language version - Europa

CONTEXT
EUROPEAN FISHERIES
Despite the ambitious reform of the common fisheries policy
(CFP) adopted in 2002, there has been little improvement in
the situation of Community fishing activities. Many fish stocks
are still being overexploited. The fishing fleet remains oversized
and, in a quest for profitability, it is trying to push back the frontiers
of its activities, by fishing over greater distances, at greater
depths, and for smaller fish. The financial problems have been
exacerbated by rising costs, pressure from imports (60% of consumption)
and the increasing power of mass marketing.
The crisis the sector is experiencing is due to a combination of
factors. Fishing activities are suffering from reduced catches
as a result of the poor situation of fish stocks and restricted
access to certain stocks. The combined effects of overcapacity
and the low level of many stocks are reflected in poor economic
returns in the catching sector and low profitability in
many fleets.
Rising costs owing to increasing fuel prices and market trends
are also having an effect on the fisheries sector’s economic
results. The market is suffering the impact of, among other
things, imports from third countries, concentrated distribution
and the reduced purchasing power of consumers. The rate at
which the crisis in the fisheries sector is developing, and its
extent, are striking. Between 2005 and 2007 the value of the
fresh products covered by the Common Market Organisation
(CMO) fell by 50% and the quantities marketed by 60%.
Following a period of sustained growth, world catches appear
to have hit a ceiling of 145 million tonnes. In the early
1990s, European Union catches represented 7% of world
fishing activities, putting the EU in third place as a global
producer, behind China and Peru. Between 1992 and 2006
there was a gradual reduction of 21% in European production,
even taking account of successive enlargements, to
5.3 million tonnes. In 2005, Community production represented
6% of world catches. In 2006, these catches could be
broken down as follows: 75% of Community catches came
from the north-east Atlantic, 11% from the Mediterranean
and the Black Sea, 8% from the central-eastern Atlantic, and
3% from the western Indian Ocean.
The 2004 enlargement, with 10 new Member States, prompted
a 9% increase in European Union catches. However, 97%
of this increase came from catches in the four countries
along the Baltic coast. Of these four countries, only Lithuania
has maintained a steady level of catches throughout
the past decade, whereas catches have decreased by 54% in
Poland, 34% in Estonia and 21% in Latvia.
In 2006, five Member States (Denmark, Spain, France, the
UK and the Netherlands) accounted for 60% of Community
production. There are major structural differences between
these five countries. Sixty-nine per cent of Danish production
and 6% of UK production is destined for industrial use,
mainly for the manufacture of fish meal. In Spain, France and
the Netherlands, 100% of production is destined for human
consumption. This situation is fully reflected in the value of
catches and employment in the fisheries sector. For example,
the unit value of landings in Spain is seven times higher
than that of landings in Denmark.
The decline in the total production of fisheries products follows
the downward trend in catches, and aquaculture is unable to
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