The actions undertaken by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food in matters of protection of fishing resources and the balance of the marine ecosystem were analyzed by the Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food, Simos Kedikoglou, during his speech at an event of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the oceans, in the context of of the 9th International Conference “Our Ocean Greece” 2024.
“We have already instituted a multitude of additional national regulatory measures for the exercise of the fishing activity, mainly based on the rational management of fish stocks and the protection of the marine environment, but also taking into account the socio-economic impacts in the sector,” said Mr. Kedikoglou.
He noted that, among other things, “plenty of local and temporal bans on the exercise of fishing activity by professional fishing vessels are foreseen, while the examination of new proposals is ongoing”.
According to the “EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030” nature should be protected more, with Mr. Kedikoglou underlining that “at least 30% of marine areas should be protected in the EU.” which constitutes a minimum additional percentage of 19% for marine areas compared to today at EU level”, when today, this percentage amounts to less than 1%”.
As he mentioned, our country has already fulfilled the global and European goal regarding the expansion of protected areas to 17% of the land and 10% of the marine area of the planet, such as Natura 2000 areas and national parks.
“Additionally” he noted “without being officially designated, protection measures have already been taken in the Aegean Sea, with an extremely large number of extensive Fishing Restriction Areas, in the vast majority of which fishing activities with towed or mobile gear are prohibited on a permanent basis” .
Mr. Kedikoglou referred to the “Mediterranean, an exemplary sea by 2030” Action Plan, proposed by France, in which our country participates, and focuses on the 4 main challenges for the protection of the Mediterranean marine environment which are:
– loss of biodiversity
– unsustainable fishing,
– pollution of the seas, especially from plastics,
– unsustainable maritime transport.
At the same time, Mr. Kedikoglou called the country’s priority the support of small coastal fishing” which is according to him a vital pillar of the economy, while at the same time he pointed out the “need for the co-evaluation of other man-made activities, apart from fishing, which contribute to the degradation of the marine environment and the reduction of stocks and marine biodiversity”.
Finally, the Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food emphasized the need to avoid unfair competition between the fishermen of the member states “who are obliged to implement a strict institutional framework, and the fishermen of third countries”, as he said.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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