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EU, Norway to stop discards

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By SeafoodSource staff
30 August, 2012 - The European Union and Norway plan to harmonize technical and control measures for fisheries in the Skagerrak to ensure long-tern sustainability of fish stocks, according to a new proposal by the European Commission.

The proposal features an obligation to land all catches of certain fish species to stop the practice of discarding, which will be implemented in two stages. Species including cod, haddock, pelagic species like herring and mackerel will be covered from January 2013, while to rest including flat fish and species such as sandeel or Norway pout, will be covered from January 2015.

The initiative was prompted by the revocation of an agreement which allowed Swedish, Danish and Norwegian vessels to fish up to 4 nautical miles from each other's coasts whilst remaining under flag-state jurisdiction. With the agreement revoked, the vessels will have to comply with coastal-state jurisdiction, which is why EU and Norwegian rules must be harmonized.

Though the only EU countries that can fish within 4 miles of the Norwegian coast are Denmark and Sweden, the new measures will apply to all EU member states having fishing rights in the Skagerrak, i.e. also vessels from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

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