The first common measures in the fishing sector date from 1970, when it was agreed that, in principle, EU fishermen should have equal access to Member States' waters. However, in order to ensure that smaller vessels could continue to fish close to their home ports, a coastal band was reserved for local fishermen who have traditionally fished these areas. Measures were also adopted for a common market in fisheries products. A structural policy was set up to coordinate the modernisation of fishing vessels and on-shore installations.
All these measures became more significant when, in 1976, Member States extended their rights to marine resources from 12 to 200 miles from their coasts, in line with international developments. Member States also decided that the European Union was best placed to manage fisheries in the waters under their jurisdiction and to defend their interests in international negotiations. After years of difficult negotiations the CFP was born in 1983. Two decades later, the policy underwent a radical reform. The 2002 reform of the CFP aimed at ensuring the sustainable development of fishing activities from an environmental, economic and social point of view. It also aimed to improve the basis of the decision-making process through sound and transparent scientific advice and increased participation of stakeholders. Coherence with other EU policies such as environmental and development policies was an important element, as were accountability and effectiveness.
The CFP today
The Common Fisheries Policy was reformed in 2002 to ensure sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources. The reform introduced a precautionary approach to protect and conserve living aquatic resources, and to minimise the impact of fishing activities on marine eco-systems. The reform aimed to contribute to efficient fishing activities within an economically viable and competitive fisheries and aquaculture industry, providing a fair standard of living for those who depend on fishing activities and taking into account the interests of consumers.
The 2002 reform of the CFP opened for a more long-term approach to fisheries management, involving the establishment of multi-annual recovery plans for stocks outside safe biological limits and of multi-annual management plans for other stocks. It aimed to progressively implement an eco-system-based approach to fisheries management.
In 2008, the Commission launched a review of the Common Fisheries Policy which will be based on an analysis of the achievements and shortcomings of the current policy, and will look at experiences from other fisheries management systems to identify potential avenues for future action.
Please consult our brochure The Common Fisheries Policy - a user's guide for a detailed description of how the CFP works in practice.
Conservation
To ensure that the fishing pressure is not higher than the stocks can sustain, the conservation measures under the CFP set up rules for total allowable catches, limitation of fishing effort, technical measures (rules in relation to fishing gears and minimum landing sizes), and impose obligations to record and report catches and landings.
Environment
The CFP includes several measures to limit the environmental impact of fishing. Among them is the protection of non target species such as marine mammals, birds and turtles, juvenile fish and vulnerable fish stocks (see for example the strategy to prevent bycatches and eliminating discards), and the protection of sensitive habitats (see for example the measures to eliminate destructive fishing practices).
Structures
The European Fisheries Fund (EFF) is the financial component of the CFP. The EFF will run for seven years (2007-2013) with a total budget of around € 3.8 billion. The EFF aims to support the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) by
- supporting sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources and a stable balance between these resources and the capacity of Community fishing fleet ;
- strengthening the competitiveness and the viability of operators in the sector ;
- promoting environmentally-friendly fishing and production methods;
- providing adequate support to people employed in the sector.
- fostering the sustainable development of fisheries areas.
Fleet management
The CFP fleet management policy is designed to limit the fishing capacity of the EU fleet, to achieve a better balance between fishing capacity and the available resources.
The common organisation of the markets
The common organisation of the markets (COM) aims to balance the needs of the EU market and the interests of European Union fishermen and to ensure that the rules on fair competition are respected.
Relations with third countries
The EU has a considerable number of agreements with third countries which give access to fishing waters of third countries. After the reform of the CFP in 2002, the agreements were transformed from access arrangements with a financial contribution to genuine partnerships for the development of sustainable and responsible fisheries.
The Community is party to international agreements in the areas of fisheries and law of the sea and plays an important role in a number of regional fisheries organisations, which manage fish resources of the open seas and play an important role in the fight against illegal fishing and destructive fishing practices.
Control and enforcement
It is the responsibility of the EU Member States to make sure that the rules agreed under the CFP are respected. Fisheries controls play a central role in encouraging compliance, deterring fraud and ensuring sustainable fishing. To make sure that all national enforcement authorities apply the same standards of quality and fairness in their enforcement, there is also an EU Inspectorate. To strengthen controls, it was decided in the 2002 reform to set up an EU fisheries control agency. The Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) became operational in 2007. It will strengthen the uniformity and effectiveness of enforcement by pooling EU and national means of inspection and control, and will coordinate enforcement activities. In 2008, the Commission proposed a reform of the EU fisheries control system, to foster a culture of compliance with fisheries rules and create a level playing field for Europe's fishermen.
More on the development of the Common Fisheries Policy