EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/325

(2004/C 78 E/0343)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3810/03

by Mogens Camre (UEN) to the Commission

(5 December 2003)

Subject: EU rules on discarding healthy fish

The EU's quota arrangements for fishing by the Member States compel Danish fishermen each year to throw back into the North Sea approximately 500 000 tonnes of top-quality dead fish to the tune of EUR 25 million. This includes 45 000 tonnes of cod, which corresponds to approximately 14 million top-quality Danish codfish.

Recent weeks alone have seen 40 tonnes of sole discarded in the Danish sector of the Kattegat. Because of the existing rules the entire EU fishing fleet is discarding healthy fish in the North Sea to the tune of close on EUR 1 billion. Apart from cod and sole this also includes large quantities of lobster, turbot and plaice.

Firstly, this is an immoral waste of food, secondly, discarding dead fish in this way is environmental pollution and, thirdly, it renders all of the EU's attempts to limit the exploitation of fish stocks entirely absurd. The fish perish and fish stocks and their reproduction are harmed.

Where there is a need to restrict the exploitation of fishery resources, this could be done by limiting the number of fishermen's sea days once they have landed the quantity of fish which it is deemed reasonable to catch.

At the same time as resources are being destroyed in this absurd way, the EU allows fishermen from Norway and the Baltic countries that are not yet members of the EU to land substantial quantities of fish in Danish ports. It is said that the fisheries inspection checks on these non-EU fishing vessels are far laxer than the checks on landings from Danish fishing vessels.

The EU's amateurish attempts at controlling fishing are giving rise to widespread annoyance with the EU as a whole and create the impression of bureaucratic interference that runs directly counter to the stated objective.

What action does the Commission intend to take to prevent the wastage of fish and the destruction of the fishing industry as a result of the discarding of healthy fish?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(8 January 2004)

The Commission shares the Honourable Member's belief that the discard problem is a serious one in fishery management and has devoted a number of reports and studies to it. A very recent Communication (1) points up not only the magnitude of the problem but the complexity of the reasons for discarding. Regulatory constraints as mentioned by the Honourable Member account for quantities that while not negligible are only a fraction by comparison with the amount discarded for economic reasons. It also makes clear that while there are various ways of securing reductions in discards there is no single solution to the entire problem. We agree that greater restriction of fishing effort is an effective tool but others can and must be considered.

We are concerned not to stop at findings, useful though they may be, but are firmly intent on obtaining a significant reduction and have therefore undertaken to identify fisheries for which concrete provisions will be brought into force. In addition to the hoped-for benefits to these fisheries themselves, practical experience will be gained of what the various tools available can do. The Fisheries Directorate-General is at the moment engaged in widespread consultation in order to find definite practical projects.

We are also aware that the CFP rules can be seen as resulting in constraints on fishermen, but do not share the Honourable Member's opinion that these rules are both too timid and needlessly bureaucratic. On the contrary we promote action that is as vigorous as possible, although our proposals are not always followed by the other CFP players. But at the same time we are assiduous in simplifying the rules as much as possible so that they are confined to what is strictly necessary and are preparing for further action to that end to be launched under the forthcoming Dutch Presidency. But, and this is particularly so in the present context of overexploitation of major resources and excess catch capacity, effective management requires various restrictions, including restrictions on catches. The resulting quotas can lead to discards, particularly if action is not taken to ensure that the quotas for the various species are used up in a well-managed way. It is our earnest wish that, without waiting for conclusions from the pilot projects indicated above, the national authorities in consultation with the fishermen bring in provisions that will secure a reduction in discards, beginning with better management of quota depletion for the various species and better spatial and chronological distribution of fishing effort.

On landing checks in Danish ports on non-Community vessels, the fishery policing rules enable the Danish authorities to take rigorous action against landing of catches that have been made in breach of the rules recognised internationally, by Norway and the Baltic countries alike, and we have no indication that the Danish authorities do not make good use of the powers on these matters that the CFP gives them.

(1) COM(2002) 656 final.