MPs have refused to ban the controversial practice of discarding surplus fish back into the sea.
This article from today's Guardian captures a flavour of the distaste for a fight it seems......
"Fishermen should be allowed to continue discarding edible fish at sea, despite public pressure to stop the wasteful practice, a group of MPs has urged.
The proposal, by a parliamentary select committee, is a blow to environmental campaigners who have long argued against the practice.
A high-profile public campaign led by the chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has called an end to the discarding of fish. Fleets sometimes throw fish back, usually dead, because they have exceeded their quota or have inadvertently caught less valuable species.
Partly in response to the campaign, the European commission has proposed a phased-in ban on discards, which the UK government has backed in Brussels.
But the environment and rural affairs committee called in a report published on Friday for the practice to be allowed to continue until 2020 at least.
The MPs said it had not been proved how many fish died after being discarded and called for more research. They cast doubt on whether it was possible to end discards."
In the meantime, follow the story as it envelops the Facebook page of Hugh's Fishfight campaign here.
This is a dilemma for fishermen as almost no fishery is without some sort of by-catch - a total ban on discards is not practicable - but the chances are the baby will be thrown out with the bathwater as all hands fail to find a way through this complicated issue.
