EU warned of ‘harmful’ tsunami fishing vessel aid

By David Cronin

Date: 24/02/05

EU governments will next week approve a blueprint for fishing vessels to be given as aid to coastal communities hurt by the Indian Ocean tsunami, despite warnings from environmentalists that such aid might do more harm than good.

A meeting of the Union's fisheries ministers (28 February) is expected to adopt a plan proposed by the European Commission to alter the rules covering the EU's fisheries fund. EU money could then finance the transfer to Asia of vessels that would have been scrapped as a result of the overhaul of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy.

The European Parliament is to vote on the proposal under a procedure for urgent matters today (24 February).

Earlier in the week Ichiro Nomura, assistant director-general for fisheries with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), questioned whether the proposal would be appropriate on economic and ecological grounds.

In a letter to the Parliament's fisheries committee, Nomura argued that it would be difficult for fishermen in south-east Asia to use the boats "as there are several structural differences between the vessels of the North Atlantic and those vessels commonly used in the affected areas". Because most of the fish stocks in the tsunami-hit region have already been depleted, he urged that any measures designed to help coastal communities should promote "responsible and sustainable fishing practices".

Nomura noted that FAO advisors in Indonesia and Sri Lanka "have reported that neither country has considered the importation of fishing vessels as a desirable measure". The proposal has also been criticised by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The Commission's fisheries spokeswoman Mireille Thom said that it was seeking to remove any legal obstacles to transferring vessels in case a needs assessment being undertaken by the FAO concluded that boats from Europe could bring benefits to Asian fishermen. "We are not going to send vessels that are too old or too big," she said. The EU has recommended that eligible vessels for transfer must be shorter than 12 metres and 5-20 years old.

A meeting of the Union's Fisheries Ministers on 28 February 2005 was expected to adopt a plan proposed by the European Commission to alter the rules covering the EU's fisheries fund. EU money could then finance the transfer to Asia of vessels that would have been scrapped as a result of the overhaul of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy. But Ichiro Nomura, assistant director-general for fisheries with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), questioned whether the proposal would be appropriate on economic and ecological grounds.