Europe’s exotic deepwater fish won more protection from the European Union as the fisheries ministers agreed to hefty quota cuts for the next two years. Bearing names like forkbeard, black scabbardfish, greater silver smelt and roundnose grenadier, Europe’s deep-sea fish grow and reproduce far more slowly than fish in shallower waters and are far more vulnerable to overfishing.
It is said that in European waters, deep-sea fish are mainly found in the north Atlantic at depths of 400 meters (1,310 feet) and more. With the depletion of mainstay commercial fish such as cod and hake in recent years, they have become an attractive catch as trawlers switch from their regular fishing grounds. It is told that the European Commission had wanted 2009 catch reductions to range up to 50 percent from this year, followed by cuts of up to 100 percent in 2010.
EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg informed that there would be no fishing at all for deep-sea sharks after 2010. He added that there is a need to secure a meaningful agreement which will considerably reduce fishing pressure on these vulnerable stocks, while at the same time trying to keep discards to the lowest possible level. The European Union has agreed to cut the TAC (total allowable catch) to zero while providing an allowance of 10 percent to cover inevitable by-catch and avoid discards.
The EU has strict rules to control deepwater fishing. It is said that special permits are needed for vessels to land or transship more than a certain amount of these fish, which may only be delivered to specified ports. But enforcement has often been patchy.
