Common fisheries policy

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The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is a policy area of ​​the European Union . It is the task of politics to promote the fishing industry through various measures, but above all it sets catch quotas in relation to the various Member States and certain fish species.

The economic basis of the Common Fisheries Policy is the tragedy of the commons : fish stocks are a commons . Individuals acting rationally (fishermen) try to catch as much fish as possible as effectively as possible. In practice, with technical developments, this leads to a sharp decline in fish stocks and to overcapacities in the fishing fleet, since the effort to catch sufficient fish continues to grow and is carried out with declining stocks. The political basis was the expansion of national exclusive economic zones to the 200-mile zone , which began in the 1970swhich led to great tension within the European Community as many European fishermen were thus excluded from their traditional fishing areas.

Exclusive economic zone of the EU and dependent territories

In 2004, the budget of the common fisheries policy was 931 million euros, around 0.75% of the total EU budget. The common fisheries policy aims to create a balance between the fishermen of the different Member States and prevent overfishing of the seas. While the catch quotas serve to regulate the market and protect the environment, the payments are intended to compensate for the lower competitiveness of the recipient countries on the common market . In the meantime, the payments are also intended to subsidize environmentally friendly technologies. They are criticized at regular intervals both by scientists who fear overfishing and by the fishermen themselves.

The Amsterdam Treaty treats the common fisheries policy in exactly the same way as the common agricultural policy . The proposed European Constitution provides for the Common Fisheries Policy to be one of the few policy areas in which the EU is granted “exclusive powers”. Formally, it would thus be outside the jurisdiction of individual member states, even if the decision would continue to be made primarily in the Council of the European Union .

The ecological, social and economic importance of fishing

The fishing ship Kiel of the German Fishing Union

Although fishing accounts for less than 1% of the EU's gross national income , it does employ 260,000 fishermen (around 0.12% of the workforce) who work on around 97,000 vessels. They landed around 8 million tons of fish in 1995. In the same year the countries of the EU exported 1.6 million tons of fish while at the same time they imported 4.3 million tons.

In no region of the EU do more than 10% of employees work in fishing, but the strongholds of the fishing industry are often in structurally weak areas with few opportunities to find work. For this reason the EU has released funds to promote regional development.

In contrast to aquaculture, the fishing sector has been shrinking for several decades. For example, between 1990 and 1997, employment in fishing fell by 19% and in processing by 10% in the EU. That corresponded to a loss of around 60,000 jobs. The process is distributed differently; While in Denmark, for example, the shrinking process was even faster and was also clear in Spain, the numbers rose in Greece.

The CFP must react to changing market conditions. Supermarkets are the main buyers of fish these days and demand consistent and uniform deliveries. Sales of fresh fish have fallen in recent years, and the demand for processed fish and ready meals has steadily increased in recent years. 60% of the fish consumed in the EU comes from outside the Union, often from China. The competitiveness of the EU fishing industry is suffering from overcapacity in fishing equipment and a decline in fish stocks.

Fishing has a direct impact on fish stocks and seafood; It also affects other marine animals such as birds, marine mammals and turtles. Plants and animals living on the sea floor can be damaged by trawls that come into contact with the ground , sea birds and marine mammals are endangered by unwanted bycatch . Aquaculture in open systems causes an increased supply of nutrients and carries the risk that diseases spread from the cultivated organisms to wild fish stocks.

The fish stocks themselves are also endangered by other human activities: sewage discharged from land into the sea, nutrient input from agriculture, oil loss from ships, tourism, industrial activities and oil production. Seals and birds are also important predators in certain regions.

Brexit

In total, the EU's fishing fleets catch around 6 million tonnes of fish per year, of which around 3 million tonnes are from British waters . The UK's share of EU fishing is only 750,000 tonnes. The national proportions are determined by the London Fisheries Convention of 1964 and the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The British government announced in July 2017 that it would denounce the 1964 Convention with effect from 2019. The loss of access to UK waters would particularly affect the Irish fishing industry, which gets around a third of its catch from UK waters.

