EU Fisheries Ministers from the UK, Scotland, Germany and Denmark yesterday put their support behind new measures that will improve the management of Europe’s fish stocks and reduce the wasteful practice of discards. In a joint statement, the Ministers call for a reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy that includes a shift to “results based management which incentivises good fishing practices.”
WWF strongly supports the move away from centralised decision making, in the current Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), to a system whereby fishermen are given the option to manage themselves and are rewarded for managing their stocks sustainably.
Giles Bartlett, Fisheries Policy Officer at WWF-UK says: “Over the coming months, Ministers will face difficult challenges negotiating CFP reform and annual quota limits, so we welcome this positive declaration made by the UK Fisheries Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies. It rightly recognises the need to deliver a new management approach that will ensure Europe’s fisheries are both profitable and sustainable.”
The Ministers’ declaration could help tackle one of the biggest issues facing Europe’s fisheries, by reducing the huge number of dead fish that are thrown overboard as discards. Irresponsible fishing practices and lack of controls have led to increased levels of marine life caught as bycatch and discarded. In the North Sea, one million tonnes of fish - a third of all catches - are thrown overboard, by fishermen.
