MEPs place cap on deep-sea fishing
The ban applies to bottom trawling, which often causes damage to seabed habitats. Tougher at-sea checks and transparent data collection rules also apply.
“This deep-sea fishing regulation is highly symbolic,” said Isabelle Thomas, from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament. “Deep-sea fishing is an economic activity which, besides its social function on providing jobs, also provides food and has a strong environmental impact.
“We have won an agreement tailored to our priorities and all its aims.”
The new regulation means it will be illegal to fish below a depth of 800 metres, protecting vulnerable ecosystems on the seabed.
Under the new law, separate rules to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) below depths of 400 metres will be enforced. If a catch exceeds set amounts of VME indicator species, fishing must cease immediately and only resume when the vessel has moved at least five nautical miles away from where it first connected with the VME.
The North-East Atlantic ‘footprint’ area was also restricted by the EU where deep-sea fishing is permitted to the area where deep-sea fishing took place between 2009 and 2011. The rule applies to vessels targeting deep-sea species.
MEPs also implemented stronger transparency safeguards by including obligations where information must be provided to the public regarding EU vessels targeting deep-sea species and to report all catches.
European Union member states will be required to provide additional information on the location of vulnerable ecosystems (impact assessments), with the EU Commission assessing this data on an annual basis and to adapt the footprint area accordingly.
A clause on tougher checks at sea was also inserted by MEPs. Twenty per cent of vessels will need to have an observer (scientist) on board to ensure that timely and accurate data is being collected.
