Fishery resources: management and conservation of the marine environment

PURPOSE: to improve the integration of environmental considerations in the common fisheries policy in coordination with nature protection policy. CONTENT: This communication forms part of an overall approach designed to improve the integration of environmental consideration in other Community policies in line with European Council orientations. It supplements various communications and proposal recently submitted to the Council and to Parliament, referring in particular to limiting the impact of fisheries activities, including aquaculture, on the marine ecosystems and to promoting responsible trade. To promote the implementation of the essential principles in the field of fisheries management and nature conservation in the marine environment, this communication identifies some priorities and implementing measures that will be complementary and even synergistic. The measures that will contribute to the conservation of fish stocks and thereby achieve sustainable exploitation and to the conservation of marine nature include the following: control of fisheries pressure to benefit commercial stocks and marine ecosystems; improved measures for nature conservation in the marine environment; integrated management of coastal areas; improved training, information and transparency; greater contribution from scientific research to fisheries management and more account taken of the biological impact of fisheries. The same priorities as those identified at the internal level should also be pursued by the Community in bilateral and multilateral negotiations in the framework of fisheries management or conservation of the marine environment. In particular, there is a need to further integrate sustainable exploitation of living resources and environmental concerns within fisheries agreements with third countries.