European Fisheries Law

The EC's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was established to ensure that the exploitation of living aquatic resources in EC waters and by EC fisheries is carried out at sustainable levels. However, since its inception in 1970, the CFP has pursued conflicting objectives. On one hand, it has tried to manage fisheries by establishing and implementing a complex system of conservation, control, and enforcement measures. On the other hand, it has heavily subsidized its fisheries sector to secure food supplies, increase employment and the sector's competitiveness, as well as to further economic development in coastal regions. Given that many fish stocks exploited by EC fisheries are overfished and catches continue to decline, it could be argued that EC management and promotion measures have generally failed. Conservation measures - such as total allowable catches, effort restrictions, and technical measures - often encourage fishing at unsustainable levels. Control and enforcement measures have lacked effectiveness. On the other hand, in many cases, subsidies have increased fishing and processing capacities of the EC's fisheries industry. High capacity in the sector, however, demands high catch rates, thus putting pressure on marine capture resources. It has only been recently that the CFP has really begun to adjust its support practices to correspond to the situational and legal management requirements. Nevertheless, such subsidization continues even under the new European Fisheries Fund. This book: (a) explains and make accessible the CFP's complex management and promotional regimes, (b) identifies problems and failures in both systems, (c) assesses whether CFP measures are coherent as well as consistent with higher ranking law, and (d) finds out how consistency between promotion and management can be increased.