Brussels, 03/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - At a hearing with fishermen in Brussels on Tuesday 3 May, EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki argued for a legal framework that will bring an end to discards, dead fish thrown back into the sea. Very clear objectives and timescales had to be set and the fishing industry had to find ways of not catching what cannot or must not be fished, she said. “Discards are not a viable option”, she stated.
In proposals for the reform of the common fisheries policy, expected in mid-July, the Commission will suggest bringing an end to discards progressively but relatively quickly (see EUROPE 10365). “One thing must be clear”: on the timescale for banning discards, activity by activity, “it is something that must be decided by Brussels” (in other words, the EU institutions) “and imposed on fishermen”. Then it will be for the industry to come up with various measures for more selective fishing, the commissioner said. (L.C./transl.rt)