EU's Fischler welcomes Earth Summit fish agreement
Date: 30-Aug-02
Country: BRUSSELS
Referring to an agreement reached on Tuesday at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, Fischler said he fully supported its idea of countries being limited to fishing at sustainable levels along with an action plan to eradicate illegal fishing.
Under the agreement, which is not legally binding, governments will aim to restore stocks to a sustainable level by 2015 at the latest, which could require temporary fishing bans.
"I am very pleased that the conference has set a target to achieve recovery of fish stocks," he said in a statement.
"However, as far as the EU waters are concerned, we would like to see this achieved long before that date, and indeed, to see action taken before the end of the year."
Current EU legislation foresees the review of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) this year. According to the European Commission, one of the CFP's main shortcomings is the alarmingly low state of many stocks in the waters of the 15-nation bloc.
For many commercially important species, the numbers of mature fish were about twice as high in the early 1970s than in the late 1990s, it says.
Fischler said the agreement at the Earth Summit, which runs from August 25 to September 4, was a clear signal of growing recognition at an international global level of the need to take fisheries conservation seriously.
According to the United Nations, more than 70 percent of the world's commercially important fish stocks are over-exploited or heading that way. Governments will also consider setting up permanent non-fishing zones to preserve breeding grounds.
The agreement's tough stance on rampant illegal and unregulated fishing also won the support of Fischler, himself a staunch campaigner against pirate fisheries.
"Action to eradicate illegal fishing is a priority," he said. "We fully support the proposals made in Johannesburg and look forward to working with the participants to put a stop to these practices which jeopardise the future of all fishermen."
