A3-0186/94

Resolution on the interactions between seals and fisheries

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motion for a resolution tabled by Mr Lataillade and others on the interactions between marine mammals and fisheries (B3-0451/93),

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

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development (A3-0186/94),

A.whereas EU environment policy is to defend the concept of sustainable management and use of natural resources, which in turn demand continued investment in sound, reliable and unbiased data,

B.whereas scientific progress is achieved by determining a number of questions and appropriate methodologies to address them,

C.whereas in the field of marine mammal/fisheries interactions, it is clear that investigation should address both the questions 'What effect do fisheries have on marine mammals?' and 'What effect do marine mammals have on fisheries?',

D.whereas the proliferation of certain species of marine mammals may be linked to an imbalance in the ecosystem,

E.whereas the 1992 UNEP workshop report (which was partially funded by Greenpeace and IFAW) considered 'what scientific basis is required for a proposal to cull marine mammals to benefit fisheries', only considered experimental, theoretically based interaction scenarios and did not consider proposals that were intended solely to reduce operational interactions between marine mammals and fisheries, nor include proposals addressing the transmission of parasites from marine mammals to fish,

F.whereas, a species normally becoming protected when it is either endangered, vulnerable, rare or endemic, the protected species status should logically be removed after that species has recovered to a point where it is no longer threatened or endangered, with an appropriate margin of safety,

G.whereas since grey seals in the UK satisfy some of these criteria, there may be some justification for removing the protected status of this population in Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora,

H.whereas it is essential that certain data that can be obtained accurately (eg. seal pup numbers during the breeding season), are obtained on an ongoing basis, particularly in areas where evidence indicates that a marine mammal/fisheries conflict exists,

I.whereas on the fisheries side it could be possible to measure accurately losses resulting from physical interactions,

J.whereas the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea places a legal obligation on nations to manage the resources of their coastal waters in a responsible manner and in ways which would not damage the interests of other nations,

K.whereas the Commission has an important responsibility to ensure that this principle, which is endorsed in Agenda 21, is upheld,

L.Whereas, for example, in the case of UK/Irish grey seal interactions, it is possible that grey seals of UK origin are damaging Irish fisheries,

M.whereas, as a medium- to long-term consideration, there is no scientific reason why seals should not be utilised on a sustainable basis; indeed with a healthy and expanding seal population, this would be desirable from the perspective of conservation and the maintenance of biodiversity,

N.whereas, however, it is probably more important in the short to medium term to draw up a programme of factually based information which could be used for education purposes,

O.whereas the fisheries sector does not have the resources or the expertise to undertake such a task, so the Commission should consider other ways in which this could be done,

P.whereas the carrying out of relevant focused research is, however, an essential part of this,

1.Considers that the management of seal species should be based on sound science and on sound conservation principles;

2.Calls for research to be carried out about the operational interactions between marine mammals and fisheries, whenever possible through experimental trials (for example, the relationship between density dependence of seals and physical losses to seals could be experimentally determined at local level);

3.Requests that an impartial structure, free of pressure from vested interest groups, be established to determine a scientific framework for addressing marine mammal/fisheries interactions in European waters;

4.Congratulates the Commission for having recently approved a research project aimed at measuring losses resulting from physical interactions, which represents the first serious attempt to assess physical interaction losses in over two decades;

5.Urgently requests the Commission to:

(a)draw up a complete list of all available studies and reports produced both inside and outside the European Union directly relating to the interaction between marine mammals and fisheries;

(b)carry out an extensive analysis of these reports on a strictly scientific, dispassionate and totally independent basis;

(c)draw from the conclusions and identify the areas which require further research and studies so as to establish a EU framework for research in this field;

(d)examine the criteria for maintaining the status of protected species and assess to what extent seal populations throughout the EU still deserve such status;

6.Recommends that Member States carry out the basic research involved, under the abovementioned EU framework, and with the financial participation of the environment research funds of the EC budget;

7.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States.