The European Parliament adopted by 637 votes to 34,
with 20 abstentions, a non-legislative resolution on the draft
Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union
of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the
European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands and the
Implementation Protocol thereto.
As a reminder, the general objective of the EU-Cook
Islands FPA/Protocol is to increase cooperation between the EU and
the Cook Islands in the field of fisheries, in the interest of both
parties, creating a partnership framework that will promote a
sustainable fisheries policy and sustainable exploitation of
fishery resources in the exclusive economic zone of the Cook
Islands.
Objectives to be continued: according to Parliaments opinion, the EU-Cook
Islands FPA should effectively promote sustainable fisheries in the
Cook Islands waters through adequate EU sectoral support, and
pursue two equally important goals:
- to provide fishing opportunities to EU vessels in the
Cook Islands fishing zone, on the
basis of the best available scientific advice and with due respect
for the conservation and management measures of the WCPFC within
the limits of the available surplus, the calculation of which
should take the full development of the country's fishing capacity
into account;
- to promote cooperation between the EU and the Cook
Islands with a view to a sustainable fisheries policy
and sound exploitation of fisheries resources in
the Cook Islands fishing zone, and to contribute to the sustainable
development of the Cook Islands fishing sector, through economic,
financial, technical and scientific cooperation while respecting
that countrys sovereign options regarding this
development.
Parliament regretted that other countries in the
region have not reached partnership agreements with the EU and are
opening their fishing grounds up to other countries and regions in
the world that on occasion employ fishing practices which do not
take account of the resources available.
Development of the fishing sector: the resolution pointed out that the implementation
of the EU-Cook Islands FPA and protocol, and possible revisions
and/or renewals, should take account of and be aligned with the
strategy established by the Cook Islands authorities for the
development of the Cook Islands fishing sector, notably by making
provision for:
- a contribution towards building monitoring, control
and inspection capacities in relation
to the fishery resources of the Cook Islands and fishing activities
being carried out in that countrys waters, with a particular
focus on combating IUU fishing;
- action to improve the scientific knowledge
available on the status of local
marine ecosystems and fishery resources in the Cook Islands
waters.
- specific support for the development of local
artisanal fishing and communities
that rely on it.
Parliament also stressed the importance of:
- supporting sectoral development as an important aspect
of contributing to the sustainability of a partner country, as it
helps to enhance the countrys operational independence,
underpin its development strategy and guarantee its
sovereignty;
- respecting International Labour Organisation (ILO)
principles as regards the employment possibilities for local seamen
on board EU vessels while at the same time respecting the general
principles of freedom of association and collective bargaining for
workers, and non-discrimination at the workplace and in
professional activity;
- providing measures to prevent illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing (IUU) fishing in the exclusive economic zone of
the Cook Islands, including by improving monitoring, control and
surveillance through the use of the satellite-based vessel
monitoring system.
The Commission is called upon to consider applying the
precautionary principle to the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy
and to analyse the use of floating Fishing Aggregating Devices in
the area and its influence in the tuna ecology and make proposals
for their use on the basis of their findings.
Parliament should be kept immediately and fully
informed at all stages of the procedures relating to the
Protocol and its possible renewal.