Multiannual recovery plan for Mediterranean swordfish

Key points:

• The EESC broadly supports the European Commission proposal, which seeks to transpose Recommendation 16-05 of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) into EU law. The recommendation establishes a multiannual recovery plan for Mediterranean swordfish and is aimed at achieving a biomass of that stock corresponding to a maximum sustainable yield (MSY) by 2031, with at least a 60% probability of achieving that objective.
• The Committee finds that the European Commission has not simply transposed the ICCAT recommendation but introduced a number of points into its proposal that are not reflected in the recommendation and that may put the European fleet at a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis the fleets of coastal third countries, such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey, which are also involved in such fishing activities. In light of this, and in order to avoid socio-economic consequences for European employers and employees that are more serious than those facing other countries, the EESC urges the co-legislators to take into account the specific comments mentioned.