Members of the European fishing industry, represented by Europêche, have met the newly elected Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries to discuss the challenges faced by the sector.
During the talks Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius praised the efforts made by the EU to recover fish stocks in the North East Atlantic and reiterated his commitment to seek balance between the three pillars of sustainability – social, economic and environmental.
Daniel Voces, managing director of Europêche, felt the talks were open and constructive. "I am very pleased that Commissioner Sinkevičius is actively engaging with the fishing sector and has shown a great willingness to continue collaborating in the future," he said. "An open dialogue is paramount to design workable policies and rules."
The sector requested that the EC attempts to mitigate cuts to quotas when the Council of Fisheries Ministers meets soon to decide numbers for 2020. Europêche reminded the Commissioner that many people depend on the fishing industry and in response he committed to prioritise negotiations to deliver a new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2021 – 2027.
Mr Sinkevičius reassured industry representatives that the EC is prepared for any Brexit scenario and stated that he will focus part of his mandate on both implementing the Common Fisheries Policy and addressing issues not sufficiently covered such as climate change and social affairs.
As part of an environmental portfolio, the Commission intends to extend the coverage of marine protected areas and proposes a 'Sea to Plate' strategy of sustainability that Europêche fully endorses.
