Quotas agreed for 2002 European Union fish catches will prevent further decimation of stocks, but will not allow critical species to recover, the European Commission says.
The EC had proposed drastic cuts in quotas for fish such as cod and hake, to help stocks recover from years of overfishing. The UK government, among others, pushed for less severe cuts to help protect the livelihoods of fishing communities. Both sides argued that their proposals were based on sound science.
The catch quotas agreed for 2002 fall short of the EC’s proposals. But Franz Fischler, the EC’s fisheries commissioner, says: “I welcome the decision of the fisheries ministers to set the quotas for 2002 at a biologically acceptable level. With this decision, a deterioration in any of the stocks will not be allowed.”
“The problem is that the recommended plans for recovery of some stocks, such as North Sea cod, are loosely defined. You need a several-year plan to rebuild the stocks, and there are several options on how this may be done,” says Hans Lassen of International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which provides scientific fisheries advice to the EC.
Advertisement
The changes to catch quotas agreed for 2002 include a 58 per cent cut for cod in the key region of Kattegat, Scandinavia, a 22 per cent cut for haddock in the Irish Sea and a 42 per cent cut for sole in the Bay of Biscay. But the cod catch in the Irish Sea will be increased, following temporary closures of cod fishing zones in the past two years.
Rest days
Elliott Morley, the UK’s fisheries minister, welcomed the new quotas. “The long-term goal must always be environmental and economic sustainability – for the sake of fish stocks and the future of the fishing industry,” he said.
The fisheries ministers also agreed to reduce the number of days fishing vessels are allowed at sea. Fischler thinks there are twice as many fishing boats working in EU waters than is sustainable. The ministers also recommended a 20 per cent increase in funds available for fishermen for decommissioning boats and for temporarily closing certain fishing zones.
The EC wants long-term polices to improve the state of fish stocks. Cod and hake have been overfished to a point where they are at risk of extinction, Fischler says.
Proposed prawn catches were also controversial, as cod are frequently also caught in prawn nets. Although the scientific advice on the precise level of bycatches was unclear, the EC recommended a 25 per cent reduction in prawn catches in the North Sea. The fisheries ministers negotiated a seven per cent increase.
Fischler says the EC is well aware of the effects on fishermen of cuts in quotas. “I am aware that the decided cuts in many allowable catches are tough for many European fishermen in the short-term,” he says. “But their effort will be rewarded in the long run. They have to fish less today to be able to fish more in the future, once stocks have recovered.”
