18
Jan
2024
Watch
Implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and future perspectives (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the common fisheries policy aims to support fishing communities, sustain fishing stocks, protect the environment and ensure fair distribution of opportunities across the EU. The common fisheries policy is fair for some, but not for all: 85% of the fish that’s taken out of Irish waters is taken by countries other than Ireland, with Ireland getting 15%. When it comes to reciprocal arrangements with third countries, they are worth about 60 million to third countries, but Ireland gets approximately 1 million in return. When it comes to processing those fish, many of the European fish go to Iceland and the Faroe Islands to be processed there, losing the opportunities of the multiplier effect in the local economy in Ireland. And finally, this has all been compounded by Brexit: 40% of the value of fish transfers to the UK came from Ireland; 15% of Irish quota was lost to the UK. The common fisheries policy in many ways serves unsustainable fishing by Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands at the expense of countries like Ireland. It’s a common fisheries policy for countries outside the EU and not for some countries within the EU, and we need to ensure that it’s much more sustainable, and we have to make sure that the opportunities that are there are for European fishermen in particular.