disposal of human waste products

The Commission's proposal for a new construction requirement of a mandatory fitting of holding tanks or on board water treatment systems has to be welcomed for the sake of environmental protection as far as it prevents the discharge of sewage at sea.

1. Recognises that artisanal coastal fishing, shellfishing and carefully regulated and well-managed extensive aquaculture are the forms of fishing that are sustainable from a social, economic and environmental perspective, and which also constitute a determining factor for the socio-economic development of coastal communities; stresses that these forms of fishing have a considerable cultural impact and are territorially very diverse, being carried out on the mainland, on islands and in the outermost regions; points out that they are affected by negative factors such as lack of effective water treatment, human-made and natural disasters, competition from large-scale fishing operations ...[+++], spills, oil slicks, excessive growth of seaboard construction, the effects of large projects on coasts, the effects of climate change, and the lack of clearly-defined regulatory regimes for sustainable local development, and are also vulnerable to changes in local employment patterns;

Threats to the EU's marine environment include impacts from climate change, commercial fishing, introduction of exotic species, pollution and introduction of dangerous substances from shipping, oil and gas exploration, oil spills, nutrient enrichment from agriculture and untreated urban waste water, marine litter and noise.

We need an all-embracing Action Plan that is not restricted to fishing methods, because nobody could believe that the current scarcity of fish is due solely to overfishing. It is due rather to a combination of factors, mainly marine pollution due to agricultural pesticides reaching the sea, oil slicks and everyday leaks from oil tankers, and the lack of purifying plants for treating sewage.