Commissioner Borg visiting Spanish fishing communities

Dr Joe Borg, the EU Commissioner responsible for fisheries and the maritime sector, is on his first official visit outside the EU institutions in his capacity as EU Commissioner.

Dr Borg is heading an EU delegation touring the main fishing areas in Spain at the invitation of the Spanish Agriculture and Fishing Ministry. A spokesman for the Commission told The Sunday Times that Dr Borg is taking the opportunity to meet representatives of the fishing sector and discuss ideas as to how the fisheries portfolio should be managed in the next five years.

Dr Borg's visit started last Wednesday in Madrid where he had talks with Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Elena Espinosa. They discussed the recent decisions taken by the Commission regarding fishing quotas in the EU and the future of the fishing sector in Europe.

During his visit, which ends today, Dr Borg also travelled to Andalusia and Galicia, the biggest fishing regions in the EU, and had direct talks with the fishing communities and organisations representing the various stakeholders in the industry. Dr Borg also toured fishing facilities at the port of Vigo and also saw various fish-farming projects.

In Santiago de Compostela, Dr Borg participated in a conference on peripheral maritime regions of Europe. He spoke about the importance of the fishing industry in Europe and the initiative being taken by the Commission to design a new maritime policy.

Dr Borg said that fishing and other related maritime economic activities make a significant contribution to Europe's wealth. He said that European maritime regions account for over 40 per cent of the GNP of the former EU15 and this percentage is expected to rise in an EU of 25 states.

Dr Borg said that between 3% and 5% of Europe's GNP is estimated to be generated directly from marine-based industries and services. This figure does not include the value of the raw materials, such as oil, gas or fish, nor does it take into account indirect economic benefits arising from other services such as tourism and real estate.

The EU is the third largest fish producer in the world. More than half a million people work in the fisheries sector in Europe and the EU average consumption of fish stands at 24.5 kg per head per annum - which is considerably higher than the world average of 16 kg.

Commissioner Borg also spoke on his ideas about the formulation of a new EU maritime policy. He stated: "It is clear that the Maritime Policy Task Force that President Barroso has asked me to lead will have to be guided by a recognition of the need for an integrated, intersectoral and interdisciplinary approach to the ocean and the seas; an awareness and recognition of the environmental threats and problems; and an awareness of the importance of the ocean and seas as a continuation of European territory for the purposes of spatial planning, management and conservation."

Dr Borg explained that the task force will be steered politically by a group of Commissioners whose areas of responsibility have a direct maritime dimension. At a technical level it will have to draw on expertise in a wide range of fields.

He said that the task force will aim to produce a Green Paper as early as possible in 2006.