Annexes to COM(2020)248 - Towards more sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2021 - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2020)248 - Towards more sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2021. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2020)248  |
| date | June 16, 2020 |
3. Proposals for 2021 fishing opportunities
3.1. Objectives of the fishing opportunities proposals for 2021
Since 2020, fish stocks are to be managed in line with the maximum sustainable yield target. The main objective of the Commission’s proposals for the Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic Sea stocks will therefore be to maintain or reach maximum sustainable yield (Fmsy) for MSY-assessed stocks16. The Commission will fully implement management plans. The Commission will propose either the MSY point value or make use of the MSY range indicated by ICES where this is legally possible under a multiannual plan. Where the ICES recommends that no catches be taken from target stocks, the focus will be on rebuilding these with remedial measures under the multiannual plans. The proposals will also continue to look at ways of facilitating the effective implementation of the landing obligation. Work with all stakeholders continues in order to ensure that stocks covered by these plans get full MSY scientific evaluation as soon as possible.
While the poor status of some stocks is also the result of other anthropogenic factors (such as climate change and pollution), which have to be addressed, fishing pressure on such stocks still needs to be limited. The Commission, together with scientists, is stepping up the work on fisheries ecosystems, with the aspiration of integrating those elements into fisheries management.
The proposal for a fishing opportunities regulation for the Mediterraneaen and the Black Sea will set out, for the implementation of the Western Mediterranean MAP in 2021, further efforts to achieve reductions in light of the MAP’s objective of achieving Fmsy in
14 Link to executive summaries: https://www.efca.europa.eu/en/content/pressroom/evaluation-suggests-
non-compliance-landing-obligations-certain-fisheries-north-sea.
15 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation
(EC) No 1224/2009, and amending Council Regulations (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1005/2008, and Regulation (EU) No 2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards fisheries control; COM/2018/368 final.
16 Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on
the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22).
the area by 2025 at the latest on the basis of the scientific advice available. The proposal will also include the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) measures already in force, including the ones adopted in 2019, such as the multiannual plan for demersal stocks in the Adriatic, as well as the Adriatic emergency measures for small pelagic species, measures for eels and TACs for turbot in the Black Sea, as well as the autonomous quota for sprat in that basin17.
3.2. Key steps towards setting the next fishing opportunities
The basis for the Commission's proposals for fishing opportunities will be ICES scientific catch advice, issued in several parts. The ICES will publish its catch advice in May and June and update some of that advice after the autumn surveys at sea. The large pelagic stocks receive advice in September. The Commission intends to cover as many stocks as possible in its initial proposals. The fishing opportunities proposals will continue to contain fishing opportunities in pro memoria for stocks managed with international partners, e.g. Norway, and where scientific advice arrives later in the year.
The transition period set out in the EU-United Kingdom withdrawal agreement expires at the end of 2020, unless extended. The stocks for which the Commission will need to consult with the UK, including with UK and Norway, on fishing opportunities for 2021 will also be presented as pro memoria, pending the timing and outcome of those consultations.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the delivery of scientific advice and the continuity in submitting data have already been affected, and this may result in differences in the timing and form of the advice, compared to earlier years.
The Commission invites Member States and stakeholders to consider the scientific advice as soon as it becomes publicly available18. Stakeholders will also have the opportunity to make recommendations on fishing opportunities through their respective advisory
councils and
Member States.
Taking into account these consultations, the Commission aims to adopt four proposals: for the Baltic Sea (August), for the Mediterranean and Black Seas (September), for the deep sea stocks in the northeast Atlantic (October) and for the Atlantic and North Sea (October)19. They will be discussed in separate Council meetings – the October Council for the Baltic Sea, the November Council for the deep-sea stocks and the Mediterranean and Black Sea, the December Council for the Atlantic and North Sea proposal20.
17 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 GFCM annual meeting is likely to be postponed until early
2021, which might require amending the regulation later in 2021.
18 ICES advice is available online at http://www.ices.dk/publications/library/Pages/default.aspx.
19 The timing of the Commission proposals could be subject to changes due to unforeseen impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic on scientific advice.
20 The timing of the Council meetings could be subject to changes due to unforeseen impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic on scientific advice.
3.3. Setting fishing opportunities for
different sea basins
Fishing opportunities for EU-only stocks in the Baltic, the North Sea and the Western Waters will be based on the relevant MAPs, which define Fmsy ranges of mortality and therefore offer a degree of flexibility under specific conditions. ICES is requested to give advice that makes it possible to assess the need for and possibility of using this flexibility. The upper range of Fmsy values can be used to propose TACs only for healthy stocks and only if scientific advice deems it necessary to achieve the MAP objectives in the case of mixed fisheries, in order to avoid serious harm to a stock caused by intra- or inter-species stock dynamics, or to limit high fluctuations between the years.
In the context of the full implementation of the landing obligation, the Commission intends to propose the fishing opportunities for the Baltic, Western Waters and the North Sea in accordance with ICES catch advice, while deducting the de minimis or high survivability allowances where appropriate.
