Multiannual guidance programmes for the fishing fleets end 1999 MAGP (Regulation (EC) No 2792/99). Annual report

PURPOSE : to present the annual report on the results of the multiannual guidance programmes (MAGP) for the fishing fleets at the end of 1999. CONTENT : for each Member State in the Community, a multiannual guidance programme (MAGP) fixes objectives for reducing the size of the fishing fleet in order to bring fishing effort into line with available resources. The fourth generation of MAGPs, adopted in December 1997, to fix objectives for the period 1997-2001. The present report is the seventh in the series and the second report on the results of the fourth generation of programmes (MAGP IV). In the conclusion of its report, the Commission notes that during the first three years of the MAGP IV, the Community fleet was reduced by 82439 GT and 447148 kW, which represent reductions in fleet capacity of approximately 4% and 5.6% respectively. At 1 January 2000, the Community fleet was already approximately 17% below the final MAGP IV objectives in terms of tonnage and 6% below the final MAGP IV objectives in terms of power. These figures would seem to confirm the success of the MAGP in reducing fleet capacity. However, closer examination shows that these reductions were achieved because some Member States far exceeded the reductions called for by MAGP while others failed to achieve the target reductions by a substantial margin. The Member States that exceeded the required reductions must have been motivated by factors other than the MAGP objectives, whereas those that failed to achieve the required reductions largely ignored the MAGP objectives. It is also interesting to note that with the exceptions of Italy and Greece the countries opting to achieve their objectives purely in terms of capacity have reached their objectives in all segments, whereas all of the countries that opted to reduce activity as well as capacity have failed to reach their capacity objectives in one or more segments. In addition, there remain certain doubts concerning the adequacy of the effort regimes to ensure a real and permanent reduction of activity in several of the countries concerned. Whilst the MAGPs do not seem to have been directly responsible for the major part of the reductions in fleet capacity in recent years, the eligibility for public aid for the renewal and modernisation of the fishing fleet under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance does not provide an incentive to meet the objectives, at least for some Member States. Lastly, there remain two areas where additional improvements are awaited, these are the measurement and control of fleet capacity.