Victory netted to ban dumping of fish at sea

European politicians have agreed to end the “discarding” of usable fish, highlighted in a television series by the celebrity chef turned environmental campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Critics described the time-scale for reform - up to eight years - “as little short of madness”, but Arnold Locker, the owner of Locker’s Trawlers in Whitby, said no fisherman wanted to be throwing back fish in the sea, and his four boats which target cod had already got “discards” to a rate of less than one per cent.

After huge reductions in the size of the fleet, there are only 15 main cod-catching vessels left in England.

Mr Locker said: “From what I can make out it is a victory for common sense. We discard less than one per cent and we know that because we have a fully documented fishery - there are cameras on board that continually record every time the winches are put into gear. We more or less already comply.”

Under the current rules, fishermen have quotas for certain fish, but can carry on fishing once the limits are reached as long as they do not bring any more of that species to shore. As a result, tonnes of usable fish which exceed the quota are thrown back into the sea, accounting for up to 90 per cent of the total catch in some fisheries - a practice which has prompted public outrage.

Provisional dates published by the EU council would see discards banned for Pelagic fisheries such as mackerel and herring by January 1 2014.

A ban on discards in whitefish fisheries including cod, haddock, plaice and sole would come in on a phased basis starting 12 months later and be fully in place by January 1, 2018.

The chief executive of the York-based National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, Barrie Deas, who was at the meeting, said there was “potential for progress”, but different solutions needed to be worked out for different fisheries.

He added: “I think it is important to appreciate that in the English fleet discards have been reduced 50 per cent over the last decade. Discarding is a problem, but it is being addressed. Arnold’s example is a classic example, but it is a solution which wouldn’t work with everything. There are challenges in it but it could have been a lot worse.”

Fisheries minister Richard Benyon said: “After years of pressing to eliminate discards it was always my aim to get the Council to agree to end this wasteful practice as soon as possible.

“While I am disappointed that the Council has not agreed the firm dates that I was seeking, a commitment to eliminating discards is a step in the right direction.”

The UK Government, which has been demanding reform of the “broken” Common Fisheries Policy, also claimed victory in winning support for a move away from Brussels micro-management to regional fisheries having more control. Ministers also agreed on a move towards long-term plans to manage fisheries, which aims to reduce the annual horse-trading between countries over quotas for how much fish can be caught. But returning fisheries to a state where stocks are fished sustainably, to end overfishing, may not take place in some areas until 2020.

Greenpeace oceans campaigner Willie Mackenzie said it was “stretching it” to call it a victory for fish or fishermen, when the French minister was saying he was satisfied that he had delayed plans to introduce a ban.

He said: “The outcome looks more like a victory for spin than a victory for fish and the future of our seas. Ministers have failed to back a blanket ban on discards as soon as possible, instead delaying action, picking and choosing which fish species the ban should apply to.”

Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies, the secretary of the cross-party Fish for the Future group in the European Parliament, said progress was only of the most limited kind, and that governments would seek to backslide even on what had been agreed.

He said: “We are half way through the process of trying to reform the Common Fisheries Policy, and judging from what has been announced by the ministers there is a great deal still to be done. For governments to say that we should stop overfishing but perhaps not for another eight years is little short of madness.”