Resolution on the problem of fish discards
Date: 1999-01-28
Institutions: Committee on Fisheries, European Parliament
Subjects: alcoholic beverage, catch of fish, common fisheries policy, conservation of resources, discarded fish, ecosystem

7.5.1999

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6.  Fish discards

A4-0403/98

Resolution on the problem of fish discards

The European Parliament,

›  having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

›  having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A4-0403/98),

A.  whereas fish is an extremely valuable global, natural food source,

B.  whereas  the  world’s  living  marine  resources  are  seriously  overexploited,  and  changing  consumer
preferences,  increasing  purchasing  power  and  population  growth  continue  to  push  up  the  global
demand for fisheries products,

C.  whereas  the  possibility  of  increasing  the  global  fish  supply  by  means  of  better  stock  management
(which  presupposes  inter  alia  that  fish  are  left  to  grow  and  to  spawn  before  they  are  caught),
and ensuring  that  catches  are  used  to  a  maximum  extent,  must  be  fully  exploited,  and  whereas
aquaculture may in the future make an increasing contribution to global fish stocks and so relieve
pressure on a number of caught species,

D.  whereas  the  Food  and  Agricultural  Organisation  of  the  United  Nations  (FAO)  has  estimated  that
between  17,9  and  39,5  million  tonnes  of  fish,  corresponding  to  20-40  %  of  the  production  of  the
world(cid:146)s  marine  capture  fisheries,  are  discarded  every  year (1),  and  whereas  studies  of  various  EC
fisheries have arrived at discard rates of a similar order,

E.  whereas the impact of discards on fish stocks varies depending on species and population sizes,

F.  whereas, partly as a result of the catching and discarding of undersized fish at sea, some stocks have

been depleted to critical levels,

G.  whereas  excessive  fishing  effort  and  insufficient  selectivity  of  fishing  gear  and  practices  and  the
inflexibility of fishing policies and decision-making processes are important roots of the problem of
undesirable  catches,  and  whereas  the  pursuit  of  a  reduction  in  fishing  effort  and  of  increased
selectivity must continue and be reinforced,

H.  whereas the Community pursues a reduction of the excess capacity of the Community fishing fleet
through the Fourth Multi-Annual Guidance Programme, tries to limit the amount of fish caught by
means of Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas, and has adopted Regulation (EC) 850/98 on
technical measures for the protection of juveniles (2), which will enter into force on 1 January 2000
and replace Regulation (EC) 894/97 (3),

I.  whereas implementation of technical measures, particularly increasing mesh sizes and making square
mesh  compulsory  for  all  cod-ends,  to  ensure  that  small  fish  can  escape,  and  regularly  monitoring
technological advances which enhance the efficiency of fishing gear and making regular adjustments
to technical measures, could dramatically reduce the catch of immature fish,

(1)  FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 339, Rome 1994.
(2)  OJ L 125, 27.4.1998, p. 1.
(3)  OJ L 132, 23.5.1997, p. 1.

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J.  whereas the continuous development and fine-tuning of the instruments in place may help to reduce
discards,  but  are  unlikely  to  be  capable  of  producing  a  total  solution  and  therefore  need  to  be
supported and complemented with other measures,

K.  whereas  restrictions  on  days  at  sea  and  closed  seasons  in  certain  fishing  zones  also  play  a  part  in

reducing total catches, particularly juveniles and spawning fish,

L.  whereas  the  cost  to  all  fishermen,  in  the  form  of  diminishing  stock  levels,  of  the  catching  of
undersized fish is not reflected in any considerable and immediate cost to the individual fisherman
who catches such fish, as long as that fish can freely be discarded, while the use of more selective gear
and practices may well be associated with various sorts of drawbacks such as lower yields and more
complicated handling; also the willingness of individual fishermen to fish selectively is undermined
by lack of confidence in other fishermen(cid:146)s readiness to do so,

M.  whereas rules on the design and use of gear can very often be circumvented, either legally or illegally,
with  little  risk  of  detection,  and  therefore  do  not  constitute  a  sufficient  response  to  the  relevant
problems,

N.  whereas, in consequence, new ways of providing fishermen with incentives and with understanding of
the  rationale  for  the  provisions  in  force,  of  promoting  mutual  confidence  between  them,  and  of
making regulations enforceable, must be sought, and better training to increase the understanding of
fishermen of the need for a wide range of measures to preserve fish stocks is vital if they are to play
their key role in managing fish resources for future generations,

