| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.16, 24.4.03 |
| Publication Date | 24/04/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 24/04/03 By A ban on throwing dead fish overboard would not in itself tackle the problem of over-fishing or protect stocks of young fish, according to a new European Parliament report. Its author, Danish Liberal Niels Busk said that instead trawlers should be temporarily banned from sea lanes with a high concentration of young fish. The European Commission suggested last November that a ban on discarding dead fish should be considered as a medium-term objective. Most discarded fish are either below the legal weight permitted for catches or are species of a low commercial value. Busk, whose paper was discussed by the Parliament's fisheries committee this week, said the emphasis should be on allowing endangered stocks to recover and that the EU system of setting annual quotas and total allowable catches (TACs) needs to be altered so that the problem of discards is addressed. He suggests there should be 'bycatch' quotas, setting limits on the amount of unintended catches and a reduction in the time that trawlers spend at sea - particularly in waters with a large number of juvenile fish. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that between 18 and 40 million tonnes of fish per year are discarded into the sea. "This far exceeds the EU's total fisheries production," said Busk, adding that catches in the Union's waters and at fish farms yield 7.8 million tonnes annually. He recommends that the full extent of discards needs to be studied as the data needed to predict the extent of the problem isn't available. "There is no rhyme or reason in discarding fish which are dead after being caught and at the same time believing this constitutes an effort to restore fish stocks," he added. A ban on throwing dead fish overboard would not in itself tackle the problem of over-fishing or protect stocks of young fish, according to a new European Parliament report. |
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