Category Archives: Europe

NGOs should focus on helping fishermen implement policies

It’s no secret that working directly with fishermen to implement fishery management solutions is the most effective way to support positive change. Recently, we have begun engaging in conversations with fishermen, fishery stakeholders and MEPs on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in Europe. EDF was recently acknowledged in an article in Under Current News for being a leading NGO in European fisheries reform—due in large part to our collaborative approach with fishermen.  Britt Groosman, our EU Program Director, was quoted extensively in this article.

“’EDF has found that the most successful way of working towards fishery management is by consulting fishermen in a participatory process,’ Britt Groosman, program director for EDF in the EU, told Undercurrent. ‘The way to find that out is to talk to all the stakeholders and see what everyone’s concerns are, to try and find a way to get environmental improvement with the buy-in of all the stakeholders involved. Because the more you impose your will on people the more you’ll end up with control issues. People don’t like being told what to do and they’ll try to get around rules. The fishermen are the people who implement the policy on the water, and have the real influence,’ she said.”

Read the full article to learn more about  how we find solutions, at home and abroad, no matter how challenging the problems. Read the full article here.

 

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European Fisheries on the Road to Recovery

A major milestone for the recovery of European fisheries was passed this week when the European Parliament approved a much-needed reform to the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) by a great majority (502-to-137).

The proposed reforms set strong maximum sustainable yield (MSY) targets—the catch level that can be safely taken each year to maintain the fish population size at maximum productivity. The goal of setting these targets is to allow fish stocks to recover by 2020 at the latest, and to maintain all recovered stocks at this level. Fishing vessels will also be required to land all catches; different fisheries will phase in this change over the coming years, bringing to a halt the wasteful practice of discarding fish. The reforms also call for science based decision making as a foundation for long-term fisheries management planning. And member states will be free to use transferable fishing concessions (TFCs)—known in the United States as “catch shares” – to meet the sustainability goals of the reformed policy. With TFCs European fisheries managers will be better able to reduce discards, improve fishing safety and profitability, and enhance compliance.

The vote marks the first time the European Parliament has been involved in the decision-making process for fisheries policy, and they exercised their new co-decision authority with very positive effect. Now the EU enters the next phase of lawmaking, the ‘trilogue’ with the Parliament, Fisheries Council and European Commission; there is new optimism that a fundamental reform will emerge from these three way negotiations.

And with European Commission figures suggesting that 80% of Mediterranean stocks and 47% of Atlantic stocks are overfished, these new reforms come just in time. This historic step is not only the turning point for Europe’s ailing fisheries;  it also ties in to the Global Partnership for Oceans (GPO) which aims to make 50% of the world’s fisheries sustainably and economically productive within the next 10 years. In order to get us there, we must build on this momentum by ensuring that the European Fisheries Council , Commission and  Parliament  work together to keep the new legislation strong.

 

Also posted in Catch Shares, EDF Oceans General, Policy, Transferable Fishing Concessions | Comments closed