Nature conservation considerations in sea fishing to protect Natura 2000 areas
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns proposals to expand the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management's possibilities to restrict fishing in Natura 2000 areas to protect biodiversity 1. V considers that the government has put forward a balanced proposal that protects the seas while simultaneously promoting a sustainable fishing industry 1. MP welcomes the proposition but wants decisions to be based on the ecosystem approach rather than old conservation goals, and that restrictions should also be able to occur outside Natura 2000 areas 2. V considers the proposal to be insufficient and demands a general fishing ban in all marine protected areas as well as a moved trawling limit to 12 nautical miles 3. L supports the proposal and argues that it is in line with the government's environmental policy to take the entire ecosystem into account 4.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Björn Petersson (S)
Madam Speaker! Today we are debating the question of changes to the rules for the protection of marine areas, more specifically within Natura 2000 areas.
The matter is based on the fact that the EU Commission notified Sweden in 2020 that we do not meet the requirements for preserving habitats and for incorporating the Birds and Habitats Directives. The government at that time appointed an inquiry, and the current government has taken over the work.
The proposal we are discussing here today concerns expanding the possibilities for the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management to restrict fishing within Natura 2000 areas. The Government's assessment is that the proposal does not lead to any further restrictions than those that already exist today. The proposal aims to clarify which rules shall apply.
We Social Democrats see that our seas face one of our time's most pressing environmental challenges. In order to secure biodiversity, our seas need to be protected. At the same time, we see the need to maintain a balance between strict environmental requirements and the fishing industry's opportunity to develop in a sustainable future.
When it comes to the future of Sweden's fishing industry, we Social Democrats want to promote and develop it in both the short and long term. Internationally, the blue economy is growing in tandem with increasing awareness of the importance of the oceans. We want to safeguard small-scale coastal fishing, which contributes to our food supply and is gentler on the environment than large-scale fishing.
In the matter at hand, I believe that the government has put forward a balanced proposal, and even though we within the Social Democrats have reasoned that it could be considered to broaden the protection, we stand behind the government's proposal.
Madam Speaker! I vote in favor of the committee's proposal for a decision.
Emma Nohrén (MP)
Madam Speaker! Just as the member before me here, Björn Petersson, said when he presented the matter, this is about a proposition on nature conservation considerations in fishing at sea in order to protect Natura 2000 areas.
There are many different regulations coming regarding the fishing area now. Fundamentally, we in Miljöpartiet are very positive about this and welcome this bill. We do, however, have a reservation, and it is reservation number 2 that I want to move for approval.
Just as the previous speaker said, this proposal comes after we received a pointing out from the EU Commission. We have appointed an investigation into what needs to be done for us to rectify those matters, and there is a preparatory document that is more extensive than what the government is actually presenting now. We in Miljöpartiet think it is unfortunate that the government does not take the chance when there are actually opportunities to do this correctly and properly.
Mr. Speaker! I shall very briefly state what we believe should be changed.
The Commission has urged the Member States to submit a national roadmap towards a ban on bottom trawling in marine protected areas. I believe that this bill might have looked different if the government had worked out such a roadmap and it had been completed and submitted. I hope that the government promptly does this so that the Commission does not have to point out again that we are lagging behind in this work.
The proposal on the table today is about Sweden being able to restrict and prohibit fishing even if it complicates fishing. That is good. We know that the condition of our seas is not great; it is rather a catastrophe. We know that many stocks are below the limits, and we have on numerous occasions had many and long debates in this speaker's chair regarding the condition of this.
In the proposal that is before us, it is intended that the authority to which the government shall give this assignment should be able to restrict this based on conservation objectives. Just regarding that word, Mr. Speaker, we would like it to instead say based on the ecosystem approach. Many of our conservation objectives are, in fact, old. New knowledge has emerged, and it means that if one makes these changes based on the conservation objectives, one might simply miss what needs to be done. We would therefore like the decision to be changed so that these changes are actually made based on the ecosystem approach and not just the conservation objectives – and of course also that work is done to update the conservation objectives.
