Regulation (EU) 2019/1022 establishing a multiannual plan for the fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea

What it is

to establish a multiannual plan for fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea. PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. BACKGROUND: the western Mediterranean is one of the most developed sub-regions in terms of fisheries in the Mediterranean. It accounts for around 31 % of its total landing (EUR 1.35 billion out of a total of EUR 4.76 billion) and around 19 % of the officially reported Mediterranean fishing fleet. Demersal fisheries are highly sought after by fishermen due to their high commercial value. Demersal fisheries in the Mediterranean are highly complex and involve many species of fish and crustaceans . The main demersal species caught in the western Mediterranean are hake, red mullet, giant red shrimp, deep-water rose shrimp, blue and red shrimp and Norway lobster. The Committee on Fisheries adopted the report by Clara Eugenia AGUILERA GARCÍA (S&D, ES) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a multi-annual plan for the fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea. The committee recommended that the position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading in the framework of the ordinary legislative procedure amend the Commission proposal as follows. The objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy are, amongst others: - to ensure exploitation of marine living biological resources that provide long-term sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions; - to contribute to (i) supplying the Union market with food of high nutritional value; (iii) reducing the Union market's dependence on food imports; (iii) encouraging the creation of employment and economic development in coastal areas, and (iv) ensuring a fair standard of living for the fisheries sector, including the artisanal and small-scale fisheries sector. The plan should contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the CFP, and in particular restoring and maintaining fish stocks above levels of biomass capable of producing maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for the target stocks, ensuring a fair standard of living for those who depend on fishing activities, bearing in mind coastal fisheries and socio-economic aspects. The maximum sustainable yield exploitation rates shall be achieved as soon as possible and on a progressive, incremental basis by 2020 for all stocks to which the Regulation applies, and maintained thereafter. - be based on a fishing effort management regime aimed at contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the CFP; - implement the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management to ensure that the negative impacts of fishing activities on the marine ecosystem and, in particular, on vulnerable habitats and protected species are minimised. Members took the view that the Commission's proposal to establish fishing closure for trawls operating below the 100 m isobath from 1 May to 31 July could, in certain cases, constitute a disproportionate and unjustified measure, if it is not based on scientific evidence. They believed that the plan provided for should establish a closure for trawls operating…

Frequently asked

In scope for these industries