Amen­de­menten Hazekamp over het actieplan: bescherming en herstel van mariene ecosys­temen voor een duurzame en veer­krachtige visserij

Motion for a resolution on the EU Action Plan: protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries of the Committee on Fisheries.

Amendment 1
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Amendment

A a. Whereas healthy seabed habitats are a key part of a healthy planet and healthy marine ecosystems, providing nursery and spawning grounds for many species, contributing to maintaining the structure and functioning of marine food webs, and regulating the climate; whereas 79% of the coastal seabed is considered to be physically disturbed, mainly caused by bottom trawling, and a quarter of the EU’s coastal area has probably lost its seabed habitats; whereas the most intensely fished areas are trawled over 10 times a year;

Amendment 2
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Amendment

A b. Whereas seabed biodiversity can recover if the pressure is diminished, for example by reducing mobile bottom fishing; whereas the recovery of seabed biodiversity brings major benefits for ecosystems and society, including fisheries, through the recovery of fish populations and helps to avoid the degradation of the marine environment;

Amendment 3
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Amendment

A c. Whereas mobile bottom fishing remains widespread in EU waters, taking place in 80-90% of fishable areas in the Northeast Atlantic, including in many Natura 2000 sites and other Marine Protected Areas; wheras this undermines the achievement of global conservation targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity and risks threatening the progress on climate change mitigation;

Amendment 4
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Motion for a resolution

1. Deplores the fact that, despite the EU fisheries sector’s great efforts and progress towards protecting marine ecosystems and making them sustainable, the oceans are still subject to climate change, acidification and pollution through pollutants such as nitrites, plastics and other marine litter or waste from land-based activities, which are beyond the control of fishers and pose a significant threat to their livelihoods and marine ecosystems;

Amendment

1. Deplores the fact that oceans and marine ecosystems are still subject to destructive fishing techniques, overfishing, climate change, acidification and pollution through pollutants such as nitrites, plastics and other marine litter and waste from land-based activities which are beyond the control of fishers, posing significant threats to fishers' livelihoods and marine ecosystems;

Amendment 5
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

Amendment

1 a. Welcomes the EU Action Plan: Protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries; Reiterates its support for the EU 2030 biodiversity strategy and its objective to protect at least 30 % of sea area in the EU, including through fish population recovery areas and areas where the most destructive fishing techniques and economic activities are restricted;

Amendment 6
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Motion for a resolution

2. Believes, like all stakeholders involved in fisheries and environmental policies, that healthy marine ecosystems benefit our health, society and economy, and are essential for the planet and the populations that rely on them;

Amendment

2. Believes that healthy marine ecosystems benefit our health, society and economy, and are essential for the planet and the populations that rely on them;

Amendment 7
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Motion for a resolution

3. Considers that Commissioner Sinkevičius’s action plan lacks a coherent approach with other Commission priorities and strategies, such as ensuring food security, the strategic autonomy of the EU and a level playing field with non-EU countries, as well as the fight against rising prices, enhancing the social dimension of the common fisheries policy (CFP) and strengthening economic growth and employment;

Amendment

3. Welcomes the EU
action plan as part of the ambition to ensure that by 2050 all of the world’s ecosystems are restored, resilient, and adequately protected; reiterates that all efforts should be made to achieve this goal as soon possible;

Amendment 8
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Motion for a resolution

6. Insists on the fact that MPAs are diverse in terms of size, species, habitats and ecosystems targeted and should not be seen as uniform areas; considers, therefore, that the action plan supports an oversimplified approach, in particular by proposing a blanket ban on certain fishing gear, thus giving the impression that all MPAs should be treated in the same way; calls for a balance to be struck between the proposal to increase closures of traditional fishing areas, on the one hand, and maintaining fishing activity, on the other;

Amendment

6. Insists on the fact that MPAs are diverse in terms of size, species, habitats and ecosystems targeted and should not be seen as uniform areas; Emphasises that nature, fish and other living organisms have an intrinsic value, even if they remain unexploited by human activities;

Amendment 9
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

Amendment

6 a. Reiterates its call for a legally binding objective to protect at least 30% of the EU's sea area, and to strictly protect at least 10% of the EU's sea area;

Amendment 10
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Motion for a resolution

7. Considers that MPAs and all strictly protected areas are not an end in themselves and that their designation as protected areas will not prevent bad practices by foreign fleets, such as the Chinese fleet around the Galápagos sanctuary;

Amendment

7. Considers that MPAs and all strictly protected areas are not an end in themselves and that their designation as protected areas will not prevent bad practices, without ensuring that the protected status is accompanied by measures that prohibit extractive and other destructive activities within those areas;

Amendment 11
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Motion for a resolution

8. Is of the opinion that closing fishing zones to bottom trawlers is not simply a matter of moving fishing vessels so that they can continue to fish elsewhere, as this approach fails to take into account, among other things, the fishers’ understanding of the seabed and the presence of other fishing vessels in adjacent areas which could cause an overlap and lead to a localised overexploitation of resources and the deterioration of working conditions;

Amendment

8. Welcomes the Commission's objective to gradually phase out bottom fishing in all Marine Protected Area's s at the latest by 2030, in view of their key role in restoration of marine biodiversity and the importance of the seabed for healthy marine ecosystems and climate change mitigation; calls on the Commission to set legally binding targets to ensure that the goal to phase out bottom fishing in all Marine Protected Area's at the latest by 2030 is achieved; calls on the Member States to adopt ambitious measures to prohibit mobile bottom fishing in MPAs.

