A3-0183/94

Resolution on measures against environmental damage through disruption of the food chain

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Lüttge and Mrs Langenhagen on measures against environmental damage through disruption of the food chain (B3-0299/93),

-having delegated the power of decision to the Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development,

-having regard to Agenda 21, Chapter 17.46,

-having regard to Special Report No. 3/93 of the Court of Auditors of the European Communities on the implementation of measures for the restructuring, modernization and adaptation of the capacities of fishing fleets in the Community,

-having regard to the report by the Commission on industrial fisheries in the North Sea and in the Skagerrak and Kattegat (SEC(92)2046),

-having regard to the working document by the Commission 'Assessment of the biological implications of industrial fishing in the North Sea, the Skagerrak and Kattegat (SEC(92)2406),

-having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having delegated its power of decision, pursuant to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure, to its Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development (A3-0183/94),

A.concerned at the numerous shortcomings in the allocation and use of financial assistance in the context of the European Community's structural policy in the fisheries sector,

B.concerned that Community assistance to increase capacity is sometimes directed to the sensitive areas where the major fishing operations and fleets are already concentrated, i.e. to the areas most affected by over-capacity, which is or should be resolved using the permanent withdrawal assistance,

C.concerned that vessels which have officially been laid up have been sold to third countries and are still being used for fishing,

D.concerned that some of these third countries have not signed the international agreements on the management and conservation of stocks, so that these vessels can fish in certain international waters without being subject to the same constraints as fishing vessels flying the Community flag,

E.concerned that in some cases new capacity has been created using public funds intended for reducing capacity,

F.having regard to the European Community's most recent common policy on fisheries, which is intended to ensure that stocks are kept at an adequate level to guarantee the economic survival of the fisheries sector,

G.whereas, if this aim is to be achieved, fishing must be limited in such a way that the size of catches does not prejudice the long-term survival of stocks,

H.whereas industrial fishing has a particularly damaging effect on young fish, shrimp and the many species of small sea creatures, and also on the sustainable consumption of table fish,

I.having regard to the overcapacity in the Community fishing fleet, estimated at approximately 40% overall, for all the fishing grounds in the Community,

J.whereas the modernization measures promoted by the Community, such as the installation of new engines and electronic facilities, clearly lead to an increase in investment in fisheries and therefore run counter to the objective of adjusting capacity,

K.whereas, since the common fisheries policy was introduced, technological advances in the fisheries sector have led to instruments for locating and catching fish being so highly developed that the balance between resources and the ability to catch them has been disturbed, i.e. every shoal of fish can now be pinpointed and exploited with an efficiency which is unprecedented since mankind first started fishing,

L.whereas reducing the intensity of industrial fishing would lead to a clear increase in the biomass, which might alleviate the crisis in the table fishery sector,

M.concerned that, with the varied pollutants entering the sea from rivers, the air and the coast, the marine environment is becoming unable to support many organisms which used to form the food source for larger sea creatures,

N.concerned that the intensive trawling in the North Sea is causing lasting damage to the sea-bed ecosystem,

O.whereas it is difficult to establish the exact catch capacity of the Community fleet because of the different units of measurement used in the Member States,

P.whereas high withdrawal prices encourage overfishing,

1.Calls for a quota system for industrial fishing and its strict monitoring as by overfishing the sand eel it is removing the main source of nutrition for many other species, including valuable table fish;

2.Calls for a ban on fishing methods which damage the sea-bed, as over 90% of the species of sea organisms spend part of their life cycle in or on the sea-bed;

3.Proposes that sufficiently large sea-bed conservation areas be set up for research purposes in appropriate regions, where all exploitative and damaging activities would be banned, so that fish stocks could regenerate themselves;

4.Calls for standardization of the units of measurement of catch capacities among the various fleets in the Member States;

5.Calls for a Community register of fishing vessels to be set up, to provide better information on the Community fleet;

6.Calls for modernization projects to be permitted only if their aim is to enable catches to be processed more efficiently, fishing to be more selective and crews' general living and safety conditions to be improved;

7.Calls for the eligibility of new vessel projects for support to be judged strictly with a view to the level of fish stocks and for the resources allocated to Community research to be increased substantially to this end;

8.Calls for the Community fleet's existing capacity to be adjusted to a level at which it is possible to continue fishing while ensuring long-term conservation of resources, so that they can be used in a sustainable, regular and economically viable way which maintains ecological diversity;

9.Calls for strict controls to prevent catches of undersized fish, and prevent table fish intentionally being processed into fishmeal;

10.Warns against too high a withdrawal price, as this leads to overfishing;

11.Calls for limits to be set for the fishing of stocks of young fish which are still growing;

12.Calls for fishing for table fish to take priority over industrial fishing;

13.Calls for ecologically acceptable fishing boats and selective fishing gear and methods to be developed and promoted;

14.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council.