At the meeting taking place at the Ministry of the Environment, Ilona Jepsena will introduce the proposals of the Commission of the European Communities for reforming the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy. “The previous Fisheries reform brought several successful steps with it: management plans for fisheries resources now look towards the more distant future and there has been an improvement in the inclusion of interest groups. Regardless of the above, overfishing continues to pose a problem and the new reform must ensure the use of fish resources in such a manner that they provide descendants, but also allow for fishermen to work and earn a living,” said Ain Soome, Director of the Fisheries Resources Department of the Ministry of the Environment. Soome added that fishery resources are a slowly recovering natural resource – overfishing today may result in irreparable damage for decades to come. “This is why a cautious approach must be taken in the use of fishery resources, since even scientists find it difficult to assess the actual condition of fishery resources. Fish do not recognise state borders and are affected by the weather, currents, temperature fluctuations, etc. Therefore, fish and their environment as a whole must be proceeded from in the case of Fisheries Policy. The state of fish resources can never improve without an improvement in their living environment,” said Soome. The main keywords of the new reform are: establishment of multi-year management plans, meaning that the exploitation rate is planned for years, elimination of discards, increasing the importance of regional advisory commissions, greater power of decision for Member States to organise the use of fisheries resources in the region, improved inclusion of interest groups, etc. “The decisions that are adopted with the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy will affect the Common Fisheries Policy of EU Member States, including Estonia, for decades to come,” admitted Ain Soome. The Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union first entered into force in 1983, and the Policy is reviewed every 10 years, thereat also setting new objectives for the following 10 year period. Significant changes were last made to the Common Fisheries Policy in 2002. |
