91996E1850

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1850/96 by Giuseppe Rauti (NI) to the Commission (5 July 1996)

Subject: Plundering of fish resources in the Mediterranean

Is the Commission aware of the serious situation caused since last April by the invasion of the central Mediterranean by more than 100 Japanese and Korean boats fishing tuna by firing special cables, almost 200 km long, equipped with weapons? The result is 'desertification' of the Mediterranean and impoverishment of traditional Sicilian fishing fleets from Mazara to Portopalo, Marsala to Sciacca, Licata to Trapani and Augusta to Acitrezza.

Will the Commission intervene by rigorously applying the provisions adopted at the conclusion of the Council of Fisheries Ministers in Palermo in 1990 and solemnly confirmed by the then Commissioner, the Spaniard José Manuel Marin, as part of a common policy for the conservation of Mediterranean resources?

Answer given by Ms Bonino on behalf of the Commission (5 September 1996)

The Commission is aware of the alarming depletion of Mediterranean fish stocks and has introduced a rational management and conservation policy in the region, both at Community and international level.

The problems referred to by the Honourable Member, i.e. the presence of an increasing number of Japanese and Korean vessels in the region and the use of high-tech fishing methods, can be resolved only by means of cooperation between all the countries affected by fishing in the region. It is in this spirit that the Commission has launched initiatives on global cooperation in the field of fisheries, not only with neighbouring countries but also with Japan and Korea. This process got under way in December 1994 with the Crete Conference on Fisheries Management in the Mediterranean to be followed by a similar conference organized by the Commission in Venice in November 1996.

The Commission feels that multilateral cooperation and action by fishing organizations operating in the region provide the most appropriate framework for examining and resolving the problems raised by Mediterranean fishing, including those relating to the fishing effort.