Enforcing The Common Fisheries Policy

The main focus of this book is a review of how the Common Fisheries Policy is enforced throughout the Community, with a discussion of its successes and failures. Topics include the various rules and policies to be enforced; the enforcement authorities in the Member States and their activities and strategies; the role of the Commission and its approach to enforcement; new developments in fisheries control; the costs of enforcement; and problem fisheries and non compliance generally.

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is one of the longest established and more controversial of the common policies of the EC. It deals principally with the management of fishery resources, relations between the EC and third States in fisheries matters, the marketing of and trade in fishery products, financial assistance to the fisheries sector, and aquaculture. However, the CFP is not just a matter for those with an economic interest in fisheries. It also raises many issues of more general concern, such as the capacity of the EC and its Member States to manage important natural resources sustainably, the impact of fishing on the wider marine environment, and relations between developed and developing States. This book addresses the CFP from a legal perspective. It provides a detailed account of the very large body of EC law comprising the CFP, and draws on the European Commission's associated documents to aid interpretation and add context. As a result, the book will be of value to anyone wanting knowledge of the law of the CFP. Although not addressing the Commission's 2009 Green Paper on reform of the CFP, the book should provide a useful reference point against which to view the reform of parts of the CFP that is anticipated to take place over the next few years.

Within the European Union, overfishing, overcapacity and non-compliance with the system of catch quotas are threatening the very existence of some fisheries resources. In dealing with these problems, the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has developed into one of the most regulated areas of the European Union. Yet, in order to provide for the necessary implementation and enforcement frameworks, the European Union strongly relies on the Member States: a reliance on fifteen different legal systems with different regulatory capacities, different legal traditions and different enforcement systems of criminal law, administrative law, private law or disciplinary law. Implementing and Enforcing European Fisheries Laws focuses on the legal and practical problems of the implementation and enforcement of the EU's catch quotas in a shared legal order. It examines in detail how effective enforcement can be achieved in a process of European integration. A distinctive feature of this book is the attention given to the trend towards sectoralization whereby management and enforcement responsibilities are shared between the central government and organisations representing fishermen. To what extent does sectoralization affect traditional systems of public law enforcement? What does resort to the fishing sector itself mean for the degree of legal control Member States exercise over these systems? The book is divided into three sections: Part One examines the Community law context; Part Two investigates implementation and enforcement in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and analyzes the effectiveness of the existing regulatory frameworks and the systems of criminal, administrative and disciplinary law used to enforce the fisheries laws and regulations. Part Three compares the national systems in the light of European law requirements and the protection of individual rights. The book concludes with the future of fisheries enforcement and considers the potential changes in enforcement. The study is of importance for the future role of the CFP and its possible effects on national implementation and enforcement. More generally, the book reveals the shifting distribution of responsibilities between the Community and the national institutions and actors involved and shows many of the possibilities for and the limits of regulatory enforcement in a setting of European integration.

Written by Ernesto Penas of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, this thorough and comprehensive book provides a full understanding of the European Commission's common fisheries policy (CFP), which is of major importance to all fisheries scientists and managers. Commencing with introductory chapters which look at the history behind the CFP, its birth and enlargement, this excellent book continues with chapters covering the major aspects of the CFP including policies on conservation, fishing fleets, structure, control, and environment, the external sector, scientific advice, stakeholders and decision making. Further chapters consider the Mediterranean Sea, aquaculture and the reforms of the CFP. A concluding chapter looks at what's next for the CFP. The Common Fisheries Policy is an essential reference for all fisheries managers and fisheries scientists throughout the world, and provides a huge wealth of important information for fish biologists, conservation biologists, marine biologists, environmental scientists and ecologists in academia, governmental and non-governmental organizations and commercial operations. Libraries in all universities and research establishments where fisheries and/or biological sciences are studied and taught should have copies on their shelves.

This study examines fisheries control issues at the national, regional and subregional level. It consists of two major international agreements: the FAO Compliance Agreement and the UN Fish Stocks Agreement. The study analyses and compares national legal systems and their governance of fisheries control. Existing and proposed regional and subregional agreements are identified, analysed and compared.

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) of the European Community consists of four inter-related policies - markets, structures, external fishery relations and conservation. The original hardback edition concentrated on the conservation policy because it generated the most controversy, which continues to intensify as fish stocks deteriorate. For many the conservation policy is the Common Fisheries Policy and apparently a disastrous failure. Mike Holden joined the Commission in 1979 and was closely involved with the CFP's development, negotiation and adoption in 1983, and its subsequent implementation. He was therefore in a unique position to provide a critical appraisal of its successes and failures, and requirements to improve its performance in the future, but died in December 1995. David Garrod, who has provided an update to take account of the latest developments, is less optimistic. He reviews recent developments in the context of the ownership of resources and enforcement, and the attitudes of the main players. He concludes that a radical rethink of the conventional approach to fisheries management is necessary if the EC is to avoid the charge of resource collapse, and the loss of much of the EC domestic fish production.

This book takes a critical view of the policy and law governing EU marine fisheries and the effect of the 2013 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Reforms to the CFP are impeded by Treaty-guaranteed concessions, exemptions from general environmental legislation and the Court of Justice’s creation of principles unique to the sector. The author discusses how damaging effects of fishing could be ameliorated if the Court were to align fisheries principles with general principles of law, and considers the institutional and regulatory frameworks needed to encourage prudent resource use.

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is one of the more controversial of the EU's policies, and is widely blamed both for the poor state of Europe's fish stocks and the woes of its fishermen. Under the CFP, the EU is responsible for a wide range of issues. The EU manages fisheries in the waters of Member States and the fishing activities of Member States' fleets. It negotiates agreements permitting vessels from EU States to fish in the waters of other States, and acts as a member (in place of Member States) in regional fisheries management organizations responsible for fishery management beyond national waters. It regulates the marketing of fish, and lays down the rules governing trade in fishery products. The Common Fisheries Policy thus forms a key part of global fisheries law and policy and is an important factor in protection of the marine environment. This book examines all the varied issues in detail, providing a comprehensive overview of the CFP. It looks at the law relating to the Policy, considering the legislation, treaties and judgments of the European Court of Justice in this area. The policy issues crucial to understanding the law on the CFP and its operation in practice are also explored.