Thursday, 25th September 2008
MEP supports Scottish fishermen’s calls to end fish discards
Commenting on the Fishing Discards Summit held today (25th Sept) in Edinburgh, Scottish MEP Struan Stevenson said he supported Scottish fishermen in their quest to change European regulations.
Mr Stevenson said:
“I have become extremely concerned about the current practice of throwing dead fish back into the sea. It is wasteful and unsustainable.
“Our fishermen are governed by fisheries management rules set in Brussels, that mean over 1 million tonnes of healthy fish – known as discards - are dumped dead into the sea every year. The discards debacle is the only way that fishermen can comply with the Common Fisheries Policy and failure to do so which would lead to them being prosecuted if they attempted to land out of quota or juvenile, immature fish.
“By getting rid of this ridiculous ‘discard’ practice, fish that would have been thrown back into the sea, could be landed and sold to the processing sector, which is desperate for raw material to supply the fishmeal and fish oil industry which in turn supplies the basic feedstuff for our growing Scottish aquaculture sector.
“In an industry already constrained by limitations of the number of days that can be spent at sea, time spent catching and sorting fish of no commercial value is regarded by fishermen as valuable time lost, so fishermen in Scotland will find an immediate benefit from any initiative aimed at ending the discards scandal. In addition, scientists would get a much clearer picture of the state of fish stocks if all fish caught had to be landed.
“I firmly believe that we should follow the same system as our neighbours in Norway and insist that all fish caught at sea should be brought ashore and sold either for the dinner table, or to the processing sector for fish meal. I fully support Scottish fisherman in their endeavours to end this horrendous practice.”
