WWF welcomes fisheries committee's resolve to allow fish stocks to recover

Published: 18 December, 2012

Responding to a crucial vote today, December 18 by the European Fisheries Committee on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)] David Nussbaum, Chief Executive WWF-UK said: "This is true progress and a real victory for the hundreds of thousands of Europeans who petitioned, asked and pushed their MEPs to enshrine sustainability into the next decade of Common Fisheries Policy.

“The Fisheries Committee has shown through this milestone vote that the European Parliament is listening to scientific advice. MEPs on the Committee showed leadership by voting to allow fish stocks to recover above maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and for long term management plans which will guide this process. This proposal will now be laid before the European Parliament. It is now up to the rest of MEPs in the Parliament to champion this ambitious reform and vote next year for sustainable fish stocks.”

Policies voted through by MEPs include:

* Stock recovery – to levels above Maximum Sustainable Yield (BMSY) by 2020

* Multi-annual Plans (MAPs) and a timeline for implementation in four years’ time

* Discards - commitment to eliminate discards in European fisheries with binding timetable

* Regionalisation – cooperation between Member States to agree management measures for shared fisheries and involvement of stakeholders in decision making
* External dimension - active EU participation in international fisheries and in fight against IUU (illegal, unregulated and unreported) fishing; EU fleets to only fish surplus from 3rd countries

WWF believes that the CFP reform must lead, by the end of 2013, to the adoption of a new regulatory framework for truly sustainable and economically viable fisheries across EU waters.

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