NO CHRISTMAS MIRACLE AT FISHERIES COUNCIL MEETING: OVERFISHING TO CONTINUE INTO THE NEW MILLENNIUM

17 December 1999

BRUSSELS -- Greenpeace today condemned the failure of the European Union (EU) to cut Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for the year 2000. At a meeting of the Fisheries Council in Brussels, Ministers rejected cuts in TACs which had been recommended by scientists and the European Commission.

"This is symptomatic of the Council’s track record of giving priority to short-term political and economic considerations and their refusal to accept the urgent need to reduce fishing," said Greenpeace International fisheries campaigner, Helene Bours. "If the reality of the fishing crisis is ignored, Europe will soon not have a fishing industry," she added.

Earlier indications suggested that the EU would agree to the Commission’s proposal and follow scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which proposed sharp cuts in TACs to prevent further decline in many fish stocks.

Greenpeace was also critical of the argument by some ministers for smaller reductions to be phased in over a period of many years and of the so-called ‘regional recovery’ plans which they promised to put in place at some point in the future. "Ten years ago, phase-in reductions may have been a valid approach, but it is too late. Now the appropriate recovery plan is to follow scientific advice to cut back on fishing," said Bours. "The collapse of Canada’s cod stocks in the early 1990s should serve as a sharp reminder of what happens when scientific advice is ignored and a precautionary approach is not applied," she noted.

Last month, the EU adopted a regulation (1) which will allow Member States to spend large sums of public money to further expand their fishing activities worldwide without effective mechanisms to curb and prevent over fishing. The combination of excessively generous TACs and money to build new fishing vessels has further compromised the future of both fish stocks and the fishing communities dependent upon them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Helene Bours, Greenpeace International fisheries campaigner +32 84 477 177 or mobile + 075 286 544
- Matilda Bradshaw, Greenpeace International press desk +31 20 523 6608 or mobile +31 (0) 6 535 04701

(1) Council Regulation concerning the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector (Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance)