Protecting traditions - Karmenu Vella - Main contents

During my mandate as European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, I have made improving the state of Mediterranean fishing a top priority.

We have come far. The ‘Medfish4ever declaration’ signed here in Malta in March of last year was a big step. Coupled with the Sofia declaration, for the Black Sea, in June 2017, we doubled our commitment to improve fishing management.

Fundamental to these declarations, and to our concern, is the role of small-scale fishers. As someone who grew up in Malta, I understand how small- scale fishers personify Mediterranean culture and tradition. I have seen how work practices, village life and seasonal habits are tied to the sea and shaped by it.

That is why I am so proud to open a congress, this week, with the Maltese Ministry for the Environment. Even more, I am proud of the Regional Plan of Action for small-scale fisheries that we will sign.

We have in our hands a superb plan: a historical example of regional cooperation, resulting from extensive consultations with all States around coast, and with stakeholders and NGOs.

This is a true first in the world - a fully functional Regional Plan of Action for small-scale fishers. These fishermen, and the people - mainly women - who support them are truly the backbone of fishing industry in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. They represent 84 per cent of the fleet and 62 per cent of fisheries jobs.

Thousands of families rely on them for food and income, 147,000 fishermen and 150,000 who support them on shore to be exact. They sustain communities all along the coast.

We will look for ways to empower small-scale fishermen and workers so that they can shape their future

If you are not of this community but are one of the millions who have visited the Mediterranean, you will understand what I mean. Seeing a working fishing port in a Mediterranean village is something you never forget. From Ciutadella, Menorca to Loggos, Paxos, the breadth of the Mediterranean is filled with examples.

For centuries, if not millennia, small-scale fisheries have been rooted in our coastal communities, in the rich diversity of our cultures. They are an important social and economic pillar in the livelihoods of our coastal communities.

Our Plan of Action will sustain these traditions. We have a message of solidarity between EU and non-EU States, providing capacity building to improve sustainable development. Our plan recognises regional specificities, experience, knowledge and contribution to the cultural heritage of local communities.

It recognises the socio-economic specificities of small-scale fisheries, such as the seasonality of their activities and the variability of their income. It will support livelihoods for coastal communities through sustainable small-scale fisheries and it will ensure fishers are aware for the need to reconcile economic and social objectives with environmental objectives.

First, we must have a clear picture of the fishery resources available. We will work with the sector to reinforce scientific research and make certain we obtain quality data.

Second, we will step up our efforts for sustainable fishing.

Third, we will look for ways to empower small-scale fishermen and workers so that they can shape their future and take their destiny into their own hands.

We are launching a platform ‘friends of small-scale fishermen’.

This platform provides real support to real people. We have, for example, 12 best practice studies from around the Mediterranean of fishers who are preserving traditions by embracing modernity.

For the next 10 years, this plan will guide us thanks mainly to clear objectives and a comprehensive set of actions.

Karmenu Vella is European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

For more details https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/increased-opportunities-small-scale-fishermen-mediterranean-and-black-sea_en

This article was originally published in the Times of Malta on 27 September, 2018’.