Much has been said lately that species of fish in the Mediterranean will not be around for much longer. As a matter of fact, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature stated that more than 40 species of marine fish currently found in the Mediterranean could disappear in the next few years

According to the European Commission, 72% of EU fish stocks are now overfished and 59% are at a high risk of depletion. The European Commission has recently adopted draft rules on how to carry out controls to eliminate illegal fishing in the European Union. These rules implement the Control Regulation, Council Regulation 1224/2009, which established a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy.

The new rules will pave the way to make the EU fisheries sustainable and counter illegal fishing. To be effective these rules must be strictly enforced throughout the EU. The conservation effort would be undermined if a small group of fishermen get away with illegal fishing as this would disrupt markets with unfair competition, destroy fish stocks, and would be beyond doubt unfair for law-abiding fishermen.

The most viable solution is to equip the EU with an effective system to enforce its rules. In fact, this new system will ensure traceability from ‘net to plate’. It means that at any point in the market chain, authorities can inspect any wrongdoing and trace it back to the culprit.

Inspections will be carried out in the same manner all over Europe. Data must be collected and cross-checked electronically at each stage so that once the product reaches the stores the consumer will know that it has been fished lawfully.

The new rules establish a set of sanctions to be imposed on anyone caught fishing illegally, and a point system so that when a fisherman is caught fishing illegally, points will be deducted leading to the eventual loss of his licence.

A number of measures, such as the rules on engine power control, traceability, the point system and the websites, will only enter into force as from 1 January 2012. This is to ensure and allow enough time for the member states to prepare for such measures.

The European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, is confident that the new control system will help break with the past and establish a real culture of compliance. Commissioner Damanaki stressed out that if the EU wants to have sustainable fisheries, it has to start by learning to fish sustainably.

When commenting about these new rules Greenpeace said that it supports and welcomes the adoption of these draft rules by the European Commission. It said that the Commission is right to focus on enforcement, and added that effective rules are just as important. In addition, Greenpeace remarked that the forthcoming reform of European fisheries must deliver a new rule book that protects the EU’s oceans and ensures the sustainability of fishing.

While acknowledging the importance of these new rules at the European level, one certainly cannot deny that control is not just an issue for the EU alone. Hence the Control Regulation and these new rules apply to all EU vessels, regardless of where they function, including outside EU waters. Moreover, they apply to any vessel, regardless of the flag it flies, that operates in EU waters except where bilateral agreements exist. The EU also cooperates with its global partners such as the United States and Japan to exchange information on third countries involved in illegal fishing.

Kurt Formosa is an Executive – EU Policy & Legislation, MEUSAC