EC decides on deductions of fishing quotas - but not for Malta

The European Commission announced deductions from 2012 fishing quotas of those Member States that had exceeded their quotas in 2011. Through deductions the Commission can immediately address the damage done to the stocks overfished in the previous year and ensure a sustainable use by all Member States of a common fishing resource. This year, for the first time, deductions were increased by 50% for Member States that had repeatedly (in 2009, 2010 and 2011) overfished the same stock.

Maria Damanaki, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said: "Nobody should harbor illusions that overfishing will be tolerated. The rules which exist should apply to all in a systematic and professional manner. Indeed I intend to use deductions to help achieve the main goal of the Common Fisheries Policy: long-term sustainability of Europe's fisheries."

Deductions are operated on the basis of public guidelines applicable to all, on the same stocks that were overfished, which is the purpose of today's Regulation. However, if a Member State has no quotas available for the overfished stocks, the amounts can be deducted from the quotas available for other stocks in the same geographical area, taking into account the need to avoid discards (throwing overboard of valuable fish) in mixed fisheries. The Commission will present the regulation for deductions from other stocks later this year, after consulting with the Member States concerned.

France, Portugal and Spain have repeatedly flouted EU limits on hiw much they can catch and will as a result recieve greatly reduced quotas for thsi year. Malta has been spared.

Quotas are normally reduced by a percentage of the amount a nation has over-fished.

Because France, Portugal and Spain repeatedly over-fished the same species in the same area over the last three years, they will in addition see their quotas cut by 50 percent this year compared with their 2011 limit.

Spain faced the largest penalty by volume. For this year, its allowable catch of horse mackerel along its northern coastline is reduced by 11,624 tonnes from 22,409.

Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said over-fishing would not be tolerated.

Malta however disagrees with the Commission over fish quota, in our case, the bluefin tuna.

The Maltese Government welcomes the ambitious and wide ranging proposed reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) regarding the bluefin tuna. Malta , however, believes that it is essential that the Proposal’s ambition is coupled with a regionalised approach that takes into account the specificity of the fisheries involved, which range from large-scale industrial activities to small-scale artisanal practices that need to be safeguarded.