Fresh convictions and accusations against Member States.

France fined
Last week, France was fined €57.7 million in court for failing to fulfil their fishery control obligations.
>> Press release from the General Court of the EU
>> Euractive.fr: Pêche : la France condamnée rappelée à l’ordre par la justice européenne
>> Response from the French Minister for agriculture

Sweden accused
Yesterday, Greenpeace Nordic filed a criminal complaint to the European Commission against the Swedish Government for failing to properly implement the rules which restrict fisheries in the designated Natura 2000 areas.
>> Fishsec.org: Greenpeace to European Commission: Sweden fails to protect Natura 2000 areas

Instead of discarding…
The Guardian reports that fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki said Thursday that fish from European waters will be distributed to the poor as an alternative to throwing them away at sea. Maria Damanaki appeared before the UK House of Commons select committee on environment, food and rural affairs.
>> Give unwanted fish to the poor, says EU fisheries chief

Legal briefings
Client Earth, an NGO specialising in environmental law, has published a series of legal briefings on the CFP Reform.
>> Client Earth: Common Fisheries Policy Reform proposal briefings

Spain’s industry strikes back
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) recently published a series of articles that exposed how the Spanish fishing industry has received more than $8 billion (€5.8 billion) in subsidies since 2000 to expand its capacity and global reach. That investigation has now investigation prompted a backlash from fishing industry officials, including a letter to Spain’s prime minister to complain and ask for support.
>> iwatchnews.org: Fishing industry rep calls ICIJ investigation an ‘explosive cocktail that damages the Spaniards’

•