John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

The high level of discards in commercial sea fisheries is a global problem and is on the agenda of all major international organisations that deal with the development of sustainable sea fisheries and the protection of marine ecosystems. Fish discarding is a complex problem and is a feature of most fisheries, but particularly mixed fisheries such as those that prevail in waters around Ireland.

Discarding means the deliberate jettisoning of all or some of a catch by a fishing vessel and there can be a number of reasons for discarding, including where a catch takes the vessel over its quota for that species; the vessel has no quota allocation for a particular species taken in a mixed fishery; the catch taken contains fish below minimum landing sizes; the practice of high grading, which happens when some of the catch is of varying size or quality — only the best will be retained and the rest discarded; and the species caught has low or no market demand or the price is too low.

Fish discarded do not usually survive but they are not recorded in the vessel's logbook as part of the catch and the true amount of fish taken out of a stock cannot be determined accurately. This has implications for appropriate and sustainable fisheries management. It also particularly impacts on young fish. The specification of minimum landing sizes is intended to provide protection, in particular for young fish, to provide for the continuation of the stock, and sustainability of the fishery.

A 2005 study published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated the amount of discards in the north Atlantic at 1,332,000 tonnes per year, 13% of the catches. The estimated discards for the North Sea ranged from 500,000 to 880,000 tonnes. To the west of Ireland and Scotland, discards ranged from 31% to 90% of catches, depending on the fleets, target species and depth. In the Mediterranean and Black Seas, discards amounted to 18,000 tonnes, or 4.9% of the catches. In the Baltic, this rate was estimated to be low at an average of 1.4%.

There is general agreement among fishermen, managers and scientists alike that such practices are wasteful and destructive and must be reduced, although it is doubtful that they can be eliminated completely, particularly in mixed fisheries. The focus must be, therefore, on minimising them.

Ireland has been to the forefront in pressing for action on this issue at European level. During the Irish Presidency in 2004, we chose the theme of fast-tracking the development of environmentally-friendly fishing methods as a key focus. A major international conference was held in Dundalk involving EU member states, Norway and Iceland with the key focus on how to reduce discards in commercial fisheries.

Measures proposed to tackle discarding and supported by various stakeholders include improvements in fishing gears and gear selectivity, improvements in fishing methods and fishing practices, the recording of catches rather than landings and onboard observer schemes. A voluntary observer programme with quota incentives for vessels participating has been proposed by the industry to the European Commission. There is also a joint Irish-British pilot project in the Irish Sea aimed at the reduction of discarding.

The Irish Sea enhanced data collection project has been developed collaboratively between fishing industry representatives, scientists, the North Western Waters Regional Advisory Committee and the national administrations from Ireland, England and Northern Ireland.

This study is a very important step in the collection of data on discards with the aim of introducing a scheme whereby discards will be minimised and ultimately eliminated. The European Commission has made the elimination of discarding one of the four main fisheries priorities for its directorate general for fisheries and maritime affairs.

The Commission adopted a communication on the issue of discards in fisheries on 28 March 2007. Following further work, a communication on a policy to reduce unwanted by-catches and discards in European fisheries was presented to the Council in June 2007. The Council adopted a range of conclusions on the Commission proposal and these will determine the agenda at European level on this issue for the immediate future.

The current programme for Government commits to increasing supports to assist fishermen make the change-over to more environmentally-friendly fishing gear and I am confident this also will assist in reducing the incidence of discarding in key fisheries. I will continue to press for progress on this issue at national, EU and international levels and am confident that, with the co-operation, collaboration and commitment of all the stakeholders, significant improvements can be achieved in this most sensitive area for the long-term sustainability of our industry.