Debate: Commission implementing Regulation  / of  September  determining the existing deep-sea fishing areas and establishing a list of areas where vulnerable marine ecosystems are known to occur or are likely to occur
Date: THURSDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2022
Speaker: Helena Dalli
Language: EN

It is important to frame our discussion by recalling that this implementing act is based on Regulation 2016/2336 of the European Parliament and the Council regarding specific conditions for fishing for deep—sea stocks in the north-east Atlantic and its international waters. This means that the Commission has implemented what the co—legislators had already decided in 2016 in this regulation, although four years late due to a lack of necessary data from Member States. Article 9 of this regulation from 2016 clearly provides that bottom—fishing gears shall be prohibited in vulnerable marine ecosystems below 400 metres. I underline that according to the 2016 regulation, this prohibition is applicable to all bottom—fishing gears without exception, be it bottom trawlers, longliners or others, and that it only concerns areas below 400 metres. As an ecosystem—based approach was used for the delivery of the scientific advice on which this implementing regulation is based, the responsible scientific body, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, provided management options that factored in how much fishing activity takes place in the areas containing VMEs. Based on consultations with stakeholders, the Commission proposed a management option that best balances environmental protection and socio—economic implications. So where scientists identified on the basis of data provided by the Member States that vessels were fishing a lot in an area with only a few vulnerable ecosystems, the scientists did not identify them as an area subject to the closure under the 2016 regulation. The logic of this innovative approach is to find a balance to maximise conservation and minimise negative economic impact. I want to stress in this context that the scientists based themselves exclusively on the data they had received from Member States in time before providing the Commission with the advice as the basis for this implementing act. It’s also important to note that the scientific advice is the result of a thorough scientific peer review process which involved leading scientists in the field from all Member States, so the scientific organisation providing the advice works based on consensus. Another important point is the stakeholder involvement. In view of the sensitivity of this advice, and in order to ensure its smooth implementation, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea invited for the first time stakeholders, including the fishing sector, to provide feedback to the scientists. The Commission extensively involved Member States as well as stakeholders, including from the fishing sector, which made this one of the most intense interactions with stakeholders we have seen since the review of the common fisheries policy in 2013. We are, of course, well aware that stakeholders had a lot of issues to deal with during Brexit and the COVID—19 crisis, and it seems that this opportunity to engage and provide feedback to the Commission was not used by all. I believe both the Commission and the stakeholders need to learn from this. But let us now look ahead. As you know, we are at the beginning of a process and, in line with the 2016 regulation, the scientific advice will be reviewed every year. We are expecting the new scientific advice by 16 December of this year and, where justified, this could lead to a revision of the areas closed to bottom gears. This is not a sort of concession by the Commission. The regulation from 2016 is clear that it is our legal obligation to annually review the list of vulnerable marine ecosystems based on updated advice, and we will do so. But I want to also reiterate that the Commission’s acts are based on science, and the same goes for the Deep—Sea Regulation of 2016 and any secondary legislation based on it. So we will wait for the new scientific advice before we can say in which direction we will go. This implementing act is not only a legal obligation, but also the EU’s delivery on a long—standing commitment – a commitment agreed to by the European Parliament – and it is our collective duty to our society, to the future generations, and in particular to those whose livelihood depends on marine resources and on a healthy ocean. I acknowledge that there is a socio—economic impact on the fleets and fishers concerned by these closures. In this context, we advise that Member States make good use of the possibilities offered under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund to support the sector over the long term.