1. What is a Producer Organisation?
In 1994, the Directorate-General for Fisheries (DG XIV) of the European Commission (EC), published a booklet entitled "The New Common Fisheries Policy" (ISDBN 92-826-7570-X). This booklet, which explained the need for a coordinated European Community policy on fisheries, also detailed the measures, necessary for the effective marketing of fishery products. This included a common marketing standards, a common pricing system, a common trade regime with non EC countries and Producer Organisations.
Producer Organisations are voluntary bodies, to which most fishermen join. In 1994, when the booklet was written, these numbered over 150, representing about 300,000 fishermen throughout the Community. The Producer Organisation functions, by acting on behalf of the fishermen, when they sell their fish to the wider public. The Producer Organisation can regulate the market at times of either shortage or glut, by setting their own withdrawal price and therefore, they are closely involved in the way the market operates. They can thus, help to improve overall quality levels, adjust supply to demand and ensure fishing quotas are also properly managed.
Producer organisations are encouraged by the EC, since they are seen, in line with subsidiarity, to take on a wider role in the running of the Common Fisheries Policy. In this context, individual Member States may extend the disciplines of Producer Organisations to those who are non members. This covers such areas, as quality or the condition of the fish, as well as for management of quotas.
2. Which EC legislation governs the operation of Producer Organisations?
Legislation relating to fisheries policies dates back to the formation of the European Common Market. This legislation is continuously under review and is regularly amended. In the context of this question, the relevant legislation is EEC 3759/92 of 17th December 1992.
The role of a fishery based Producer Organisation is listed under Chapter 1, Articles 4 to 6.
Summarised the legislation is as follows:
Article 4. 1. A producer organisation is any recognised organisation or association established on the producers own initiative. Their purpose is to ensure that fishing is carried out along rational lines and that conditions, for the sale of products, are improved.
Members are required i. to dispose of all their fish through the organisation. ii. to accept the marketing efforts on their behalf. iii. to apply for fishing quota allocation through the organisation.
2. The Producer Organisation must not hold a dominant position in the EC market.
Article 5. The member State may oblige producers, who are not members of the Producer Organisation, but who market any of the listed products within an area where the Producer Organisation operates, to comply with i. marketing and production rules. ii. market withdrawal. However, this extension of rules is subject to a number of specified conditions.
Article 6. Where an extension is applied, the Member State may grant an indemnity to producers who are not members of a Producer Organisation.
This legislation was subsequently amended by Regulation 3318/94, dated 22nd December 1994. The most relevant amendment appears under Chapter 3, Article 7a section 1 which states that the Member State may grant special recognition to those Producer Organisations, who submit a plan to improve the quality and marketing of their products.
Regulation 3759/92 has also spawned other specific regulations, which relate to the recognition and limitations of the legislation. One such regulation is 2939/94, which lays down the rules for the application procedure. This has been amended by regulation 1762/96 to incorporate specific terms for aquaculture producers. Article 2 of 2939/94 has now been amended to include:
Economic activity shall be considered sufficient if the Producers Organisation disposes of at least 25% of the total production of the aquaculture species in question in a production area, which is deemed sufficiently large by the Member State concerned on the basis of criteria established by that Member State.
As it can be seen, the legislation makes it very clear that Producer Organisations operate as voluntary bodies, but under certain trading conditions, the Member State can introduce an extension of discipline to non members.
The general rules, under which this extension applies is laid down in Regulation 1772/82 of 29th June 1982. This states that the marketing discipline shall cover the quality, size and weight of the fishery products and the conditions upon which they are first placed on the market after they have been landed. Non members must also comply with the Community withdrawal price. Finally, the extended discipline can only apply for 12 months.
This legislation was amended by regulation 3190/82, dated 29th November, 1982. This clarified the status of the Producer Organisation requesting an extension to those which account for more than 75% of the total quantity marketed, or if the number of fishermen operating under the Producer Organisation is more than 50% of the fishermen operating in the area.
In addition, the minimum period that the extension shall operate is 90 days. During this period, adequate proposals must be made for the rational disposal of production in order to stabilise the market. Finally, the Member State must publish notification of the conditions necessary for the cancellation of the extension.
The legislation was amended again by regulation 1336/95 of 13 June 1995, altered the wording of selected parts of the previous regulations.
The specific terms of the regulation and how they apply to each situation, are extremely detailed for the purposes of this document, do not require clarification here.
3. Why are Producer Organisations necessary?
Fishermen are totally reliant on the wild catch. They are not able to predict, with any certainty, the type of fish they catch, its' weight, its' size or its' quality. Even more importantly, if any fish are caught at all. With the all the uncertainties of nature, the harvest could range from a bumper crop to a total empty haul. The aim of the Producer Organisation is therefore to assist fishermen to cope with such enormous and unpredictable variations in catch and to make sure that fisherman receive the best possible price for their endeavours.
In addition, stocks of wild fish are under increasing fishing pressure and threatened with possible collapse. Producer Organisations are able to effectively spread the allocation of quotas to ensure that all fishermen have access to the fishing grounds.
4. Why have Scottish salmon farmers requested that Producer Organisations be adapted for the regulation of their industry?
Producer Organisations were intended to help regulate the fisheries industry, however, Scottish salmon farmers have requested that the legislation be adapted for their own use. To understand why, it is first necessary to consider the factors, which prompted the early development of the salmon farming industry as well as the aims and aspirations of the pioneering farmers.