The paper boat fleet, made up of 90,000 online vessels and 25,000 actual paper models, has been collected in ports across nine different countries by Greenpeace’s ship the Arctic Sunrise as part of a Europe-wide ‘Gulliver tour’ in support of small fishing boats [1]. The 50-metre icebreaker, veteran of campaigns from the Arctic ocean to the Amazon river, set out from Romania back in March and is now on course to reach Dorset later today to begin the final leg of the tour, which will end in London on 10 June [2].
The paper boat petition was handed over last night to negotiators representing EU fisheries ministers, the European Parliament and the Commission ahead of what is expected to be one of the final joint meetings in the negotiating process which is attempting to reach a compromise deal on the new fisheries policy.
This is the culmination of months of joint campaigning by Greenpeace and small-scale fishermen to ensure the new fisheries policy rewards low-impact fishing with a larger share of fishing quota and preferential access to fishing grounds. At present, small boats can tap into just 4 per cent of the UK’s fishing quota despite accounting for three quarters of Britain’s fishing fleet and representing its more sustainable part – an imbalance which is threatening the livelihoods of small-scale fishermen and has already driven many of them out of business.
Greenpeace campaigner Simon Clydesdale said:
“Throughout the ship tour Greenpeace has heard the same mayday signal rising from hundreds of coastal communities: small-scale, low-impact fishermen are going under, sunk by a failed EU policy heavily skewed in favour of big fishing interests. But we have also witnessed a giant wave of public support for new fishing laws which can deliver a fairer deal for the most sustainable sector of our fleet.
“Final negotiations to hammer out a deal on EU fisheries reform will now take place behind closed doors, but it’s important that politicians don’t forget what’s at stake. They must end the senseless overexploitation of our seas, allow fish stocks to recover, and set a course that favours low-impact fishermen. If they don’t, then a whole ecosystem will be irreparably damaged and a centuries-old tradition of sustainable fishing could be wiped out from our shores for good.”
The paper boats were delivered to the Irish EU presidency, represented by ambassador Tom Hanney, the European Parliament negotiator, MEP Ulrike Rodust, and EU fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki.
Greenpeace supports a target for fish stock recovery by 2020 at the latest, a trimming of the fishing fleet to sustainable levels with priority access to fishing grounds and quota for low-impact fishermen, and financial penalties for countries that fail to implement the rules.
In a vote in February, the Parliament overwhelmingly supported an overhaul of the rules which have led to decades of overfishing and a decline of the European fishing industry [3]. On the other hand, EU ministers – in particular from the large fishing nations of France and Spain – have resisted meaningful reforms [4].
Notes:
[1] The paper boats are being collected in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Spain, France and the UK. The virtual paper boats on https://myboat.gp are also from several other EU countries, including Germany, Belgium, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Ireland and Portugal.
[2] On its way to London the Arctic Sunrise will drop anchor at Lyme Regis (Dorset), Fowey (Cornwall), and Hastings (Sussex).
[3] According to the European Commission, around two thirds of European fish stocks are currently fished beyond sustainable levels (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52012DC0278:EN:NOT). One third of European fishing jobs have been lost in the last decade (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SPLIT_SEC:2011:0891%2851%29:FIN:EN:PDF).
[4] Council tables weak deal on EU fisheries reform, Greenpeace press release: http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/en/News/2013/Council-tables-weak-deal-on-EU-fisheries-reform/.
Contacts:
Stefano Gelmini – Greenpeace (London): t. 0207 865 8296, m 07807 149 439, stefano.gelmini@greenpeace.org
Mark Breddy – Greenpeace (Brussels): +32 (0)496 156229, mark.breddy@greenpeace.org
