Activities of Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA related to 2019/2161(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on Fishers for the future: Attracting a new generation of workers to the fishing industry and generating employment in coastal communities
Amendments (33)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
— having regard to the STECF report on Social data in the EU fisheries sector (STECF-19-03),
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the common fisheries policy (CFP) aims to ensure that fishing and aquaculture are sustainable in the long term and that this sustainability is based on three pillars – environmental, social and economicocially, economically and environmentally sustainable and must continue to be carried out in the long term in order to maintain the sector's attractiveness for the labour force; considering that when a fisheries sector is economically viable, the activity becomes more attractive for young people;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has also affected fishers everywhere in Europe; whereas, despite the safety risks and low fish prices, fishers have remained in business since they have been identified as essential workers who have been ensuring our supply of high-quality food, and whereas the Union must give them special consideration as guarantors of high-quality nourishment;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. wWhereas, according to information gathered by the FAO, women account for more than 20% of jobs related to aquaculture production, but only around 312% of those in productive fishing; whereas much of the work carried out by women to maintain the activity, such as that of packers, net-makers and neskatillas (women who help to unload and clean fish), goes unrecorded; whereas the data gathered are inaccurate, ignoring as they do a significant proportion of women's work in the sector;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas, even so, the majority of Member States and the EU’s economic partners in the fishing industry refer often to young people’s lack of interest in fishing, a fact which was first acknowledged at least two decades ago, and which creates additional difficulties in the industry as a whole and exacerbates social problemto the income insecurity of fishing activity in some sectors, which is a factor in young people’s lack of interest in fishing, a trend that has been increasing in recent years, and which creates additional difficulties in maintaining activities troubled by job losses in coastal communities;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas safety issues – fishing activity is universally considered a risky profession – and the arduous nature of work on fishing boats and the lack of guarantees on remuneration, which cannot be ensured owing to dependence on possible quota allocations, are significant factors in younger people’s lack of interest in fishing;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the lack of standardisation in certification and basic training for fishers, as well as in their recognition among Member States, was identified as a constraint two decades ago, and whereas few developments have been madehat must be addressed and resolved;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the results of the economic performance of the EU fleet generally indicate improvements in income and an annual increase in profits and average earnings for fishers, butdepending on the types of fleet and quotas available; whereas when analysed in detail by Member State, sea basin and fishing fleet, these trends are not universal and, in particular, are not reflected in trends among the EU’s small-scale coastal fleet;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is often related to labour abuse, but the EU's current definition of IUU does not include this fact; whereas the IUU Regulation seeks only to guarantee that illegally caught fish does not enter the EU market and not to ensure the outlawing of imports of fish caught in conditions entailing serious violations of labour law and fundamental human rights on board the fishing vessel;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that the information made available by different bodies seems to demonstrate an ageing of EU fishing crews, but that, as with fisheries management and adaptation of measures taken, the management, monitoring and implementation of actions should be differentiated on the basis of geographical area, fishing fleets and, in some circumstances, fishing gear used;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges the Commission, particularly Eurostat, and the Member States, to take account of employment trends, not only in relation to the total number of jobs, but also with regard to the level of training, gender and age structure of the working population in the fisheries and aquaculture sector and, if possible, also in the fisheries and aquaculture value chain, producing data in this respect in similar detail to those that exist for monitoring economic activity and the performance of the sector in a specific way;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that, despite international and EU efforts to improve safety conditions on board vessels, particularly fishing vessels, the international conventions setting out the rules and systems for the protection of ships and persons on board apply onlyabove all to larger and newly built vessels;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Points out that maritime workers, including fishers, are often excluded from the scope of European and Member States’ national legal frameworks on labour, taking into account that many rules do not apply to the reality of these workers’ activities; points out that, – as it is not possible to apply general labour schemes, since fishers' income depends on what they catch under the available quotas allocated to them – it is necessary to ensure that a number of basic premises related to employment regulations are provided, in a tailored manner, for seafarers and, in particular, for fisher and with due account for the above-mentioned circumstances and the specific characteristics of the inshore and small- scale sector, for seafarers and, in particular, fishers, who are often also owners of their vessels;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that the ultimate goal of the CFP is to make fishing activity socially, environmentally and economically sustainable, and that only with good working, living and safety conditions will it be possible with a view to attracting young people and achieveing the generational renewal of this activity which provides EU citizens with healthy food;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the best safety, work and living standards are in place on fishing vessels, regardless of their size; proposes that steps be taken to establish basic legal rules applicable in a uniform and cross-cutting manner to the enreminds Member States of the importance of transposing Directirve (EU fishing fleet, taking into account specific cha) 2017/159 – which incorporacteristics concerning vessel size and the types of fishing operation for which vessels are intendeds ILO Convention No 188 into EU law – into their national law;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Insists on the need to ensure that the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) makes a significant contribution to improving the working, living and safety conditions on EU vessels, finding ways to improve those conditions without increasing fishing capacity, with particular attention paid to inshore and small-scale coastal fishing vessels;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Notes that, under the 1995 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F), the ILO establishes a number of