The cabinet opposes European plans to restrict shrimp fishing in Natura 2000 areas. The Council of Ministers says it adheres to the applicable international and national environmental rules, but does not want to go any further.
This is what Ministers Van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen) and Adema (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) wrote to the House of Representatives, according to the Volkskrant. They thus respond to a motion with the urgent request of a large parliamentary majority led by VVD, CDA, SGP, ChristenUnie and the BoerBurgerBeweging to express a strong no in Brussels to what they call the “unholy” fishing plans, to prevent ” that the old Dutch shrimp fishery is going under”. France, Belgium and Spain have already done so.
The issue revolves around the European intention to better protect the Union’s “maritime ecosystems”. This means that “bottom-disturbing fishing”, using nets that drag over the seabed, will be banned from 2024 in Natura 2000 areas. The Chamber fears in particular the consequences for Dutch shrimp fisheries, which largely take place in such areas as the Wadden Sea.
