Fishing Policy 'hopeless failure' - MEP
06 September 2007
In a debate in Strasbourg on the state of the fishing industry, Jim Allister MEP described EU policy to date as a "hopeless failure". Attacking Brussels for clinging to a TACs and quota system which it knew was failing, he highlighted the huge decrease in the number of fishermen and their income. Welcoming some indications that, at last, the Commission might look towards change, he insisted that reliance on "effort management" would not work if it is overlapped with the quota system.
In the course of his remarks Mr Allister said:-
"We've had years of talk about sustainable fisheries and as many years of bureaucratic controls, yet stocks, in the main, are no better, but fishermen are a lot fewer and a lot poorer. It's hard to escape the conclusion that fisheries policy to date has been a hopeless failure - fishermen have been saying this for years, but till now the Commission has not been listening. TACs and quotas, as the key instrument of control, have been a disaster, generating the scandal of discards and poverty for many.
Yet, within the now proffered Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) model, we still have this flawed overlapping of the TAC/quota system with the fishing effort system. They must be disentangled. We can't have both.
Yes, we all want sustainable fisheries, but that means sustainability for fishermen too. It means discouraging discards, simplifying the technical measures and embracing flexibility. Let's go there as quickly as possible."
