Banning of Discards Approved by EU Fishery Ministers

EU fishery ministers have agreed to implement a ban on discards, the wasteful practice of dumping unwanted fish overboard so fishermen do not exceed their quotas.

Talks ran overnight, but ministers reached a "general approach" on the discard ban adopted in June last year as part of an overhaul of fisheries policy.

The key principle is that all fish caught will be landed, with none discarded, but fisherman will be granted leeway on existing quotas so that they can adjust over time to the new approach.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has called the agreement "a historic milestone".

Earlier this month MEPs overwhelmingly backed the biggest-ever Common Fisheries Policy reforms, crucially including an end to so-called "discards" - a consequence of current CFP quota rules restricting the size of landed catches.

EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki - who once admitted the CFP was "broken" - says the discards system means almost one quarter of all fish caught in European waters is being dumped at sea.

Biggest resistance to fisheries reforms on the scale demanded by MEPs came from France, Portugal and Spain.

The agreement will see the discarding of edible fish banned for stocks like herring and whiting from January 2014. A ban for white fish stocks was also agreed, to begin in January 2016.

Does this include Bass?

Does this include Bass?

I'd say that as things stand, it does. Therefore we anglers now need to be lobbying the Minister to gain a derogation to permit bass caught as a bycatch by commercial fishers to still be discarded.

Reads and sounds like a fudge to me.

Yes Donal, it certainly appears that in principle a boat could land bass, spurdog, or any other restricted or zero TAC species on the premise that they just swam into the net.

Also, when you read that fishermen/women will be granted leeway, and that whitefish (the most endangered species element of the equation) will not figure in the scheme before 2016, one has reason to worry.

Tanglerat, I concur a lot with your sentiments on this post and another similar thread with one exception, not all marine scientists suffer from Stockholm Syndrome as a result of working in close proximity to the commercial sea fishing sector.

"general approach" "leeway" "adjust over time" = free for all

To me it is a great shame this has been passed. A fisheries scientist I know who works for the Marine Stewardship Council had two comments. The banning of discards was media not scientifically driven and now fish will be dumped on land rather than at sea. Where I live there is one trawler if he lands a few half boxes of this and that it will be more hassle to sell than dump so to landfill it will go. Fishermen will target species they shouldn't be taking. For me this is a victory for the industry not for stock management.

To me it is a great shame this has been passed. A fisheries scientist I know who works for the Marine Stewardship Council had two comments. The banning of discards was media not scientifically driven and now fish will be dumped on land rather than at sea. Where I live there is one trawler if he lands a few half boxes of this and that it will be more hassle to sell than dump so to landfill it will go. Fishermen will target species they shouldn't be taking. For me this is a victory for the industry not for stock management.

I agree with that - this is a disaster.
For all its flaws the quota system at least did something to preserve fish stocks (smaller quotas would of coure have done much more). Now the commercial fishermen a licence to wipe out what is left.

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now fish will be dumped on land rather than at sea.

At least all the sea birds that normally follow the trawlers for discards may not die of starvation.

The quota system did nothing to preserve fish stocks it only added to the problem, witness discards and high grading.

If the EU or Irish Government was seriously concerned with improving both the marine environment and fish stocks, as part of CFP reform they should remove subsidies from the equation forthwith, so exposing the catching sector to commercial reality.

Irish sea food consumers pay for fish and shellfish purchased through retail outlets in this country on the double, their taxes support an uneconomic catching sector to target endangered species such as cod, then they pay more for the fish again at the counter. Where else would you get it?

Hi I agree with the points above. The quota system was devised as a way of managing fisheries - the best that scientists could come up with. But scientists don't do the negotiations when it comes to policy, politicians do. Fishing is a huge industry and the CFP is based on politics not science. You can go back through all the meetings and see that the science is ignored, the calls for fishery closures, smaller quotas and smaller fleets never happen. The CFP is about money, industry, politics and votes.