Dumping of dead fish back into the sea could have threatened the West country fleet but a total ban on it could avert the fishing crisis in future. Industry leaders said that there should be policies to end the menace called discards. In March, EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki laid out alternative policies to end so-called fish “discards” in the most radical change to fisheries policy in years.
After the announcement, there was a high profile campaign demanding a total ban on the practice. Jim Portus, chief executive of the South West Fish Producer’s Organisation, said that it would probably have resulted in either a very significant reduction in the number of days at sea that would be allowed or a very significant reduction in the number of boats.
According to Portus an outright ban on discards ignored the fact that many species – including sole, plaice, skates and rays, scallops, crabs, lobsters and most flatfish – survived the catching process. He argued that current quotas overestimated the number of fish killed in the fishing process thereby reducing quotas and the number of fish that could be landed.
