Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player
 

  • Nederlands
  • Deutsch
Search in the Encyclopedia

Dieren en planten

Water en land

Fishery policy

Many countries fish in the North Sea. Therefore, international agreements have been made to protect interests of all those involved, including the fished animals. In the European Union, the countries located around the North Sea discuss the various instruments in the fishery policy. How much fish is allowed to be caught (quota establishment). When are the fishermen allowed to fish and how many days in the year can be fished (regulating the sea days). How many ships are allowed to fish? These are the kinds of questions the politicians in Europe make agreements upon. The individual countries make additional national regulations for coastal fisheries and fisheries in the tidal regions. The Fisheries Act is the legal basis for the policy. The Dutch Fish Product Board provides an excellent summary (in Dutch) and news concerning fishery rules on its site.

  • European agreements

    The most important EU rules for sea fisheries concern joint management of the fish stocks. The rules are described in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). This policy was established in 1983 and was radically revised in 2002 because the fish stocks were in very bad shape. The CFP determines how much fish is allowed to be caught and how many vessels a member state may have in a fleet. The goal is to maintain the fish populations, protect the fishing grounds and preserve biological resources and fishing in an economically and socially responsible manner.

    In many cases, control over all these regulations is far below acceptable. Data concerning catches are incorrect, there is little control on board the ships themselves and those fishermen who break the rules are not punished. That is why sharper agreements concerning the CFP were made in 2011.

  • Catch limitations

    Every year, based upon catch data from the fishermen, the fisheries ministers of the member EU states determine how much of a specific fish species may be caught. This is called the Total Allowable Catch (TAC). The TACs determine the fish quota: how much fish and which fish a country is allowed to catch. Every country can distribute the quota among their own fishermen.