The capacity of the European fishing fleet is given in gross tonnage (GT) und kilowatts (kW), and the Commission has identified partial overcapacity as one of the reasons for the failure of the current Common Fisheries Policy.
Whilst gross tonnage can be measured by standardised methods, there has to date been no uniform procedure for measuring the engine power of a fishing vessel. This makes it possible to achieve competitive advantages through hidden overcapacity.
How does the Commission intend to ensure that the engine power recorded in a fishing vessel’s documentation also corresponds to the actual power of the engine?
Does the Commission plan to introduce a uniform measurement procedure?