Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-27-Speech-3-339"
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"en.20060927.26.3-339"2
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".
Mr President, I would like to thank Mrs Miguélez Ramos and the Fisheries Committee for the opinion on the Commission report on the operation of the so-called Shark Finning Regulation. I am pleased to note that the rapporteur praises the clarity and conciseness of the Commission’s report and shares the view that this regulation is achieving its objective. Let me assure you that the Commission is committed to monitoring the application of this regulation to ensure its proper implementation, including of Member States’ obligations regarding control and reporting.
Parliament’s necessary full involvement in a proposal for a plan of action will also provide another opportunity for Parliament to be informed about and to play a role in developments on shark finning matters. The Commission will continue to monitor the situation. You can rest assured that I am always ready to act and to present all supporting evidence if new information becomes available indicating significant changes in the situation. I am committed to advances in the area of shark conservation and other aspects of marine biodiversity, and will inform you in due time of the progress made.
The Commission will also continue to promote the prohibition of shark finning in international forums. In addition, the Commission will continue in its endeavours towards the adoption of measures based on scientific information and other considerations within Regional Fisheries Management Organisations.
I would also recall that the prohibition of shark finning practices is not the only way to ensure a sustainable fishery for these species. A more comprehensive set of management measures is required. We have already taken some measures in this respect. I refer, in particular, to special efforts to improve scientific knowledge and data collection, to establish catch or effort limits for certain species, including deep-sea species, to prohibit drift nets that may catch some large pelagic sharks and to control and limit fishing capacity.
As rightly pointed out in Parliament’s motion for a resolution, the Commission has identified numerous actions to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010 and beyond, including Community plans of action for sharks and sea birds.
My department is currently looking into the request for the presentation of a Community plan of action by mid-2007. While it is too early to have a clear overview of the detailed work programme for 2007, it is clear that a formal, complete and detailed plan of action requires a comprehensive assessment of the situation and of the possible measures, together with an early consultation of all interested parties, which will take time and resources. The desired timeframe seems rather too ambitious, and setting too short a timeframe for preparation and consultation could even be counterproductive. I would prefer to be less prescriptive in terms of deadlines. However, I can assure honourable Members that my department will undertake to complete the plan of action at the earliest possible date.
Returning to the report’s core concerns, I have taken good note of the proposed calls for the Commission to present amendments to the Shark Finning Regulation, especially with a view to reviewing the 5% fin weight versus live body weight ratio on the basis of a species-dependent approach, and to revise the possibilities for separate landings of fins and carcasses, as well as to report again on the operation of this regulation within two years.
When deciding on this regulation, the Council did not consider it appropriate to adopt a species-specific approach regarding the fin to body weight ratio. I think the reasons mentioned in the debate then are still valid now. A single 5% fin to live body weight ratio applicable to the whole shark-catch of a vessel is a realistic, feasible, controllable, simple and proportionate method of preventing shark finning practices from spreading. The Commission’s report also confirms this.
I am not, therefore, of the opinion that amendments to the regulation should be proposed at this stage. Firstly, because the regulation was only recently adopted and is working well overall. Secondly, because the Commission believes it would be unwieldy to start revising the fin to body weight ratio or introducing some species-specific approach to the Shark Finning Regulation without new measures to ensure sustainable shark fishing.
The much broader exercise of preparing a Community plan of action for sharks will necessarily include a reassessment of developments under the Shark Finning Regulation and its possible need for review, especially on the basis of the national annual reports, which are available for all those interested. It is at this point, therefore, that we will be able to consider once more the situation with respect to body-fin ratio and make any recommendations accordingly."@en1
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