1. Go Fish!
The Common Fisheries Policy of the
European Union and its effects on the
United Kingdom and Norway
Amy N. Durbin
George Mason University
April 2012

2. Fish Facts
• 85% of the world’s fisheries are overfished
• The World Bank estimates a $50 billion loss from
over fishing and IUU
• European Union (EU) fleets are located in the
Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans
• 3 of 4 stocks are overfished, 82% of the
Mediterranean and 63% of the Atlantic
• EU fishing fleet estimated to be 2-3 times larger
than that required for sustainable fisheries

3. Image. http://www.computescotland.com/eu-fishing-edge-of-collapse-4444.php

4. What is the Common Fisheries Policy?
A supranational policy that was created to manage
the fishing industry in an effort to preserve
traditional fishing patterns and diffuse tensions of
the EU Member-States with heavy fishing sectors.
The current Commissioner for
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is
Maria Damanaki
“We need new ideas. In our proposals for a new
Common Fisheries Policy we want to break with
the past.” – Maria Damanaki
December 2011
Image: http://europa.eu/newsroom/calendar/event/id/2764/mode/standalone

5. History of the CFP
• 1970 – Accession process begins with United Kingdom,
Ireland, Denmark, and Norway
• 1976- EEZ were extended from 12 to 200nm
• 1983 – Common Fisheries Policy formally created
• 1990 – Norway and Iceland once again discussed joining
the European Union
• 1992- First reform of the CFP
• 2002 – Second reform of the CFP is completed
• 2005- Creation of the European Fisheries Control Agency
• 2009-2015- Current Northern Agreements with Norway
and Iceland
• 2012 – Push for reform of the CFP by EU officials and
non-state actors

6. How the CFP Works
1. Ensures Europe’s fisheries are sustainable through
rules and guidelines
2. Provides national authorities with the tools to enforce
the rules and penalize offenders
3. Monitors the size of the fishing fleet and prevents fleet
expansion
4. Provides funding and technical support for
sustainability initiatives
5. Negotiates on behalf of EU Member-States in
international fisheries organizations and other third-
countries

7. How the CFP Works
6. Helps producers, processors and distributors get a fair
price and ensure consumers they can trust the product
7. Supports the development of an EU aquaculture sector
8. Funds scientific research and data collection
Image. http://fishreg.jrc.ec.europa.eu/projects Image. http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/40683

8. Rules of the CFP
• Fishing Effort Limitations
– Limits the size of the fishing fleet and the length of time
allowed to be at sea
• Total Allowable Catch/Quotas
– Catch limits that are set for fish stocks, proposed by the
Commission, but ultimately decided upon by the Council of
Fisheries Ministers
– TACs are shared between Member-States based on
“relative stability”
• Technical Measures
– Limit the locations of fishing, the size of the mesh for nets,
limits of by-catches, and measures to prevent damage to
the marine environment

9. Multi-annual Plans and RACs
• Multi-annual Plans are used to set goals for
specific fish stocks and create a way to reach the
sustainable level, referred to as the “maximum
sustainable yield”
• Regional Advisory Councils were created by the
Commission to ensure that stakeholders have a
voice in policy making regarding fisheries

10. Regional Advisory Councils
Image. http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/partners/regional_advisory_councils/index_en.htm

11. European Fisheries Control Agency
• Created in 2005 to organize coordination of fisheries control
and inspection activities by the Member-States
• Assist in Member-State relations with third-countries and
Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO’s)
• Ensure communication with stakeholders, particularly with the
Regional Advisory Councils (RACs)
• Official seat is Vigo, Spain
• Consists of:
– An administration board consisting of 1 representative from
each Member-State and 6 representatives from the
Commission, with the chair-person elected from the
Commission representatives
– An Executive Director appointed by the board

12. The European Fisheries Fund
• Implemented in 2007
• Current budget for 2007-2013 is EUR 4.3 billion
• How it works:
– National authorities submit a plan on how they see their
long-term development of fisheries and aquaculture meet
the CFP’s objective.
– Next, they submit an operative program with more detail
on the practices they want to implement with the funds
• The Fund targets 5 priority areas: adjustment of fleet axis;
aquaculture, processing, and inland fishing; measures of
common interest; sustainable development; technical
assistance

