Thomas Appleby
Senior Lecturer in Law
University of the West of England, Bristol
What happens when an irresistibleforce meets an immovable object?
The Fishery Paradox
• Article 3 (1) (d) Consolidated Treaties Exclusive competence to EU for common fisheries policy
• Article (4) (2) (e) Shared competence between EU and member state for environment
Competence Creep
The sublimity of administration consists in knowing the proper degree of power
that should be exerted on different occasions
Charles de Montesqieu
Central problem
Quis custodes ipsos custodiet?
Appeals Mechanisms
• Exclusive Competence – Very little avenue for
judicial challenges to CFP
• Shared Competence– Member States Courts– DG Environment– European Court of
Justice
The ecosystem approach
Is this fisheries management or environmental management?
The Habitats Directive
Darwin Mounds
Request by a member state to close area agreed to
Regulation (EC 602/2004)
No systematic adherence to EU environmental directives
• Fishing boats licensed to fish throughout EU waters without reference to protected sites
• No clear guidance in proposed regulation on Marine Strategy Framework Directive
• Historic rights in territorial waters
Key problem
Member states rather than EU liable to judicial review / infraction for breach of
environmental law
Conclusion:Two questions
• Which industry is the only industry in the UK where EU environmental law has not been fully applied?
• Which industry is the only industry to benefit from a healthier marine environment?