Debate: Fisheries control
Date: MONDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Johannes Hahn
Language: EN

For months, it has been known that there is an ENV Council today. My colleague Sinkevičius asked the Parliament several times, together with his team, to schedule the debate of today on another day. During this week it was not possible, and this is the reason why he could not be here. He would have liked to be here, because he also wanted to quasi—celebrate with you the result after five years of intensive negotiations. Maybe this is something you could share with your colleagues in order to avoid such clashes in the future.  Having said this, knowing it from other responsibilities, and also speaking here under the control of my colleague Sinkevičius, we are not underestimating the challenges of the implementation of new rules. We need to join our efforts at all levels to overcome those challenges for a modern EU fisheries control system. The European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund is there to support the digital transition, and the Commission is committed to assisting Member States and operators in this transition. Cameras on board are the best way, and in some cases, the only way, to control compliance with the landing obligation and to avoid massive discards of fish. The landing obligation is essential to ensure the sustainability of our fish stocks and, indeed, one of the key pillars of the Common Fisheries Policy. The new requirements will apply only four years after the entry into force of the new regulation, which will give the fishing sector enough time to adapt. Furthermore, just 6.7% of the EU fleet is above the threshold of 18m, and of that percentage, only the vessels at high risk of illegal discards will have to install cameras. Member States and the European Fisheries Control Agency will be fully involved in the risk assessment. As regards the administrative burden for small—scale vessels, which was also addressed by several of you, I have to say that 84% of the EU fishing fleet consists of vessels of less than 12m, for which today important control rules on electronic recording and reporting only apply in a limited way. Smart solutions are already available at zero cost and covered by the new European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund. The benefits of a digitalised system for operators are manifold, including fighting illegal fishing and unfair competition, and improving the scientific assessment of stocks based on which fishing opportunities are set. More transparency throughout the supply chain is essential today for consumers. Faster and easier transition transmission of data to national authorities and finally modernise the fleet, making it more competitive across and outside the Union. The new rules will also contribute to better achieving all the objectives of the Commission of the Common Fisheries Policy, including its social and environmental dimensions. With this, I hope that you will vote finally in favour of this extremely important reform and that we will all work together in the future to deliver on this important transition to a modern and more efficient fishery control system in the Union, which might also serve as a role model for others.