Stronger enforcement procedures proposed for fishing quotas

Climatology Research Proposal What will the weather be next week, next year, next decade, a century from now? And in what ways do man's activities affect the natural climatic balance ? Because of the economic and social effects of weather on the resources of Europe, the EEC Commission is proposing a five-year climatology research programme to study these questions. The proposal, submitted to the Council for decision on 18 September 1978, calls for the committment by the EEC of 8 million European currency units (ECU) to fund cooperative European research with the dual objectives of understanding climate and studying man-climate interactions. If adopted,this EECprogramme will fit in with the World Meteorology Organization's Global Atmospheric Research Programme (GARP) and the total funding will be about 15 million ECU. The proposal comes in the wake of unusual climatic oscillations in the last few years in Europe as well as throughout the world: the longest drought in the twentieth century in the African Sahel region; the extreme high temperatures in Northern Europe in the summer 1975 which affected even the arctic icecap; the great dryness for 16 months during 1975/1976 in West, Middle, and North Europe and particularly England where a drought of this magnitude had not been recorded since 1727; the high temperatures early in the summer of 1976, when England had the highest monthly average temperature by 4 °C in 300 years while Russia and Canada were having a very cold and wet summer. In Europe the unusually heavy rainfall in September and October fortunately replenished the water table and water reserves although the harvest was reduced. Such events demonstrate that an understanding of meteorological phenomena is of vital concern because the supply of food and water depends largely on climate. They also show that the margin of safety, and perhaps even of survival, is very Small. Between 1960 and 1970 climatic extremes caused great economic losses. World grain reserves were reduced to a minimum, the market and price structure for grain became unbalanced and millions died of starvation in developing countries. Another concern is the potential warming at the surface of the earth, the so-called greenhouse effect, caused by the concentration of carbon dioxide in 24

the atmosphere due to combustion of fossil fuels - the very fossil fuels on which the present day industrial economy depends. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased 10% since the beginning of the industrial age and the rate of increase is doubling every 20 years. Experts predict that if this rate of increase continues, the temperature of the earth will rise about 2 °C with dire consequences such as the melting of the arctic glaciers, exposure of the arctic plateaus and flooding of low-lying areas of the world. As stated in the preamble of~the proposal for climatology research, "it is therefore in the Community's interest ~ to promote a better knowledge of the mechanism and behaviour of climate, as well as of the possible impacts of climatic variability, in view of sound plan-

ning as far as European resources are concerned". The research areas proposed for coordinated studies by research institutions of the Nine include understanding climate by reconstruction of past climates from natural and historical records, and development and improvement of climate modelling, prediction and simulation. Man-climate interaction studies would focus on climatic variability in relation to European resources, such as impacts on land and water resources, climatic hazards evaluation and impacts on energy requirements, use and production. Man's impacts on climate would also be studied, particularly atmospheric chemical pollution with special emphasis on the accumulation of carbon dioxide, and the effects of release of energy. The proposal would also authorize the establishment of an interdisciplinary group for the study of climatic impacts and the inventory, coordination and enrichment of European climatic data sets. MPG []

Stronger Enforcement Procedures Proposed for Fishing Quotas Increased supervisory measures for fishing activities by vessels of the Member States are the substance of an amended proposal submitted by the EEC Commission to the Council on 15 November 1978. The original proposal, submitted 14 October 1977, con1Oj No C 278, 18.11.1977 p. 3.

cerned inspection of fishing activities and fishing vessels, control of catches and control of fishing effort. 1 The amended proposal adds a new title dealing with the use of fishing gear and makes the reporting requirements much more specific, both for skipper reports to authorities and member country reports to the Commission. Environmental Policy and Law, 5 (1979)

