Fisheries ministers show support for CCTV to tackle discards

Fisheries ministers from the United Kingdom, Scotland, Denmark and Germany have shown support for the use of on-board closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to track harvests in a reformed European fisheries policy.

At a meeting last week, the ministers suggested camera documentation could be one way to improve the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

"One change we all want to see is a shift to a system reflecting results based management that incentivizes good fisheries practices, but only if [fishermen] take full responsibility for accounting for all the fish they remove from the sea," said the European ministers in a joint statement last week in Denmark.

With reform to the CFP slated for 2012, members of the EU-27 bloc have embarked on wide-ranging consultations on how to best tackle the thorny issue of fisheries policy within the European community. Overfishing and discards are key topics in the reform discussions.

According to the European Commission's green paper on CFP reform launched in April, 88 percent of European fish stocks are overfished, compared to a global average of 25 percent.

Voicing support for installing CCTV on fishing vessels, World Wildlife Fund Scotland said in a statement last week: "The introduction of CCTV is an innovative use of modern technology for the fishing industry and is more cost-effective than using on-board observers to monitor catch."

According to WWF Scotland, in the North Sea, "about 1 million tonnes of fish — a third of all catches — are thrown overboard. This is a huge waste of natural resources that is also economically irrational."
 
Scottish Fisheries Minister Richard Lochhead, one of the signatories of the joint statement in Denmark last week, said that "vessels could be on course to secure valuable additional catch quotas and effort that is actual fishing time."
 
"CCTV on fishing vessels provides valuable new research and data, increasing our evidence base for scientists. It can help narrow the perceived gap in science advice and what fishermen see in reality," added Lochhead.
 
However, the Scottish fishing industry has urged caution in response to Lochhead's comments.
 
"As with all new control measures, a careful consideration of all the consequences is vital. It does not have to take long, but it really has to happen- if those who will live with the measures are to support it," warned Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation.

The fishing industry is "rightly wary of dramatic or instant solutions to any problem," said Armstrong.

Probing the issue of fish discards, in July this year Scotland launched a pilot CCTV monitoring scheme on seven selected boats.

Referring to the camera trial, Armstrong last week called for the results to "be made available and an analysis of the short and long-term advantages and disadvantages must be done — only then can the industry come to an informed view."

CCTV’s potential role in managing fish discards was discussed at the European Seafood Exposition's conference on CFP reform.

Speaker Poul Torring, a consultant with Gemba Seafood Consulting and an adviser to the Danish government, told ESE conference attendees that on-board cameras "could be a practical tool to not only boost credibility, traceability and sustainability, but also to reduce the occurrence of discards."

Denmark has started using cameras on board fishing vessels at a cost of around EUR 6,000 (USD 7,960) each, according to Torring.  But he stressed the need to avoid top-down management, underlining that any such scheme should be optional, with uptake dictated by the fishing firm.

Back to home >

Subscribe

Want seafood news sent to your inbox?

You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time. Diversified Communications | 121 Free Street, Portland, ME 04101 | +1 207-842-5500
None