Brussels, 23/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission announced on Thursday 23 February that it had used emergency powers to reduce and avoid excessive discarding of haddock in the West of Scotland. The measure, adopted under Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 (conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources), will permit fishermen to land the catches rather than throw them back into the sea. It will come into force with an immediate effect for an initial period of 6 months, perhaps renewable.
The Commission says in a press release that incidental catches of haddock have increased due to the recent progress in the recovery of the stock.
To comply with rules on so-called “catch composition”, fishermen would be forced to discard haddock for which they have a quota.
Excessive discards were expected, thus threatening the stock's capacity to reproduce. Regulatory-induced discarding, if allowed to continue, would limit and endanger the further rebuilding of the stock. Removing the haddock from the catch composition rule allows the stock to be fished rationally, prevents excessive discarding, and better protects the other stocks. Recognising the urgency to protect the stock, the Commission has instigated emergency measures. This allows for a derogation to be enacted for 6 months initially, with the possibility of extending it for another 6 months.
“We will act swiftly to avoid unnecessary discards. Today's decision proves it. The situation in the fishery has changed, and the very rules that were adopted three years ago to protect the stock now threaten its sustainability. Thanks to the emergency powers, we can urgently amend the rules when the new developments require it”, said Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki. Cod, whiting and haddock stocks in this area have been previously subject to intensive fishing pressure, leading to their collapse. The haddock stock shows signs of recovery, with more fish of the right size and weight to be caught in recent years. This has led to increased abundance of haddock on the fishing grounds. At the end of 2011, the Council set a total allowable catch (TAC) of 6,015 tonnes for haddock in the West of Scotland in 2012, a 200% increase on the 2011 TAC (scientists would even have authorised a 400% increase!)
Catch composition rules were introduced as part of the 2009 regulation on TACs and quotas for 2010 as a response, at the time, to the collapse of stocks of whitefish in the West of Scotland. These requirements limit the total volume of haddock, whiting and cod that can be landed in each fishing trip, depending upon gear type. Fish caught in excess of the permitted percentage per fishing trip face being discarded. This is the risk now facing haddock. (LC/transl.rt)