Amendment 12
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Motion for a resolution

12. Emphasises the complexity and diversity of the management of the eel stock, which is not confined to a single marine-focused approach; highlights the fact that by focusing on annual fishing opportunities, other important factors are neglected, such as migration barriers, habitat quality, and illegal catches and trade; stresses that the Eel Regulation takes a holistic and comprehensive approach which captures both the marine and freshwater life stages of the eel and addresses both fisheries and non-fisheries impacts on eel stocks;

Amendment

12. Emphasises the complexity and diversity of the management of the eel populations, which is not confined to a single marine-focused approach; stresses that the Eel Regulation takes a holistic and comprehensive approach which captures both the marine and freshwater life stages of the eel and addresses both fisheries and non-fisheries impacts on eel populations;

Amendment 13
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

Amendment

12 a. Endorses the proposal to improve the protection of the European eel by adopting or updating existing Eel Management Plans under the Eel Regulation in the light of new knowledge and on the basis of the report referred to in Article 9 of the Eel Regulation, in order to strengthen conservation and management measures and measures to addres migration barriers, habitat loss and water quality issues as a matter of urgency, in line with scientific advice;

Amendment 14
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)

Amendment

12 b. Expresses its concern over the fact that the European eel is listed as "critically endangered" under the IUCN Red List; calls on the Commission and Member States to take all recovery measures necessary, until eel populations have recovered and are back within safe biological limits;

Amendment 15
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Motion for a resolution

13. Stresses that measures taken outside the context of the Eel Regulation undermine the coherence of adopted policy; deplores the fact that Council Regulation (EU) 2023/194⁷ has restricted eel fisheries by introducing a six-month closure period without proper stakeholder consultation or an impact assessment on the socio-economic effects; considers, therefore, that an analysis of the species’ recovery and its possible role in combating invasive species should be undertaken before implementing further restrictive measures, as announced in the action plan;

⁷ Council Regulation (EU) 2023/194 of 30 January 2023 fixing for 2023 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, for Union fishing vessels, in certain non-Union waters, as well as fixing for 2023 and 2024 such fishing opportunities for certain deep-sea fish stocks, OJ L 28, 31.1.2023, p. 1.

Amendment

13. Highlights the ICES advise to allow zero eel catches in all habitats in 2023, applying to both recreational and commercial catches, including catches of glass eels for restocking and aquaculture; expresses that it is irresponsible and unethical to continue hunting or fishing animal species that are critically endangered; calls on the Commission and Member States to prohibit all eel catches until the European eel is back wihtin safe biological limits;

⁷ Council Regulation (EU) 2023/194 of 30 January 2023 fixing for 2023 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks, applicable in Union waters and, for Union fishing vessels, in certain non-Union waters, as well as fixing for 2023 and 2024 such fishing opportunities for certain deep-sea fish stocks, OJ L 28, 31.1.2023, p. 1.

Amendment 16
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Motion for a resolution

14. Notes the numerous declarations and clear statements by Member State representatives criticising the action plan and the associated uncertainties and rejecting the ban on bottom trawling in MPAs;

Amendment

deleted

Amendment 17
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

Motion for a resolution

17. Notes the Commission’s embarrassing lack of clarity on the legal consequences of the action plan, due to its many contradictory statements, particularly those made within Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries; considers that this has had a damaging impact on many sectors of the fishing industry, such as the brown shrimp sector, at a time when the uncertainties linked to the current crises are weighing heavily on their morale;

Amendment

deleted

Amendment 18
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

Motion for a resolution

19. Supports the Commission President’s proposal, in her 2023 State of the Union address, that every new piece of legislation should undergo a competitiveness check; requests that the action plan and fisheries-related proposals and other initiatives include a competitiveness check on their socio-economic impact and their effect on coastal communities;

Amendment

deleted

Amendment 19
Anja Hazekamp

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

Motion for a resolution

21. Calls for an action plan that, along with the CFP, contributes to productivity growth, a decent standard of living in the fisheries sector, including the small-scale fisheries sector, and stable markets, and that ensures the availability of food without compromising food security or the sovereignty gap;

Amendment

21. Calls for an action plan that, along with the CFP, contributes to sustainable
productivity, a decent standard of living in the fisheries sector, including the small-scale fisheries sector, and stable markets, and that ensures the availability of fish and healthy marine ecosystems, also in the medium and long term ;