The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has reported that discards have been virtually eliminated by fishermen taking part in current trials.
The report, released today, shows discards of important stocks such as sole, cod, plaice, megrim and anglerfish have been drastically reduced in the trials carried out by the MMO through 2012 with North Sea and West Channel fishermen.
The trials, in which seven vessels in the South West and twelve in the North Sea took part, encourage fishermen to fish more selectively and land all of what they catch. Participating vessels were provided with additional quota that amounted to three quarters of the amount typically discarded in these fisheries.
The boats were not permitted to discard any of the species in the trials, including those below the minimum size. They had to land all of the fish of these species that they caught so they all counted against their quota. Data from onboard monitoring equipment, including CCTV cameras, was used to check the conditions of the trial were adhered to.
Catches of undersized fish in the trial were also low, suggesting that boats are fishing more selectively.
James Cross, chief executive of the MMO, said, "This is really good news for all those interested in a long-term, sustainable future for our fishing industry. By working with fishermen to develop innovative solutions, we hope to reduce waste of our marine resources while increasing healthy seas and fish stocks for the future."
| Fishery | Average discard rate (%) | Trial discard rate (%) |
| North Sea cod trawl fishery | 38 | 0.2 |
| Area VIIe sole beam trawl fishery | 28 | 0.1 |
| Area VIId and e beam trawl fishery | 8 | 0.2 |
| Area VII anglerfish beam trawl fishery | 6 | 1.1 |
| Area VII megrim beam trawl fishery | 12 | 1.3 |
