Brussels, 19/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - MEP Alain Cadec (EPP, France), speaking in Brussels on Tuesday 18 September to invited fishing industry representatives, repeated his criticism of the Commission proposal on banning discards (of fish at sea) from 2015 (see EUROPE 10685).
Cadec brought together 45 participants and six experts from the European Association of Fish Producer Organisations to discuss the issue of discards. The experts put forward their analysis, “shared by Alain Cadec”, according to a press release. “There is no doubt we need to eliminate discards gradually and pragmatically, but this cannot be done through a radical and sudden requirement to land all catches by 2015”, Cadec argued. “Zero discards” must be introduced gradually fishery by fishery, he said. “That's why we have to introduce the principle of significant discard reduction in the basic regulation” on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.
The obligation to land all catches is “punitive”, in Cadec's view. He advocates a preventative approach with selective gear suited to the various fisheries. Compulsory landing is very difficult to implement, especially for mixed fisheries, he stated. The type of management for cod stocks in the Celtic Sea is “a concrete example of a fishery where fishermen created and decided to implement a management plan which has allowed the stock to recover”, Cadec concluded. (LC/transl.fl)