Franz Fischler, European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, today [Tuesday] called for international commitment to reform the fisheries sector in order to give it the best chance for survival.
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Fischler told representatives of the French fishing sector in Paris: “Contrary to what has been widely reported, we are not proposing to scrap any given number of vessels or to destroy thousands of jobs in the fisheries sector. 8,000 fishermen’s jobs are already being lost every year and yet crews cannot be found to man fishing vessels because the sector is in decline. What we propose to do is to secure the future of our fisheries by tackling overcapacity and overfishing, which are at the root of the sector’s decline and to provide financial help to those who are leaving the sector. In France, fishing makes a valuable contribution to the economy and life of coastal areas from the Channel to the Mediterranean. Courageous decisions must be taken to reform the Common Fisheries Policy for the sake of these areas. You must play your part in ensuring that they are taken by participating fully in the reform process. If we falter, the sector will simply be left to cope on its own with its inexorable decline.”
The European Commission presented its first set of proposals for the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy on 28 May 2002. More proposals will shortly follow.
Recalling that the French catching sector alone had lost 5,300 jobs a quarter of all French fishermen’s jobs between 1990 and 1998, Fischler said that social responsibility demanded effective action. The extensive public debate that followed the publication of the Commission Green paper on the reform of the CFP last year had shown, in France as in the rest of the EU, a consensus on the severe problems dogging the sector and the need for root and branch change. Fischler went on, “While pretending otherwise and doing nothing is an attractive option because it would make for an easier life, this is not the path that the Commission has taken”.
For further reports on Fischler’s speech, click here.
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