Ecological, social and economic importance of aquaculture

Example of aquaculture for the rearing of salmon off Vestmanna / Faroe Islands

Fish farms represent the fastest growing sector of world food production. In 1997 fish farms produced a third of world seafood production. In that year they produced 36 million tons worth 44 billion euros. States in the European Community only played a minor role in the world market, the main producing countries were China, Thailand, Indonesia and countries in South America such as Ecuador. The (old) EU accounted for only 3% of the volume or 4.3% of the value generated that year. Europeans are world market leaders only in a few species such as turbot , European eel , mussels and trout . Fish farms mainly breed trout, salmon , mussels and oysters , and for a number of years also saw bass , sea ​​bream and turbot.

A total of 85,000 people worked in aquaculture within the EU in 1995, producing one million tonnes of fish and seafood. The most important production countries in the EU are France (1997: 211 205 tonnes of fish, 387 million euros turnover, mainly oysters and trout), Italy (211 919 tonnes, 357 million euros turnover, mainly trout and mussels), Spain (233 693 Tons, € 211 million in sales, mainly mussels and trout) and the United Kingdom (128,525 tons, € 384 million in sales, mainly salmon grown in Scotland). During that time, Germany achieved sales of 59,069 tons of 99 million euros (mainly trout and carp), Austria of 4,274 tons of 12 million euros (almost exclusively trout). Most of the workers were employed in Spain (24,000), followed by 15,000 in France, 10,000 in Italy and just under 8,000 in Germany. In Austria, almost 800 people worked in aquaculture at that time. Within the EU, the methods and organizational forms of the farms are diverse: the only unifying factor across the continent is that the production figures have increased rapidly in the last decades, for example the salmon production quadrupled between 1988 and 1997, the trout production rose by almost 60% . At the same time, prices fell slightly.

The European Community has been funding inland fish farms since 1971, but the funding programs were gradually expanded in the following years. EU fish farm support programs are in principle similar to other industrial support programs, but pay special attention to technical and environmental problems that arise when large concentrations of fish occur in one place. The industry suffers from the fact that the demand is very variable. In the case of aquaculture close to the coast, there are also often conflicts with tourism. Both the health problems and the environmental problems are significant. In densely populated cultures, diseases can spread faster. If the cultures are connected to open waters or, like marine cultures, are located directly in the sea, there is a risk that the diseases will also spread to wild populations. The generous preventive treatment with medication carries the risk of developing resistance to the pathogens quickly.

Legal bases

Article 38 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union specifies that the European Union defines and implements a common agricultural and fisheries policy. The common fisheries policy is regulated by Regulation (EU) No. 1380/2013. Your goal is

  • bring the fish stocks to a sustainable level,
  • to end harmful practices and
  • create new opportunities for growth and jobs in coastal regions.

On the basis of Article 43 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2019/473 established the European Fisheries Control Agency .

Common fisheries policy mechanisms

The common fisheries policy currently consists of four components:

  • Regulation of the production, quality, assessment, packaging and labeling of seafood
  • Supporting production communities to protect fishermen from sudden market changes
  • The setting of minimum prices for fish and seafood and the purchase of unsold fish
  • Setting rules for trade with non-EU countries

Catch quotas

In the age of increasing industrialization of fishing, fish stocks suffer from overfishing if the catches are not controlled. The Common Fisheries Policy sets quotas (Total Allowable Catches - TACs) for the various fish species: each country receives a certain quota, which is made up of the total amount allowed and its traditional share of the total catch. There are special regulations that certain fish must first have reached a certain size (and thus a certain age), as well as special regulations with limited fishing. (For example the Shetland Box around the Shetlands )

This has created contradictions among the new Member States as the system was established before they joined and therefore they do not have a traditional share of the total. Even after the introduction of the common fisheries policy and the catch quotas, the stocks are still at risk. Bottom fish in particular are heavily overfished in Europe. The average numbers for sexually mature demersal fish were around 90% higher in the early 1970s than in the late 1990s. The decline is similar for landings. For some stocks, such as cod , there have been even more dramatic declines in mature fish. The situation for hake looks similarly bad .

