Gildernew meets EU Commissioner Joe Borg

Fisheries Minister Michelle Gildernew MP, MLA has attended the Fisheries Council in Brussels, where the main topic on the agenda was the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

Following the Council meeting, the Minister said: “There were many good ideas set out in Commission’s recently published Green Paper about reform of the CFP. In particular, its desire to get away from micro-management of fisheries, giving greater control to Member States and involving the industry more in local fisheries management. I support the Commission’s view that a fundamental reform of the CFP is needed – this will ensure that we develop a sustainable, profitable fishing industry in tune with other marine policies.”

The Minister also had an opportunity to meet with Commissioner Joe Borg to update him on the situation facing the County Down based fishing fleet. She said “I expressed serious concerns about the impact of the Cod Recovery Plan and restrictions it placed on the number of days that can be fished by the local fleet. I urged the Commissioner to take stock of those impacts before fishing opportunities are determined for 2010.”

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