Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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119. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which his Department continues to monitor the benefits of the cessation of the dumping at sea of surplus fish catches in excess of quota; the extent to which this continues to improve conservation and observe best practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19144/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The dumping of “surplus catch”, or “discarding” as it is most commonly referred to, is a complex global problem where unwanted catches are returned to the sea as a result of a number of factors including quota restrictions, high grading, minimum landing sizes and market conditions. Ireland has been to the forefront for many years in the drive to reduce and eliminate discards in order to eliminate waste, to protect young fish and to rebuild stocks in order to conserve fish stocks and ensure a sustainable future for the fishing industry.

Finding practical and implementable solutions to the wasteful practice of discarding fish was a major component of the negotiations for the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) which were concluded under the Irish Presidency in 2013. Following intensive negotiations, agreement was reached on a practical and phased discards policy or landing obligation commencing from 1^stJanuary 2015. The agreed phasing in period, up to 1^stJanuary 2019, means that fishermen will have time to adjust and implement changes that will allow for the avoidance of non-target species.

Under the regional decision-making process introduced by the new CFP, Ireland and the other Member States of the North Western Waters Region (Belgium, France, UK, Netherlands and Spain) agreed on a specific discards plan for pelagic stocks which came into effect this year. This Group is continuing to develop a regional discards plan for demersal stocks which is due to be introduced on a phased basis from 1^stJanuary 2016. The phasing in of the landing obligation will allow Ireland and the other members of the North Western Waters group to monitor its implementation.

At a national level, I have established a national Discards Implementation Group under the chairmanship of Dr. Noel Cawley, to facilitate the phasing in of the landing obligation. The remit of this Group is to advise me on issues arising in the effective implementation of the new policy and to recommend practical solutions and arrangements that take into account the situation of the Irish industry.

I believe that the ending of the previous high levels of discarding carried out by all EU fleets fishing on stocks of interest to the Irish fishing industry will greatly help over time to underpin the sustainability of the Irish fishing industry and lead to greater conservation of fish stocks to the benefit of all.