A letter signed by 200 scientists has been sent to the European Parliament, urging it not to invest in the subsidies voted for by the Fisheries Committee.
This letter has been sent before the Parliament votes on the new financial mechanism for fisheries for the next seven years - the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The vote will take place on 23 October.
The scientists are calling for public money to be spent for the public benefit, by investing in data collection, scientific research, stock assessments and control of compliance with management rules. In July, the Fisheries Committee voted to reintroduce subsidies to build new boats, even though these subsidies have been prohibited for over a decade because they increased the capacity of the fleet and incentivised overfishing, says environmental organisation Oceana.
“Parliament members have the responsibility to represent the interest of the majority of the citizens, not a minority of fishing operators. They must undo the misguided decision of the Fisheries Committee vote to maintain harmful subsidies, and instead choose to invest in rebuilding fish stocks,” said Vanya Vulperhorst, subsidies policy advisor at Oceana.
