According to news sources the cameras were mounted on the fishing boats over the past few days and the first catches have now been monitored and landed. Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Eva Kjer Hansen, who is behind the trial, was at the fishing harbour of the northern Zealand town of Gilleleje on 11th September to visit Tiki, one of the six vessels in the trial.
It is told that the trail is voluntary but the fishermen are obliged to register and account for all their catches, and they have accordingly been allotted an increase in the vessel quota equivalent to average discard levels. Eva Kjer Hansen said that the photographic documentation would register the exact catch, and the complete documentation gives authority an opportunity to focus closely on the fish that are discarded.
The trial of these ships with cameras caught interest of the people in the fishing trade. The trial forms a part of the minister’s coming proposals for a reform of the common European fisheries policy. Eva Kjer Hansen told that this is part of the Danish proposals for a new model that can benefit both the fishermen and the fish. The minister will present her proposals for a new fisheries policy to the government meeting on 30th September.
