—

having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC (1),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2),

—

having regard to Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (3) (‘the EU Water Framework Directive’),

—

having regard to its resolution of 22 November 2012 on small-scale coastal fishing, artisanal fishing and the reform of the common fisheries policy (4),

—

having regard to its resolution of 2 July 2013 on Blue Growth: enhancing sustainable growth in the EU’s marine, maritime transport and tourism sectors (5),

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 13 May 2014 entitled ‘Innovation in the Blue Economy: realising the potential of our seas and oceans for jobs and growth’ (COM(2014)0254),

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 30 June 2010 entitled ‘Europe, the world’s No 1 tourist destination — a new political framework for tourism in Europe’ (COM(2010)0352),

—

having regard to the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 and in particular to Target 4 ‘Make fishing more sustainable and seas healthier’, in which the EU pledges, amongst other things, to eliminate adverse impacts on fish stocks, species, habitats and ecosystems, ‘including through providing financial incentives through the future financial instruments for fisheries and maritime policy for marine protected areas (including Natura 2000 areas and those established by international or regional agreements). This could include restoring marine ecosystems, adapting fishing activities and promoting the involvement of the sector in alternative activities, such as eco-tourism, monitoring and managing marine biodiversity, and combating marine litter’,

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 3 March 2010 entitled ‘Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’ (COM(2010)2020),

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 13 September 2012 entitled ‘Blue Growth — opportunities for marine and maritime sustainable growth’ (COM(2012)0494),

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 20 February 2014 entitled ‘A European Strategy for more Growth and Jobs in Coastal and Maritime Tourism’ (COM(2014)0086),

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries and the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A8-0221/2017),

A.

whereas traditional fishing has continued to decline;

B.

whereas diversification has become a necessity for many small-scale fishermen in order to provide additional sources of income, as their income is often inadequate;

C.

whereas when speaking of diversification in fisheries, it is necessary to take into account the fact that much of the fisheries sector depends almost entirely on traditional forms of fishing;

D.

whereas most coastal and island regions are suffering severe economic decline, resulting in depopulation as their inhabitants leave for areas with greater employment and education opportunities;

E.

whereas while some coastal fishing regions are located close to tourist destinations, they are not managing to achieve proper economic growth, even though the fishery and tourism sectors are compatible;

F.

whereas fisheries-related tourism can help to create jobs, promote social inclusion, improve the quality of life and revitalise communities that depend on fishing, especially in areas where there is little else in the way of economic activities; whereas this potential varies greatly, both in regional terms and depending on the type of fisheries involved and vessel sizes;

G.

whereas fisheries-related tourism can help reduce the impact on fish stocks and the environment, as well as increase knowledge and awareness of the need for environmental protection and cultural conservation; whereas, in particular, fishing tours and tourist services offered by fishermen ashore may be a genuine way of supplementing, and diversifying out of, the core activity in many European regions;

H.

whereas fisheries-related tourism activities can help raise the profile of fishermen and promote appreciation for, and understanding of, their complex field of activity; whereas fishing tours and other tourism-related fishing activities (tourist services offered by fishermen ashore, recreational fishing, etc.) are still little known to the general public, and there is a need to raise consumer awareness of the importance of consuming local fish products coming from a short supply chain;

I.

whereas fisheries-related tourism can afford an opportunity to attract tourists by providing a wide offering, ranging from local products to green business styles;

J.

whereas the traditional gastronomy associated with fishery products and traditional preservation and processing industries could represent a major asset for the tourism being developed around the fishing industry;

K.

whereas angling confers various social benefits, and has a favourable impact on human health and well-being;

L.

whereas the socio-economic gains resulting from fisheries-related tourism are of a highly seasonal nature, as they are made chiefly in the summer months; whereas the benefits to be gained from greater customer loyalty, an oft-quoted subject, are achievable throughout the year;

M.

whereas 2018 will be the European Year of Cultural Heritage, intended to make citizens aware of European history and impress upon them that the values embodied in their cultural heritage are a resource that they share; whereas traditional fishing forms part of Europe’s rich cultural heritage and contributes to the identity of local communities, not least in terms of how it has helped shape tastes, foods, traditions, history and landscapes; whereas this aspect is greatly enhanced through contacts with tourists;

N.

whereas the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) supports investment to help fishermen diversify their income by developing complementary activities, including investment for additional on-board safety equipment, fishing tours, shore-based tourism services, catering, recreational and sport fishing services, and fishing-related educational activities;

O.

