Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) - Report of the Working Group on the review of national reports on Member States efforts to achieve balance between fleet capacity and fishing opportunities (SGBRE 09-01) Subgroup on Balance between resources and exploitation (SGBRE) of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF)

Abstract

This STECF SG-BRE 09-01 working group report contains an evaluation of EU Member States' reports on their efforts during 2008 to achieve a sustainable balance between fishing capacity and fishing opportunities and the Commission's summary of those reports. In particular, this report assesses: 1. To what extent the Member States¿ reports complied with Article 14 of Council Regulation No 2371/2002 and Article 12 of Commission Regulation no 1438/2003. 2. Member States' application of the indicators proposed in the "Guidelines for an improved analysis of the balance between fleet capacity and fishing opportunities" and the problems encountered by Member States. 3. The problem of availability of data for the calculation of the proposed indicators with particular attention paid to biological data. 4. The appropriateness of the balance indicators for small scale coastal fleets and fisheries by identifying problems related to their use for this part of the fleet and considering possible alternatives. 5. Scope for potential improvements to the Commission guidelines on the balance indicators.