EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius say the EU wants to establish a “pact for fisheries and oceans” to ensure sustainable fisheries, protect and restore marine ecosystems and strengthen long-term food security.
The Commissioner was commenting as the European Commission published four action plans relating to biodiversity and climate breakdown in the marine environment.
Phasing out bottom trawling, extending marine protected areas and reducing reliance on fossil fuel are main themes of the four plans, arising from the European “Green Deal”.
The four plans are:
a Communication on the Energy Transition of the EU Fisheries and Aquaculture sector;
an Action Plan to protect and restore marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries;
a Communication on the common fisheries policy today and tomorrow and
a Report on the Common Market Organisation for fishery and aquaculture products.
The EU said the main objectives of the measures are “to promote the use of cleaner energy sources and reduce dependency on fossil fuels as well as reduce the sector’s impact on marine ecosystems”.
“The proposed actions will be carried out gradually to help the sector adapt,”it said.
“ A “Pact for Fisheries and Oceans” will also support the full implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in coordination with member states and fisheries stakeholders, including fishers, producer organisations, regional advisory councils, civil society and scientists,”the Commission said.
“The proposals also have at its heart making the sector an attractive job place for the younger generations,”it said.
The proposed “pact” aims “to ensure sustainable and resilient fisheries, protect and restore our marine ecosystems, make the sector profitable and strengthen our food security in the long-term”, the Commissioner said.
“We are proposing concrete actions to restore marine ecosystems and to reduce the impact of fishing activities on the marine environment, thus responding also to the commitments the EU made in the historic agreement reached at COP15 in Montreal on a new global biodiversity framework,”he said.
“ We are also promoting an energy transition to help the sector adapt its vessels and equipment, improve working conditions and move towards renewable, low-carbon energy sources,”he said.
“ We know this is a challenging task. For this reason, the transformation will be gradual and we will promote dialogue between all communities to lay the foundation for a resilient fisheries and aquaculture sector,” he said.
The Commissioner gave a press conference which can be viewed here https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-237641.
More information is also provided by the European Commission on the following links:
Q&A on the Communication on the functioning of the common fisheries policy
Q&A on the energy transition in the EU fisheries and aquaculture sector
Q&A on the Report on the results of Common Market Organisation for fishery and aquaculture products