EU seals deal to replenish fish stocks scientifically

THE European Union (EU) agreed yesterday to put an end to decades of overfishing and rebuild dwindling stocks by 2020, as part of a deal to overhaul the bloc’s fisheries policy.

The agreement will put an end to annual haggling over catch quotas by EU ministers in Brussels, widely blamed for putting short-term economic interests above the long-term health of European fish stocks.

“We have reached a deal that is hugely valuable in terms of its contribution to the future of fish stocks,” Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said yesterday.

Officials said agreement to follow scientific recommendations more closely in setting future quotas could increase EU fish stocks by up to 15-million tons by the end of the decade.

“We are aligning our fishing opportunities with scientific advice,” Maria Damanaki, the EU commissioner for fisheries, told the news conference.

The reform also aims to hugely reduce the wasteful practice known as discarding, which sees European fishermen throw almost 2-million tons of unwanted fish back into the sea each year — often dead or dying — as they seek to fill strict quotas with the most valuable species.

Britain, which is debating whether to remain part of the 27nation EU or seek looser ties with the bloc, managed to win more sovereignty for its fishermen by getting more regional management of its fish stocks.

“We are going to stop having all the decision-making take place here in Brussels,” Ms Damanaki said.

British liberal member of the European Parliament and head of its Fish for the Future group, Chris Davies, described the agreement as a major step to promote sustainable fishing.

“Our treatment of Europe’s seas has been a disgrace. But we have learnt lessons. Across Europe there is a strong desire now to listen to the scientists, rebuild fish stocks, cut discards, and give our fishing industry a better future,” he said.

The Pew Charitable Trust, which campaigned for decisionmakers to follow the science to rebuild stocks, welcomed the agreement. But it said a deal was still needed on EU fishing subsidies, to help in funding the scientific research.

The World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature criticised the deal as not bold enough to replenish fish stocks.

A WWF report said it would take more than 100 years for stocks to recover.

The economic bloc’s roughly €1bn common fisheries policy has been blamed for driving decades of overfishing, with generous subsidies leading to a huge overcapacity in the fishing fleet. As a result, the commission estimates that 75% of European fish stocks are currently overfished, compared with 25% worldwide.

The deal must now be rubber-stamped by EU governments and the full European Parliament before taking effect next year, but the details are unlikely to change. Reuters