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Fish dumping 'will ruin industry' Fish dumping 'will ruin industry'
(about 2 hours later)
The UK fishing industry is warning it faces ruin because of EU quotas which result in thousands of tonnes of dead fish being dumped back into the sea.The UK fishing industry is warning it faces ruin because of EU quotas which result in thousands of tonnes of dead fish being dumped back into the sea.
It says fishing crews often continue catching large amounts of fish, such as cod, by accident after exceeding quotas and have no option but to dump them.It says fishing crews often continue catching large amounts of fish, such as cod, by accident after exceeding quotas and have no option but to dump them.
The practice leaves crews struggling to make a living, while damaging hopes for sustainability, say environmentalists. Ministers are pushing for a quota increase to help solve the problem.
EU commissioner Joe Borg acknowledges the problem but sees no clear solution. But environmentalists have called for a change in practices, such as avoiding areas with large numbers of white fish.
Tonnes dumped 40%-60% dumped
Quotas strictly limit the amount of fish that each vessel can bring back to port. But there is no such limit on the amount of fish they actually catch. European Union quotas strictly limit the amount of fish vessels can bring back to port, but there is no restriction on the amount of fish they actually catch.
Often, boats fishing in the "mixed fishery" of the North Sea catch a species or size of fish which is not what they were targeting. As a result, boats fishing in the "mixed fishery" of the North Sea often catch a species or size of fish which is above their quota and have to throw the "discard" back.
Trawler skipper Phil Walsh told BBC News the quota for cod and other white fish he and other inshore fishermen were allocated by Brussels this year was tiny. The EU estimates that between 40% and 60% of fish caught by trawlers in this area is dumped back into the sea.
Life behind the netLife behind the net
By June he had landed all of the cod he was allowed. So, since then, he has been fishing for prawns and dumping prime whiting, haddock and cod, which would fetch as much as £13.50/kg on a supermarket shelf. Trawler skipper Phil Walsh told BBC News he had landed all of the cod he was allowed by June this year.
"I can't describe the feeling really," he told BBC News. Since then, he has been fishing for prawns and dumping prime whiting, haddock and cod, which would fetch as much as £13.50/kg on a supermarket shelf.
"I can't describe the feeling really," he said.
"It's your livelihood and you spend your life trying to catch it and then you have to throw it back over the side. It's an impossible situation and, unless it is sorted out soon, we will all be finished.""It's your livelihood and you spend your life trying to catch it and then you have to throw it back over the side. It's an impossible situation and, unless it is sorted out soon, we will all be finished."
Environmental groups such as the World Wildlife Fund have for years been sounding the alarm bell over the dramatic decline of fish stocks in the North Sea. Many Scottish and English fishermen say they have seen a huge increase in the number of cod in the North Sea this year and now want an increase in the quota level for cod and other white fish they catch.
They say quotas are essential to limit the amount of fish being caught - to ensure that spawning stocks are allowed to mature and to breed. Decline in numbers
I thought I would never see the day that I had to throw adult cod overboard David Mell class="" href="/1/hi/uk/6067722.stm">UK fishing in figures But environmentalists, who have for years been sounding the alarm bell over the decline of North Sea fish stocks, say now is not the time to increase the amount being caught.
But, like the fishermen, activists such as the WWF's Helen McLachlan agree that throwing dead cod back into the water is not the answer. HAVE YOUR SAY We should take back control of British waters. Before the opening up of British waters to EU countries, these problems never existed Simon Ward, London class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=3837&edition=1">Send us your comments
Instead, she says, there must be a change in fishing practice. They say quotas are essential to ensure spawning stocks are allowed to mature and to breed.
"Nobody wants discards," she says. "So let's not catch the fish in the first place. But, like the fishermen, activists such as the World Wildlife Fund's Helen McLachlan, agree that throwing dead cod back into the water is not the answer.
Instead, she said, there must be a change in fishing practices.
"Nobody wants discards," she said. "So let's not catch the fish in the first place.
I thought I would never see the day that I had to throw adult cod overboard David Mell UK fishing in figures Should EU change policy?
"Let's avoid areas where there are going to be large spawning stocks of fish, let's avoid juveniles... let's use selective gear so [a fisherman can say], 'I will only catch prawns, I will not catch white fish'.""Let's avoid areas where there are going to be large spawning stocks of fish, let's avoid juveniles... let's use selective gear so [a fisherman can say], 'I will only catch prawns, I will not catch white fish'."
Out at sea, though, many fishermen insist that life is not that simple. Even the "big boys" of the UK fishing industry, the Scotland-based super-trawlers, with their state-of-the-art technology, find it hard to be anything like 100% specific in targeting the species and size of their catch. class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7097257.stm">How trawlers work Oliver Knowles, a campaigner for Greenpeace, also believes quotas are not working for the UK's mixed fisheries.
And so they, like the hard-pressed inshore fishermen south of the border, are discarding huge amounts of good fish. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "By the government's own figures, of the 186 million fish caught in UK waters last year, 117 million of them were thrown away dead as waste.
It is another blow to an industry which has changed and contracted to become a shadow of what it was three decades ago. "That's actually 63% of the catch, so it's clear that we do need to do something about this."
Trawler skipper David Mell sums it up: "I feel very bitter because we've been so long trying to protect the cod. class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7097257.stm">How trawlers work
"[We've had] decommissioning, increased our mesh size, we've been through a lot of pain really.... [But] I thought I would never see the day that I had to throw adult cod overboard. But he added that some kind of limit was needed.
"It doesn't make sense when we have people in this world dying of starvation." The Scotland-based super-trawlers, with their state-of-the-art technology, say they find it hard to be 100% specific in targeting the species and size of their catch.
And so they, like the hard-pressed inshore fishermen south of the border, continue to discard huge amounts of good fish.
"I feel very bitter because we've been so long trying to protect the cod," said trawler skipper David Mell.
"[We've had] decommissioning, increased our mesh size, we've been through a lot of pain really.... [But] I thought I would never see the day that I had to throw adult cod overboard."
Recovery hopeRecovery hope
Many Scottish and English fishermen say they are seeing a huge increase in the number of cod in the North Sea this year - perhaps an indication that the quotas of recent years have worked. Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw said he agreed it was an "absolute waste" to throw good quality fish back into the sea.
They want an increase in the quota level for cod and other white fish they catch. He told the Today programme he would be pushing for an EU quota increase as well as looking at technological solutions, such as nets that would catch only certain kinds of fish.
But environmentalists say that, although cod stocks are recovering, now is not the time to increase the amount of fish being caught. "What is important is we have fish tomorrow as well as today," he said. "We have seen a recovery in cod in the North Sea in particular - now that is good news.
One thing both fishermen and environmentalists agree on is that "discarding" good fish is bad practice and should stop. "So that is why we will be pressing the commission at the annual round in December for an increase in cod and hopefully that will help the fishermen."
EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg - who is instrumental in setting the laws and limits - agrees. EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg - who is instrumental in setting the laws and limits - agreed that discarding fish was "immoral" but said there was no clear solution.
He told us: "In principle, everyone agrees that discarding is bad, it is immoral. The problem is when we come to work out the details of how to eliminate discarding but at the same time have sustainable fisheries.... That is the big problem." "The problem is when we come to work out the details of how to eliminate discarding but at the same time have sustainable fisheries - that is the big problem."
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