EU vote to curtail fishing subsidies for new fishing boats

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/23/eu-vote-curtail-fishing-subsidies

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Subsidies for fishing vessels in Europe are to be tightly curtailed, reining in member states' extensive fishing fleets, after a decisive vote in the EU parliament on Wednesday .

Grants for new boats, ostensibly to modernise equipment and make it more efficient and environmentally friendly, have been used as a sweetener to thousands of fishermen affected by restrictions on catches under the EU's common fisheries policy (CFP). But the policy was regarded by green groups as open to abuse and counter-productive, as swelling the existing fleets with new and more powerful vessels contributes to over-fishing.

Fleet renewal funding, giving fishermen grants for better boats, was phased out in 2002. But fishing interests, who were stung by the success of reforms this year to the CFP that will eventually see them lose days at sea and forced to land all of their catch instead of just the most lucrative specimens, fought strongly for the vessel subsidies to be reinstated. That proposal was defeated by 427 to 204 votes in the European Parliament on Wednesday .

MEPs have voted for the overall funds available to compensate fishermen to be capped and ruled out most of the allowances for new and upgraded vessels, with a few exceptions, which should ensure that Europe's fleet declines in overall fishing capacity. Fishermen will also be subject to strict limits on their catch, and a ban on the wasteful practice of discarding edible fish at sea will come into force gradually over the next few years. The measures agreed by the MEPs will be subject to negotiation among member states before they can come into force.

Maria Damanaki, the EU's fisheries commissioner, said: "I welcome the decision to reject spending EU taxpayers' money on building new fishing vessels and to cap the amount of funds member states can spend on fishing fleets. This will allow the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund to focus on projects that promote a sustainable future for the fishing industry and coastal communities."

Chris Davies, the UK Lib Dem MEP, said: "We still have too many boats chasing too few fish, so to use public money to pay for building new boats would only make the problem worse. Grants of this kind were scrapped a decade ago, when 90% of the money was going to France, Spain and Portugal. To have reinstated them would have been a massive step backwards."

The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, used to help fleets adjust to the cuts in allowable catches, is expected to be worth €6.5bn cumulatively between 2014 and 2020. Following the vote, more of the money will be spent on helping fishermen take boats out of service instead of renewing them. There will also be new measures to monitor fishing more closely.

Green groups extended a "cautious welcome" to the move. Saskia Richartz, EU fisheries policy director at Greenpeace, said: "Europeans want to see healthy seas and an end to overfishing, not perverse subsidies that undermine these goals by keeping an oversized fleet afloat. The parliament has put its weight behind positive initiatives, calling for more research on stock recovery measures and the monitoring of fishing vessels. This can help make sustainable EU fisheries a reality, as long as governments follow the direction that parliament has set."

But there was controversy over details of the measures, as Green MEPs claimed that loopholes would allow abuses of the common fisheries policy to continue. For instance, there will still be subsidies available for replacing engines, and more selective gear, as well as grants for young fishermen early in their careers to buy vessels, and many fishermen will be paid to stop fishing on a temporary basis rather than retiring their nets for good.

Markus Knigge, policy adviser to the Ocean2012 coalition of NGOs, said some of the measures would "hinder effective implementation of an ambitious CFP". But he said the vote would put a spotlight on good data collection and monitoring, which will be essential to police the CFP reforms.

The Greens in the EU parliament were less sanguine, and pledged to fight the loopholes in the next stages before they are adopted. Raul Romeva I Rueda, spokesman for the grouping, said: "The fund has limited resources, and it is essential to ensure that these public funds are spent efficiently. Taxpayers' money should only support activities that increase the sustainability of fisheries and prioritise the recovery of depleted fish stocks, so as to ensure that coastal fishing communities have a future."

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