The European Commission decided to send an additional letter of formal notice to Denmark, over its failure to enforce several important provisions of the EU Control Regulation. The Regulation has been in force since 1 January 2010, establishing a system for the control, inspection and enforcement by national authorities of the EU rules of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Denmark has been found in breach of its legal obligation to ensure that fishers record bycatches in their electronic logbook, leaving huge quantities of fish undeclared.
To date, the Commission considers that Denmark fails to ensure that all fishery products are weighed at landing and that mandatory catch registration documents record the quantities of each species present, including industrial by-catches. The most serious issues concern fisheries for industrial purposes.
…the Commission explained in an official statement.
According to the announcement, these deficiencies significantly undermine the accuracy of catch registration documents which are necessary for quota deduction purposes and to prevent overfishing.
In addition, Denmark does not ensure that the Commission is notified of the quantities of stocks actually landed with a consequent risk to the sustainability objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Denmark has now two months to reply to the concerns raised by the Commission. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
Environmental organisations have welcomed the decision by the European Commission to follow up on infringement proceedings against Denmark.
Denmark is blatantly breaching its obligation to control fishers operating in its waters. We welcome the Commission’s decision to open infringement proceedings for Denmark’s failure to monitor fishing activities by its vessels. In addition, we’re concerned that Danish authorities also granted illegal fishers access to European public money,
…ClientEarth Fisheries lawyer, Elisabeth Druel, said.
The European Parliament will vote on the revision of the EU Fisheries Control System on 16 April. These laws aim to ensure that the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy are followed in practice by monitoring fisheries and fighting illegal fishing, allowing reliable data collection for managing fishing opportunities, and tracing and checking of fisheries product throughout the supply chain.
The vote will be followed later in 2019 by negotiations with the Council in order to reach an agreement on the final text.