whereas there is no common definition of fisheries-related tourism, nor is there any legal basis; whereas, for example, tourism of this type is considered an occupation in Italy, but in France is classed as a sideline activity; whereas, depending on the legal status accorded to it, significant differences can arise as regards tax arrangements, licensing procedures, qualification requirements, safety equipment, etc.;

P.

whereas the EU’s Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive require Member States to ensure good status of coastal and marine waters; whereas the Habitats Directive requires Member States to identify and maintain marine and coastal habitats by establishing and managing Natura 2000 sites;

Q.

whereas in most marine protected areas (MPAs) and marine and coastal Natura 2000 sites the tourism sector is particularly important; whereas there are many positive examples of shared management and partnerships between MPA management bodies and small-scale fishermen for the promotion of fishing tourism and other means of showcasing traditional fishing for tourism and cultural purposes;

R.

whereas data on fisheries-related tourism in and outside Europe are scarce and inconsistent and do not lend themselves to comparison;

S.

whereas in the 2012 ‘Blue Growth’ strategy the EU singled out coastal and maritime tourism as a key sector for the development of a solidarity-based sustainable economy;

T.

whereas in 2010, in the communication entitled ‘Europe, the world’s No 1 tourist destination — a new political framework for tourism in Europe’, the Commission set out the need to pursue a strategy for sustainable coastal and maritime tourism;

U.

whereas in 2012 the Commission launched a public consultation on the challenges and opportunities for coastal and maritime tourism in Europe and, on 20 February 2014, followed that up by publishing a communication entitled ‘A European Strategy for more Growth and Jobs in Coastal and Maritime Tourism’;

V.

whereas fisheries-related tourism activities are carried out by commercial fishermen seeking to diversify their activities, promote and enhance the status of their profession and their socio-cultural heritage, and improve the sustainable use of aquatic ecosystems, aims which they sometimes pursue by carrying tourists on fishing boats; whereas while these fishing activities plainly involve a tourism element and a recreational purpose, there is no clear-cut, standard-setting definition of them;

W.

whereas the term ‘fishing tours’ (pescaturismo in Italian; below ‘pesca-turism’) denotes tourist/recreational fishing activities carried out by commercial fishermen who take tourists on board their vessels in order to show them the fisheries world;

X.

whereas tourist services offered by fishermen ashore (ittiturismo in Italian; below ‘itti-tourism’) include gastronomic tourism and hospitality ventures run by commercial fishermen; whereas one of the main differences between the two aforementioned types of tourism is that the latter cannot take place aboard fishing boats;

Y.

whereas recreational fishing is an activity carried out solely for recreational and/or competitive sporting purposes, in which living aquatic resources are exploited, but catches may not, under any circumstances, be sold; whereas while the intention of recreational fishing is not to make a profit, it is included among tourist activities generating a parallel economy which should be exploited under the management of professional fishermen, through the services, facilities, and infrastructure offered to recreational fishermen; whereas, however, uncontrolled and intensive recreational fishing is liable to have an adverse effect on fish stocks in some areas;

Z.

whereas there are no reliable socio-economic or environmental statistics on the impact of recreational fishing on stocks, especially in areas where recreational fishing is intensive, and whereas there are no clear rules or exhaustive checks on catch, and still less on illicit sales of recreational catch through informal channels, generally linked to restaurants;

AA.

whereas a study conducted in 2015 by the ‘il mare delle Alpi’ Coastal Action Group (GAC) (6) on public habits and views in the GAC catchment area showed that a third of interviewees eat fish several times a week, namely only four types of food-fishes, of which two are found in fresh water and the others in the sea (fatty fish, salmon, cod and trout); whereas tourism fishing leads to greater awareness of fish species and culinary traditions, which are often unknown to the wider consumer public; whereas in terms of diversification of the fishing effort, the impact is obvious;

AB.

whereas in Italy there has been a steady increase in applications for licences to carry out fisheries-related tourism activities; whereas, according to a recent survey, the Italian regions with the highest number of licences are Liguria (290), Emilia-Romagna (229), Sardinia (218), Calabria (203), Campania (200) and Sicily (136): whereas 1 600 licences in all were registered in the period from 2002 to 2012; whereas in 2003 the regions with the highest number of licences were Campania (63), Liguria (62), Sicily (60) and Sardinia (59), closely followed by Apulia (46), Calabria (39) and Tuscany (37) (7);

AC.

