Speech by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ivo Hlaváč in the European Parliament
EP Public Hearing on Fisheries in the Baltic Sea
Brussels, 18 February 2009
1st Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic Mr. Ivo Hlaváč
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, I’d like to thank you for inviting me here. The fishery in the Baltic Sea is undoubtedly an important and broad issue. I am thus happy, Mr. Chairman, that you today organised an opportunity to exchange views on it.
I’ve listened with great interest to all the presentations on the various topics. Even though we are a landlocked country, I can assure you that we are dealing as the Presidency with fisheries issues with full responsibility. From that angle, I’d like to make comments on some of the topics we were discussing this morning.
The Baltic Sea has already a solid and sound ground built in recent years, on which it can pursue its fisheries activities in a sustainable and responsible manner.
This framework is made among others of a Council Regulation on Baltic Technical Measures from 2005, whereby a modern system for managing fisheries stocks was established.
Another successful story was setting up the Baltic RAC in 2006, which pooled together major players around the Baltic Sea from the fisheries sector, NGOs, national administrations and the Commission and has since then provided with numerous valuable recommendations.
I would highlight two other actions, which are vital for supporting the framework - the introduction of the multiannual plan for Baltic cod in 2007 and of the ban on using driftnets in 2008.
Last but not least, Mr. Chairman, we should not forget the European Fisheries Fund from 2006, which co-finances modernising and restructuring fisheries fleets.
Now I would turn to the agenda under our Presidency, which will strengthen this already solid framework. In January, we already had the opportunity to discuss the Commission report on the selectivity in trawl fisheries for cod in the Baltic Sea, where we concentrated on better use of selective fishing gears. A part of the discussion was also aimed at the question of how to reduce discards.
Having said that, we have also some more horizontal dossiers on the table, which directly or indirectly affect the Baltic Sea fisheries. One of them is a massive proposal for the new control regulation, which should help monitoring of fish populations and communities. I think that the main message here is that we should ensure that the final outcome should be a control system which is reliable, transparent, easy to understand and to use, which would help both fishermen and administrations to tackle the current main threats – discards and IUU fisheries. With the control Regulation in place, the consumer will know that the product he or she is buying can be traced from the net to the table. We will have a policy debate on this at the Council in June. Before that we’ll do the detailed assessment to identify the key issues for Ministers to discuss. I am happy to learn that the Fisheries Committee will do the same before the Parliament rises in May, so your opinion will provide us with valuable input on this important piece of legislation.
Certainly, I wouldn’t forget the CFP reform, where we’ll be handling the discussion on the Commission Green Paper, and which will affect all fisheries regions. I am sure that the positive example of managing the fishery in the Baltic Sea will also make a useful contribution to the newly shaped Common Fisheries Policy. I would recall here what my minister said before the Fisheries committee in January. The future CFP should provide customers with healthy and responsibly caught fish at a fair price and, on the other hand, provide fishermen with a reasonable business environment to make their living. And, as fish stocks are a fragile commodity living in a fragile environment, to ensure their sustainable exploitation and to protect the marine environment and ecosystems for the future. We have to make every effort to make sure that the CFP reform is a success if we want to maintain or even strengthen our position in this global village, which is getting more demanding every day. In fact, this applies generally to the EU as a whole.
This major political issue will of course continue to be discussed under the Swedish presidency and afterwards.
They are also other dossiers in the pipeline such as a long-term plan for Baltic salmon or the framework Baltic Maritime Strategy. This strategy should vitally contribute to synergies of various sectors across the whole Baltic region and address for instance the impacts on the environment in the Baltic Sea or on coastal fisheries in general.
Last but not least, Mr. Chairman, I would end with cormorants. This is an issue, which is actually hot not only for the coastal areas but also for the inland areas, including landlocked countries. On the one hand, cormorants are a protected species and their value in this regard is doubtless. On the other hand, it is also true that their number has in some regions rocketed. As their appetite has not diminished, our fishermen, fish-farms or aquaculture sites are seriously affected. The economic losses have been constantly growing over the last few years. This is a cross-border issue, which needs a coordinated approach. I think that in this regard we may also take some ideas from Mr. Kindermann´s initiative on a cormorant management plan. We also plan to address this question in the Council Conclusions on the Commission Communication on Aquaculture.
I would stop here, Mr. Chairman. Again, let me thank you for the invitation and the opportunity to be here.
Also, I’d like to reassure you that the Czech Presidency always pays due attention to the Baltic Sea fisheries when it appears on the table.
Attached Files
- Summary of the expert presentations (doc, 45 kB)
Last update: 16.8.2011 15:44
