The European Commission recently held a meeting with European fishing net makers to discuss the problems they encounter in the practical application of some technical measures under the Common Fisheries Policy.
Technical regulations play a major role in improving the selectivity of fishing gear, and, as a result, decreasing discarding. As announced recently, the Commission wants to move towards a ban on discarding in EU fisheries. It has been said that this meeting will help the Commission to improve both the drafting and the substance of the revised regulation on technical measures in the North-East Atlantic, on which it is presently working. It will also contribute to the debate between the Commission and the fishing fleets concerned.
The day-long meeting was attended by manufacturers from eight European member states, together with one of their Norwegian counterparts, and a scientific representative from the working group on fishing technology of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The discussion focused on problems encountered by netmakers with respect to EU regulations when manufacturing towed gear, and in particular the codend (the part of a trawl where the catches are held).
Topics covered included the definition of the codend, its circumference, acceptable criteria for twine thickness, and the use of strengthening bags (cylindrical pieces of netting which are placed around the codend so as to make it more robust).
Participants also shared views on the problems they encountered in following technical measures when introducing devices such as square mesh windows or grids, which are designed to improve selectivity and reduce discarding.
Selectivity is a major issue in European fisheries, especially in the mainly mixed demersal fisheries (for species close to the sea floor) of the North Sea and North-East Atlantic. The importance of this issue has been further highlighted by the adoption in March of a Communication on reducing unwanted catches and eliminating discards in European fisheries.
The regulation governing technical measures in these areas dates from 1998, and is currently being revised by the Commission. The intention of the Commission is to simplify and clarify the rules while focusing on the main factors which affect selectivity.
The Commission says that it is aware that sometimes provisions can create practical problems for fishermen and netmakers. One of the purposes of this meeting was to seek to resolve those problems before finalising the legislative proposal which must take into account the reality of current fishing practices.