The current situation in the Baltic Sea is unlikely to be sustainable in the long term. In the North Sea it was not possible to halt the decline in round fish stocks or, in the case of sole and plaice, to guarantee a safety margin in line with the precautionary principle, which would have improved the economic situation of these fisheries. Fishing mortality is increasing in western waters, often reaching or even exceeding the maximum levels previously observed in the North Sea. For the Mediterranean, the scientific data are less complete, but there is broad agreement that many important stocks are being overexploited.

The total amounts are set annually in December by the Council of Ministers. Long-term stipulations are explicitly provided for in the relevant guidelines, but are rarely applied. They are guided by the proposals of the European Commission and consult with their own scientific advisers. (Scientific, technical and economic committee for fishing.) The view of the EU fishing states and that of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) also flow . The time when the catch is set is a time of very intense lobbying. The specified quantities were repeatedly above the original recommendation. In addition, the scientific methods of determining the catches at which stocks are actually endangered or can recover are not yet fully developed. For many species there is still uncertainty about the existing stocks, so that the effects of fishing on them can hardly be estimated. Each Member State manages and monitors its own quotas; Within the EU, there are very different systems for distributing the total quota between the individual fisheries.

Controls and enforcement

Each ship is allocated an individual quota for the regulated fish species. Catches and landings must be recorded and the equipment used on board is regulated. Certain marine areas can be completely exempted from fishing in order to give the stocks a recovery time.

There is a minimum size for landed fish to protect young animals. In practice, this resulted in smaller fish being simply dumped dead into the sea as they could not be legally brought onto land. To circumvent this problem, the EU introduced minimum mesh sizes for nets to allow smaller fish to escape. However, this is still problematic because the adult animals of different fish species are of different sizes and so numerous unwanted bycatches can arise when hunting smaller fish and it forces the fishermen to use a separate net for each fish species to be caught. But especially when the fishermen take several nets with them at sea, it is almost impossible to control which fish are caught with which net. In addition, especially with declining fish stocks, the incentive to catch smaller fish increases significantly. Since the regulations are also different for each fishing area and the decision-making processes that led to the regulations are barely comprehensible to the fishermen, the internal acceptance and legitimacy of the regulations is not particularly pronounced.

The intended ban on discarding bycatch (an estimated 23 percent of the total catch) is intended to encourage fishermen to land all commercially used species they catch. Fish that are too small are then processed into fish feed (for aquaculture).

The enforcement of the common fisheries policy is the responsibility of the Member States. The implementation and methods of the controls as well as the sanctions in the event of any misconduct differ so greatly from country to country. At the community level, there is an inspection service that is supposed to ensure that the states enforce the regulations in their own country. Member States are obliged to ensure that ships from the respective country also comply with EU regulations when fishing outside EU waters. The common fisheries policy tries to harmonize the penalties that are imposed within different countries for breaking the rules.

Enforcing the Common Fisheries Policy includes managing quotas and implementing technical measures to conserve fish stocks. Inspectors can check the fishermen's equipment and check the quantities of fish caught to compare them with the quotas granted. The controls can be carried out in the harbor, at sea or with the help of aerial photography .

Likewise, inspectors can oversee fish processing factories to ensure that all fish is documented and can be traced back to its source. They control hygiene and process regulations in non-EU countries that export to the EU to ensure that there are controls at a similar level to those within the EU.

Structural policy and fishing industry on land

In 1977 the EC introduced a program to improve the economic situation of the domestic fishing industry. This includes filleting fish, salting, drying, smoking, cooking, freezing and canning: it should directly support the fishery. The Common Fisheries Policy should introduce new technologies in this area, improve hygiene conditions and also promote the conversion of fish factories into other industrial sectors. Through the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) and various national programs, the fishing industry receives a little over one billion euros annually, which is to be used for restructuring.

