Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-27-Speech-3-302"
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"en.20060927.24.3-302"2
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".
Madam President, I should first like to thank all the members of the Committee on Fisheries who made this report on improving the economic situation in the fishing industry possible. The report was adopted unanimously. I also wish to thank all of the organisations in the sector, who, by staunchly protecting fisheries and the workers in the sector, have helped the report to include a range of proposals that we feel address the serious social and economic crisis facing the sector.
We hope that Parliament will support that result in tomorrow’s vote. Just a few days ago, at a meeting with a delegation from the Committee on Fisheries in the Algarve, representatives from the sector gave a description of the situation, which can be summed up as follows: the fishing industry is facing a serious economic and social crisis that has been getting worse over the years. This difficult situation has been exacerbated by rising production costs, in particular the cost of fuel, along with the stagnation of first-sale prices, all of which threatens the financial viability of many firms and has had a terrible impact on crews, whose wages depend on income from catches and, to a large extent, on the cost of fuel.
The common fisheries policy has fallen short, by promoting the regular, significant scrapping of vessels, resulting in thousands of fishermen leaving a sector that is of strategic importance to some Member States. What is needed is to reverse the common fisheries policy pursued to date, in that it should acknowledge the particular characteristics of each country’s fishing industry and the right to fish sustainably while allowing fish stocks to recover. The policy should be aimed at feeding the people, full employment, improving the social conditions of the workers, and ensuring the sustainability of companies.
The sector will move forward if practical measures are put in place: emergency measures to address the sharp rises in fuel prices, such as the creation of the guarantee fund, direct temporary support to offset the cost of diesel fuel and petrol, and an increase in aid under the
rule.
There should also be a range of measures to guarantee the income of those working in the sector, for example in the setting of first-sale prices, which entails a review of the current rules of the common organisation of the market in fishery products. Studies should be carried out aimed at identifying measures to increase the value of fish, with a view to channelling the added value into the manufacturing sector without the consumer being penalised. Support should be provided for modernising and renewing national fishing fleets, which would mean a definitive end to the policy of the indiscriminate scrapping of vessels. There also needs to be a targeted support programme for traditional, small-scale inshore fishing. These were the measures proposed by the sector at its meeting with Parliament.
Although it has described the situation in the industry as serious, the Commission has proposed measures that fall well short of addressing it. The difficulties currently facing the fishing sector are rooted mainly in the problem of the cost structure, as costs are high in relation to the income obtained. These costs have suddenly been exacerbated by the steep rise in the cost of fuel, which is why the proposed solution of reducing fishing effort and adapting – in other words, cutting – the fleet will not solve the problem. What is needed is to improve the economic situation in the sector, which above all means addressing the problem of the balance between falling incomes and rising operational costs in the sector.
Similarly, given that successive restrictions on fishing have served to worsen the economic situation in the sector, albeit this is not the only factor, it is difficult to understand why they would be even considered, let alone accepted, as measures to improve the economic situation in the sector. As the sector itself has highlighted, extraordinary situations demand extraordinary measures, and that means exhausting all possibilities and stretching the financial limits of the Community budget this year, not least because what is at stake is a common Community policy, the common fisheries policy, which, to be consistent, should be responsible for funding its own costs, within the framework of the European Fisheries Fund.
I shall finish by stating once again that the fisheries sector has potential and a future and it should not be pitted against aquaculture. New priorities demand more resources and new resources."@en1
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