New reports confirm need for reform of EU fisheries policy

Two recent reports by the European Commission add further weight to calls for significant structural change within the EU fish catching sector and a far reaching reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to EC.

Commissioner Damanaki stated "We need to bring EU fleets back to profitability and we must avoid keeping subsidizing overfishing, at a high cost to taxpayers. We need to reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, to provide sustainable solutions to turn this situation around and ensure a viable economic future for the EU fisheries sector. "

The 2010 Annual Economic Report on the EU fishing fleet shows a reduction in economic performance of the EU fishing sector in recent years.  A second report, on Member States' fishing capacity, concludes that the size of the EU fishing fleet continues to decrease at a very slow pace, maintaining a situation of overcapacity in most of the fleet.

More information: IP/11/778 - Fisheries: new reports confirm need for reform of EU fisheries policy