Fisheries were originally funded by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), and a separate fund for fisheries, the Financial Instrument for Fisheries (FIFG) , has existed since 1993 . From 1994 to 1999 the budget of the FIFG was 700 million ECU. In 2006, the FIFG was replaced by the European Fisheries Fund (EFF), which provides 3.8 billion euros for the financial period 2007-2013. Every subsidy from the EU must be supplemented by a minimum contribution from the respective state government; Companies are only funded if they provide adequate consideration. Different aid rates apply in different regions of the EU.

Each country receives a target mark for its fleet size. Budget funds are available to enable ships and their superstructures to be modernized. Financial support can be given to fishermen who give up their profession in order to reduce the overall excess capacity. Money is also available for advertising campaigns to promote fish that are currently in abundance or that are still largely unknown to the public. Funds are also available to help the fishing industry improve product quality and better manage the quotas. The long-term structural goals for the fish industry will continue to be set by the member states on a national basis.

Producer organizations

There are more than 160 producer organizations within the EU. These are voluntary associations of fishermen or fish farmers to market their products. Production communities must include a minimum proportion of fishermen in the sector, do not discriminate on the basis of nationality or origin within the EU and comply with other EU regulations. You have to deal with how to balance the amount of fish caught with demand. You can force non-members fishing in the same area to submit to the same constraints as members.

Production organizations have the right to withdraw products from the market if the prices fall below a minimum set by the Council of Ministers, and to be compensated for this by the community: the prices are staggered in such a way that the larger the quantities of fish concerned, the lower the prices are. The fish withdrawn from the market can be stored and later brought back to the market or processed into animal feed. Tuna fishermen are unaware of these mechanisms, but they are compensated directly if their income falls.

International Relations

EU fishermen lost numerous fishing rights when many countries expanded their international territorial waters in 1976. The EU has regained various fishing areas in negotiations in exchange for other trade rights. EU foreign trade is now regulated by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In addition to the EU in which the Baltic Sea , the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission in charge, in which the EU is a member.

In the Mediterranean , much of the fishery is confined to a 12-mile zone of territorial waters. The EU is a member of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna , which also makes recommendations in the Mediterranean. In 1994 it banned certain fishing methods for tuna, and in 1997 it also set targets for catches.

history

1970: First rules

Since 1964, the European coastal states claimed the twelve-mile zone as the exclusive national fishing waters. During this time the problem of overfishing began to become apparent. First mechanisms such as the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission; NEAFC) were established. They should enforce conservation measures such as minimum mesh sizes in fishing nets. However, since these were only of an advisory nature, the freerider problem arose: every state had an incentive not to follow the regulations in order to encourage its own fishermen, while the conservation of the stock was seriously endangered if only one or two states did not follow the suggestions held.

In 1971 the European Community introduced the first rules on fishing. The original goal was to create a free common internal market with common rules. According to Directive 2141/70, fishermen from every EC state should be allowed to fish in all EC waters with the exception of a narrow coastal strip, in which local fishermen should continue to have sole fishing rights. The EC formulated a program to enable the modernization of fishing boats and domestic facilities. At that time, the waters around Europe were still open waters. The EC fishermen were in competition with those from other nations, the policy of the EC was limited to giving its fishermen a better position in the market with the help of subsidies.

1977: Expansion of the fishing zone and coordinated action

Negotiations on a new fisheries policy started after Denmark , Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the European Community in 1973. The states were forced to adopt Directive 2141/70 as part of the acquis communautaire . British fishermen in particular complained that all EC fishermen would now be allowed to fish in the extremely fish-rich British coastal waters around the Shetlands and Orkneys .

