A group of deep-sea fishing professionals have presented a set of key recommendations to policy makers, which aim to achieve sustainable fisheries management in the North-East Atlantic.
The group says that the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation on deep-sea fishing in the North-East Atlantic - COM (2012) 371- fails to meet its objectives to improve the management of most vulnerable deep sea species and ecosystems.
The recommendations include: strengthening EU measures to protect habitats by harmonising them with measures in force in other jurisdictions; increase cooperation between the industry and scientists; and create a level playing field for deep-sea fishing so that EU vessels are not at an economic competitive disadvantage compared to third-countries.
The group has also proposed that three categories of NEAFC measures, which aim to protect habitats, should be incorporated into the EU legislative framework:
- Measures to “freeze the footprint” of deep-sea fishing activities, meaning maintaining the zones where fishing activities occurred in the past (without prior impact assessment) but not expanding to other zones without preliminary impact assessment and the establishment of a specific fishing protocol and control measures
- Measures to protect specific zones where vulnerable marine habitats exist – inside these specific zones, bans on bottom gears should be implemented
- “Move-on rules” if a vessel encounters signs of the existence of VME (corals, sponges) above a certain threshold during a fishing operation, fishing activities can be temporarily banned in said zone until further evaluation of its VME status has been conducted
A spokesman for Euopean deep-sea fishing professional said that the group agrees with the objectives of the Commission’s initiative, but disagrees with the approach the EC is taking.
“Banning the use of deep-sea trawls and gillnets is a disproportionate and ill conceived approach that will bring the sector to its knees. The international norms currently implemented in North-Atlantic waters are far better suited to the development of a modern, environment-friendly European deep-sea fishing sector," the spokesman said.
