;
23.
Takes the view that the EMFAF and the new national operational programmes should strengthen and provide clear support to small-scale fishing, in order to contribute to ensuring the sustainability and future viability of the countless coastal communities that are traditionally dependent on fishing, so as to address the specific problems of this segment and support the local sustainable management of the fisheries involved;
24.
Considers that the support channelled by Member States when implementing the EMFAF should be marshalled to address structural failures, thereby contributing to increased incomes from fishing, promoting jobs with rights in the sector and ensuring fair prices for producers, supporting the development of related activities, upstream and downstream of fishing, contributing to the development and cohesion of coastal regions within a framework of sustainable fishing and a future for the SSF sector;
25.
Stresses that, with a view to improving the execution rate of EMFAF financing and ensuring that SSF have access to support, it is necessary to look into and implement measures to streamline procedures, thereby reducing the red tape, complexity and approval time surrounding applications; amend the funding process for receiving aid and replace it with a system of pre-financing; and fully utilise the fund’s financing limits;
26.
Stresses that the EU is missing a tool to understand the extent of EMFF and EMFAF investments in the SSF sector, the number of good practices funded, the delivery of concrete results and how Fisheries Local Action Groups are working and effectively implementing the CFP; calls on the Commission to establish such a tool as a fundamental step in order to understand how to scale up good practices and replicate virtuous fishing methods on an EU-wide scale;
27.
Calls on Member States to provide technical assistance at local level to facilitate small-scale fishers’ access to EU and national funding;
28.
Warns of the high average age of the small-scale fishing fleet and stresses, in this regard, the need to make the fishing activity of this segment attractive for young people and women; emphasises the need to renew and update the small-scale fleet with a view to improving safety and living conditions on board, improving energy efficiency and making the segment more environmentally friendly, while ensuring that there is no increase in fishing capacity in the overall fishing fleet and improving the social and economic sustainability of the fishing communities that depend on the fleet; in this context, highlights the need to address situations where vessels have become obsolete bringing increased operating, maintenance and reclassification costs (economically and environmentally), which in turn compromise the guaranteed safety conditions during operations; stresses that the gross tonnage criteria to measure fishing capacity, by also including the space reserved for crew facilities and comfort, might hinder the modernisation of fishing vessels and the much-needed improvement of the working conditions of the small-scale fishing fleet; calls, in this regard, on the Commission to review these criteria and other interlinked provisions in order to find a solution capable of balancing the needs of small-scale fishing workers with the need to ensure that the EU fleet’s fishing capacity is not increased;
29.
Reiterates that support for the required renewal and/or modernisation of the fleet is necessary for improving the safety, working conditions and economic and environmental sustainability of activities; stresses, however, that this should only be achieved without increasing fishing capacity;
30.
Takes the view that ignoring the need for fleet renewal and the maintenance and improvement of vessels, particularly but not exclusively, of obsolete and inefficient vessels, would endanger the future of small-scale fishing, especially in the ORs;
31.
Points out that the EMFAF provides opportunities for investments in safety, better living conditions and energy performance for vessels, which may also benefit the small-scale coastal and artisanal fleet, and that it should also offer funding opportunities for the renewal, restructuring and resizing of vessels, and the purchase of new vessels in the small-scale fishing fleet — especially in the identified cases where this fleet is of an advanced average age and does not