On Wednesday, July 29th, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Normunds Šmits will participate in the informal meeting of EU fisheries ministers in Cork, Ireland. The meeting has been convened by Ireland, which holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, to discuss the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in greater detail, with a particular focus on generational shift in the sector.
Ministers will discuss the European Commission’s (EC) evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy published in April this year, which identified generational shift as one of the key long-term challenges facing the sector. According to the EC, young people are discouraged from entering the fisheries sector by difficult working conditions, the low attractiveness of the profession, relatively low incomes, declining employment in coastal communities, as well as the administrative burden and complex regulation.
“For Latvia, fisheries are not only an important economic sector, but also a foundation for the way of life and well-being of coastal communities. Our task is to ensure the sustainable development of the sector by creating conditions in which people can work successfully, earn an income and plan their future with confidence. Generational shift is one of the key challenges facing the fisheries sector, so it is important to make the sector more attractive to the younger generation and provide modern working conditions,” said Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Normunds Šmits.
Latvia believes that the sector needs a more flexible CFP that can adapt to today’s climate, economic and geopolitical challenges. At the same time, alongside environmental objectives, economic and social considerations must be given equal importance in implementing the CFP. Until now, these aspects have not been sufficiently taken into account when setting fishing opportunities.