Recommendations on the impact of the Commission’s “Marine Action Plan” on the market of fishery and aquaculture products

Recommendations on the impact of the Commission’s “Marine Action Plan” on the market of fishery and aquaculture products

The Market Advisory Council (MAC) provided recommendations to the European Commission and EU Member States concerning the communication “EU Action Plan: protecting and Restoring Marine Ecosystems for Sustainable and resilient Fisheries”, known as the “Marine Action Plan”.

Under the Marine Action Plan, the Commission calls on Member States to improve gear selectivity and reduce the impact of fisheries on sensitive species and the seabed, including the suggested ban on mobile bottom contacting gear in Marine Protected Areas by 2030 coupled with the objective of reaching 30% of protected seas in the EU. For example, according to a report of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, closing mobile contacting gear in Marine Protected would, in the absence of adaptation or mitigation measures, reduce the volume of EU landings from EU waters by 16% and, in terms of value, the decrease would be approximately 20%.

In order to objectively identify all the socio-economic consequences of the Marine Action Plan, the membership of the MAC recommended that:

1. The Commission should conduct a comprehensive socioeconomic impact assessment for all proposed actions not previously covered impact assessments, focusing on the producing sector and the market, including supply and imports.
2. The Commission and Member States should explore additional funding mechanisms alongside the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund.
3. When preparing national roadmaps, Member States should map out the existing legislative landscapes to ensure full coherence and consistency as well as collaborate closely with the Commission to ensure a level-playing-field in the implementation.
4. The Commission should organise a workshop dedicated to the impacts on the market of fishery and aquaculture products.

Julien Lamothe, Chair of the Working Group 1 (EU Production), highlighted: “Since the “Marine Action Plan” was published under a communication with non-binding status, the Commission was not obligated to conduct a socio-economic impact assessment. Nevertheless, as recognised by their own scientific body, the plan can have an impact on the supply to the EU market. Therefore, a comprehensive socioeconomic impact assessment should take place, which must account for the non-linear nature of consumption and compensation between species, the complexity of replicating consumer behaviour, and the flows between supply, processing, and consumption.”.

Full advice here.