National Target

  published: 10 May 2019

Objective 4.4 - Fishery in marine and inland waters

Belgium

Marine waters

Belgium has a limited coastline and the country’s professional marine fishing fleet is relatively small. Its ships only land 1 % of total landings of the countries bordering the North Sea. About 30,000 tons of fish (mostly flat fish and cod) are brought ashore by Belgian fishermen each year. Other marine products (oysters) and the aquaculture* production in marine waters and freshwaters are currently not exploited. Taking into account that the state of the commercially exploited fishery resources is assessed at the European level and not at the level of the individual member states, marine biodiversity is particularly threatened in our coastal zone and shelf sea, where direct and indirect disturbances are concentrated. Two important threats are the overexploitation of marine resources and the adverse effects of certain fishing methods (in particular bottom-affecting gear) employed not only by Belgian fisheries but also by fishing vessels from foreign countries active in Belgium waters. Despite the creation of several international instruments to regulate fishery and its impact on the environment, the pressure on the marine ecosystem and fish populations is still present. Besides professional fishermen, also recreational fishermen are active at sea.

Fishery and aquaculture in the North Sea are governed by the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), established in 1983 and reviewed in 1992, 2002, and 2013. The new CFP came into effect from 2014 with the objective of an ecological sustainable fishery and aquaculture (see art.1 of the CFP) and to achieve Maximum Sustainable Yield by 2020. The CFP takes into account the biological, economic and social dimensions of fishing. The CFP addresses four main areas, dealing with (1) conservation of fish stocks (such as establishment of total allowable catches (TACs) of sea fish that can safely be caught every year to allow for renewal of fish stock), (2) structures (such as vessels, port facilities and fish-processing plants), (3) the common organisation of the market and (4) an external fisheries policy which includes fishing agreements with non-Community members and negotiations in international organisations.

EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) on the protection and conservation of the marine environment establishes a framework for Member states to take the necessary measures to achieve Good Environmental Status of the marine environment by 2020 at the latest. For that purpose, marine strategies shall be developed and implemented in order to (a) protect and preserve the marine environment, prevent its deterioration, or, where practicable, restore marine ecosystems in areas where they have been adversely affected and (b) to prevent and reduce inputs in the marine environment, with a view to phasing out pollution so as to ensure that there are no significant impacts on or risks to marine biodiversity, marine ecosystems, human health or legitimate uses of the sea.

An important national instrument is the Law of 20 January 1999 on the protection of the marine environment in the areas under Belgian jurisdiction. This foresees the identification and designation of marine protected areas (MPA) (among others in application of the EU Habitat and Birds Directives). Work on MPAs and threatened and declining species is also ongoing under OSPAR. An impact analysis of human activities (including fisheries) and measures in view of achieving the objective of Good Environmental Status (Marine Strategy Framework Directive) are included in the programme of measures. Already in 2014 the Marine Spatial Planning proposed measures to reduce the impact of bottom-affecting gear that would contribute to the Good Environmental Status. As there are also foreign fishermen active in the Belgian part of the North Sea, these measures had to be negotiated and adopted following the procedures of the Common Fisheries Policy in order to make them legally binding for all fishermen. After a long and hard negotiation process the European Parliament rejected the proposed measures. As measures are still needed to reduce the impact of bottom affecting gear, the new Marine Spatial Plan (which will enter in to force in 2020) contains 4 searching zones where new measures will be developed and proposed.

For CITES-listed marine species, the permitting procedure with regards to the commercialisation of species caught in the high sea was approved at CITES CoP16 (March 2013). This way there is a common understanding of the provisions of the Convention relating to the introduction of sea specimens taken in the marine environment not under the jurisdiction of any State in order to facilitate the standard implementation of trade controls for such specimens introduced from the sea and to improve the accuracy of CITES trade data.

Inland waters

In Belgium, inland water fishery can be considered to be a leisure activity or a sport. It is practised mostly for entertainment and on a limited basis for food, both in artificial areas specially managed for fishing (private ponds, fishing grounds) and in the public hydrographic network of rivers and canals. Belgium’s current legislation only covers the management of the public hydrographical network. Several improvements in the management of standing waters by fishermen should be promoted both to ensure an ecological management of the aquatic ecosystems and improve the quality of the local fish populations.

Belgium is a Party to the Ramsar Convention on the protection of wetlands (i.e. inland waters and marine waters) established in 1971 which provides the framework for conservation and sustainable utilisation of wetlands.
The ICES Code of Practice on the Introductions and Transfers of Marine Organisms sets forth recommended procedures and practices to diminish the risks of detrimental effects from the intentional introduction and transfer of marine (including brackish water) organisms (ICES, 2005).

EN
Level of application
National / Federal
Relevance of National Targets to Aichi Targets
Aichi-T6. Sustainable fisheries
 
Aichi-T7. Areas under sustainable management
Relevant documents and information

The stakeholders involved in the implementation of this objective are: fishery management bodies; owners, managers and charters of fishing vessels; the federations of fishermen, as well as fishermen, the general public and any association working towards the same goal as the NBS.

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