On November 23, Ministers of Fisheries in Sweden, Denmark and Norway signed a joint declaration to end the discarding of dead fish in the Skagerrack. The agreement will come into force on 1 January 2013 at the latest.
The agreement was presented just before a meeting on the ‘Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy: Ban of discards and minimising by-catch’ in Stockholm, Sweden, attended by Commissioner Maria Damanaki. According to the Swedish Fisheries Minister, Eskil Erlandsson, it is hoped it will be the first step to a complete discard ban in the EU.
The event, organised by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry (KSLA), was dedicated to the rather controversial topic of fish discarding and bycatch, and attracted about 100 participants. This meeting was of significant importance because in July of this year, the European Commission proposed a gradual discard ban for a few commercial fish species, but not all bycatch, as part of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The approach proposed by the Commission, however, fails to address the widespread discarding of non-commercial species, thereby reducing the incentive to prevent these unwanted catches in the first place.
The focus on the wasteful practice of discarding was tabled by the European Commission already under the previous Commissioner for Maritime Affairs & Fisheries, Joe Borg. Since then the issue has been influenced by the Fish Fight campaign, which has helped the current Commissioner, Maria Damanaki, highlight the problem of discarding among the general public across Europe. So far close to 800 000 people in the European Union and beyond actively support the cause, and politicians are paying attention.
The Scandinavian countries are now ahead of the game in relation to the CFP reform process. In response to a question last Wednesday, Commissioner Damanaki claimed that a discard ban, including non-commercial bycatch, may be implemented in the future.
Discarding of unwanted catches (or bycatch) leaves 1.3 million tonnes of perfectly good fish thrown back to the sea each year – often dead or badly damaged. Bycatch is defined as fish (commercial or non-commerical species) caught unintentionally while trying to catch other fish. Bycatch includes untargeted catch, which means catching undersized/ juvenile individuals or protected species.
The two key reasons for discarding are highgrading, which is improving quality of landings by throwing out lower value catch before entering port, and the dumping of unwanted catches, which are often unprofitable, or over the allotted quotas thus illegal. Maritime Affairs & Fisheries Commissioner, Maria Damanaki, was very clear that it is not acceptable, nor ethical, to throw hundreds of thousands of tonnes of perfectly good fish overboard.
During her speech, Damanaki emphasized that it is not fair to only blame the fishing industry for discarding, as she claims the fishermen are locked into the policy ‘box’. “Discarding is not something invented by the fishermen” said Damanaki, “policy makers are as much to blame”. Despite Damanaki’s claims however, the incentives fishermen have to discard through highgrading, and simply the desire for maximising profits will continue to exist. Clearly, this practice will need to be targeted and will require control and enforcement as tools to counteract the continuation of such behaviour. Change is required on the policy side and the industry side alike.
In the view of the European Commission, the discard ban should be mandatory for all fishermen catching the selected stocks included in the current discard ban proposal, in order to ensure a level-playing field for all, to change consumer perception through retailers of fish and fish products, and to enable consumers to buy fish from sustainable markets.
The implementation of the ban for the selected commercial pelagic species in 2014 will not be easy. The issue of landing undersized fish is particularly sensitive politically. It is also very complex and has been debated on many fronts for many years. There seems to be a push for renewed discussions on the landing sizes and the catch composition. For years now, Denmark has been advocating a lower landing size of cod, and it is widely known that the processing sector preference is for ‘plate sized’ fish. This proposal has been vigorously opposed by many environmental groups who claim that such decision will bend the rules to enable juvenile fish ending up on the market. The new Danish Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, Mette Gjerskov, believes that proposing changes to minimum landing sizes will need to be introduced because of the problems in solving the market for juveniles. Commissioner Damanaki suggested that juveniles could be processed into fishmeal. This issue clearly needs some streamlining and further discussion before consensus is reached.
The implementation of the proposed discard ban requires collaboration of both Member State governments and the fishing industry. The industry will need to believe that the discard ban is a good way to do business and the way forward, as there will always be ways around regulations. Damanaki emphasised that money under the new European Maritime & Fisheries Fund (EMFF) will fund innovation, including innovation in selective gear types. The EMFF will also support trials to reduce discards and fund storage mechanisms for producer organisations.
The topic of reducing discards was taken up by a panel discussion at the end of the meeting, which included seven Swedish MPs and a representative from the fishing industry. Some of the panellists thought it would be sensible, while others did not, that those vessels that already comply with a discard ban and are examples of best practice in terms of responsible fishing and impact positively on marine ecosystems, should be rewarded with a larger share of the quota – as opposed to just non-compliant vessels being paid to participate in trials and having more selective gear provided to them. This item ties well to the OCEAN2012 notion of access criteria, which advocates that those who fish sustainably (i.e.: those who use highly selective gear) should get priority access to the fisheries, thus in the long run, reducing the amount of vessels with unsustainable fishing practices.
The meeting featured many high profile Swedish politicians, Norwegian and Danish Fisheries Ministers, civil servants, and stakeholders such as commercial fishermen, small-scale fishermen, non-governmental organisations, and representatives from the food industry supporting sustainable fisheries.
