Council of State Ruling on Marine Ecosystem Protection

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Council of State Ruling on Marine Ecosystem Protection

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Council of State ruling, European norms, marine ecosystem protection, accidental catches, small cetaceans, Bay of Biscay, environmental public policies, fishing activities regulation, precautionary principle, environmental protection, French State commitments, cetacean conservation, fisheries management, EU Habitats Directive, Regulation EU 2019/1241, spatial-temporal closures, acoustic control devices, pingers, protected species, biodiversity conservation, environmental charter, marine natural heritage, fisheries regulation, conservation measures, scientific expertise, observer mechanism, fishing vessels, marine species protection, environmental law, EU environmental law, French environmental law, Council of State decision, marine conservation, cetacean mortality, fisheries management policy, environmental policy, precautionary principle application, sustainable fisheries, marine biodiversity, ecosystem protection, fisheries conservation, EU law primacy, national environmental commitments, marine protected areas, fishing zone closures, cetacean protection measures, environmental obligations, State responsibility, marine environment protection, conservation of species, serious threat, scientific recommendations, regulatory framework, fisheries governance, environmental governance.

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Abstract
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Abstract

The Council of State affirms the primacy of European norms in marine ecosystem protection and orders the French State to take effective measures to limit accidental catches of small cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay.

Extract

[...] -Furthermore, in its consideration 14, the Council of State orders "the establishment of spatio-temporal closures . This injunction illustrates a notable change in administrative jurisprudence, where the judge no longer limits himself to noting the State's shortcomings, but obliges it to implement concrete measures under time constraint. -In doing so, it recalls the need for strict regulation of fishing practices within the European Union and relies on Regulation No 1380/2013, which states the need to set rigorous standards to preserve fishery resources and marine biodiversity (recital 16). [...]

[...] -In consequence, the Council of State requires the State to thoroughly review its strategy for preserving endangered marine species. This explicit recognition of the oceans as national heritage to be protected necessarily entails the obligation to adapt fishing activities to ecological constraints. B. The Imperative to Adapt Fishing Activities to Ecological Requirements -The March ruling does not simply acknowledge the State's shortcomings in protecting cetaceans. It also imposes concrete and at least very precise measures to ensure that French fishing policy is brought into compliance with environmental requirements. [...]

[...] Strict regulation of fishing practices within the European Union -In its CE decision of 20 March 2023, No the Council of State relies on alarming data regarding the mortality of small cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay. According to the reports cited, accidental catches, estimated at 6,600 deaths per year in 2020, would have reached 9,000 in 2023, thus exceeding the critical threshold for the viability of the affected species. On this basis, it finds in its consideration 8 that "the mortality caused by these accidental catches is proven?". [...]

[...] The Council of State having decided to join cases due to the proximity of the requests. This latter having rendered this judgment on 20 March 2023, ruling on the legality of the contested decisions and ordering the State to take additional measures. The applicant associations argued that the current measures were insufficient in light of France's European and international commitments to environmental protection. They invoked, in particular, violations of several provisions, including the 1992 'Habitats' directive, which imposes strict obligations to conserve protected marine species, Regulation 2019/1241, which governs the sustainable management of fishery resources, the precautionary principle, enshrined in the Environmental Charter, which requires preventive action in the event of proven risks to biodiversity, as well as the failure to comply with scientific recommendations calling for spatial and temporal closures to preserve cetaceans. [...]

[...] -In the second place, the Council of State highlights the ineffectiveness of acoustic deterrent devices (pingers), currently used to keep cetaceans away from fishing nets. These devices, not only ineffective, also have harmful effects on the behavior of marine species by modifying their natural habitat. Therefore, the judge imposes the implementation of new protection techniques based on the best available scientific expertise (considering which is quite innovative in recent jurisprudence in this matter. -Finally, the ruling emphasizes in its final point the need to strengthen the observation and control mechanisms for accidental catches. [...]

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