whereas a third of the fleet licenced to carry out fisheries-related tourist activities is prohibited from carrying more than 4 passengers, 29 % may carry 5 to 8 passengers, and the remaining 37 % are allowed to carry between 9 and 12 passengers (8);

AD.

whereas high tourist numbers are concentrated almost entirely in the months of July and August, meaning that fisheries-related tourism is extremely seasonal in nature and that it is important to encourage diversification;

AE.

whereas education follows a similar pattern to age classes, to the extent that the level of schooling is likewise higher among fishing-tour operators than among those who engage solely in professional fishing; whereas more than 30 % of the skippers hold a certificate or professional qualification and have at least a basic knowledge of English (64 %), French (34 %), Spanish (16 %), or German (7 %) (9);

AF.

whereas a survey of fishing tour operators in Italy has revealed that fishing tours can be beneficial to efforts to conserve fish stocks and marine ecosystems, particularly through reduced catches, as well as, from a social point of view, to the physical and mental well-being of fishermen and their families through reduced working hours at sea (10);

AG.

whereas it has been noted that women have become involved in greater numbers not just in side activities related to fishermen’s work, but also in pursuing their own fisheries-related tourism activities;

AH.

whereas young people can also be considered one of the target groups for the development of fishing tourist destinations;

AI.

whereas traditional fishing is currently the least well-known primary sector activity and the one least studied and used as an educational tool at basic and intermediary academic levels;

AJ.

whereas there is broad scope for the introduction of educational activities relating to traditional fishing based on models such as that of the ‘farm school’;

AK.

whereas the development of tourism-related fishing activities depends to a crucial extent on partnerships, Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs), in which those working in the fisheries sector and other local public and private stakeholders together devise and implement a bottom-up strategy geared to, and meeting, the economic, social, and environmental needs of the area concerned; whereas, although FLAGs in the EU operate in very different contexts and adopt very different strategies, they have, almost without exception, recognised tourism to be a key development factor;

AL.

whereas the Commission has set up the European Fisheries Areas Network (FARNET) Support Unit to help implement Axis 4 under the European Fisheries Fund (EFF); whereas FARNET is a networking platform for fishing areas and helps FLAGs to pursue local strategies, initiatives, and projects;

AM.

whereas local stakeholders have learned, through the FLAGs, how the tourist offering of a fishing area can evolve to encompass a complete package of activities and, thus, remain attractive even within a tourism segment in which competition is very keen; whereas tourism can in this way become a major source of additional revenue for fishing communities, thus ultimately contributing to the overall development of coastal and island regions;

AN.

whereas success stories testify to the FLAGs’ invaluable assistance to non-industrial fishing communities in Greece, Italy and Spain; whereas, in addition, the FARNET network has highlighted good practices in France, Belgium, Spain, Croatia and Italy (11);

AO.

whereas in Finland a model has been adopted for assessing the impact of fisheries-related tourist activities based on the duration of visits and the places of stay and number of visitors; whereas assessment findings have revealed problems regarding the definition of a ‘fishing tourist’ and the way in which visits should be counted (12);

AP.

whereas festivals are held in various coastal villages in Member States where it is important to integrate other means of increasing the tourism pull, such as by combining these with other quality offerings in the primary sector: disseminating knowledge of small-scale fishing and fishermen’s way of life, and providing contacts with traditional cultures, including regional foods and wines, and high-end products from the processing and canning industry reflecting the diversity of the EU;

AQ.

whereas in Spain, ‘Turismo marinero — Costa del Sol’ and other specialised agencies have been set up to promote the traditional fishing industry and help local people to develop and publicise fisheries-related tourist activities; whereas the Costa del Sol agency organises cooking courses on boats used by local fishermen, tours to observe fish species, and recreational fishing activities; whereas another option available is guided tours of the ‘Bioparc’, an open-air museum designed especially for children, where they can learn something about marine biology, traditional fishing (traditional fishing gear and techniques) and local culture; notes that the emulation of such initiatives, and the sharing of expertise in this area, among Member States would be beneficial to coastal and rural communities, particularly in peripheral regions (13);

AR.

whereas the Commission, Parliament and the Member States must therefore not prohibit traditional small-scale family fishing techniques indiscriminately, but must first make a proper impact assessment in order to avoid rendering emerging forms of sustainable, small-scale and authentic fishing tourism with traditional fishing gear impossible;

AS.

whereas in Croatia the fishing festivals held during the summer months at coastal and island tourist centres serve to promote fishing traditions, the cultural and historical heritage, local gastronomy and the traditional way of life;

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