In Brussels on Monday 2 December, MEPs on the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries expressed regret about the difficulty of implementing the rule on the obligation to report fish catches (the ban on discards).
Chris Davies (Renew Europe, UK), Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries, noted that 20% of catches are discarded and that, since 2019, the mandatory landing rule is supposed to apply to 100% of stocks (with exceptions).
Clara Ulrich of Ifremer explained that after 4 years of implementation, progress has been made with regard to monitoring and scientific knowledge. But she admitted that there was a very low implementation level. Many quotas have been increased (in some cases by 30%) to take into account the ban on discards. She warned that, if discards continue, this would therefore mean “an increase in fishing mortality” for stocks.
Pim Visser, President of the European Association of Fish Producers' Organisations, brought up the issue of the risk of unequal treatment with regard to landing obligations as a result of Brexit. Visser said that United Kingdom initiated the legislation prohibiting discards. He argued for rules that would be both workable and accepted by fishermen. He said that this is not the case, however. Measures are needed to avoid disasters, he said. He called for an “alternative plan” for discards.
Sergio López García, manager of the fish producers’ organisation 07 Lugo Galicia indicated that the landing obligation results in economic losses and additional working hours on boats. He considered the planned “flexibility mechanisms” inadequate.
Jeremy Percy, chief executive of The New Under Ten Fishermen's Association, believed that the landing obligation had not helped to achieve sustainable fishing targets. “The landing obligation either turns us into criminals or causes us to go bankrupt”, Percy said.
“It doesn't work!”, said Francisco José Millán Mon (EPP, Spain). The Commission is considering a monitoring system to verify compliance, but this is problematic, he said. “We need to react and amend the legislation”.
Clara Eugenia Aguilera García (S&D, Spain), said that “we have placed the sector in a dangerous position” with this legislation. Some experiments involving selective fishing have been undertaken, but their results have not been shared widely enough, she said.
In the view of Pierre Karleskind (Renew Europe, France), “we are in the process of undermining” the principle of maximum sustainable yield (MSY).
The European Commission representative pointed out that it was too early to conduct a review of implementation of the landing obligation and that challenges included implementation, monitoring at sea, and documentation relating to catches. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)