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WRITTEN
QUESTION P-3298/03
by Ian Hudghton (Verts/ALE)
to the Commission
Subject:
Effect of climatic change on cod stocks
There is
widespread anecdotal evidence, supported by the fishermen with the real
experience of fishing northern waters, that stocks of cod are moving north
as sea temperatures increase. This is supported by scientific research
including, notably, that which was published in Science Magazine vol. 296
no 5573 relating to work done by the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for
Ocean Science.
Does the
Commission intend to factor in any such new evidence when making its
recommendations to the Council prior to this December’s Fisheries Council
meeting?
P-3298/03EN
Answer given by Mr Fischler
on behalf of the Commission
(19 November 2003)
The
Commission values the knowledge and experience of commercial fishermen and
encourages them to make their views available to the scientific agencies
that advise the Commission as well as directly to the Commission. However,
when making a basis for conservation proposals that will have a large
impact on fishing communities, it is appropriate to accord higher
importance to the results of systematic and scientifically-designed
surveys and monitoring systems than to anecdotal observations.
The work
referred to indicates a northward shift in copepod distributions and the
effect of this on distributions of fish is not clear. However, both
science and industry concur that the remaining aggregations of cod are now
located further north than their historic distribution patterns. In
previous cases of stock collapse it has been the case that as fish stocks
become smaller their area of distribution shrinks as the last few fish
aggregate in the most favourable areas.
Indications of a reduction in the distribution of fish onto a smaller area
are therefore an additional warning sign that the stock is at a low level
and very vulnerable to exploitation.
The
Commission will effectively have such factors in mind when preparing
relevant conservation proposals. |
