Greater stakeholder involvement in fisheries management

A key component of the new Common Fisheries Policy, which was reformed in late 2002, was the formation of Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) to give stakeholders a greater say in the way fisheries are managed in areas they cover. The first of six bodies, the North Sea RAC, was created late last year, writes Gillian Mills.

According to the European Commission, these bodies will provide a permanent framework linking stakeholders at regional and local level and the Commission and the member states concerned. “They will enable the fishing sector to work more closely with scientists in collating reliable data and discussing ways of improving scientific advice.”

The RACs will also provide a forum for the fishing industry to enter into dialogue and to work with other interested parties on identifying options regarding the management of specific fisheries. Their recommendations and suggestions can then be submitted to the Commission and to the relevant member states.

 

Marine minister of the day Dermot Ahern said that the Irish fishing industry deserved a lot of credit for being one of the main driving forces in firstly identifying the need for this reform and then pushing so strongly for its implementation.

“The industry is broadly supportive of these new structures because they address what has been seen as a fundamental weakness – the lack of communication between fishermen, scientists and environmental interests.

”This is a new approach to effective co-operation in the enlarged European Union. As the Union expands, the need to actively develop such networks to facilitate communication between European citizens and policymakers becomes increasingly important. This also will remove the sense of isolation and distance that many fishing communities in Ireland and elsewhere feel about the decision-making machinery in Brussels.”

Each RAC will cover sea areas under the jurisdiction of at least two member states. EU funding will be available during the RACs’ first five years. Funding in the first year will amount to €250,00 per council.

In addition to the North Sea RAC, another six bodies will be created to cover other areas or stocks:

Baltic Sea
Mediterranean Sea
North-western waters
South-western waters
Pelagic stocks (blue whiting, mackerel, horse mackerel and herring) in all areas
Distant water fisheries