Common Fisheries Policy
Introduction
The principle of a Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was already included in the Treaty of Rome, which established the aims of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and defined agricultural products as “the products of the soil, of stock-farming and of fisheries, and products of first-stage processing directly related to these products”. The primary objectives of the CFP were thus identical to those of the CAP, namely to boost productivity, guarantee a fair standard of living to people working in these sectors, stabilise the markets, guarantee supplies and ensure that products are delivered to consumers at reasonable prices.
These initial objectives were further specified in 1992 when the CAP was reformed, to take account of the pressing need to preserve fishery resources in keeping with the notion of sustainable development. The CFP thus guarantees a level of exploitation of living aquatic resources that creates the necessary conditions for sustainability in economic, environmental and social terms.
The first common measures were taken in 1970, with the establishment of the common market for fishery products and the adoption of a structural policy aimed at modernising Europe’s fishing fleet and land-based structures. However, the basic principle of free access to common fishing grounds, established by the Treaty of Rome, was seriously compromised when the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark were negotiating their accession to the EEC. In fact, the 1972 Act of Accession authorised the Member States to reserve a coastal zone of 6, or even 12, sea miles for their own fishing fleets. At the same time, this zone remained accessible to those fishermen with “historical rights”. This temporary system has been regularly overhauled and is still valid today. Indeed, the generalised principle of a 12-mile coastal zone for all Member States was authorised as long ago as 1983.
The CFP gradually assumed a separate identity following the accession to the EEC of countries possessing significant fishing fleets and resources and also as a result of the need to deal with specific issues connected to fishing at European level. These issues, which in particular concern the conservation and management of fish stocks, together with international relations within the fishing industry, grew in importance when the Member States followed an international lead and decided to extend their fishing zones to 200 miles as of 1 January 1977 (EEZ – Exclusive Economic Zones).
After eight years of hard bargaining, the new Common Fisheries Policy saw the light of day in 1983, with the adoption of regulations establishing a Community system for the conservation and management of fishery resources.
The 1983 regulations provided for a series of conservation measures which, for each species or group of species, would establish zones where fishing is either limited or banned altogether; establish rules governing fishing gear; and set a minimum size or weight for each species, together with a volume for each catch. The fixing of catch sizes took the form of the gradual introduction of total allowable catches (TACs) of each stock or group of stocks. The regulations also set up a Community licensing system designed to protect endangered species in the zone around the Shetland Islands.
The review of the 1983 regulations led to its eventual replacement, in 1992, with regulations setting up a Community fisheries system. Given the worrying reduction in stocks of certain species, the new regulations, while preserving the principal design of the previous regulations, also provided for the gradual introduction of new measures designed to guarantee the rational, responsible exploitation of resources on a sustainable basis. These new measures included the reorganisation of the sector with a view to achieving a balance between the Community fleet’s fishing capacity and catch possibilities, the compulsory introduction of national fishing licence systems, and the establishment of a new Community control system.
However, towards the end of the 1990s, experts realised that the CFP was failing to preserve fishing stocks, protect the marine environment, guarantee the economic viability of the European fleets and ensure a better supply of fish to the European market, so a new reform was deemed necessary in 2002, taking the form of new regulations governing the preservation and sustainable exploitation of fishing stocks. These new regulations replaced those introduced in 1992.
The 2002 reform was geared towards a longer-term management of fishing options, providing for the drafting of multiannual plans for the regeneration or management of certain fish stocks. Furthermore, it introduced the precautionary principle for setting catch quotas in the absence of relevant scientific data.
The 2002 reform also confirmed the tack adopted in 1992, aimed at reducing the size of the Community fleet to match it to the available resources. It provided for the improved monitoring of compliance with CFP regulations and the greater involvement of fishermen and other parties concerned with the management of the CFP by creating Regional Advisory Councils (RACs).
Although numerous measures designed to make fishing more efficient still remain to be taken within the existing framework, a full review of the CFP is once again on the political agenda. This review, undertaken with a view to presenting the Commission’s Green Paper on the reform of the CFP in April 2009, should lead to the implementation of a series of new measures that will enter into force starting from 2012.
For more information, click on the following links:
Conservation and management of fishery resources
Conservation of the marine environment
Structural policy and European Fisheries Fund (EFF)
Common organisation of the markets (COM)
Monitoring and application of legislation
Conservation and management of fishery resources
Each year, the Council adopts three regulations determining fishing opportunities and associated conditions for the exploitation of certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks.
