Press release - December 8, 2008
Brussels/Oslo, Belgium — With the European Union and Norway meeting in Oslo about to seal a new fisheries agreement, Greenpeace urges the EU to accept a Norwegian proposal to prohibit vessels from deliberately dumping unwanted fish overboard, a practice known as discarding. Norway, which does not allow discarding, has been insisting on a discard ban for all EU vessels that want to gain access to lucrative North Sea fishing grounds that are within the Norwegian Exclusive Economic Zone. All EU boats with a licence to fish in Norwegian waters would be subject to such a ban.
"Dumping fish overboard is a waste of food and destroys the marine environment. This practice of discarding must stop," said Truls Gulowsen of Greenpeace. "EU fishing boats have fished themselves out of a lucrative business by devastating much of the North Sea fisheries. They must not be allowed to continue this practice in Norwegian waters."
Discarding takes place when fishermen catch fish which they cannot sell, for which they do not have a quota or which are too young and small to be legally landed. They also discard fish to 'high-grade' their catch, i.e. to replace part of their catch so that it becomes more valuable. Most fish are already dead or dying when they are discarded.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated that in 2005 the amount of discards in the North Atlantic was at 1,332,000 tonnes per year. The estimates for the North Sea ranged from 500,000 to 880,000 tonnes. Some EU fisheries discard up to 90% of their catch.
A number of fishing nations including Norway, Iceland, Canada and Russia practice a form of discard ban in their fisheries. Importantly, these bans are reinforced by other fisheries control and management measures, such as briefly closing certain areas to fishing to protect young fish, measures to make fishing gear more selective, and immediate accounting for all fish that are caught under a certain quota.
EU fishermen, however, regularly exploit the lack of an outright ban on discarding in the EU to dump unwanted fish. Moreover, current EU rules only account for landed fish and not caught fish, aggravating the problem of discarding.
"The EU's Common Fisheries Policy has failed to deliver sustainable and fair fisheries and has resulted in the destruction of many marine ecosystems. Until fisheries policy can be reformed, the least the EU can do is agree to the conditions set by countries like Norway and prohibit discarding ," said Saskia Richartz, Greenpeace EU oceans policy campaigner.
Other contacts:
Truls Gulowsen, Programme manager for Greenpeace in Norway,
+47 9010 7904 (mobile)
VVPR info:
Bente Myhre Haast, Communication Manager Greenpeace Nordic office
+47 22205101 (tel), +47 48297274 (mob)
http://info.greenpeace.se/album/GPN_Media_Release/