EUROPEAN MARITIME DAY (May 18-21)

EBCD celebrated the European Maritime Day in Rome (May 19, 2009) with a stakeholders side event on "Integration of fisheries management into the development of spatial planning and coastal zone management". Click here for more information.

Several workshops were organized during this two day events, the following conclusions were noted:

Workshop: An All-Embracing Stakeholder Platform for a Holistic Maritime Policy

Chair: Johan VANDE LANOTTE, President of the Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC)

• Stakeholders acknowledge the need for enhanced dialogue between them and between stakeholders and pubic authorities;
• Stakeholders acknowledge the need for learning each other and exchanging practices and knowledge; and
• Stakeholders agree on setting up a Stakeholder Platform which should be overarching and well organised. As a first step in this direction, a Coordination Group of about 10 people will be created. Stakeholders will be invited to propose names of people. The European Commission will be strongly involved in this process.  

Workshop Towards Better Governance for aSustainable Use of the Mediterranean Sea  

Chair: Fabrizia BENINI (Head of Unit for Integrated Maritime Policy in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea , European Commission, DG MARE)

• Much remains to be done;
• This work should be undertaken by existing structures which have to communicate between them in order to streamline their efforts and avoid duplications. Likewise bridges should be created between initiatives so as to avoid additional bureaucracy; and
• Enforcement of rules is a prerequisite to a sustainable management of the Mediterranean Sea .  

Workshop Adapting to the Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Regions  

Chair: Reinhard PRIEBE, Director Atlantic , Arctic and Outermost Regions, DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission

• Actions enabling coastal areas to adapt to climate change should be undertaken at appropriate level (regional, cross-border etc);
• There is a need for a flexible approach for exchanging good practices. At this stage guidelines are preferable to binding rules; and
• Cross cutting tools such as maritime spatial planning, marine knowledge etc have a role to play.

The following speech were given:

‘Making Headway: Progress on the Integrated Maritime Policy'. Joe Borg. Speech at European Maritime Day: Stakeholders Conference plenary session. Rome , May 20, 2009.

http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/speeches/speech200509_en.html

============================================================================================================

The UNEP, FAO, WorldFish Centre and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community call for action on climate change and fisheries and aquaculture.

Please click here to view the press release

============================================================================================================

The Committee on Fisheries (COFI) meeting held last March in Rome.

EBCD Board Member, Serge Garcia, sent his comment about the latest COFI meeting: ' COFI makes decisions at different levels but does not adopt any indicator of performance and even if the Secretariat provides oversight and operates as the “conscience” of the countries by promoting transparency, it has no clout to force the sovereign nations to implement what was agreed at COFI. '

'This comment was shared on the IUCN website where the latest press release provided updates on the COFI meeting: ' The 2009 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report released last week in Rome produced very much the same findings as the previous report released in 2007. The document, published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) at the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), reported that global trends in marine fish stocks have continued to deteriorate slightly.

While a stable situation may sound like good news, the reality is that the state of certain important fish stocks remains of grave concern. Only limited progress has been made in tackling the main long-term problems facing the fishing industry and the marine environment such as bycatch and discarded fish, illegal fishing, the destruction caused by bottom trawling and the poor state of shark and tuna populations. '

Source IUCN website:

http://iucn.org/news_events/news/?2794/World-fisheries-in-stable-but-critical-condition

===========================================================================================================================

Intergroup on Sustainable Use

On February 11th 2009 the Intergroup on Sustainable Use of the European Parliament has been renamed as the Intergroup on Climate Change and Biodiversity. For a full story click on the respective link (PR)

© EBCD, European Bureau for Conservation and Development