Fisheries sector: restructuration of the Community fishing industry for the period from 1.1.1997 to 31.12.2002, POP IV

In adopting the report by Mr Niels KOFOED (ELDR, DK), Parliament approved the proposal for a Council Decision concerning the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the Community fisheries sector for the period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2002 with a view to achieving a balance on a sustainable basis between resources and their exploitation. Whilst acknowledging current over-capacity, Parliament considered that decisions on how concretely to achieve a reduction must await an assessment of the consequences for each fleet segment. It also believed that non-industrial fishing fleets should be required to reduce their capacity by less than what is required of the fleet as a whole. In addition, the report takes the view that the reduction in the fishing effort must be accompanied by new extraordinary measures aimed at preserving employment and decent income levels for workers in the fisheries sector. There should be automatic income compensation in proportion to the percentage of reduction of the fishing effort decided on, by means of an Extraordinary Plan for European fisheries. �