A little common sense is creeping into Brussels its seems - the first step towards ending the Discards Landing Obligation fiasco!
The European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee has voted to weaken parts of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) during a meeting which was to vote on the technical details of the new fisheries law.
The fisheries committee decided to:
(1) Re-introduce a 50kg minimum threshold amount of catch for reporting purposes, meaning that in aggregate huge amounts of unmonitored fish can be removed from the sea across the EU without being covered by logbook reporting requirements. This was not envisioned in the reformed CFP, and will have serious impacts on scientific advice for fisheries management (including quotas) in the coming years.
(2) Provide a two year window for not complying with the landing obligation. This effectively means that fishers who have received subsidies under the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) but do not comply with the landing obligation will not be required to pay these amounts back.
(3) Limit the application of this regulation to 2015 only, meaning that another proposal will be needed next year. This will negatively impact the long-term planning of fishers, including investments and planning security.
The amendments passed with 20 in favour, four against and one abstention.
Although the EU Parliament agreed on a sustainable fishing reform earlier in the year, this vote undermines key elements of the CFP such as the discard ban and ending overfishing.
Courtesy of The Skipper