O.  whereas, since the composition of catches varies over the year and/or between different geographical
areas, and also due to the fact that monitoring when and where vessels are fishing is normally much
less difficult than checking how and what they are fishing, it would appear that temporary, seasonal or
permanent area closures should be used more frequently, in particular to avoid the wasteful catching
of many young fish,

P.  whereas  Article  16  of  the  existing  regulation  on  technical  measures  and  Article  45  of  the  new
regulation  provide  each  Member  State  with  the  possibility,  under  strict  conditions,  of  taking
conservation measures in respect of the waters under its jurisdiction, and whereas for practical as well
as for procedural reasons, only they can react with the necessary speed to respond to the detection of
major aggregations of juveniles in their waters, and should be encouraged to do so,

Q.  whereas for various reasons, incidental catches will still be significant even if measures to reduce
them prove successful, and whereas the ever diminishing acceptability of the waste of resources that
discards represent has prompted a number of North Atlantic states to intervene still further against this
practice, the Norwegian ban on discards of eleven species being the prime example,

R.  whereas the difficulty of ensuring compliance with discard bans is real, and there is a strong need to
supplement such bans with effective measures, to ensure that the obligation to retain on board and to
land the whole catch, including undersized fish, is not used as a cover for deliberately taking catches
of such fish to make a profit,

Considers  that  for  European  fisheries  to  remain  a  viable  industry,  and  continue  to  be  so  in  the

1.
medium and long term, action must be taken to restore and build up declining fish stocks;

Points  out  that  discard  levels  at  the  present  time  are  unacceptable,  and  will  only  start  to  fall  if

2.
appropriate technical measures are introduced and controls are stepped up;

Recommends that research be undertaken on a European level to identify species most at risk from

3.
discarding, also fish behaviour in order to develop maximum selectivity of gear;

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4.
Urges  that  stocks  of  certain  species  must  be  protected  through  proper  marine  management  and
Regulation, including, if necessary, an obligation to change fishing grounds where above 15% in numbers
of any single catch includes undersized fish; this could lead to temporary closure of such fishing grounds;

5. Welcomes  the  European  Union  ban  on  driftnets  as  a  measure  which  will  make  a  significant
contribution to a reduction in excessive bycatches but regrets that the European Union has not conducted a
survey determining the selectivity of fishing gear, with a view to banning gears which generate excessive
bycatches;

6.
Recommends that the European Community continues to improve technical measures to reduce the
catch of undersized/immature fish, including in particular, the wider introduction of the square mesh cod
end to enable them to escape, and other selective gears;

7.
Urges the Commission to investigate whether, within the context of the above measures, discarding
of certain key species should be prohibited, as in Norway, banning discards of one or two species as a pilot
project;

8.
Considers that, within this context of non-discarding of particular species, quotas could be applied
flexibly, so that fishermen can get a market price for up to 10% of good quality over-quota fish, set against
the  following  year’s  quota,  provided  that  there  has  not  been  deliberate  over-fishing  and  considers  that
immediate action should be taken to implement the multiannual TACs covering different species already
provided for in Community fisheries legislation;

Recommends  that  landed  fish  unsuitable  for  marketing  for  human  consumption  should  wherever
9.
possible, be used for production of fishmeal and fish-oil, reducing dependence on industrial fishing,which
itself is a contributory factor to the fall in stocks of fish for human consumption;

10. Recommends that designated species of fish should only be landed at designated ports with proper
inspection facilities, to cut down the amount of (cid:145)black(cid:146), over-quota fish reaching the markets;

11.
Urges the Commission to emphasise to Member State Governments their responsibility to ensure
effective and efficient on-board inspections and port controls to make conservation measures work, and to
impose appropriate penalties for abuses of the Regulations;

12.
Urges  the  Member  States  to  commit  themselves  to  close  fishing  grounds  within  their  waters  or
jurisdiction when there is a clear conservation case to do so, and to refrain from misusing their right to take
such measures;

13.
Calls  for  support  for  research  into  increasing  the  scope  of  aquaculture  as  a  further  measure  to
relieve pressure on the most marketed and at-risk species of caught fish, also as an alternative source of
jobs for fishing communities;

14.
Urges  better  training  for  fishermen,  particularly  education  in  the  need  for  conservation  and  the
rationale behind the various conservation measures, as a means of maximising their participation in, and
understanding of such measures;

15.
Urges  better  support  measures  through  structural  funds  and  special  grants  allocated  fairly  to  all
coastal  areas  to  reduce  dependency  on  fishing  where  it  is  a  major  occupation,  and  assist  individual
fishermen and fishing companies to invest in the necessary equipment and cope with further restrictions
on fishing when they are required;

16.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.