Overhauling fisheries technical measures

Briefing 11-04-2019

Technical measures in fisheries govern the different fishing practices that can be used to catch fish, as well as the areas and seasons for fishing. Aimed at limiting unwanted catches and the impact of fishing on marine ecosystems, EU technical measures have developed over time into a notoriously complicated regulatory structure, which came to be seen as a plethora of ineffective rules under rigid governance. During the April II session, Parliament is due to vote on giving formal approval to a new legislative framework that would change the governance structure of technical measures. The proposed framework is designed to simplify the current system, to increase its flexibility through a regionalised approach adapted to the specificities of each EU sea basin, and to optimise the contribution of the technical measures to the objectives of the common fisheries policy. The text also provides for a total ban on electric pulse trawl fishing from 1 July 2021, with the possibility for Member States to immediately prohibit or restrict this type of fishing in their coastal waters.