After meeting with Richard Lochhead, Scotland’s secretary for rural affairs and the environment, Young’s Seafood Ltd. on Wednesday reiterated that it’s actively working to minimize the “wasteful” practice of discarding fish at sea.
Discarding is sure to be a topic of much discussion at next week’s World Fisheries Congress 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Throughout Europe, fisheries interests, politicians, scientists and environmentalist are at odds over how to best deal with the issue.
Some, including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s influential Fish Fight campaing, are calling for a 100 percent ban on discards as part of a reformed Common Fisheries Policy, due in 2013. Others say that’s unrealistic and are looking for more practical ways to reduce discards.
“We have long held the view that the practice of discarding fish at sea is both a senseless waste of resource and a barrier to sustainability in fisheries,” said Young’s COO Pete Ward. “We are actively engaged with scientists, fishery managers and fishermen in joint initiatives to better understand and reduce discarding. Following our recent meeting, we plan to continue to work closely with the Scottish government and other key stakeholders to keep up the momentum on this issue.”
Added Yong’s CEO Leendert den Hollander: “Moving discards up the policy agenda is very important. Well-managed eco-systems are clearly critical to ensuring we have bountiful sources of fish, healthy people and healthy societies. We’re doing our bit through our Fish for Life initiative on responsible sourcing and by encouraging people to try a wider variety of fish. We hope that consumers, retailers and the supply chain continue to support sustainable practice in fisheries and fish farms.”
Editor’s note: SeafoodSource Contributing Editor Nicki Holmyard will be reporting from next week’s World Fisheries Congress 2012.
