Fishery products: additional costs due to remoteness of Azores, Madeira, Canary islands, French Guiana

The committee has adopted the report by Mr M. Manuel MEDINA ORTEGA (PSE, E) on the proposal for a regulation introducing a scheme to compensate for the additional costs associated with the very remote location of certain regions. The objective of the amendments is, first of all, to include in the list of regions covered (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Guiana) the French Department of Réunion, for tuna and swordfish. While maintaining the global amount of the subsidy, quotas for tuna, sardine and mackerel intended for freezing should be reduced, and those for fish intended for processing increased. In connection with this report, MEPs received a delegation of fishermen from Guiana, who proposed, so as to ensure the protection of juvenile fish, that aid in respect in respect of prawns (prawn trawlers account for nearly half the Guianan fleet) should focus on supporting quality (large and, to a lesser extent, medium-sized prawns) rather than quantity (small prawns). This proposal was favourably received by the committee. �