New plans have been set out today to help English fishermen adapt to the discards ban and put an end to the wasteful practice of throwing perfectly good fish back into the sea.
The proposals have been set out by the Fisheries Minister, George Eustice in one of three consultations on the implementation of the EU’s reformed Common Fisheries Policy.
Defra has proposed how the new system of managing quota can be used to help fishermen adapt to the discards ban, and benefit from the extra catch they land.
Fisheries Minister, George Eustice said;
The discard ban is one of the most important changes to fisheries management in the last decade.
We fought hard to put an end to the wasteful practice of throwing fish overboard.
Now we must focus on implementing the discards ban in a way that will work well for English fishermen and help them to profit from the extra catch that they land.
A second consultation has been launched on the European Maritime Fisheries Fund, which is used to fund projects aimed at helping fishermen to fish more sustainably, aid adaptation to new fisheries regulations and contribute to economic growth.
The third consultation will look for views on the best way to introduce mandatory labelling of fish with information about its species, origins, and the processing or handling the product has undergone from the moment it was landed to the point at which it reaches our plates.
The discard ban will apply to ‘pelagic’ fish such as mackerel and herring from 2015, and be rolled out to other species in 2016.
The three consultations covering the discards ban, the European Maritime Fisheries Fund and marketing standards and labeling requirements for fishery and aquaculture products.
All three consultations close on 12 May.
The consultations are derived from Reforming and managing marine fisheries for a prosperous fishing industry and a healthy marine environment headed up by fisheries minister, George Eustice.
