91998E0605

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0605/98

by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(4 March 1998)

Subject: Closed season for breeding purposes in the waters of Morocco

Recently the Moroccan Government extended the closed season for breeding purposes in the waters of the Saharan fishing bank to include the months of March and April.

According to various representatives of the fisheries sector, this decision constitutes an infringement of the fisheries agreement between the European Union and Morocco, which allows adjustments to be made to the closed season but not extensions. Moreover, Morocco has not implemented the fisheries plan which was intended to restrict fishing for pregnant female cephalopods in the breeding area.

Instead, it appears that Morocco has actually increased its fishing activities, thus jeopardizing catch sizes as a result of over-exploitation of the stocks in the area and hence going against the recommendations of scientists as regards preserving the richness of the fishing bank's resources.

What does the Commission think of the action taken to increase the "closed season for breeding purposes" by two months in the Saharan fishing bank?

Does this closed season apply to Morocco's cephalopod fishing fleet? Is Morocco complying in this respect with its fisheries agreement with the European Union?

What action is the Commission prepared to take in order to prevent discrimination against other fishing fleets (particularly the Spanish one) when "closed seasons for breeding purposes" are imposed in the area?

What reports or studies are available which recommend an extension of the closed season for breeding purposes in the fishing grounds concerned?

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(20 April 1998)

The Community has always attached the greatest importance to the conservation and rational management of fishery resources. Under its agreement with Morocco, the Community has always been in favour of developing an approach to responsible fishing that is capable of guaranteeing the long-term viability of the sector, in particular the cephalopod fishery which is of recognised importance to the fleets on both sides.

In this context, the Commission considers that the biological rest period is only part of an array of protective measures for conserving resources. This is why this measure must take its place within an operational context of safeguard measures which Morocco has committed itself to implementing and which affects both its industrial-scale and its small-scale cephalopod fleets, in the interests of both sides as already stated.

This view has always had the support of scientists and research workers in the field, who agree that periods of biological rest can reduce fishing pressure on young recruits to the stock but add that supplementary measures remain necessary.

With regard to the unilateral application by Morocco of an extension to the period of biological rest, which will affect both the Moroccan and the Community cephalopod fleets, the Commission is continuing its action to ensure that contractual commitments are observed and that any possible discrimination is avoided.