Newsletter / Blog
2011-12-13 Official report confirms massive misuse of EU fisheries funds.
The EU Court of
Auditors published a report damning costly failures to eliminate overfishing in
Europe last Monday.
The report found
that the multi-billion euro European Fisheries Fund designed to balance fishing
activities at sustainable levels is actually doing the reverse. Loopholes mean
that fleet owners are receiving subsidies to increase the capacity and fishing
power of their vessels, adding to fleet overcapacity. A small fraction of the
money available for scrapping is being used as intended, with most being spent
on vessels that are old or no longer active.
The court did not
stop at criticizing the misspending of taxpayers’ money, but highlighted
fundamental flaws in the existing fleet adjustment rules.
The report warns
that fleet overcapacity is driving the depletion of fish stocks, threatening
marine life and the viability of fishing sector and coastal communities. The
result is that three out of four European fish stocks are overfished.
Birdlife Europe,
Greenpeace, OCEAN2012, Seas at Risk and WWF are urging the European Parliament
and Council of Ministers to follow the court’s recommendations. The report
shows that the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform will be meaningless unless
measures are based on a full assessment of the fishing capacity coupled with
deadlines for fleet reductions, the groups argue.
The European
Commission’s reform proposals are not up to the task:
European Maritime
& Fisheries Fund (replacing the European Fisheries Fund) – Unless
safeguards are put in place, there is little evidence that subsidies will stop
fuelling overcapacity let alone reverse it. For instance, the recent Commission
proposal does not require member states to assess the balance between fishing
capacity and stocks before receiving modernization funds.
CFP reform –
Clear timelines and targets for fleet reductions should be introduced in the
revised proposals. Moreover, the text should be amended to create a wider range
of options for allocating fishing rights, introducing preferential access for
those that fish in the most sustainable and responsible way.
Fisheries
ministers will meet on 16 December to set fishing quotas for 2012. These should
be set in line with the scientific advice, and consistent with the goal to
recover fish stocks to above levels that can produce maximum sustainable yields
by 2015, the groups say.
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