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French Minister Frederic Cuvillier considers a phase out of deep-sea bottom trawling is no acceptable. (Photo: The Council of the European Union/EC)
Minister accused of derailing debate on deep-sea conservation
(FRANCE, 7/19/2012)
France’s Government is trying to disrupt a debate on deep-sea conservation within the European Union (EU) apparently to protect the country’s minority fishing interests. These interests include those of French retail chain Intermarche, which owns several large-scale deep-sea trawlers, as it was stated by Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.
Former French Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and now the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier attended the Council of Fisheries Ministers of the EU this week, which launched the round for total allowable catches (TACs) and 2013 quotas.
The meeting revealed positive trends and a significant improvement in several stocks: the number of stocks exploited at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) has been rising steadily -- 53 per cent of stocks were fished sustainably in 2012 versus just 25 per cent in 2010.
According to the Coalition, at the last minute during the meeting, Barnier tried to delay the European Commission’s (EC) proposal to phase out deep-sea bottom trawling from going before the European Parliament.
French Minister of Fisheries Frederic Cuvillier then intervened and told the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, that a phase out of deep-sea bottom trawling is “not acceptable” to France.
Notably, his statement appears to clash with his government’s position as stated last month during the UN Rio+20 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, the group highlights. The French delegation led by President Hollande attended the conference and worked diligently to obtain protection for high seas biodiversity.
“Perhaps Minister Cuvillier does not realise how much of the high seas is deep ocean and that these same ecosystems are under threat from bottom trawl fishing in EU waters as well as on the high seas,” commented Matthew Gianni of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition. “Or perhaps Cuvillier is out of step with his president.”
Gianni called on the French Government to allow the matter to be debated openly by the European Parliament.
“This blatant self-interest has been seen on a number of occasions in relation to fisheries. The French Government must address at the highest level the duty to protect the marine environment and ensure sustainable fisheries in the deep-sea,” he added.
Related article:
- Green group sues Intermarché over false advertising
By Natalia Real
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