13. The United Kingdom and the CFP
• Around 25,000 people are employed by the fishing
industry in the UK
• UK registered vessels must maintain a real economic link
with a UK population dependent on fisheries and related
industries (through various ways)
• Scotland is concerned over the reforms leading to a cut in
fleet size and jobs
• Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA) has been critical of the current CFP
• UK responded positively to the 2009 Green Paper
• “Hugh’s Fish Fight” http://www.fishfight.net/

14. Norway and the CFP
• Jointly manages stocks in the North Sea, partners in coastal
state agreements on herring, blue whiting, and mackerel in
the Northeast Atlantic
• Norwegian law conflicts with EU law regarding discrimination
based on nationality, non-nationals in Norway aren’t allowed
to own more than 40% of a fishing vessel
• Management based on limited entry, TACs and individual
vessel quotas
• Regulatory system is more streamlined, clear chain of
responsibility and accountability
• Norway notes that the EU’s CFP is fragmented with no level-
playing field between key actors

15. Problems with the CFP
• Lack of focus regarding objectives of
sustainability
• Unacceptable levels of discards
• Fleet overcapacity, overfishing, too large TACs
• Lack of reliable data to evaluate the stocks
• Slow development of aquaculture in the EU
• Issue of micro-management from Brussels

16. 2012 Reform Objectives of the CFP
• Clarify the objectives of the CFP
• Enhance consistency of the policy initiatives
• Preserve marine ecosystems and stop discards
• Promote the development of aquaculture
• Develop multi-annual plans based on an ecosystem
approach
• System of transferrable quotas
• Update the common market organization for fishery
products
• New EU fund for fisheries and maritime-affairs

17. Reform Process
Image: https://stecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

18. Conclusion
• Members of the Commission, the scientific community,
Member-States all talk about regionalism and preventing
discards, but not the measures taken to ensure compliance
• Compliance has been a difficult task because it has largely been
left up to each Member-State to ensure that the fishing rules
were be applied
• The UK, especially Scotland, has a large fishing community,
sharing waters with third-countries which will have an impact
on the Member-State as polices will have to be merged
• Norway will probably want to begin the accession process
again, but only with a competent and fully functioning
fisheries policy in place
• If all goes well, the new Common Fisheries Policy will be in
effect January 1, 2013

19. Sources
• “Common Fisheries Policy.” Politics.Co.UK. Square Digital Media. 2012. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
• Eckstein, Anne. Final Battle Ahead Over CFP Reform. Europolitics. 8 Jul. 2011. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
• Eckstein, Anne. MEPs lash out at CFP reform. Europolitics. 15 Jul. 2011. Web 3 Apr. 2012
• European Commission. Fisheries. EU 2012. Web. 3 Apr. 2012
• European Economic and Social Committee. The Common Fisheries Policy: The road travelled and the challenges ahead. Luxembourg:
European Communities, 2002. Print
• European Commission. Communication from the Commission on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. Luxembourg: European
Communities, 2002. Print
• Eurostat. Fishery Statistics 1990-2005. Luxembourg: European Communities, 2006.Print.
• “European Commission: A fisheries Policy for the future.” Europa. 13 Jul. 2011. Web. 3 Apr. 2012
• “European Commission: Questions and Answers on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.” Europa. 13 Jul. 2011. Web. 3 Apr. 2012
• European Movement. The EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. euromove. Jul. 2009. Web. 3 Apr. 2012
• European Policy Centre. Fishy Business- Time to reform the EU fisheries policy? EPC. 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 3 Apr. 2012
• European Commission. The Common Fisheries Policy, A User’s Guide. Luxembourg: European Communities. 2009. Web. 3 Apr. 2012
• Foss, Torben, Thorolfur Matthiasson and Hanne Ulrichsen. Iceland, Norway, and the EC Common Fisheries Policy. Oslo: Norwegian
Institute of International Affairs. 2003. Print.
• Lutchman, Indrani, Chris Grieve, Sophie des Clers, and Elizabeth De Santo. Towards a Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2012-A
CFP Health Check. London: IEEP Jul. 2009. Web. 3 Apr. 2011.
• Symes, David. “The Future of Europe’s Fisheries: Towards a 2020 Vision”. Geography 86.4 (2001): 38-328. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.
• Image. http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/40683
• Image. https://stecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
• Image. http://www.computescotland.com/eu-fishing-edge-of-collapse-4444.php
• Image. http://fishreg.jrc.ec.europa.eu/projects