Multiannual plan for small pelagic fish stocks in the Adriatic Sea

On 9 October 2018, the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries (PECH) adopted its report on a proposed multiannual plan to manage fisheries of small pelagic fish stocks (anchovy and sardine) in the Adriatic Sea. These stocks, which were in a poor state, were managed under a complex legal framework at EU, national and international level. They were exploited mainly by Italian and Croatian fishing vessels.

Multiannual fisheries management plans were essential tools for the sustainable exploitation of marine resources, offering notably better predictability over time and a framework for improved cooperation between the Member States concerned at sea basin level. With the new plan for Adriatic small pelagic stocks, the European Commission proposed to introduce a major shift in fisheries management in this area, currently based on fishing effort, by framing a system of setting total allowable catches (TACs).

The PECH report, however, supported maintaining the current fishing effort regime and opposed the introduction of TACs. It also required that catch limits for small pelagics were set in 2019 at the level of the 2014 catches, and reduced by 4% annually between 2020 and 2022.

EP: EPRS: Briefing: EU Legislation in Progress http://epthinktank.eu/eu-legislation-in-progress/

European Commission: Fisheries > The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) > Managing fisheries > Multi-annual plans https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/fishing_rules/multi_annual_plans_en

EPRS: Briefing: Establishing a multi-annual plan for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea [Initial Appraisal of a European Commission Impact Assessment, May 2017] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2017/603233/EPRS_BRI(2017)603233_EN.pdf

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