Fisheries sector and resources: fleet capacity and sustainable development, MAGP IV 12/2002

PURPOSE : to prolong Council Decision 97/413/EC by one year, (31 December 2002), and thereby extend MAGP IV. CONTENT : in a recent communication to the Council, the Commission regretted the inadequacy of the existing measures to contain fishing effort under the fourth generation of multiannual guidance programmes (MAGP IV). This situation, which can be considered a weakness of the CFP, must be rectified by courageous and effective measures. To this end, the Commission has therefore prepared a proposal for the prolongation by one year, that is until 31 December 2002, of the Decision currently in force, thus also prolonging by one year the MAGP IV, as well as a proposal for modifications to certain provisions of the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG). Given the Commission's concern that the objectives of the MAGP IV are too modest, any prolongation should at least be associated with measures to make them more effective. Therefore, the attached proposal removes the possibilities that currently exist under Council Decision 97/413/EC to increase the MAGP objectives on the grounds of safety. All the new vessels should be constructed to a certain minimum standard of safety, and the capacity to build these new vessels could be found from within the existing capacity objectives. For the same reason, the proposed modification of the FIFG Regulation also introduces new contraints (refer to CNS/2001/0129). �