Maritime Interests

Final destination: the sea. It may take many years, but finally much of the manure and other fertilizer that plants and soil cannot absorb is washed into the sea. This nutrient overload damages maritime and coastal ecosystems in a process called eutrophication. Excessive growth of plankton and algae depletes the oxygen in the water and suffocates flora and fauna. The algae, as well as bacteria whose growth is promoted by the lack of oxygen, may also produce dangerous toxins. These toxins can kill animals and, accumulated in fish and shellfish, poison humans. The environmental destruction affects humans in additional ways. Fishermen catch fewer fish – and the fish they catch are less valuable: traditional saltwater species are replaced by invasive freshwater species that can better cope with the deteriorating conditions. Residents have to live along a smelly coastline with turbid water. The tourist industry loses clients.

Eutrophication affects the Mediterranean and, even more heavily, the Baltic Sea. Over 50% of anthropogenic nitrogen loads in the Baltic Sea already stem from agriculture, and this load is likely to increase as Eastern European agriculture intensifies. The Helsinki Commission estimates that phosphorus inputs to the Baltic Sea would double and nitrogen inputs increase by 70% if all countries around the Baltic developed agriculture to the same state as in Denmark. All neighboring countries, and especially their coastal regions, should therefore promote fundamental CAP reform. All the more as the most cost-effective reductions in pollution can be obtained in agriculture.

The current CAP worsens eutrophication. It artificially raises agricultural prices, notably through tariffs and export subsidies. It also rewards agricultural production through output premia. If these incentives were abolished and production left to the market, agricultural production would decline and become less intensive. This would automatically translate into less pollution. Furthermore, the current CAP still subsidizes drainage. This destroys wetlands with high nutrient retention capacity, so that more nutrients reach the sea.

The future CAP should not only stop harming, it should actively counteract eutrophication. This could be achieved by rewarding responsible farming practices. Targeted subsidies should encourage

• buffer strips between cultivated land and water courses
• management plans for fertilizer and manure
• reduced fertilizer use
• measures against soil erosion
• restoration of wetlands and water courses