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The latest proposed restrictions on fishing with lead have been ‘dramatically’ watered down due to pressure from some EU Member States.
Jan Kappel (right), Public Affairs Officer for the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA) – the representative body for the trade and its lobbyist in Brussels – told Angling International: “The European Commission met last week and although we do not know the full extent of these deliberations, the text has been changed from the first to this second version to dramatically water down the restrictions.
“I don’t know for sure the reasons behind this, but it is not uncommon for Member States’ representatives to do routinely what they can to avoid new costs from this and other EU legislation.”
Restrictions affected include:
- Sinkers and lures weighing more than 1kg are not classified as sinkers and therefore not within the scope of the legislation;
- A weight that is enclosed, embedded or threaded in a fishing net, lure or line is also outside the restrictions. “This is a dramatic lowering of the impact on the restrictions,” explained Kappel.
- Fishing sinkers and lures placed on the market in European Union countries before the start of any restrictions can be used legally.
Kappel added that the amendments fall below EFTTA’s position on previous restriction proposals. “The Commission is not obliged to find unanimous support for its text. As long as the Member States cannot muster a blocking vote, the Commission may choose to go with a final text which is disliked by Members States.”
An updated text will be presented to the next REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals) meeting on June 23rd, which is made up of Member States’ representative and chaired by the EU Commission.
At a previous meeting, the Commission advocated an immediate – after six months – ban on sinkers designed to be lost or detached during fishing (drop-in sinkers) and a phase-in of three years for sinkers weighing 50g or less and five years for those over 50g from the date of the restrictions being enforced.
The European Commission has also issued guidelines that will be included in the forthcoming legislation with rules applying to labels on fishing sinkers and lures containing 1% of lead or more. Products with less will be exempt.
Retailers must clearly display warning signs at physical and online points of sale and packaging. The information must be in the official language of the country where the product is sold or for online sales in the targeted country.
