Several EU countries, led by France and Spain, on Monday challenged Brussels' decision to close certain areas of the Atlantic to deep-sea trawling, asking it to take into account "
updated data
" and the economic interest of fishermen.
The European Commission had announced in mid-September the prohibition of the activity of vessels equipped with bottom gear (bottom trawls, dredges, bottom gillnets, bottom longlines, pots and traps), below 400 m of depth in 87 "
sensitive areas
" of Community waters in the North-East Atlantic.
Intended to protect marine biodiversity, this closure - applicable from October - complements the ban on bottom trawling below 800m introduced by the EU in 2016 to restore vulnerable marine ecosystems.
“
We disapprove of form and substance.
There was a simple meeting at the end of July, that does not allow us to say that we consulted the States and the players in the sector!
“, thundered the Spanish Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Luis Planas Puchades, during a meeting with his European counterparts in Brussels.
The decision is based on a report by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) "
which is not up to date, and does not include all targeted fishing practices
", he argued, claiming "
to suspend the application
" of the text.
The measure "
does not take sufficient account of the available economic data
", added Cyril Piquemal, deputy permanent representative of France in Brussels.
He called for "
a review, upon publication
" of a new ICES opinion expected in November.
Lambasted by fishermen's organizations
Ireland, Portugal, Denmark, the Netherlands and Greece made the same request.
"
We must also take into consideration the viability of the fishing sector, which is subject to difficult economic conditions
", underlined the Greek Minister Georgios Georgantas.
The text had been strongly criticized by fishermen's organizations.
Read alsoFishing feeds the continent of plastic
Facing the ministers, the Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevicius, defended what he considers to be "
the best possible decision, based on the best recommendations available from ICES, and a balance between (environmental) protection and maintaining fishing activities
”.
Closing the door to any suspension, he however indicated that the text could be modified in the future according to the scientific opinions established annually from the data provided by the States.
In the immediate future, the Commission “
is ready to discuss to facilitate the application of the text, pending the scientific recommendations for 2023
”, on which “
we cannot prejudge
”, he underlined.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/JKNMV5QC6BOTHMYCTVK4JK4J7I.jpg)
