EU moves to end fisheries discard

The European commission is taking action to stop the dumping of tonnes of dead fish every year in EU waters.

In a communication adopted on Wednesday, the commission says it wants to eliminate “discards”, a common practice in European fleets where dead fish are thrown back into the sea because they are too small or are above allowed quotas.

The paper is intended to start a debate on the issue, and the commission says it could table the first regulations for specific fisheries in 2008.

Discards are common in EU waters, with the amount of fish discarded making up over 50 per cent of catches in some areas.

A 2005 study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated the amount of discards in the North Atlantic at over 1m tonnes per year.

“Discarding is wrong because it represents a waste of precious marine resources. Therefore, it makes no ecological, economic or ethical sense,” said EU fisheries commissioner Joe Borg.

“The sooner we bring this wasteful practice to an end, the better for fish stocks, the marine environment and the fishing industry,” he added.

To put an end to the wasteful practice, the commission is proposing a management system involving maximum by-catch rates, an obligation to land all fish caught, and incentives for fishermen to invest in the right fishing gear in order to minimise by-catches.

Bans on discards are already in place in countries including Norway, Iceland, Canada and New Zealand.

The commission's move was applauded by environmental organisation WWF, which described it as “a positive initiative that must be supported by EU countries”.

“With over 80 per cent of European fish stocks already overexploited, there is no reason to allow such a shameful waste to continue,” said WWF’s Aaron McLoughlin.

“We welcome the move by the European commission, but the success of the initiative will depend on EU member states’ willingness to put it in place otherwise it will just end up being a little drop in the ocean,” he added.

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