52
Aquaculture (ACFA), which provides advice from industry to the Commission on
fi sheries issues, and the Regional Advisory Councils (RAC), created after the 2002
CFP reform and fi nally established between 2004 and 2008.
7 Economic interests
have been predominant in ACFA’s structure, even more important than economic
issues are to RACs
8 (Wilson 2009 : 96). ACFA, unlike RACs, mainly represents
industry organisations at the European level.
The output of DG MARE is in the form of proposals to the EU Council of
Ministers for decision-making. The most important of these decisions relate to setting the annual TACs for each species. Quotas of Member States , decided by the
principle of ‘relative stability’, are thereupon distributed by national governments
to their own operators who fi sh in national waters. However, although European
Member States have given decision-making power to the EU, according to the principle of subsidiarity, they also carry responsibilities. Since the Treaty of Lisbon was
signed in 2007, decision-making is shared between the EU Council of Ministers and
the European Parliament although decisions on TACs still fall outside their joint
purview.
3.2.1.2 Towards a Regionalised Results-Based Management?
Based on the principle of subsidiarity, it is up to the Member States as to how they
distribute their quota allocation to their fi shermen. It is also the responsibility of the
Member States to pass the relevant laws and regulations and monitor and enforce
compliance.
Under the pre-2013 CFP, there were a number of initiatives taken and elements
for a regionalisation of the governance of risks pertaining to unsustainable
fi sheries:
– The CFP recognises the specifi city of Europe’s different seas and oceans by
grouping technical measures into regional regulations . This included Council
Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 of 21 December 2005 for the conservation of
fi shery resources through technical measures in the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the
Sound.
7 Seven Regional Advisory Councils have been created since 2004 under CFP. Five are based on
geographically and biologically coherent zones. Besides the Baltic Sea, other zones include the
Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, the Northwestern Waters and the Southwestern Waters. The two
other RACs are based on the exploitation of certain stocks: pelagic stocks in Community waters
(except in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas) and high sea fi sheries outside Community waters.
With CFP reform in 2013, the name changed to merely Advisory Councils (AC), and three additional ones were set up for Aquaculture, Black Sea and distant fi sheries (Hatchard and Gray 2014 ;
Linke et al. 2014 ; Long 2010 ).
8 The fi sheries sector has been assigned a predominant position within RACs: in both the General
Assembly and the Executive Committee, a majority (two thirds) of the seats are allotted to representatives of the fi sheries sector and only one third to representatives of other interest groups (EC
2004 , Art. 5(3)). This distribution of seats was changed in the 2013 CFP reform to a 60:40 representation ratio.
P. Sellke et al.
Aquaculture (ACFA), which provides advice from industry to the Commission on
fi sheries issues, and the Regional Advisory Councils (RAC), created after the 2002
CFP reform and fi nally established between 2004 and 2008.
7 Economic interests
have been predominant in ACFA’s structure, even more important than economic
issues are to RACs
8 (Wilson 2009 : 96). ACFA, unlike RACs, mainly represents
industry organisations at the European level.
The output of DG MARE is in the form of proposals to the EU Council of
Ministers for decision-making. The most important of these decisions relate to setting the annual TACs for each species. Quotas of Member States , decided by the
principle of ‘relative stability’, are thereupon distributed by national governments
to their own operators who fi sh in national waters. However, although European
Member States have given decision-making power to the EU, according to the principle of subsidiarity, they also carry responsibilities. Since the Treaty of Lisbon was
signed in 2007, decision-making is shared between the EU Council of Ministers and
the European Parliament although decisions on TACs still fall outside their joint
purview.
3.2.1.2 Towards a Regionalised Results-Based Management?
Based on the principle of subsidiarity, it is up to the Member States as to how they
distribute their quota allocation to their fi shermen. It is also the responsibility of the
Member States to pass the relevant laws and regulations and monitor and enforce
compliance.
Under the pre-2013 CFP, there were a number of initiatives taken and elements
for a regionalisation of the governance of risks pertaining to unsustainable
fi sheries:
– The CFP recognises the specifi city of Europe’s different seas and oceans by
grouping technical measures into regional regulations . This included Council
Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 of 21 December 2005 for the conservation of
fi shery resources through technical measures in the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the
Sound.
7 Seven Regional Advisory Councils have been created since 2004 under CFP. Five are based on
geographically and biologically coherent zones. Besides the Baltic Sea, other zones include the
Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, the Northwestern Waters and the Southwestern Waters. The two
other RACs are based on the exploitation of certain stocks: pelagic stocks in Community waters
(except in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas) and high sea fi sheries outside Community waters.
With CFP reform in 2013, the name changed to merely Advisory Councils (AC), and three additional ones were set up for Aquaculture, Black Sea and distant fi sheries (Hatchard and Gray 2014 ;
Linke et al. 2014 ; Long 2010 ).
8 The fi sheries sector has been assigned a predominant position within RACs: in both the General
Assembly and the Executive Committee, a majority (two thirds) of the seats are allotted to representatives of the fi sheries sector and only one third to representatives of other interest groups (EC
2004 , Art. 5(3)). This distribution of seats was changed in the 2013 CFP reform to a 60:40 representation ratio.
P. Sellke et al.