fundamental standards regarding workingtraining and safety conditions, including minimum safety training requirements for all types and sizes of fishing vessel; points out that, while this convention has been in force since September 2012, it applies only in those countries that have ratified it;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Points out that, while the aim of the EMFAF is to contribute to the full implementation of the CFP, in order to achieve this objective, fishermen must be properly trained and certified, requiring a portion of the funding to be earmarked for the training and certification of existing and incoming EU fishermen; emphasises that the administrative burden required by the current EMFAF in some countries has led to the rejection of training applications, including from small-scale fishers, and that the new EMFAF will have to overcome these difficulties in order to make an effective contribution to crew training;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Points out that while ever more requirements must be fulfilled to work on board a ship, training is in short supply, which sometimes causes vessels to be grounded since crew must attend compulsory training onshore; calls on the EU to help streamline training courses and make it easier to carry out training days on-board by promoting distance learning courses using new technologies;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)
Paragraph 29 b (new)
29b Points out that given the new jobs that may be created by the blue economy, circular economy and fishing and gastronomic tourism, it would be wise to develop predictive vocational training concerning these new professions and these sectors' training needs, as has been proposed in the naval sector;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Points out that, although the statistical data available indicate that women account for only 312% of those employed in productive fisheries activity, many vessels, in particular small-scale coastal fishing vessels, are in many cases operated as small family enterprises in which all necessary logistical and administrative support is provided on an informal basis by women not officially engaged in any other form of employment;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Points that such informal ancillary activity does not generate any pay, welfare or, pension entitlements or workplace illnesses for the women concerned and that, should the operation of the vessels be suspended, temporarily halted or terminated, only the officially recognised workforce is entitled to welfare benefits, thus increasing existing worker inequalities;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Points out that, despite the dangers of fishing activity, there is no reason to exclude or hamper access for women to this profession, as demonstrated by the increasing number of female crew members and skippers on working fishing vessels; observes that there are fortunately a number of particularly active associations representing women employed in the fisheries sector, especially in the regionalEU's fisheries advisory councils;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Welcomes the establishment in some EU countries of women's associations in the fisheries sector; calls on the EU and the Member States to support the promotion and establishment of new associations to provide women with greater visibility and assistance;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Takes the view that current capacity measurement standards make it harder for women to access the sector by failing to include dedicated provisions to ensure their privacy and well-being;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Observes that, given the right training and specific skills, fishermen could contribute even more to the advancement of scientific knowledge through the in situ collection and registration of environmental data, providing verification of that obtained by remote observation using satellites and other instruments; in 2019, the Community fleet, consisting of over 81 000 fishing vessels of all sizes, provided an incomparable number of platforms constantly collecting fishing and other marine data on an almost daily basis; this is a facility that can and should be used, with suitable incentives to that end, for the collection of even more data regarding the seas of Europe and the world;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Points out that the involvement of young people and generational renewal will not only ensure the continuity of the oldest activity of the blue economy, but also keepwill also succeed in encouraging populations to remain in rural areas, preserving the cultural heritage of many coastal communities; considers it to be of vital importance that younger generations are also better informed and more aware of sustainability issues and of the need for all to contribute to tackling and combating climate change, which is impacting hardest on sea and coastal areas around the planet;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Stresses the importance of ocean literacy, which must not exclude digital literacy and digitisation of fishing activity; despite improved skills among older users, software applications are easier and more intuitive for younger generations when it comes to collecting and registering data under the new Fisheries Control Regulation, which is currently under review, or utilising new applications and equipment to improve the safety, working conditions and wellbeing of fishermen at sea; adds that life-long learning systems need to be established to keep skills up to date and create opportunities for all age cohorts;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Points out that improvements in the conservation status of fish stocks have boosted fishermen’s productivity and average earnings, as well as achieving a reduction in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions; notes that fishermen have been increasingly involved in the collection of all marine refuse, including but not only lost or abandoned fishing gear, and that their ecological contribution in this respect should be recognised and encouraged; takes the view in this regard that the possibility of creating new activities and supplementary income streams should be considered;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Points out that the need to improve on-board working, living and safety conditions, the difficulties regardingthe image of the sector, including the role of women, on-board working, living and safety conditions, with a view to attracting new generations and improving procedures for the recognition of fishery certificates, in view of the obstacles to the movement of fishermen between Member States and the need for manpower in this sector are factors encouraging the arrival of third-country fishermen who are, in many cases, employed illegallythat has to be met by third-country fishermen in order to maintain activity in the sector;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to raise public awareness in Europe of the importance of fishing activities and the contribution made by of fishermen to food supply in Europe and the conservation of oceans and marine life, thereby debunking the preconception that fishermen are predators interested only in exploiting resources with no thought for the future; deplores the fact that the EU's large-scale and long-distance fishing fleets are often the target of smear campaigns that discredit their commitment to sustainability and neglect their leadership in control technologies, safety standards, comfort and working conditions, telecommunications, highly skilled jobs, supplying food, developing port infrastructure and minimising their environmental footprint;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47