According to the news this 10 percent margin of tolerance is a part of a new EU Control Regulation, after the NFFO and its allies put up an epic effort to block the new rule. Although the Federation marshalled wide support from fishermen across all member states, the Commission signalled at the outset of the Council that this was one of its “red line” issues and forced the regulation through.
It is told that every regional advisory council has warned the Commission that consistent compliance with a 10 percent margin of tolerance is unachievable because of the difficulty of estimating small amounts of by-catch species to that level of accuracy. It is said that electronic logbook would help maintaining mathematical certainty that enforcement authorities across Europe will repeatedly detect multiple technical infringements of the margin of tolerance.
The fate of thousands of fishermen will depend on the authorities’ discretion to prosecute or not. The NFFO and other fishing federations have offered the opportunity to place independent experts aboard their vessels to demonstrate that estimating catch on board consistently to that level of accuracy is not achievable because of a range of practical considerations.
