Brussels, 12/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 12 October, the European Commission adopted two delegated regulations establishing “discard plans” for certain demersal species in the north western and south western waters of the Atlantic.
The measures are temporary (from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018) and seek to implement decisions on the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP) relating to the phasing out of the practice of discarding - throwing unwanted fish overboard. The discard ban, as a logical consequence, requires fishermen to land their entire catches, though there are exemptions, allowing discarding of a small percentage of catches in fisheries where increasing the selectivity is difficult or where handling costs are disproportionately high, to help them implement the minor revolution that is this rule.
South western waters. The landing obligation will apply from 1 January 2016 for sole, hake and langoustine fisheries (and plaice in the southern zone). The following exemptions to the rule apply: - up to 3% or 5% for sole in the Bay of Biscay (depending on the fishing gear used), and up to 7% for hake (7% in 2016 and 2017 and 6% in 2018). The countries that fish in this zone are Spain, France, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands.
North western waters. The countries fishing in this zone are Spain, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands. So-called de minimis exemptions are as follows: 3% for sole in 2016-2017 and 2018, and 7% for hake and langoustine.
Langoustine is among the species on which there is an exemption in north western and south western waters because it has a great chance of survival when thrown back into the sea.
Some exemptions will be reassessed in 2016 taking into account additional supporting information from member states.
The Commission makes the point that discarding constitutes a substantial waste of resources. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that over 7 million tonnes - 8 % of the total global fish catches - are discarded yearly.
The Commission has already adopted other discard plans. In October 2014, it adopted discard plans for pelagic and industrial fisheries in all EU waters and for fisheries for cod in the Baltic Sea. These plans have been applied since 1 January 2015.
The Commission also expects to adopt a discard plan for demersal fisheries in the North Sea before the end of this year. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)