Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-22-Speech-2-386"
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"en.20050222.21.2-386"2
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".
I thank Chairman Morillon and the Fisheries Committee for bringing this matter up for debate. It is fitting that we have an exchange of views in Plenary in advance of the opening of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, which is meeting on 7 March. I note that this issue has already been raised in the question submitted by Mrs Attwooll and Mr Davies on behalf of the ALDE Group, to which a written response has been provided, and that I have had the opportunity of replying to a recent letter from Mrs Attwooll in the same vein.
I would like to reiterate that I share your concerns on the severity of the by-catch problem and on the need to take action, both at Community and international level, to address it. There is already a considerable
on specific by-catch issues dealt with in various international agreements and other instruments, including standing international action plans. The Community contributes actively to the development and implementation of this
which particularly concerns species that are caught in the course of fishing operations, such as seabirds, sharks, marine mammals and sea turtles.
However, I agree with you that to reduce by-catch and discards of non-target species, there is considerable room for improved international co-operation, and the figures mentioned illustrate the magnitude of the problem and the urgency with which the matter should be considered.
Within the scope of its powers, the Community is already taking action under the common fisheries policy on a number of fronts. Specific measures were reported in the Commission’s reply to the written question submitted by Mr Davies in November 2003 on the by-catch associated with shrimp fisheries. These include: the Action Plan on discards; financial incentives for the use of selective fishing gear under Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999; a specific three-year research project under the 6th Framework Programme to develop low-impact, species-selective fishing gears, and to formulate alternative fishing tactics; the setting of by-catch quotas in bilateral fisheries partnership agreements; the obligations to monitor discards for specific stocks set forth in the Data Collection Regulation. Regular efforts are also made to integrate by-catch reduction measures in Community regulations establishing fishing limits through TACs, effort limitations and technical measures.
The Commission is thus convinced of the need to promote a global, comprehensive strategy to deal with the problems posed by by-catch and discards, since such an analysis lies at the core of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. It is important that an internationally agreed set of principles is established that should not only build on the existing international
but go on to integrate and further develop the ecosystem approach in worldwide fisheries management.
Therefore, the Commission is ready to support the development of an international action plan on by-catch and will seek Member States' agreement to convey this position to the FAO and its members during the forthcoming Committee on Fisheries (COFI) meeting, in particular at the time that COFI’s work programme in the short and medium term is discussed.
The Commission would be prepared to take the lead in the formulation and development of such an initiative if the necessary extra resources required to tackle such a work-intensive task can be made available to it."@en1
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