The origin of the vote is the former 2008 EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), which aims to protect the marine environment...

European fishermen urge Brussels to delay vote on total closure of 10% of all EU fishing zones

EUROPEAN UNION
Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 01:10 (GMT + 9)

The European Bottom Fishing Alliance (EBFA) warns about the socioeconomic consequences of prospering this measure and asks member states to protect food sovereignty

Madrid - European fishermen, grouped in the European Bottom Fishing Alliance (EBFA), an organization of which the Spanish Fisheries Confederation (CEPESCA) is a member, urge the European Commission to delay the vote until after the next European elections scheduled for tomorrow in Brussels in which Member States must decide on the creation of totally prohibited zones for fishing and which would represent 10% of EU waters. A closure that, in the opinion of the sector, would be ruled not to protect ecologically sensitive habitats, but simply to achieve political objectives.

The Commission's aim is to place 10% of the EU seabed in "reference areas" free of any human pressure to assess its natural variability. The postponement requested by EBFA is based on the lack of impact assessment of fishing activities, the upcoming review of the Law that sets these objectives and the current transitional political period.

As Iván López, president of EBFA, explains, “these decisions should be made by the new Commission that emerges after the elections, based on a new political mandate and analyzed by the new Parliament. Doing it now, renouncing any democratic control by Parliament and under the leadership of an outgoing Commissioner who is a candidate for the next Parliament, makes us fear that the only reason behind this is political.”

The origin of the vote is the former EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) of 2008, which aims to protect the marine environment and achieve good environmental status (GES) in all sea basins, measured according to different indicators. qualitative (11 in total). One of the indicators refers to “the integrity of the seabed.” In the absence of pre-existing scientific recommendations on what could constitute a GES, the European Commission's Environment DG has led numerous works and debates for several years. However, scientific experts have not been able to clearly define the parameters and indicators associated with this objective.

“Given the operational impossibility of achieving the objectives of this old Directive, the European Commission should have started a new debate with the European institutions instead of experimenting with policies. This is especially relevant given that the Commission opened a consultation process at the end of 2021 to review the Directive,” explains López.

The EBFA maintains that the proposal put to the vote does not allow prioritizing the type of habitat to be protected nor would it allow any fishing activity to be taken into account. Therefore, the ban would apply to all fishing gear that operates in contact with the bottom, regardless of its characteristics and effects, which, however, are very different. The industry says that, at a time when thousands of square kilometers are being designated for offshore wind farms, it is disproportionate to impose additional losses of fishing grounds without clear, data-driven ecological objectives.

Furthermore, the EBFA criticizes that, once again, no socioeconomic impact assessment has been carried out, despite being required by law and the undeniable impact that the proposal will have on all fishing companies and the supply chain.

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