Bijdrage plenaire verga­dering over bescherming en herstel van mariene ecosys­temen voor een duurzame en veer­krachtige visserij

Anja Hazekamp (PvdD): Mr President, an unidentified monster was the reason that Jules Verne’s hero Aronnax undertook his journey, twenty thousand leagues under the sea. In his adventure, he discovered beautiful coral reefs and amazing wildlife.

If we were to follow Aronnax today, we would not find Captain Nemo and luscious sea life. We would find plastics, forever chemicals, heavy metals, dying coral reefs and further and further diminishing shoals of fish. And just as in Verne’s masterpiece, the threat is man-made. We’ve managed to put our oceans at grave peril all by ourselves. The monster is us.

I am glad that the High Seas Treaty has been signed, but a piece of paper is not enough. What will the Commissioner do for its implementation? How will we properly protect marine reserves? And when will we finally put an end to subsidised overfishing and destructive bottom trawling?