Fish Discarding

March 2nd, 2011.

The Irish Wildlife Trust strongly welcomes proposed ban on fish ‘discarding’

Yesterday (March 1^st) EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki proposed a phased ban of the discarding of fish as part of a reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Discarding is the term used to describe how massive quantities of dead fish and other marine life are thrown overboard when targeting one specific species. In Irish waters the Marine Institute estimates that discarding rates are as high as 80% for some fisheries (e.g. plaice in the Irish sea)[1]. This means that for every tonne of fish caught 4 tonnes of other fish are thrown overboard. This includes juvenile specimens of perfectly marketable fish such as cod, as well as the numerous other species that make up the marine ecosystem. Mrs Damanki described this practice yesterday as “unethical, a waste of natural resources and a waste of fishermen’s effort”[2].

The IWT strongly welcomes this proposal as a vital step to restoring the ecological balance in Irish seas that has been so degraded through the CFP to-date.

IWT chairman Pádraic Fogarty says “discarding is tremendously wasteful and is causing untold damage to our marine ecosystems. We are delighted that Commissioner Damanaki is taking the bold approach to ban it and we hope that the new Irish government and fishing communities will support it”.

The IWT has been campaigning since 2009 for a reformed CFP that puts the environment first for the simple reason that if there are no fish then there will be no fishing.