Brussels, 28/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission adopted a communication on Wednesday 28 March, in which it advocates a new policy of gradual elimination of discarding at sea, a common practice among fishermen consisting of throwing back some of their catch, for various reasons: on-board sorting of the best specimens, fish caught below the minimum market size, risk of surpassing quotas, saturated markets, lack of markets, etc. The Commission defends a ban on discarding marine organisms (most often already dead) to incite the profession to reduce by-catches (unintentional catches), in particular of young specimens. The debate with the member states and the stakeholders on “the means of achieving these aims” will take place until the end of the year. From 2008, “regulations will be proposed on a fishery-by-fishery basis”, the Commission explains.
In the view of Joe Borg, the European commissioner for fisheries, the EU should “draw a line under the waste” of marine resources caused by discarding. The percentage of marine organisms discarded ranges from negligible in the small-scale Baltic coastal herring and sprat fisheries, to very substantial (from 10 to 60 and even up to 90% of total catch) for certain major demersal trawl fisheries. According to a recent FAO study (2005), discards in the North Atlantic total 1.3 % per year, or 13% of total catch volume. In the North Sea, discards are estimated at between 500 000 and 880 000 tonnes, and in the waters west of Ireland and Scotland the volume of discards is estimated at between 31 and 90% of catches. In the Mediterranean and the Black Sea discards stand at a more reasonable level (18 000 tonnes, or 4.9 % of catch volume). The average figure for the Baltic did not exceed 1.4%.
According to Joe Borg, discarding goes against not only the common fisheries policy (sustainability of fishing) but also other commitments made by the EU (United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the Johannesburg World summit on sustainable development, etc.). Fish which are too young and should be left in the sea and adult fish which are needed to ensure the reproduction of stocks are lost as a resource, the commissioner said, adding that discards directly reduce the subsequent productivity of the oceans. Moreover, accidental catches of various birds, turtles and other marine mammals can have detrimental effects on the marine environment in terms of marine ecosystems and the preservation of biodiversity.
Mr Borg recalled that the EU has already taken measures to address these problems: more selective fishing vessels (grills, baskets, etc.), increasing the gaps in fishing net and trawl mesh, fitting nets with acoustic alarms (“pingers”) to deter cetaceans. However, in order to achieve the aim of eliminating this wastefulness, the Commission believes that it is necessary not to enhance technical measures but rather to put in place a new “result-based management system”: setting a threshold on a fishery by fishery basis for “maximum acceptable by-catch”, along with an obligation to unload catches in their entirety. According to the Commission, this system would have the advantage of being much simpler to implement and enforce. The Commission, which is well aware that this strategy would go against tradition, stresses that the ban on discarding will be introduced gradually and should not affect all fisheries.
The Commission envisages additional measures to achieve its ends: - inducements in favour of increased selectivity of fishing vessels (innovations which could be eligible for assistance from the European Fisheries Fund which covers the period 2007-2013); - real-time closure of fishing areas (when areas rich in young fish are discovered); - obligation to change fishing area; - bans on given vessels; - flexibility in quotas; - taxes on discards, seizure of non-regulatory catches. Naturally the Commission plans to pursue its strategy to reduce fishing days in those areas earmarked for stock reconstitution for certain species (cod, hake, sole and plaice, in particular).
Since fishermen will have to unload the entirety of their catches, the EU will have to reflect on the market for produce which previously would have been discarded at sea (fish protein, meal and oils, or new markets for human consumption). The Commission indicates that fishing vessels could benefit from a “small share” of the revenues from by-catches, which would cover the handling fees. The rest of this revenue could be used to co-finance the management system for by-catches, cover the costs of on-board observers, or start work on techniques which would allow by-catches to be further reduced. (lc)