Sustainable objectives and commitments deceived by fisheries subsidies for 'temporary cessations' in times of COVID.

ABSTRACT: The European Commission launched the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives in March 2020, which aimed to help European economic actors, including the fishing sector, to cope with the COVID-19 crisis. This initiative was translated into French law in April 2020, through a decree laying down conditions for obtaining temporary cessation subsidies. Here, we demonstrate that, in stark contradiction with the European Union's international commitments and binding objectives, France allocated this fund in a way that mostly benefited large-scale, high-impact fisheries. In particular, we show that seven companies/groups received 28.5% of all subsidies, for only 53 vessels, i.e. 0.8% of the French fleet. We also show that vessels smaller than 12 m and operating lower impact, 'passive' gears onl

SUBMITTER: Le Brenne V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8462790 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature