The new Common Fisheries Policy

European Commission Directorate-General For Maritime Affairs And Fisheries

Description

1Why did we need a new fisheries policy?
Fisheries policy
Fisheries regulations

Sujets

• Common Fisheries Policy
• Fisheries management
• Sustainable development
• Fishing fleet
• Droit et juridique

Informations

• Publié par: EUROPEAN-COMMISSION-DIRECTORATE-GENERAL-FOR-MARITIME-AFFAIRS-AND-FISHERIES
• Nombre de lectures: 6
• Langue: English

Extrait

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The new Common Fisheries Policy

Why did we need a new fisheries policy?

Since 1 January 2003, the European Union has had a new fisheries policy.

This is good news for all concerned. The Common

Fisheries Policy (CFP) may only be twenty years old but it badly needed to be reformed as it was not effective enough in

doing what it had been created to do, that is to conserve fish stocks, protect the marine environment,

ensure the economic

viability of the European fleets and provide good quality food to consumers.

The reason was that far too many fish had been taken from the sea by fishing, leaving too few adult fish to reproduce and

rebuild the stocks. Today, several important fish stocks, such as cod, are on the verge of collapse. Beyond the damage done

to fish stocks themselves, such a situation has a significant negative knock-on effect on fishermen's income, the balance

of the marine ecosystem and the supply of fish to the EU market. A reform was necessary to achieve biologically,

environmentally and economically sustainable fisheries.

Why did we need a new fisheries policy?

Consultation and proposals

The European Commission seized the opportunity provided by the

fact that some elements in the CFP had to be reviewed by 31

December 2002 to widen this review to the whole CFP. To ensure

that all relevant points would be included, the Commission

began to consult those most concerned as early as 1998 through

questionnaires and regional meetings. In March 2001, it

launched a Green Paper putting forward objectives for an

effective CFP and options on how to meet them. This launch

generated a wide-ranging public debate through hearings,

meetings and written contributions.

Following this process, in May 2002, the

Commission presented

a first series of proposals to reform the CFP. These have since

been followed by more proposals and a few more will be tabled

in 2003. The Council of Fisheries Ministers agreed on the first

package of reform

measures in December 2002. These measures

already mark a new beginning for the CFP. The purpose of this

folder is to provide a brief overview of the main decisions already

agreed. It also includes an overview of the Action Plans and

Communications which have been adopted and for which

implementation measures will be presented, and of the

forthcoming proposals.

What has changed?

The decisions taken impact on several areas of the CFP. But the

main changes can be summarised as follows:

© Olivier Barbaroux - IFREMER

© Lionel Flageul

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