From January 1, 1977, after negotiations by the UN Commission on the Law of the Sea, states were able to create an exclusive economic zone of 200 miles in which they had exclusive fishing rights. For the EC states this meant that they were excluded from the rich fishing grounds around Iceland, Norway or the Faroe Islands , just as large parts of the Baltic Sea were no longer accessible. The heads of state decided that it would make more sense to negotiate with these states together. Just as they wanted to close their own waters to non-EC countries. Germany and the United Kingdom in particular feared major losses; Ireland was the only EC state that did not have an ocean-going fleet .

In 1977, the EC countries expanded their fishing waters from a 12 to a 200 mile zone. By acting together, the EC states were now in a position to partially forbid other states from accessing their waters. However, this also had an impact on the previous fisheries policy, which had always only assumed a 12-mile zone in its guidelines and considerations. There was great tension within the EC. While the British fishermen suffered great losses due to the exclusion from northern European waters, they could gain little in the 200-mile zones of the other states, since almost all of the rich fishing grounds of the EC at that time were within the British 200-mile zone. Countries like France, on the other hand, threatened to ruin a large part of their fishermen if they were excluded from the British zone.

1983: The first common fisheries policy

In 1983, after lengthy negotiations, the foundations of a common fisheries policy were finally adopted. It had four areas of responsibility: conservation of fish stocks; Ships and land facilities; Market controls; Negotiations and contracts with nations outside the EC. The biggest innovation compared to the previous agreements was a stronger focus on the conservation of fish stocks, which was to be achieved in particular through catch quotas. Legislatively, it was reflected in the three directives 170/83 (conservation of fish stocks), 2908/83 (structural policy), and 2057/82 (control).

Directive 170/83 set out for the first time a formal way in which catch quotas were set by the EC. She attached importance to a “stable allocation”, which should also take into account the previous catch results of the member states in the future. Within the twelve-mile zone of each state there were special, more restrictive regulations for other fishermen. The guideline also stipulated the Shetland Box , in which foreign fishermen first had to obtain an extra license in order to enforce stricter protective regulations there than in other areas.

For the first time, structural policy also took an important place in fisheries policy with the help of the Multi Annual Guidance Program (MAGP). In it, benchmarks for the fishing fleet of the individual states were set which were below the previous fleet size. Since this should be supported by subsidies and support payments, it led to few conflicts within the states concerned.

Finally, control of the measures was placed in the hands of the member states. The Commission only had a secondary role in monitoring the measures. However, since it was unable to impose any sanctions even in the case of obvious violations of the guidelines, in this respect it was handed over to the toothless tiger and the willingness of the individual states to cooperate. Or as one scientist writes in retrospect:

the reason for which the Council was able to agree (on 2057/82) was because the regulation gave no effective
powers to the Commission. The political objective was to establish a system of control and enforcement without
conceding any competence to the Commission. That this means that the system would be largely, if not totally
ineffective, was almost certainly the objective of most states.

Review 1992

In 1992 the EC found that there were too many vessels, overfishing was occurring and at the same time the number of fish caught was falling as stocks were falling. The review made it clear that compliance with the regulations needed to get better. As a result, controls were tightened, and individual fishing vessels were also checked regularly. Another review for 2002 has been scheduled.

1995

Although the size of the fleet has meanwhile decreased, the fish stocks vary too much from year to year to guarantee the conservation of the stocks. That is why the Common Fisheries Policy introduced a permit system that stipulated where and when it was allowed to fish. Further scientific research was commissioned to better identify existing fish stocks and how the catch in particular places and times affects them.

Review 2002

In 2002 another reform of the Common Fisheries Policy came into force. In particular, under pressure from various environmental organizations, the new regulation 2371/2002, in view of the overfished stocks, excluded the use of public funds for the construction or modernization of fishing boats.

From 2009 on

The so-called "Green Paper" took stock in 2009: "Excessive subsidies, ineffective controls and insufficient political will would have led to overcapacities and dramatic overfishing."

Controversial purchase of fishing rights

Since 88 percent of the fish stocks (2010) in European waters are considered overexploited, fishing is switching to fishing rights with third countries. Trawlers from Lithuania fish off Morocco , Spanish fleets in the South Seas . 700 ships, that is just one percent of the fishing fleet for the EU, fish a fifth of the European catch worldwide; These are floating fish factories that can catch and process 200,000 kg of fish in one day.

The African state of Guinea-Bissau receives seven million euros annually for fishing rights from the EU fund. It is doubtful whether a “sustainable and responsible fisheries policy” can be established in this state as planned. An on-site inspection by EU politician Isabella Lövin revealed that the regional fisheries authority currently owns three boats to check compliance with the fish quotas. In her report she quotes Mussa Mané, Guinea-Bissau's fisheries minister, who admits that the EU funds unfortunately got stuck in the finance ministry because of the high national debt. "The local population does not benefit in any way from the EU agreements [...] Only for Europe they are good business" .

Brussels pays the state of Mauritania , one of the poorest in the world, 86 million euros a year for fishing rights, which is 15 percent of state revenue. The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation researched that the payments were higher than the amount the country received from the EU's development aid pot.

The agreement with Morocco is controversial because it includes the fish stocks of the Western Sahara annexed by Morocco . In a legal opinion by the European Parliament, fishing in the waters of Western Sahara was declared to be contrary to international law.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. CIA World Factbook: Economy - European Union (English)
  2. Why the fish on the plate often comes from China In: kurier.at, July 9, 2018, accessed on September 5, 2018.
  3. Main world producers (2007)
  4. Daniel Boffey: UK fishermen may not win back waters after United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum, EU memo Reveals . In: The Guardian , February 15, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017. "Source: House of Lords, NAFC Marine Center, University of the Highlands and Islands." 
  5. ^ Claire Milne: Is the EU 'pinching our fish'? . Full fact. June 21, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  6. Fishing announcement UK's 'first serious shot on Brexit' (en) . In: The Irish Times , July 3, 2017. 
  7. Mac Alister Elliott and Partners Ltd .: Forward Study of Community Aquaculture ( Memento of the original of September 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . (English, PDF). Prepared September 1999 for the Directorate for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs of the European Commission. The content of the study corresponds to the opinion of the author, not that of the Commission.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ec.europa.eu
  8. The Common Fisheries Policy of the EU
  9. Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 19, 2019 on the European Fisheries Control Agency , accessed on June 3, 2013
  10. Catch quotas and fishing agreements
  11. Frequently asked questions. Questions and answers on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ec.europa.eu
  12. M. Holden, 1996.
  13. Marlies Uken: Fishing off the coast of Africa: Europe is buying the seas empty , Spiegel online Wirtschaft, from "mare" No. 81, August 2010
  14. Marlies Uken: Fishing off Africa's coast: Europe is buying the seas empty. Excessive subsidies and ineffective controls , Spiegel online Wirtschaft, from "mare" No. 81, August 2010, (page 2)
  15. Marlies Uken: Fishing off the coast of Africa: Europe is buying the seas empty , Spiegel online Wirtschaft, from "mare" No. 81, August 2010
  16. Medico International: "Western Sahara: Predatory fishing by the EU" , May 17, 2012.

literature

  • Mike Holden, David Garrod: The Common Fisheries Policy - Origin, Evaluation and Future . Fishing News Books, Oxford 1996, ISBN 0-85238-242-1 .
  • Gerd Kraus / Ralf Döring, The Common Fisheries Policy of the EU: Benefits, Problems and Perspectives of Pan-European Resource Management , Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht (ZUR) 2013, 3 [1] (PDF; 280 kB)
  • Jürgen Weis / Christian Busse, The reform of the common fisheries policy - starting point, legislative proposals and state of negotiations , Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht (ZUR) 2013, 10
  • Till Markus / Markus Salomon: Under pressure: Marine environmental law requirements for the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) , Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht (ZUR) 2013, 19

Web links