Commission highlights the need for fairer quota sharing across Member States

Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy states that quotas should be allocated in a fair and transparent manner taking into account social, environmental and economic criteria. Incentives should also be given for the use of more environmentally friendly fishing gear.

This all sounds good on paper, but unfortunately this article is extremely underutilised across the EU, including Ireland. Nearly 75% of all fishing vessels registered in the EU and nearly half of all employment in the fishing sector are small-scale, coastal fishing communities. So why are they not getting a fair share of the quota?  Last week, the European Commission released the long awaited communication  on guidance around Article 16 and 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy. Below we have highlighted some of the key points in the document.

Only around half of the Member States reported allocating fishing opportunities based on precise criteria and the most frequently applied criterion is the allocation based on historical catches. Member States are given a margin of discretion in choosing and designing allocation methods and this has been reported as a challenge. Many Member States, including Ireland, report using all criteria in allocation methods although it is unclear what the weighting is for each. Since there have been disparities across Member States on the reporting of quota allocation to the Commission they have included this template which should be followed.

 Information to be included when informing the Commission of the methods and criteria used to allocate fishing opportunities. 

– the form taken by fishing opportunities, be it quantified total allowable catches (TAC), quotas and fishing effort limits. 

– the criteria applied to allocate those opportunities, including at least one environmental criterion, one social criterion and one economic criterion. 

– how the criteria are weighted, including the existence of incentives provided, if any, as encouraged in Article 17. 

– the instruments used to ensure transparency, including the involvement of stakeholders in setting allocation methods and the communication of the results to the wider public.

Article 17 states that criteria used must be transparent, however it doesn’t require the details to be made publicly available. Good governance relies on transparency and stakeholders need to have clear information on how fishing opportunities are managed and the Commission has highlighted this previously. The Commission encourages the improvement of good governance by strengthening fairness, transparency, communication and information sharing (as well as the accuracy of the information). 

Unfortunately, Member States are not obliged to allocate fishing opportunities to the most sustainable fishing practices or to small-scale fishers, but the Commission continues to highlight the spirit of Article 17, ‘Member States should promote responsible fishing by providing incentives to those operators who fish in the least environmentally damaging way and who provide the greatest benefits for society.’ The leeway which is given due to the vast differences across the EU fishing fleets, allows Member States to interpret this how they wish. However, the Commission places special emphasis on small scale fishermen and women, emphasising their closer link with the social and economic fabric of fishing communities, their closer connection with the local environment, society and their important role in culture and heritage.  

All Irish fish producer organisations sit on the Quota management Advisory Committee which meets regularly, and yet inshore and island fishing representatives in Ireland have stated that Article 17 is not being utilised and smaller vessels are not getting a fair share of the quota. It is not clear why this is the case but it is something that fishing communities, politicians and environmentalists have been highlighting for many years. There are 1950 registered fishing vessels in Ireland and over 1300 of these are under 10m in length. With marine ecosystem health and cultural heritage at stake, supporting the vast majority of the fleet should be the Government’s top priority.

Grace Carr

Marine Advocacy Officer