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, it is also the case that many of our fish stocks that are in poor condition move across large areas. We believe that it should also be possible to make restrictions outside Natura 2000 areas, depending on how it affects the different stocks and the different fish's habitats. Therefore, we also included that we want it to be possible to expand this so that even measures that affect a Natura 2000 area but occur outside the Natura 2000 area could be included. There was a reasoned proposal for this, and we lack that.
Otherwise, I think it is good that we get some way. But we could have gone further, and therefore I move for approval of reservation 2.
During the spring, more government bills will also arrive. We welcome these, and we will address them then. Hopefully, these steps can lead to better and more sustainable fishing and higher nature conservation. We would, however, have liked to see it already now.
Andrea Andersson Tay (V)
Mr. Speaker! The Left Party welcomes that the government, with the proposal, strengthens the consideration for species and habitats in Natura 2000 areas, but we do not think it is sufficient to protect biodiversity.
A general fishing ban is needed in all marine protected areas, so that even nature reserves and national parks are included. Vänsterpartiet believes that fishing in these areas should only be permitted if it can be conducted without affecting the areas' conservation values. It would benefit fish stocks both in protected areas and in surrounding areas, while simultaneously protecting habitats and other species. In the long run, it would also promote the fishing industry.
Long-term protection of the oceans' ecosystems is needed. Protected areas are necessary to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. They must be correctly placed and have effective regulations. Commercial fishers themselves are raising their voices for more protected areas that can give the fish the opportunity to grow and reproduce. The protection of marine areas in Sweden is weak in many places and involves continued opportunities for fishing and trawling. Even in national parks, fishing occurs.
On the one hand, the protection must therefore be tightened to become a real protection against that which harms biological diversity, on the other hand, significantly larger areas must be protected. Vänsterpartiet considers that a specific milestone is needed to achieve a network of protected marine areas and that it needs to be clarified to what extent the protection shall apply.
In addition to helping Sweden reach the environmental goals, protected areas contribute to a sustainable fishing industry where fishermen have the opportunity to make a living from their fishing in the long term. In this context, I also want to mention that we in Vänsterpartiet want to move the trawl limit for both bottom trawling and pelagic trawling to 12 nautical miles along the entire Swedish coast and not just in the Baltic Sea, as the government has proposed.
Elin Nilsson (L)
Mr. Speaker! We are once again here in the chamber to debate an issue that is part of the government's marine environment policy.
At the end of last year, we made a long-awaited, welcome, and above all, much-needed decision when we passed the marine environment bill. With the marine environment bill, we charted the direction for a new marine environment policy where the entire ecosystem is taken into account. With it, steps were taken, among others, for a moved trawling limit, protection of marine areas, and coordinated measures against eutrophication.
Mr. Speaker! We are all painfully aware that the fish stocks in the Baltic Sea are in very poor condition. The cod stocks are already destroyed: Five years ago, a fishing ban on cod in the eastern Baltic was introduced after the stock collapsed, and the cod in the western Baltic crashed several years earlier and shows no signs of recovery.
There are studies indicating that the stock collapse could have been avoided if the right measures had been taken in time. It is clear that we must act faster and more proactively to prevent the same catastrophe from affecting the stocks of sprat and herring. We Liberals have for a long time fought for a more sustainable management of our seas, with a particular focus on the Baltic Sea - for obvious reasons. That the government put forward the marine environment bill is not only a Liberal victory, but it is also a victory for the seas.
Mr. Speaker! I am proud of the direction for the marine environment policy that we have charted. The marine environment bill was an important first step. It indicates the direction of where we want to reach and marked the beginning of something new. Now we are taking further steps in this work. As a speaker before me here in the chamber today said, many different regulations within the marine environment policy are underway, and that is good.
What we are debating today is nature conservation considerations in fishing at sea to protect Natura 2000 areas. The proposed changes mean that the possibility to issue regulations on what considerations should be taken regarding nature conservation interests in fishing is expanded so that regulations can be developed even if they are so intrusive that fishing is significantly hindered. That is good. If regulations are needed to prevent fishing at sea from causing a deterioration of the habitat or habitats intended to be protected in a Natura 2000 area, such regulations will be able to be developed. It is entirely in line with what the government wants to achieve with its environmental policy. We take the entire ecosystem into account.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I move for the approval of the proposal as presented.
The deliberation was hereby concluded.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.