The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the report by Salvador Jove PERES (EUL/NGL, Spain) and made several amendments to the Commission's proposal. (Please refer to the document dated 12/11/02.) Parliament also made the following amendments:
- due account should be taken of all the factors that contribute to the decline in fish stocks, such as pollution, climate change and maritime transport;
- the rational and responsible exploitation of marine resources on a sustainable basis is fundamental to ensuring the vitality of the Community fisheries sector;
- the area of restricted access to resources should be extended to 50 nautical miles in the case of the outermost regions, in view of the specific problems they face, but studying possible implications on fishing of migratory species
- the Council and Commission should consider the update of catch allocation keys;
- relative stability should also safeguard the particular needs of regions where local populations are especially dependent on fisheries;
- a Community-wide fisheries inspection system should be implemented.
Parliament also made it clear that the scrapping of fishing vessels was not the only measure that could be taken to reduce the fleet. There should also be facilities to encourage the temporary cessation of activity, restrictions on the number of days that vessels may fish, and more selective fishing techniques.