To continue facilitating full implementation of the landing obligation, it is important to use all mitigation tools available, including any ICES advice on the mixed fisheries approach where appropriate. In this context, Member State progress with by-catch reduction measures will be evaluated by the Commission, while the relevant regional groups need to develop medium-term remedial measures for the vulnerable stocks.
For Fmsy-assessed stocks subject to consultations with non-EU countries, the Commission will aim for an agreement in line with the long-term management strategies or, in the absence of such strategies, the Fmsy advice. The EU should also continue to seek solutions to avoid overfishing of the pelagic stocks in the northeast Atlantic due to the lack of sharing arrangements among coastal states.
For stocks managed by regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs), including in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the Commission will propose fishing opportunities based on the decisions of RFMOs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be expected that in 2020 the agenda of many RFMO meetings will be limited to the most essential decisions only, due to the difficulties in organising meetings, including meetings of the scientific committees that will affect the scientific advice available for fisheries managers.
For the sustainable fisheries partnership agreements that the EU has with third countries, stocks are managed on the basis of specific scientific advice for mixed agreements. In the case of tuna agreements, available fishing opportunities and practices follow recommendations from RFMOs.
Under the Western Mediterranean MAP, for 2021 the Council shall set further effort reduction targets based on scientific advice, against the background of the MAP’s objective of achieving Fmsy by 2025 at the latest.
The current disruption in fishing activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to an under-utilisation of fishing quotas in many Member States. At the moment, it is not yet known how long the lockdown period will last and by how much quotas will be under-utilised. This can differ depending on the stocks targeted and on the fishing seasons. The Commission will very carefully monitor progress in fishing activity and how the Member States use the ‘inter-annual flexibility’ clause, which allows them to bank 10% of their unused 2020 quota and use it in 2021. Any further flexibility will be
assessed in the light of the existing legal framework and the common fisheries policy objectives as confirmed on the basis of the best available scientific advice.. In any case, it remains the Member States’ responsibility to ensure that all catches are charged against the available quotas and that the documentation of all fishing trips is detailed and accurate.
4. Conclusion
Healthy fish stocks continue to help boost the economic performance of the EU fleet, although the economic performance of the EU fleet in 2020 remains uncertain due to the combined effects of the COVID-19 health crisis.
Bringing stocks to sustainable levels, by managing them at maximum sustainable yield by 2020 and beyond and eliminating discards, is the primary objective of the common fisheries policy and remains a priority. Achieving this objective will also contribute to achieving good environmental status in European seas and to minimising the negative impact of fishing activities on marine ecosystems. It is equally important for the fisheries sector’s recovery. Despite significant improvements in the northeast Atlantic, challenges remain in all sea basins. Some stocks remain overfished and/or outside safe biological limits, and it is clear that more effort is needed in that respect.
The situation in the Mediterranean and Black Seas remains a cause for concern, and further concerted efforts are required. The Commission will work closely with all stakeholders to implement the Western Mediterranean MAP.
Sustainable fishing and more selective fishing techniques are constituent elements of a sustainable food system that offers value to producers and consumers, and they are essential requirements to meet if we want to protect and restore biodiversity in our natural environment to the benefit of future generations. The Commission’s biodiversity strategy and farm-to-fork strategy highlight the need for sustainable fisheries and lists concrete actions to be taken by the Commission to ensure that negative impacts of fishing activities on the marine ecosystem are minimised.
Meeting the sustainability objective of the common fisheries policy and its goal to reduce wasteful discards are part of that endeavour. Importantly, sustainable fisheries are the best way of protecting jobs and income in our fishing communities and helping them find a way out of the present crisis. The significant achievements of the common fisheries policy during the past decade show the direction to pursue in the future.
Member States, advisory councils, stakeholders and the public are invited to consider the policy orientations set out in this Communication and to provide feedback to the Commission by 31 August 2020.
PS
LANNED WORK CHEDULE21
22
| When | What |
| May/June/October | Stock advice from ICES |
| June-end August | Public consultation on the Communication |
| End August | Commission adoption of the fishing opportunities proposals for the Baltic Sea |
| Mid-September | Commission adoption of the fishing opportunities proposal for the Mediterranean and Black Seas |
| October | Council meeting on the fishing opportunities for the Baltic Sea Commission adoption of the fishing opportunities for the deep-sea stocks |
| End October | Commission adoption of the fishing opportunities proposal for the Atlantic/North Sea |
| November | Council meeting on the fishing opportunities proposal for the deep sea stocks Council meeting on the fishing opportunities proposal for the Mediterranean and Black Seas23 |
| December | Council meeting on the fishing opportunities proposal for the Atlantic/North Sea |
1 The timing of the Commission proposals might be subject to revisions due to unforeseen implications of
the COVID-19 pandemic on the availability of scientific advice.
2 For RFMO-managed stocks in EU waters and certain non-EU waters, fishing opportunities are adopted after the annual meeting of the RFMOs, through periodic revisions of the Council Regulation setting the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in EU waters and, for EU fishing vessels, in certain non-EU waters.
As the timing of the GFCM Annual Meeting is uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this date could also be subject to changes.