The resolution emphasizes that the investigations should address both sides of the issue by asking “What effect do fisheries have on marine mammals?” and “What effect do marine mammals have on the fisheries?” “The fisheries’ case has largely been ignored and the research effort has focused almost exclusively on the effects of fisheries on marine mammals, not the other way round,” said MEP Fitzgerald (RDE) when presenting the proposed resolution to the parliament plenary. He went on to say that “Seal predation on fish stocks cannot be blamed for the fisheries crisis. However, there is reason to believe that it may have a negative effect on the ability of depleted fish stocks to recover and the rate at which they do so.”
Questions regarding the management of marine mammals often prove to be controversial, and this was also the case her. The resolution was not automatically adopted by the European Parliament after passing the parliamentary Fisheries Committee as is normally the case. More than the required one tenth of MEPs demanded a reopening of the debate in plenary.The resolution was then adopted with some small but nonetheless significant amendments. One statement that was amended was that “there is no justification” for continuing to give the grey seals of the United Kingdom protected status. In the final version, it says “there might be some justification” for removing the protected status for this stock of grey seals (in the EU directive on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora). Also the claim that “it seems probable that” grey seals are damaging Irish fisheries was twisted a little to read “it is possible.”