CHAPTER 1
Why the common fisheries policy is important

Europe and fisheries

The CFP as a key European policy

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is, as one of the most integrated policies of the European Union, a showcase of European policy making. As such, its importance in the context of the European integration far exceeds the minor economic importance of the fisheries sector in the wider European economy.

For many years, the CFP has been subject to criticism from almost all walks of life in Europe and, more often than not, it has been a favourite example of bad European policy-making among Eurosceptics. Beyond politics, criticism of the CFP has also come very often from academia (Khalilian et al., 2010). As we will see, the Commission itself has often been very forthcoming in recognising the policy's shortcomings, in an exercise of transparency that has little comparison in other policy areas.

The tradition of CFP-bashing is as old as the policy itself. Yet, the policy has been remarkably resilient over its 30 years of existence. This apparent contradiction of a strongly criticised policy that has, however, ensured a remarkable continuity over the years constitutes a fascinating study.

The need for this policy is obvious. Fishery resources must be managed, like all natural resources. Given their migratory, trans-boundary nature, European fishery resources must be managed jointly among the European countries involved. Thus, there is the need for a Common Fisheries Policy.

The fishing sector in Europe: some facts

The fisheries and aquaculture sector in the European Union is very significant in terms of fishery production in absolute terms. With landings of more than 6 100 000 tonnes per annum, the Union of 27 ranked fifth in the world, after China, India, Peru and Indonesia in 2012 in terms of the magnitude of catches (Facts and Figures of the Common Fisheries Policy, 2012, 2014), representing 3.5% of the world total production.

In relative terms, though, the European fishing sector represents a very low percentage of the overall European economy: its contribution to the European Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is only around 0.1%. By way of comparison, this figure jumps to 0.4% in Japan, 0.7% in Norway, close to 1% for Korea and up to 10% for Iceland. In the United States, the percentage goes down to 0.02%.

This percentage is much higher in certain fishery-dependent regions in Europe. For the Highlands and Islands (UK), Galicia (Spain), Ionian islands and Aegean Sea (Greece) the percentage exceeds 2% of GDP and for Peloponesos (Greece), Algarve and Azores (Portugal) and N-E Scotland (UK) it falls between 1 and 2% of total GDP (European Parliament, n.d.). Figure 1.1 provides a glimpse of fisheries-dependent regions in Europe.

Figure 1.1 Fishery-dependent areas in Europe.

© European Union. European Commission. Facts and figures on the Common Fisheries Policy - Basic statistical data - 2014 Edition. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. 2014 - 44 p.

The importance of fishing in certain coastal municipalities can reach values well over 30% of GDP and over 50% in employment, as is the case, for example, in certain coastal municipalities of Galicia (Penas, 2000), and in other European regions. The fishing activity has also a very important multiplying factor in the economy: ancillary activities such as shipbuilding, transport, fish mongering, fish processing and so on represent an important level of activity and employment in fishing areas. The economic importance of fisheries includes all these ancillary activities.

The EU market consumed 12.3 million tonnes of seafood in 2011, worth ?52.2 billion. It is the first import market of seafood in the world with 29% of the global exchanges in value. Per capita fish consumption reached a plateau in recent years (2008-2011) after years of very dynamic growth. Over time, Europe's own production has fallen increasingly short of the demand for fish products in its domestic market. The EU-27 exported 1 700 000 tonnes of fishery products, worth ?2.7 billion in 2012 but imported more than 5 300 000 tonnes, worth ?16.5 billion. The EU's self-sufficiency in seafood is today around 45%.1

Although the European fishing sector may be very small in terms of its overall economic weight in the European economy it can be much more significant for the regional economy in certain coastal areas of the Union. This helps to explain why, in many instances, the fishing sector and its associated policy, the CFP has become politically far more sensitive than its own economic significance would indicate. One of the reasons for this political importance is the considerable weight of history in its development and the effects that these developments have on the cultures of the countries concerned.

The fisheries sector employs 116 000 people in the catching sector, 115 000 in the processing industry and 33 000 in aquaculture. These figures represent full time equivalents, since the number of people associated part-time to these industries is believed to be higher. The importance of these figures must be seen in a regional context: while this level of employment is relatively small for a population of more than 500 million people in the EU, it is fundamental for a number of European coastal regions, where the fishing and associated sectors are a very significant source of direct and indirect jobs.

In addition, these figures must be complemented by the employment related to ancillary activities referred to previously, as well as by the important level of part-time employment existing in many European areas, from the Spanish marisqueo (clam digging) or the French pêche à pied to Northern Europe's ice fishing, which represent significant levels of part-time or complementary economic activity with considerable social value.

A historical background

Fishing is a very old economic activity in Europe and its development is closely related to many other historical events. This history has been described with considerable detail by some authors, for European fisheries in general since ancient times (López Veiga, 2000), for the fisheries sector since the Middle Ages (Roberts, 2007), or specifically for tuna fisheries (Doumenge, 1998), among others. This book on the other hand will only attempt to highlight certain examples of historical developments that have contributed to shape attitudes and traditions about fishing in Europe and to illustrate that many, if not most of the problems surrounding fisheries today already existed even several centuries back.

The image of all fishing before the twentieth century being artisanal and focused on local consumption is not real: fishing has been an industrial activity for a very long time. This long history has influenced consumption patterns as well as culture and traditions in the different European regions, helping to establish a particular ethos around the fisheries issues that still today conditions social and political behaviour regarding this activity and its management by public authorities.

Let us look at some examples.

Fish consumption

Harvesting and consumption of seafood dates back to the Palaeolithic period, around 40 000 years ago. Archaeologists have traced the consumption of fish in different pre-historical and historical times through the study of fish bones excavated in human settlements.

The Israelites were important consumers of fish, including smoked, salted and dried preparations and ancient Jerusalem had a 'Fish gate' named after a fish market nearby. The Greeks and Romans of antiquity were strong consumers of fish and fish products.2 In ancient Greece, Bluefin tuna was already an expensive food item. In the Roman Empire, the consumption of many fish species was associated with wealth, as demonstrated by the numerous mosaics showing different Mediterranean fish. Along the North Sea shores, fish consumption was associated mainly with the Roman garrisons.

In Northern Europe, the Scandinavians developed a culture of fishing and consumption of fish due to the climatic conditions that limited their agriculture, while central Europe still relied much more on agriculture and livestock. The activity became an intensive one from the eighth and ninth centuries.

In the British Isles and central Europe, the consumption of marine fish was low, while freshwater fish was intensively exploited and consumed. But this changed dramatically in the eleventh century, when the overexploitation of freshwater fish and the intensive use of water courses for different uses provoked a collapse in these resources that, in turn, allowed for their replacement by marine fish, thus causing the first wave of development of marine fishing (beyond the traditional coastal activity) in central Europe (Roberts, 2007).

Certain fish and fish products were highly valuable food items in ancient times. The best example is that of the garum sauce, a delicacy in ancient Greece and in the Roman Empire, made of small fish and fish guts, dried, salted and percolated. The sauce was used to season many dishes of affluent Romans. Its production and marketing became a very lucrative industry.

Fish for trade

The idea of fish as a trade item is also very old. In ancient Israel, merchants imported pickled fish roe from Egypt, among other fish products. The...