17
Jan
Just the tip of the iceberg
Whilst any steps taken to reduce the levels of discards are to be welcomed, the output from politicians, the commercial sector and the media about the incredible efforts being made to preserve cod stocks actually hide the very basic fact that discards of cod are miniscule when compared to other fisheries.
Naturally one is tempted to look at the chart and feel that things are getting better, after all, the discard levels appear to be going down - but this is primarily because there are less stocks there to be taken in the first place.
EU and national fisheries policies and practices have brought this situation about.
There will be no real change until EU and National Fisheries Ministers stop acting on behalf of commercial interests and act in the interests of the fish stocks.
Discarding anywhere between 100 and 500 million prime whitefish per year is no way to conserve threatened stocks.
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