Establishment of implementation group begins process of fish discard ban

The minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine, Simon Coveney has appointed Dr Noel Cawley to chair a national Discards Implementation Group.   A new policy that ends the wasteful practice of discarding fish at sea is a key part of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy which was successfully negotiated to conclusion under the Irish presidency earlier this year. 

The practice of ‘slipping at sea’. The net is never taken from the water – it is simply opened to release the  fisih, teh majority of which are already dead. These fish are not accounted for and teh extent of the damage is not known. 

“I am delighted that Dr Cawley, with his deep knowledge of the Irish fishing industry, has agreed to chair [this  group], which  will ensure that the Irish fishing industry are fully prepared for, and engaged in, the implementation of the discards ban,” remarked Minister Coveney.  

“I know that the experience he will bring to bear on the practical issues surrounding the phasing in of the discards ban will ensure that the Irish fishing industry will be fully prepared for this fundamental reform in fishing practices,” he added.

In a further practical step in the implementation process, Minister Coveney also hosted the first meeting of the North Western Waters Regional Group of Member States.  This group  (Ireland, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Spain and the UK) will explore possibilities for more co-operation and regional decision-making under the new CFP.

“I was determined that Ireland would take the lead in hosting the first meeting of this Regional Group. This is the mechanism… which will allow us get to real regional decision-making and gets us away from the ‘one size fits all’ that sometimes characterised CFP decision making in the past…It is vital that we are at the heart of this new process,”  he added.

The minister added that the work of the group would be central to ensuring that the practical issues around the introduction of a discards ban, as identified by the Irish fishing industry, “will be developed into long-term sustainable management tools that will safeguard the future of our coastal fishing communities”.

Under the regionalisation provisions, decision-making can be decentralised from Brussels and future management arrangements will instead be decided together by relevant Member States.

Working with stakeholders in the Advisory Council’s, this implementation group will in the future manage fisheries in the water where Ireland has quotas.