Highlights

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The upcoming fundamental reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) aims, among others, to phase out discards. This issue was discussed by the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 25 May.

Every day, large quantities of fish and other marine life, such as mammals, birds and reptiles, are caught by fishing boats and subsequently discarded, i.e. thrown back into the sea. When reaching the sea again, most of these animals are dead, and in many cases even those still alive do not survive their injuries or the trauma of capture.

Catch may be unwanted and dumped overboard for a variety of reasons. For example:

• The vessel or member state has no quota for it.

• It is under the legal minimum landing size.

• Space on board is saved for higher-value fish (highgrading).

In addition to being a waste of valuable resources, discarding diminishes the reproductive capacity of fish stocks and prevents stock recovery despite low quotas.

Some measures could be envisaged under current CFP rules. These include:

• improving the selectivity of fishing gear

• banning highgrading

• reducing overall fishing effort.

Other changes can only be made as part of a major reform. A consultation with member states and stakeholders on the best options is already underway. Its results will be published in 2010.

More information:
Council press release (pdf) 
Council webcast of press conference 
Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy 
CFP - Reducing unwanted catches and eliminating discards