EU Action Plan: protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries

Wording as published by the EP, in English.

1. Amendment 1Adopted

   Paragraph 1 a (new)

   Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +80 · Members

   Added: 1a. Highlights the intrinsic value of the ocean and all species depending on it; stresses that healthy marine ecosystems are essential for life on Earth and play a key role in planetary well-being; acknowledges the need to improve ocean protection at global and EU level;

2. Amendment 2Adopted

   Paragraph 10 a (new)

   Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +79 · Members

   Added: 10a. Welcomes the fact that the action plan also addresses the potential for introducing additional measures to boost selectivity, including innovations to improve the selectivity of fishing gear and devices and measures to reduce catches of juveniles and the by-catch of sensitive species; recalls that incidental catches of sensitive marine species have to be reduced and, where possible, eliminated so that they do not threaten the conservation status of these species, as required by Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the conservation of fisheries resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures;

3. Amendment 3Adopted

   Paragraph 10 b (new)

   Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +80 · Members

   Added: 10b. Welcomes the Commission’s calls to reduce the by-catch of sensitive species; highlights, in particular, the urgent need to act to reduce the by-catch of common dolphins and porpoises by establishing short-term closures of certain fishing areas combined with acoustic deterrent devices and improved monitoring systems, in line with scientific advice; recalls that financial compensation and incentives are available under the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) for mitigating the socio-economic impacts of those measures;

4. Amendment 4Adopted

   Paragraph 11 a (new)

   Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +80 · Members

   Added: 11a. Stresses, for example, that scientific studies show that increasing mesh sizes and minimum landing sizes would make it possible to leave the youngest fish in the water and therefore increase the chances for fish populations to reproduce, leading to higher yields for fishers and higher landings per unit effort;

5. Amendment 5Adopted

   Paragraph 13 a (new)

   Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +81 · Members

   Added: 13a. Notes that there is a strong scientific consensus that MPAs can be beneficial to fisheries because of their spillover effect and their positive effects on recruitment, for example, through the protection of reproduction sites, juveniles and big mother fish with high reproductive capacities, as shown in various MPAs across the EU; highlights that, when successful, MPAs offer substantial socio-economic benefits, especially for coastal communities and the fisheries and tourism sector, and that MPAs can perform key ecological functions for the reproduction of fish populations, such as by providing spawning grounds and nurseries, and improve their resilience;

6. Amendment 6Rejected

   Paragraph 13 b (new)

   Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +80 · Members

   Added: 13b. Regrets the fact that many Member States have designated a large number of MPAs over the past decades without paying sufficient attention to their level of protection and effective management; calls on EU Member States to consider redesigning their maps of MPAs on the basis of high-quality criteria and to build science-based ecological networks of effective and sufficiently protected areas, including no-take zones, that deliver positive results for oceans, fishers and society as a whole;

7. Amendment 7Rejected

   Paragraph 14 a (new)

   Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +78 · Members

   Added: 14a. Reiterates its call to launch and fund scientific research programmes for mapping carbon-rich marine habitats in EU waters, which would serve as a basis for designating such areas as strictly protected MPAs, in order to protect and restore marine carbon sinks in line with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and to protect and restore ecosystems, in particular those on the seabed, in line with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, thereby protecting them from human activities that could disturb and release carbon into the water column, such as bottom-contact fishing operations;

8. Amendment 8Adopted

   Paragraph 17 a (new)

   Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +81 · Members

   Added: 17a. Expresses its deep concern regarding the impact of oil and gas extraction on the marine environment, as well as on fisheries and aquaculture; reiterates its call to prohibit all environmentally damaging extractive industrial activities, such as mining and fossil fuel extraction, in MPAs;

9. Amendment 9Rejected

   Paragraph 18 a (new)

   Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +78 · Members

   Added: 18a. Recalls its concern regarding the widespread physical disturbance of the sea floor in coastal EU waters, in particular as a result of bottom trawling, which has been identified by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN as the gear type that contributes most to annual levels of discard and that has a highly detrimental impact on the seabed depending on the fishery and the particularities of the fished areas; notes that bottom trawling is one of the most used fishing techniques in the EU and that reducing bottom trawling should be done carefully, properly planned by governments and based on the best available scientific advice;

10. Amendment 10Rejected

    Paragraph 18 b (new)

    Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +78 · Members

    Added: 18b. Welcomes the fact that the action plan calls on Member States to progressively phase out bottom trawling in MPAs and to mitigate the effects of bottom trawling on seabed ecosystems; stresses that long-term visibility and financial support is needed to ensure a just transition that leaves no fisher behind; considers that the same objectives should be defended at international level;

11. Amendment 11Rejected

    Paragraph 23 a (new)

    Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +76 · Members

    Added: 23a. Reiterates its support for tackling the detrimental impacts on the climate, sea-floor integrity, fish populations and sensitive species (as bycatch) of fishing techniques, such as demersal seine, mobile bottom-contacting gear, drift nets, or fish aggregating devices (FAD), including by limiting their use;

12. Amendment 12Rejected

    Paragraph 23 b (new)

    Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +78 · Members

    Added: 23b. Recalls its position on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of 11 December 2013, as regards restrictions to the access to Union waters1a, calling for a ban on demersal seine (Danish and Scottish seine) in French waters, as demanded by regional fisheries organisations; calls for the Member States and the EU to prohibit the use of demersal seine in all EU waters; ______________ 1a Texts adopted, P9_TA(2022)0395.

13. Amendment 13Rejected

    Paragraph 23 c (new)

    Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +76 · Members

    Added: 23c. Calls for fishing vessels over 25 metres in length to be prohibited from fishing in EU waters up to 12 nautical miles from the baselines;

14. Amendment 14Adopted

    Paragraph 39 a (new)

    Tabled by Caroline Roose, Anja Hazekamp, Catherine Chabaud +79 · Members

    Added: 39a. Recalls that Member States must fully implement Article 17 CFP when allocating fishing opportunities; calls on the Member States to allocate fishing opportunities on the basis of transparent and objective criteria based on the social and environmental performance of fishing fleets and to implement Article 17 as a tool to incentivise low-impact responsible fishing practices;