Olivier Leprêtre, who heads the Nord-Pas-de-Calais/Picardie (France) Fisheries Committee, launched, on 14 January, an electronic petition for submission to members of the European Parliament calling for amendment of the discard ban proposed under the Common Fisheries Policy reform.
The EP’s Committee on Fisheries (PECH) and the Council have already come out in favour of the measure and the EP plenary is set to vote on it in February (first reading, co-decision procedure).
The petition states that while the proposal is “appealing from the standpoint of sustainable development and simple in appearance, it is in fact totally inapplicable as it stands”. For fishermen, it contradicts EU safety regulations (fishing vessels’ carrying capacity), technical measures and quotas, as well as health and social legislation.
“It is inconceivable to ask seafarers to work to sort and store fish without any financial compensation,” reads the petition, which points out that an alternative is already being implemented, namely selectivity combined with customised fisheries management.
2012 Europolitics