For instance, the language of the originally proposed Article 7 did not require that the location of the catch be reported with precision, and called only for "appropriate" verification measures. The amended proposal would replace the previous text of Article 7 with the following: 1. At the time of landing after each voyage, the skipper of each fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State shall submit to the authorities of the Member State whose landing places he uses a declaration, for the accuracy of which he shall be held responsible, listing for each species subject to quotas the quantities landed and the catches made since his last declaration and indicating the date and location, determined in accordance with Annex I, of such catches. When catches were made in areas not mentioned in Annex I, the location of such catches shall be determined by reference to the smallest management unit for which a quota has been fixed. Member States shall take all measures necessary to verify the accuracy of this declaration, in particular by comparing it with the records maintained in accordance with Article 3. 2. Where the landing takes place more than 15 days after the catch, the information required in paragraph 1 shall be submitted to the competent authorities not later than 15 days ater the catch. Similarly, the former text of Article 8 required the skipper of fishing vessels transferring at sea species subject to quota to inform his Member State of the transfer, but it did not specify time

frame or conditions. Amended Article 8 would read: Without prejudice to Article 7, a skipper of a fishing vessel transferring to another vessel flying the flag of a Member State any quantity of a species subject to quotas, in order for it to be landed outside Community territory, or transferring such species to a vessel not flying the flag of a Member State, irrespective of the place of landing, or who directly lands catches of a species subject to quotas outside Community territory, shall immediately on arrival at a port within Community territory, and in any event within 15 days after the catch, inform the Member State whose flag his vessel is flying of the species and quantities involved. Article 9 concerns the accurate recording of landings of fish by Member Nations and the reporting to the Commission of quantities of species subject to quotas. The major change proposed is that the Commission shall regularly inform all Member States of notifications received from the partners. In a highly significant change, Article 11 would be amended to debit stocks taken by a fishing vessel against the Member State whose flag the vessel was flying regardless of the place of landing. As originally proposed, such catches would have been debited against the Member State in whose waters the fish were taken. Also, former Paragraph 2 of this article would have prohibited "directed fishing" after the quota for a species had been exhausted. The new text is much more restrictive: 2. Each Member State shall determine the date from which the catches of a stock or group of stocks

subject to quotas by fishing vessels flying its flag shall be deemed to have exhausted the quota applicable to it for that stock or those groups of stocks; with effect from that date, the Member State concerned shall provisionally prohibit fishing for, retention on board and landing of fish from that stock or group of stocks by vessels flying its flag. The Commission shall forthwith be notified of this measure. It is also proposed that a wholly new Title and Article be added to deal with the use of fishing gear. Title II A, Article 1 la requires that: 1. Nets with smaller mesh sizes than those specified in Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No . . ./78 of . . . . on technical measures for the conservation of fishery resources used for catching the species listed in Annex II thereto in the regions mentioned therein or for fishing Nephrops in accordance with Articles 9 and 10 thereof shall not be used for catching other species. 2. If vessels are fishing for certain species, in certain zones, or during certain periods for which the use of nets with meshes smaller than those specified in the Regulation referred to in paragraph 1 is not authorized, such nets must be stowed in accordance with the conditions set out in Annex II in order that they may not be readily used. (See Selected Documents, this issue, p. 46 for the full text of the proposed technical measures for the conservation of fishery resources referred to in Paragraph 1 above. Also note that Annex II of this proposed amendment is identical with Annex VII on p. 49.) MPG []

ParliamentaryQuestions MEP Yeats: Directive on the quality of bathing waters

In my Written Question No 855/771 of 7 December 1977, I asked the Commision which Member States have communicated the texts of the main provisions of national law which they have adopted in the field covered by Direc1

OJ No C 72, 22.3. 1978, p. 20. 2Oj No L 31.5.2. 1976, p. 1. Environmental Policy and Law, 5 (1979)

tive 76/160EEC 2 on the quality of bathing water. On 30 May 1978, the Commission finally admitted that so far only five Member States have complied with the terms of the Directive in providing the information laid down in Article 12 of the Directive. Will the Commission please now state: 1. The precise date on which each of the five Member States sent the information to the Commission;

2. What steps the Commission is taking to ensure that the remaining four Member States comply without delay with the provisions of Article 12 of the Directive? Answer 1. The information in question was supplied to the Commission in December 1977 and January 1978. 2. The Commission followed its usual procedure for monitoring the transposi25