Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg was yesterday challenged by various MEPs, particularly Spaniards, on several decisions taken by the European Commission, most strongly on the ban on deep-sea gill-nets that become effective from today.
Dr Borg, however, strongly defended the Commission's position stating that marine resources had to be safeguarded.
Addressing the European Parliament's Fisheries Committee, Dr Borg told MEPs that most resources in European waters are being over fished. Catches are lower and fish smaller than they were in the past, more fuel is needed to catch them, and more discards are incurred. This means that the fishing industry is suffering from lower income and higher costs, he said.
"These problems have been well-known since at least 2001, when they were discussed in the context of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. In response, member states agreed on a reformed policy that would include a commitment to a precautionary approach and a multi-annual management. The Commission has been keen to move in this direction."
Dr Borg said deep-sea species remain one of his strongest concerns.
"These stocks have a low capacity to replenish themselves and are highly vulnerable. Fishing effort is being reduced by a further 10 per cent this year, and further adaptations will be needed in the future.
"Fishing with deep-sea gill nets, which are often lost but continue to kill fish for no purpose, will be prohibited this year as a temporary measure pending further evaluation," he said.
Dr Borg said that the Commission will prepare its proposal concerning the future of deep-sea fishing for the period 2007-2008 by the middle of this year.
Meanwhile, he welcomed the adoption of a series of measures by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), designed to protect fish stocks and the marine environment.
The new measures, adopted last week at the GFCM annual meeting in Istanbul, include the development of a fishing effort management system in a number of fisheries, the closing of some ecologically sensitive areas in international waters to deep-water trawling, and a seasonal ban on the use of fish aggregating devices in the fishing of the dolphin fish, Lampuki (coryphaena hippurus).
The adoption of these measures, which had been proposed by the EU in line with scientific advice, marks a turning point in the GFCM's efforts at developing measures to ensure the sustainable management of shared fish stocks in the Mediterranean.