WWF will tell MEPs in a presentation to the petitions committee today that they need to end overfishing and save Europe’s seas and fishing industry from decline.
The organisation says that given that 75% of assessed EU fish stocks are overexploited and the EU is losing approximately €3 billion per year in potential income from a failure to manage fisheries sustainably, the time is now for the European Parliament to ensure that the on-going reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) turns Europe’s fisheries management around.
The European Commission proposal was sent to the European Parliament for review and adoption last summer and will be intensely debated in the coming months. WWF’s EU wide 'More Fish' Petition, which is nearing 100,000 signatures, will be handed over in September ahead of an important plenary vote on the CFP reform (currently scheduled for 12 September 2012). The ‘More Fish’ Petition asks the President and Members of the European Parliament to:
- Stop the top-down and short-term management by ensuring fisheries are managed regionally, under long-term plans that result in the recovery of marine ecosystems and fish stocks
- Stop the waste by implementing a coherent set of rules so that fishermen only catch what's needed when it's needed
- Stop overfishing overseas by applying the same principles to all European boats wherever they operate in the world
Anouk Delafortrie from WWF’s European Policy Office said: “Our goal is to have 500,000 citizens sign up by September and show MEPs that their constituents care about sustainable fisheries and hold them responsible for achieving this. If MEPs vote for the status quo we will fail to save Europe’s seas, fishing communities and fishing industry. But by demonstrating leadership in shaping a new and ambitious CFP they can ensure the recovery of fish stocks. And more fish if managed sustainably will lead to higher profits and better jobs.”
