92002E2814

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2814/02

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(7 October 2002)

Subject: Fleet reductions in third countries

The proposed CFP reform adopted by the Commission envisages the scrapping of 8 000 vessels and the loss of 28 000 fishermen's jobs. The Commission justifies these massive cuts on the basis of the difficult situation of fishing stocks.

However, responsible fishing and preservation of stocks need to be international commitments, and it would be of little use for the Community to adopt drastic measures if other fishing powers do not adopt the same approach.

Does the Commission know if these other countries (China, Japan, the Philippines, Peru, Chile, Iceland, Russia, Norway, etc.) have established similar unilateral measures involving drastic fleet and job reductions?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(14 November 2002)

There has been a common misunderstanding that the Commission is proposing the compulsory scrapping of huge numbers of vessels. This misunderstanding stems from the publication of some Commission budgetary calculations. These calculations were made only to illustrate the possible and hypothetical effects of a scrapping scheme. In fact, within the framework of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the Commission's proposals are to reduce fishing effort and to end compulsory scrapping programmes. In other words, the Commission is not proposing that a certain number of vessels should be scrapped. How many vessels will be scrapped depends on the choice made by the vessel owners. There will be improved provision for decommissioning through the scrapping fund should Member States wish to use it, along with an entry/exit system for replacement vessels.

The Commission does not collect data on the evolution of non-Member State fleets (with the exception of candidate countries for accession) and is not in the position to comment either on trends of fleets or on management tools implemented by third countries to reduce the size of their fleets and the impact that these reductions might have on employment.