Isra-Mart srl:EU begins push for fishing discards ban

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The first high-level ministerial meeting to discuss the future of the EU's common fisheries policy has got underway in Brussels today with fisheries commissioner Maria Damanki reiterating her commitment to end the controversial practice of discards, whereby fishermen throw edible fish overboard in order to ensure they remain within their EU quotas.

The practice was targeted earlier this year by the high-profile Fish Fight campaign, fronted by TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, which has secured 650,000 signatures calling for an end to discards and appears to have won over both the British government and senior officials in Brussels.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Damanki insisted one of the main goals of the reforms would be to bring an end to discards. "We can't go on with business as usual," she said. "This is something we could afford when we had healthy stocks, but now, when stocks are declining, nobody can justify that we take fish and – because of our policy – we force people to throw it back. This is unacceptable. We have to abandon discarding."

She admitted it would be challenging to deliver a reformed policy that satisfies both environmental groups and the fishing industry, but predicted a compromise could be found that brings an end to discards while still protecting fish stocks.

"Fishermen have to change attitude and they have to be persuaded that it will not go against their own interest," she added. "We are not going to abandon fisheries at all, as some people say, and we are not going to fish less because of the ban on discarding."

Environment minister Richard Benyon, who is attending the meeting in Brussels on behalf of the UK, said Britain would fully support a ban on discards and would put forward a number of new policy options designed to enforce the ban while protecting fish stocks.

"Everybody wants to see an end to the disgraceful waste of huge amounts of fish having to be dumped back overboard, and the UK is leading the way in efforts to tackle the problem," he said ahead of the meeting. "I'm determined to keep pushing for reforms in Europe that prevent this waste while fighting to protect our fishermen's livelihoods."

In particular, the UK is expected to provide details of a trial involving 23 vessels operating in the North Sea cod fishery that requires fishermen to count all the fish they catch as part of their cod quota. As a result, they are forced to stop fishing when they reach their tonnage limit regardless of the species they catch.

The scheme could result in reduced income from some trips if fishermen catch lower-value fish, but the government maintains that it will incentivise vessels to fish more selectively.

Benyon said the UK would also propose a new regime in which fishermen land all their catch, but could have their time at sea limited. In addition, they would then be monitored by CCTV to ensure discard bans are followed.

Other proposals include mandated changes to fishing techniques and technology to reduce discards and better promotion of fish species that enjoy healthy stocks.

Any reforms will not come into effect until 2013 and officials now face several years of intense negotiations as they attempt to develop a new regime that does not see a repetition of the unintended consequences that have marred the current regulations.

The latest developments are likely to be welcomed by businesses after a coalition of leading retailers, including Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer, lent its support to calls for comprehensive reforms of the EU's fisheries policy.