The Secretary General of the Spanish Fisheries Confederation (Cepesca), Javier Garat, has been re- elected as President of the European Fisheries Association, Europêche. The election was unanimously agreed upon by the members of Europêche during the General Assembly held in Brussels.
The Dutch representative, Gerard van Balsfoort, President of the Pelagic Freezer-Trawlers Association (PFA), and the French delegate, Marc Ghiglia, Chief Executive of the United Fishing-Vessel Owners’ Organisation of France (UAPF) have also been re-elected as vice- presidents.
Europêche, the leading trade body representing the fishing industry in Europe, continues to rely on the expertise of the managing team to contribute positively and to address the many challenges ahead faced by the European fishing sector.
The board of Europêche will remain at the head of the organisation for the next two years, which aims to defend the interests of fishermen and fishing-vessel owners before the European institutions.
"I am grateful for the trust that the members of Europêche have placed in me and, above all, for the recognition of the work done in recent years in defence of a sustainable fishing activity, both from an environmental and a socio-economic perspective,” Javier Garat said.
“Fortunately, I have a great team in Europêche led by Daniel Voces, managing director of the organisation. The European fishing fleet has made in recent years remarkable efforts and investments to comply with the demands of European and international policies to champion progress towards sustainable and responsible fisheries. It is essential that Europe and international organisations, especially the RFMOs, jointly push for all fleets to achieve the highest levels of sustainability in all its dimensions."
Throughout the next biennium and as agreed in the Assembly, Europêche will mantain among its priorities the continuation of improving fish stocks, facilitation of compliance with the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and intensification of collaboration with the scientific community to continue advances in the application of fisheries management with an ecosystem approach.
Europêche pledges to continue to work on the practical application of the discard ban, on the adoption of reasonable quotas based on scientific recommendations and on the best possible way forward for the proposed regulations on multiannual management plans, including the Mediterranean, the revision of the Fisheries Control System and Technical Measures, and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The fisheries body will also include among its priorities those related to the external dimension of the CFP, particularly the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs) with third countries and the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs).
Safeguarding the interests of the European fisheries sector under the current climate of uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the Landing Obligation and Brexit is also a primary objective for Europêche, which will maintain its commitment to fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and to the promotion of good governance of the oceans on an international scale.
