“With over 80 per cent of European fish stocks already overexploited, there is no reason to allow such a shameful waste to continue,” says Aaron McLoughlin, Head of WWF European Marine Programme. “We welcome the move by the European Commission, but the success of the initiative will depend on EU Member States’ willingness to put it in place otherwise it will be just end up being a little drop in the ocean”.
WWF supports the proposal to explore the use of a discard ban in European fisheries accompanied by the development of more selective fishing gears (such as increased net mesh size, sorting grids and escape panels) to avoid taking “bycatch”.
Additional measures must include bycatch quotas for certain non-targeted fish and temporary closures on fishing grounds to protect juveniles or spawning fish – often caught and then discarded because they are too small. Vessels must be required to move off fishing grounds when catches of undersized fish or unwanted marine life are identified.
As the Commission is asking Member States to propose areas to test the discard ban, WWF suggests that the following fisheries are considered:
* North Sea plaice and sole beam trawl fishery, where up to 80 per cent of the plaice catch is discarded
* North Sea whitefish and nephrops fishery
* Kattegat mixed species trawl fishery
WWF says that any trial ban has to take account of best practice from countries with experience of discard bans such as Norway. Effective monitoring and evaluation must be ensured through the presence of observers onboard.
