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

3. 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.
There are eight elements to the policy with three
specific rules about fishing practices.
• Fishing Effort Limitations
• Total Allowable Catch/Quotas
• Technical Measures
Maria Damanaki, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner
Image: http://europa.eu/newsroom/calendar/event/id/2764/mode/standalone

4. Regulation of the CFP
• European Fisheries Control Agency
– Vigo, Spain
– Coordinates fisheries inspection control and
inspections by each Member-State
• Regional Advisory Councils
– 7 councils, 5 based on geography, 2 for pelagic stock
• Multi-annual plans
– Sets goals for specific fish stock to ensure maximum
sustainable yield

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

6. 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/

7. 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

8. 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 asses the stocks
• Slow development of aquaculture in the EU
• Issue of micro-management from Brussels

9. 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
• New EU fund for fisheries and maritime-affairs

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

11. 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 may want to begin the accession process again, but
only if there is 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

12. 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