The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is one of the longest established and more controversial of the common policies of the EC. It deals principally with the management of fishery resources, relations between the EC and third States in fisheries matters, the marketing of and trade in fishery products, financial assistance to the fisheries sector, and aquaculture.
However, the CFP is not just a matter for those with an economic interest in fisheries. It also raises many issues of more general concern, such as the capacity of the EC and its Member States to manage important natural resources sustainably, the impact of fishing on the wider marine environment, and relations between developed and developing States.
This book addresses the CFP from a legal perspective. It provides a detailed account of the very large body of EC law comprising the CFP, and draws on the European Commission's associated documents to aid interpretation and add context. As a result, the book will be of value to anyone wanting knowledge of the law of the CFP. Although not addressing the Commission's 2009 Green Paper on reform of the CFP, the book should provide a useful reference point against which to view the reform of parts of the CFP that is anticipated to take place over the next few years.
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is controversial, and is widely blamed both for the poor state of Europe's fish stocks and the woes of its fishermen. This book lays out in detail the varied roles and responsibilities of the EU under the CFP, examining both the law and the policy issues crucial to understanding its operation.
...an essential guide for those wishing to penetrate and understand the bureaucracy surrounding the CFP...The writers have an authoritative style, the work is well referenced, and it confines itself to the law. I have already had cause to refer to the work in earnest on a number of occasions and each time I have been delighted by the modest but confident style of the writing and the impressive detail which supports each comment. At its heart it is a very generous piece of scholarship, which will greatly enhance the ongoing reform of the CFP.
