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EU fisheries organisations join forces to address NGO claims over bottom trawling
European fisheries organisations have joined forces to counter the ongoing criticism and attack on bottom trawling.
At the initiative of the European umbrella organization Europêche, a consultation took place between the European fisheries organizations on Monday 10 January 2022.
Europêche President Javier Garat spoke in an introduction that the attack from the NGOs must be taken very seriously and that the fishing sector must offer an organised counter voice:
Bottom trawling under attack again
During the consultation, the recent action by a group of NGOs was discussed where the European Commission was asked to work towards a ban on bottom fishing. We also wrote about this subject before the turn of the year and after that the mutual fisheries organizations quickly entered into contracts with each other. In the short term there will be a meeting with European Commissioner Sinkevičius. Before the turn of the year, the European Commissioner received a petition from a group of NGOs asking for a ban on bottom-disturbing fishing. In addition to the previous talks that have already been exchanged with the European Commissioner on the subject, for example during the annual meeting of the EAPO , the fisheries sector wants to once again express its concerns about this indiscriminate action.
Joint and structured
Within Europêche, the intention had previously been expressed to unite all European fisheries specifically on this subject. In the meeting of Monday, January 10, 2022, it turned out that this call was widely heard. The organisations were represented from almost all countries with bottom fishing. Gerard van Balsfoort, who recently handed over the chairmanship of the Pelagic Freezer Association to Tim Heddema , has agreed to take on a coordinating role in structuring the work and cooperation between European fisheries organizations in this regard.
