Sustainable fishing is possible

Green MEPs hosted a press breakfast this morning to highlight their 10 demands for the EU Common Fisheries Policy reform.

Marine resources are in crisis. European fish stocks are at critical levels and a dysfunctional EU Common Fisheries Policy is making matters worse. Fishermen and coastal communities are at risk due to perverse rules and incentives that favour those most responsible for this crisis. But there is an alternative. Instead of consumers having to check fish against lists of sustainable stocks, ALL European fish could be sustainable by 2020. That is why the Greens say Save the Fish, Save the Fishermen.

Marine resources are a public good, not a private resource. The right to exploit those resources, therefore, should be allocated according to criteria that ensure that fishing contributes as far as possible to the public interest. Greens propose that the allocation of the right to fish should be based upon criteria rather than market forces – specifically, on the environmental and social aspects of the fishing. Fishermen should be required to demonstrate that their fishing operations do not damage the marine environment and make significant contributions to coastal fishing communities. This view of who should have the right to fish colours Green demands.

These include: