19 Jun
2006 - Brussels, Belgium - With the adoption of
the European Fisheries Fund, EU Fisheries Ministers
have decided how four billion euros of fishing
subsidies will be spent in the next seven years.
European countries will be allowed to invest million
of euros of public funds into the modernisation
of the fishing fleets, something which will not
help boost competitiveness of the fisheries sector,
and even less preserve the natural resources on
which the future of the sector depends, says WWF.
“It is not clear how the competitiveness
of the fisheries industry can be sustained by
subsidising activities that will harm the marine
environment”, says Markus Knigge, Fisheries Subsidies
Officer at WWF.
“Using subsidies to maintain
and even increase fishing capacity will worsen
the fisheries sector’s profitability and undermine
the long-term goals of growth and jobs of the
Lisbon Agenda. Such subsidies will stifle innovation
and create dependency on public funds, without
solving the problem at the root”.
In March 2006 the European Commission
presented a communication allowing temporary state-aid
funding for engines replacement for two years.
This set the scene for Council negotiations on
the EU Fisheries Fund. Now similar provisions
are included in the European Fisheries Fund, which
incorporates contributions for engines, as well
as aid to fishermen below 40 years to purchase
their first vessel and tie-up money under management
plans for the next seven years.
A key commitment made by the
2002 Common Fisheries Policy reform was to end
the use of public funds in support of capacity
increase and maintenance in Europe’s fishing fleet.
Now not only will the EU fishing fleet remain
at current overcapacity levels, but the reintroduction
of funds for engines will represent a major reversal
of the reforms agreed just over three years ago.
The agreed provisions will also
put the European Union in a retrograde position
at the WTO negotiations taking place in Geneva
on fishing subsidies. This will raise understandable
doubts about the EU’s credibility and long-term
commitments on sustainable fisheries.
Note to editors:
• In Europe, current levels of capacity are reported
to be 40% above the level needed to ensure a socially,
economically and environmentally sustainable fisheries.
