The European Parliament Fisheries Committee approved a technical amendment to the CMO of fisheries and aquaculture products yesterday (3 October). It also gave its opinion on the 2007 budget, as well as amending a Commission proposal for a regulation of alien species in aquaculture.
Due to the introduction of the new European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), the around 15 million euro budget (for aid to producers' organizations, compensation for withdrawal, carry-over aid and support for private storage) will now be managed centrally by DG Fisheries of the Commission, no longer in co-management with Member States. Members of the Committee on Fisheries gave their approval to this change without amendment.
On the budget, the Committee's opinion "broadly welcomes the proposals for the Fisheries Budget in 2007, despite the fact that the resources decided upon under the Financial Perspective for 2007-2013 are insufficient to meet the needs of the fisheries sector at a time of continued crisis in the fishing industry."
Finally, the Committee approved a Commission proposal for a regulation concerning use of alien and locally absent species in aquaculture. Members of the Committee welcomed the proposal, but insisted for differential treatment for those alien species that have long been used in aquaculture with minimal environmental risk. They therefore suggested that any species used "for more than 30 years and for which escape to the wild has been proven not to represent an environmental hazard" should be exempt from the regulation.
