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Print versionConservative pressure and amendments pay off for recreational sea anglers
SARAH NEWTON has today welcomed the latest development over plans to bring recreational sea-anglers into the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) by the European Parliament’s fisheries committee.
Sarah said she was “delighted” that the European Parliament has adopted an amendment which will form parts of the opinion on the proposal.
Article 47 of the proposed regulation would have required recreational fishermen to register their boats and the authorities to monitor whatever thy catch. Each country will also be required to allocate what share20of its quota for each fish species will be available for commercial and recreational fisheries use.
Struan Stevenson MEP, Conservative fisheries spokesman in the European Parliament, has led opposition to Article 47 in Brussels and while his amendment to delete it altogether was rejected, he was able to reword the proposal so that national governments could decide whether they would include recreational fishermen in the regulation.
In an answer to a written question posed to the commission by Mr Stevenson, EU Fisheries Commissioner, Joe Borg, confirmed: "The normal hobby angler who catches an insignificant number of fish when he goes out fishing and uses it exclusively for his private consumption will not be covered by the control regulation, even if he catches fish like cod which is under a recovery plan."
After the vote, Mr Stevenson said: “I am sorry that my amendment to delete article 47 was defeated in the Fisheries Committee.
“However, the fallback amendment which won majority support, together with the written answer I have received from Commissioner Borg, reassures me that recreational anglers have nothing to fear from the revised article 47.
“Only fishermen who target recovery stocks such as cod, hake, eel and bluefin tuna and seek to sell their catch, will come under the jurisdiction of the CFP.
“Recreational anglers who are simply catching fish, even cod or other recovery stock fish, for20their own consumption, will not be affected.”
Earlier this year, Sarah and Neil Parish MEP launched a petition in Falmouth in to prevent recreational sea anglers being caught up in this EU red-tape.
Today, she met with the recently appointed Shadow Fisheries Minister, Richard Benyon MP, as part of his fact-finding tour of Cornwall’s fishing industry.
Sarah, who is also the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Truro & Falmouth, said: “I am delighted that Conservative MEPS have been successful so far in arguing the case on behalf of our recreational sea anglers.
“I was also delighted to be able to be able to talk to Richard Benyon about this latest development and about the petition which was launched with Neil Parish MEP. It was important that he was able to hear first hand about how it affects our local fishing community.”
Jimmy Buchan, star of BBC TV's 'Trawlermen” series and Chairman of the Scottish Fishermen's Organisation (SFO) said: “I am delighted that the majority of recreational anglers are now taken out of the equation.
“However I am alarmed that for those who seek to sell their catch, quota will be deducted from hard-pressed commercial skippers to provide them with an allocation. I have voiced my concerns about this to Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg in person.”
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