Press Release: EU united in call for effective action against destructive fishing methods at UN General Assembly

The European Union will again be calling for an effective package of measures to tackle the impact of destructive fishing practices on the high seas at the UN General Assembly debate on sustainable fisheries which resumes on 17 November 2006 in New York. The Member States of the EU have given their unanimous support to the position that will be advanced by the European Commission on their behalf. Based on the conviction that Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) are key to the effective governance of high seas fisheries, the Commission will propose a radical overhaul to the regulatory approach by both RFMOs and States. Today, any activity that is not regulated is implicitly permitted. In the future, fishing with bottom gears that may have adverse impacts on vulnerable ecosystems would need to be assessed before it is authorised. This far-reaching change in the way in which fishing activities with potential destructive effects are regulated represents a decisive step forward in ensuring both better fisheries governance and effective environmental protection.