Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-02-14-Speech-3-426"
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"en.20070214.26.3-426"2
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".
I too would like to congratulate Mrs Aubert on her report. Large-scale illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has significantly contributed to the difficulties with which the fisheries sector has to contend. Large-scale illegal fishing damages marine ecosystems, increases the cost of fishing, and reduces the incomes of people who fish legally and who comply with the rules on preserving fisheries resources.
Large-scale illegal fishing, as the report says, undermines the incomes of communities who depend on fishing in different countries, and those least equipped to monitor their exclusive economic zones are the hardest hit. Large-scale illegal fishing also contributes to the deterioration of on-board working conditions and hygiene, and undermines the labour rights of crews. Accordingly, we feel that illegal fishing, which generates significant illicit profits for large-scale fleets working for the large economic and financial groups involved in fishing and even for organised crime networks, should not be confused with infringements of the common fisheries policy by parts of the small-scale traditional fleet, often committed because of the economic crisis that they face.
It is worrying that, despite the 2002 Food and Agriculture Organisation plan, which was rapidly transposed into the Community acquis and then implemented, large-scale illegal fishing continues to increase owing to loopholes or imprecision in the existing rules. The fight against large-scale illegal fishing is hampered by the use of flags of convenience, by the lack of monitoring at sea, by transhipping on the high seas, by the lack of control at ports and by the lack of cooperation and coordination between the relevant authorities.
Given that illegal fishing has its biggest impact on those parts of the fleet operating on the high seas and on the continental shelf, especially in the least developed countries, cooperation among the Member States and among international fishing organisations is vital if this kind of fishing is to be combated. To this end the necessary resources must be obtained, including financial resources for implementing the measures needed, such as the effective monitoring of fishing activities. The strengthening of deterrents should be accompanied by enhanced traceability of fisheries products, as has been highlighted by previous speakers, with eco-labelling also worth mentioning in this regard. Equally important, as the report states, is to intensify port state control of landings and transhipments from third country vessels. We believe that the existing measures already cover the main issues and that what they lack is more rigorous and fairer implementation and greater international-level coordination. This is not, therefore, simply a matter of creating more measures and more restrictive measures for the fisheries sector, especially if their impact or their unilateral nature has the perverse effect of benefiting the vessels operating illegally to an even greater extent.
Third country vessels operating in the exclusive economic zones of the Member States must be subject to the rules of the common fisheries policy and to existing national requirements. Naturally, it is always possible to improve the rules in force and to plug any gaps. In this regard, we feel that this report, which in spite of one or two reservations we generally support, makes a valuable contribution to the issue. We feel, however, that it is, at the very least, premature to include combating illegal fishing in the framework of a future maritime policy for the Union, which we have only just begun to debate as part of the Green Paper put forward by the Commission. We accept the idea of greater international and EU-level cooperation and coordination, but we must avoid situations that may lead to centralisation and must safeguard the Member States’ exclusive monitoring powers, as it is the Member States that best know each of their exclusive economic zones."@en1
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