This Resolution addresses the problems faced by the small-scale and artisanal fishers and the importance of small-scale fisheries in terms of employment, food security, the development of coastal communities and the supply of fishery products to the European market. This Resolution advocates for different models of fisheries management available to Member States and/or regions under a voluntary system, including co-management structures. It calls on the Commission to conduct an assessment of EU fleet capacity so as to enable the most appropriate decisions to be taken taking into account reliable and sufficiently pertinent socio-economic, scientific and environmental data. It urges Member States to recognize the significant economic, social, and cultural contributions of women in the fishing industry, ensuring they have access to social benefits. It highlights that women’s active involvement in fishing activities not only helps preserve unique cultural traditions and practices but also supports the survival of their communities, thereby protecting the cultural diversity of the regions involved. This Resolution also refers to the establishment of the future European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to finance actions, inter alia in the following areas: (i) improving safety, living conditions and on-board working conditions, improving catch preservation, and making vessels more economically and environmentally sustainable; (ii) investment in more sustainable fishing gear; (iii) promotion of young people’s increased involvement in the sector’s activities and keeping them involved, through a special incentive scheme; (iv) construction of specialised fishing ports and specific facilities for the landing, storage and sale of fishery products; (v) support for associations, organisations and cooperatives of the sector’s professionals; (vi) promotion of quality policies; (vii) promotion of the cohesion of the economic and social fabric of the coastal communities most dependant on small-scale fishing, with a particular focus on the outermost regions, in order to stimulate those coastal regions’ development; (viii) support for sustainable shellfishing practices; (ix) support for the promotion and marketing of artisanal fishery and extensive aquaculture products; (x) support for education and marketing campaigns to make consumers and young people aware of the value of consuming fish from small-scale fisheries, including the positive effects on the local economy and the environment; (xi) allocation of financing under the EMFF in such a way as to make the fisheries sector more women-friendly; (xii) support for associations of women such as net-makers, port workers and packers; (xiii) vocational training, including training for women working in the fisheries sector, aimed at improving their access to managerial and technical jobs related to fishing; and (xiv) enhancing women's role in fishing, in particular by granting support for activities associated with fisheries carried out on land.
2012-11-22