European fisheries sector organisation, Europêche, says that economic disruption caused by the Russian ban on EU seafood products is being made worse by the lack of action by the European Commission.
The Russian Federation imposed a year-long ban on imports (or at least until the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia are lifted) from the EU at the beginning of August.
Europêche said that the ban is currently causing economic problems to the fishing sector which is still reeling from the radical changes introduced by the recent overhaul of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
Javier Garat, president, Europêche, said: “It is shocking that not only has the Commissioner proposed no action to address the impact of such economic uncertainty on the industry, but also that absolutely no reaction has been made at all."
"The ban is causing serious financial losses to the sector at a time when we are already facing a vast swathe of new regulations from Brussels. At this challenging time, our fishermen feel frustrated and need clarity on what is being done to address the impact of the ban.”
In a joint letter (signed by Europêche, Copa-Cogeca, EAPO, FEAP, EMPA) addressed to Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner responsible for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the EU fishing and aquaculture industries have called for a Task Force to be created to support the appropriate management of the issue.
The organisations want the task force to work with stakeholders to analyse the impacts of the ban and to identify new potential markets which would alleviate the concerns and consequences to fishermen.