The two regulations concerning the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea respectively are generally the subject of a political agreement in October.
Political agreement on the regulation pertaining to the other fishing zones is generally obtained in the month of December and applies to all vessels, including those of third countries, operating in Community waters, and to EU vessels operating in non-Community waters where catch limitations apply. It is based on the negotiations held with Norway, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland (if certain consultations fail to produce a result in time, the regulation is then amended). This regulation also includes catch limitations agreed between the respective regional fisheries organisations, one concerning stocks of red tuna in the East Atlantic and the Mediterranean, for which the long-term recovery plan (2009) transposes into EU law decisions reached by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
Since 2002, a fourth regulation has also stipulated deep-sea fishing opportunities for Community fishing vessels on a two-yearly basis.
The Council’s decisions are taken on the basis of proposals submitted by the Commission, which takes account of consultations held with the parties in question, grouped together within Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) and the Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (ACFA), and also of the opinions of scientists on the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and of its Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF).
Fishing opportunities are dictated by the set total allowable catch (TAC) for each fish stock or group of fish stocks, and fishing zone, and by stipulating fishing effort, which is generally expressed as the authorised number of days at sea per type of fishing vessel. Whenever limitations on catch volume and fishing effort are not enough to ensure the conservation of fishery resources, fishing opportunities may be combined with additional technical measures, such as the mesh sizes for nets, the use of selective fishing gear, the delineation of zones and the delimitation of close seasons, and limitations imposed on minimum landing sizes.
TACs are divided up between the various Member States in the form of quotas, established according to an allocation guide based on the principle of “relative stability”, in order to maintain fishing activities in those regions where populations are particularly dependent upon fishing and other associated industries. The Member States then administer their allocated quotas as they see fit.
Since the 2002 reform, the CFP has favoured a longer-term management of fishing opportunities by devising multiannual regeneration plans for those fish stocks that fall below safe biological limits and, if necessary, for multiannual management plans for other fish stocks too. Catch limitations and other measures taken up again in the said multiannual plans are included in the regulations establishing annual fishing opportunities.
The aforesaid regeneration plans cover stocks of northern hake (2004), various stocks of cod (2004, updated in 2008), as well as stocks of southern hake and langoustine (2005). The multiannual stock management plans concern stocks of Bay of Biscay sole (2006) and western channel sole (2007), stocks of cod in the Baltic Sea (2007), and stocks of plaice and sole in the North Sea (2007).
Conservation of the marine environment
Fishing does not only concern fish stocks (fish, crustaceans and molluscs); the use of fishing gear can affect birds, marine mammals and reptiles (turtles). Deep-sea fishing, which has become of substantial economic interest in recent years, may also damage fragile ecosystems such as cold-water coral reefs.
In a bid to protect the marine environment, the European Union has adopted measures applicable to Community waters, to Community vessels operating in zones covered by regional fisheries organisations, and to Community vessels operating on the high seas beyond the jurisdiction of any regional fisheries organisation.
Aquaculture
Within a context characterised by the reduction in fish stocks, aquaculture may help to respond to growing demand for aquatic products from European consumers. Aquaculture is an important economic activity in some parts of the EU, both in coastal areas and inland, and involves various species of saltwater and freshwater fish, molluscs and crustaceans (mainly mussels, oysters, trout, carp, bream and salmon).
In 2002, the European Commission presented the first European plan for a sustainable form of aquaculture which has led to substantial progress being made with regard to the viability, safety and quality of aquaculture in the EU. However, despite a steady increase in global aquaculture production, production by the EU has stagnated in recent years.
In April 2009, the European Commission announced three strategic objectives designed to give a fresh boost to European aquaculture and build a future for the sector: enhanced competitiveness (by stepping up technological research and development and through appropriate spatial planning); the creation of the conditions required for sustainable development (the compatibility of aquaculture with environmental protection, the creation of a high-performance sector, and consumer protection); and an improved image and governance for the sector (by applying EU legislation better, cutting administrative costs, and encouraging greater stakeholder involvement).
