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DETESTED European rules blamed for bringing the South West's fishing industry to its knees may be consigned to the dustbin.
The
Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) governs every aspect of a fisherman's
working life – including loathed laws forcing them to throw dead fish
back into the sea if they exceed their catch quota.
Now,
in an announcement tantamount to an admission of failure, the European
Commission has called for a wholesale reform of the current policy,
saying nothing else would ensure the survival of fish stocks and
fishermen.
The news has been welcomed by the region's fishing communities.
Paul
Trebilcock, chief executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation,
said most fishermen in the region would say it was about time.
"The CFP has been
over-centralised, under reactive and ineffective, a result of which has
been to bring the fishing industry to its knees.
"Fundamentally it has not done what it is supposed to and as result has been harmful to the industry.
"You won't get many arguments about that round here."
The CFP was established in 1983 to carve up EU fishing waters between the national fleets and is revised every decade.
Critics
condemn it as horrifically bureaucratic, overly centralised in Brussels
and so remote from the industry's front line that real concerns at a
local levels are never heard.
The
last set of rules, which clicked into place in 2002, paved the way for
annual quota setting which fishermen feel have dealt their livelihoods
year-on-year cutbacks.
A
report by the Commission calling for changes of the policy has
delivered a damning indictment of it, admitting fishing controls have
not worked and the science supposed to underpin them is out of date.
The
report says that 80 per cent of fish stocks in EU waters are still
overfished, and about 30 per cent of stocks are "outside safe
biological limits", meaning that there is a real risk of collapse of
these stocks.
The Commission even admits that scientists are unaware of the state of nearly two-thirds of Europe's fish stocks.
Mr
Trebilcock said the CFP was unpopular across the whole of Europe and
radical changes were required if the fishing industry was to survive.
He
welcomed early indications of the way CFP reform discussions were
going, particularly concerning the devolution of power to member states.
"It's very encouraging at the moment – I am quite upbeat.
"There are some positive noises, but this is European politics and there is a long way to go."
Jim
Portus, chief executive of the Brixham-based South West Fish Producers
Organisation, said the CFP was long overdue for a "shake-up".
He
said his organisation would be actively campaigning for the new CFP to
be more locally responsive, respect inland territorial waters and put
an end to fishermen being forced to dump their catch if it was
over-quota.
"We
look forward to responding to the consultation with the European
Commission, such as applying some intelligence to fishermen having to
throw away perfectly good catch."
The European Commission has invited "each and every citizen" to submit their views on plans for the reform of fisheries policy.
But this too has caused controversy, with some fishing leaders saying the new CFP should be decided by the industry.
Mr
Portus said the idea that "Joe Public" should be given undue weight in
the discussions over complex fishing policy for the people whose
livelihood it was deciding "fills me with horror".
David
Stevens, a fisherman in Newlyn, went a step further and said members of
the public would not be invited to guide EU policy on farming or the
chemical industry and so should not be given a say on fishing.
"It should stay within the industry," he said.
Overall,
the UK Government has said it wants regional management of the CFP to
be the cornerstone of a once-and-for-all reform to revive stocks and
fishermen's livelihoods.
A
spokesman said: "Ministers had a very constructive meeting, but it's
only the start of a process that we hope will lead to meaningful reform
and a more sustainable future for Europe's fisheries."
St
Ives MP Andrew George, whose constituency includes Newlyn, said taking
fisheries management away from Europe was long overdue.
"It has been bizarre to leave stock management to bureaucrats in landlocked Brussels," he added.
Meanwhile,
the Marine Conservation Society, which has campaigned against
overfishing and warned of the terrible damage which could be inflicted
on the seas, told the Western Morning news it would be contributing to
the debate.
A spokesman said: "UK fishermen have suffered as much or more than anyone else under the current CFP.
"It badly needs reform to be of benefit to the industry and to conserve fish stocks for the future.
"The
Commission will need to listen to suggestions that enable sustainable
fisheries to be better-managed throughout European and wider seas."
The consultation over CFP reform lasts until the end of the year, with new rules expected to take effect by 2013.
Do
you have an opinion on how the future of the fishery industry should be
shaped? E-mail the Western Morning News at
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or call 01752 765538.
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