FISHING COMMUNITIES SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

Fishing communities should be involved in fisheries management. The European Commission should provide adequate funding for fisheries co-management and involve the fishing community more closely in the decision-making process, say MEPs.

MEPs on the Fisheries Committee note that, in general, fisheries are managed through a state-centred approach, which is focused on large-scale fisheries but not valid for small-scale fisheries. On the other hand there are examples of successful co-management at local and state level and MEPs want to pave the way for a smoother implementation of this management model.

For that, the text underlines the need for EU legislation to apply this decision-making model more broadly, as well as a legal framework with common criteria that can be adapted to the particularities of the different fisheries and regions.

Following the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) definition, according to which co-management is a process in which the government shares its authority with users, either boat owners, fish processors or researchers, MEPs call for the inclusion of co-management in the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Moreover, they request that the Commission prioritises, within the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), a commitment to co-management models with adequate funding.

MEPs stress that all interested parties should be represented in a multidisciplinary committee, including government, industry and fishers. If communities participated more actively in the decisions that affect their resources, namely at environmental and development
level, this would contribute to increasing trust in the management of fisheries, argue the legislators.

Next steps

The draft resolution on co-management of fisheries in the EU was adopted by 22 votes. It will face a final vote in an upcoming plenary session.

Background

Given that co-management is not regulated on EU level, MEPs consider the time has come to have a legal framework as generic as possible that encourages the sector to take the initiative to implement co-management models.

Source