Structural policy and the European Fisheries Fund (EFF)
Structural policy within the fisheries sector is designed to help attain CFP objectives by adapting and managing the development of structures within the sector. The financial instrument underlying this policy is the European Fisheries Fund (EFF), which on 1 January 2007 replaced the existing Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG).
The measures jointly funded by the EFF should considerably help to establish a balance between fish stocks and fishing capacities, the protection and exploitation of the marine environment, underpin the economic competitiveness and viability of the fisheries sector, and improve standards of living within fishing communities.
The EFF’s total appropriations for commitments for the year 2009 stand at around €631 million, 75% of this total being earmarked for those regions covered by the convergence objective.
External relations
The EU has concluded numerous bilateral fishing agreements with non-EU countries. The agreements concluded with Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands do not entail any financial consideration and generally give rise to a simple exchange of quotas. On the other hand, the agreements with Greenland, together with the numerous agreements stipulated with African and Pacific Ocean states, envisage payments being effected in exchange for the granting of access to their respective fishing zones. Since the 2002 reform, the agreements concluded with these countries have evolved into genuine fisheries partnership agreements (FPAs), by helping these countries set a sustainable fisheries policy and by allocating a substantial share of the financial compensation to measures designed for the purpose of developing the fisheries sector.
To ensure the sustainability of high-seas fish stocks, the EU has concluded several international agreements, aimed in particular at the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks, which sometimes move about both within and outside economic exclusion zones, and of highly migratory fish stocks.
Finally, the EU participates in the work of various regional fisheries organisations (RFOs) in an effort to deal with any problems it may share with the countries concerned. The 11 RFOs to which the EU is a contracting party, cover fisheries activities in the Atlantic Ocean (7 RFOs), the Mediterranean (1 RFO), the Indian Ocean (1 RFO), the Pacific Ocean (1 RFO) and the Antarctic (1 RFO).
Common organisation of the markets (COM)
The common organisation of the markets (COM) in the fisheries and aquaculture sector has several instruments for ensuring a certain degree of price stability and guaranteeing fair prices to producers.
Producers’ organisations, set up on a voluntary basis by fishermen or aquaculture producers, are a key element in the COM. Upstream of production they play a part in tailoring supply to demand by encouraging better planning of activities and taking steps to improve the quality of products and their commercialisation. Downstream of production, they activate certain price-support mechanisms. Only the members of producers’ organisations can lay claim to assistance when measures are taken to stabilise the markets.
Producers may be given financial compensation when products are definitively withdrawn from the market. Carry-over aid may be provided in the event of temporary withdrawal, with the products being put back onto the market after being processed and stored. Aid for private storage may also be awarded for products frozen on board ship, with these products being put back on the market when their prices return to being favourable. Finally, compensation may be paid to fishermen of tuna destined for processing, in the form of compensation for the lack of any tariff protection on imports.
The COM also involves the creation of a system of trade with third countries, allowing the fish-processing industry to be supplied in a stable manner at competitive prices.
Control and application of legislation
The conservation and management of fish stocks are key elements of the CFP, and as such they necessitate the efficient application of numerous rules and regulations. The proper application of such rules is controlled by the Member States and the European Commission. Penalties are envisaged in the event of violations of these rules. In 2005 a Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) was set up, based in Vigo (Spain), to organise cooperation and coordination between the Member States regarding the monitorig and inspection of fish.
The present control system is based both on regulations deriving from the 1992 and 2002 reforms and on numerous new provisions scattered among several other regulations. It is generally considered to be complex, costly and above all ineffective for guaranteeing the future of fish stocks and will therefore be replaced by new regulations that will come into force on 1 January 2010.
The new regulations will complement the 2008 regulations establishing a Community system designed to foresee, discourage and eradicate illegal, undeclared and unregulated fishing practices.
Sea fishing in Belgium
In early 2009, the Belgian fleet had some 100 boats using beam trawls in the main, which are particularly suited to catching flatfish.
The fleet is mainly active in the North Sea, the eastern part of the English Channel, and the Irish Sea. It also operates in the Celtic Sea and the Bristol Channel. Around 10% of its catch is landed in foreign ports, mainly in the Netherlands.
In 2007, half of total landings comprised plaice (24%), sole (18%) and skate (9%). Cod and lemon sole accounted for 5% and 4% respectively of total landings. Sole is the leading product by far in terms of market value, accounting for roughly 50% of the total value of the Belgian fleet’s landings.
