Yeserday, at the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels, Commissioner Maria Damanaki participated in a roundtable discussion with WWF/Industry Alliance for CFP reform.
This alliance of industrialists and conservationists was formed to lobby for a real reform of the European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
During the discussion, Commissioner Damanaki said, "I am well aware that European citizens want better access to more sustainable fish through a reformed Fisheries Policy", said Commissioner Damanaki. "The European Commission is currently working on a proposal for a changed policy which will hopefully meet these demands."
For the new policy, the Commissioner wants to make sustainable fishing the prime, underpinning objective.
The policy must be based on long-term planning as the best way to reach and maintain healthy fish stocks at a level which would allow fishermen to fish as much as possible while still having healthy stocks. The wasteful practice of discards must be done away with. Decision-making needs to be simplified and decentralised without top-down micro-management from Brussels. Member states and the fishing industry need to be empowered and better involved. To achieve these goals, behaviours and mindsets will need to change.
