Marine pollution and fisheries

Recommendation 1003 (1985)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 29 January 1985 (23rd Sitting) (see. Doc. 5323, report of the Committee on Agriculture). Text adopted by the Assembly on 29 January 1985 (23rd Sitting).

Thesaurus

The Assembly,

1. Aware of the danger to marine life and, ultimately, to human health presented by the current pollution of the Baltic, the North Sea and the Mediterranean ;

2. Concerned, in particular, that pollution from oil (both accidental and deliberate), industrial waste, pesticides, fertilisers, waste connected with intensive animal production, and radioactive waste will have an increasingly negative impact on the quantity and quality of fish resources, and thereby affect the livelihood of thousands of fishermen and employees in the fish processing industry ;

3. Conscious also that reports of pollution may lead to large-scale consumer avoidance of fish caught in certain areas,

4. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers call on the governments of member states :

4.1 to live up fully to the undertakings they have accepted in various international agreements and, in particular for those countries which took part in the Conference on North Sea Pollution held in Bremen in November 1984, to work steadfastly towards the fulfilment of the aims set out in the declaration adopted on that occasion ;

4.2 to intensify research, at national and European level, on the short-term and long-term effects on fish life and human health of various forms of marine pollution, in particular those occurring via rivers and the atmosphere ;

4.3 to take anti-pollution measures on a precautionary basis in certain instances, since absolute scientific proof of the effects of certain pollutants may come too late to save fish and preserve human health ;

4.4 to reduce as a matter of urgency, or if possible ban altogether, the marine dumping of waste from the titanium dioxide industry ;

4.5 to do their utmost to reduce the risks associated with maritime transport of dangerous substances ;

4.6 to ensure the use of the most modern waste management methods when new industry is established near coastal areas, and generally to follow a " polluter pays" policy as regards marine pollution ;

4.7 to consider declaring certain particularly affected parts of the Baltic, North Sea and the Mediterranean as "special protected areas" requiring even more stringent anti-pollution measures.