Yesterday, Fisheries Secretary Lochhead was at Peterhead Harbour to witness one of seven Scottish vessels being fitted with CCTV technology to enhance the monitoring, control and observation capability related to commercial fishing in both the North Sea and off the West coast.

The main aims of the pilot project are to establish:

• If CCTV can be used as an effective tool to provide reliable catch/discard observation data
• If it can incentivise fishermen to comply with fisheries management systems and stock conservation initiatives
• If it can be used as an effective enhancement to current monitoring and control capabilities particularly with reference to misreporting and compliance with discarding bans.
• To supplement the work of the Conservation Credits Steering Group (CCSG) in finding further innovative ways to reduce cod mortality.

Speaking at the event, Mr Lochhead said: ‘The true cost of discards goes far beyond the tens of millions of pounds worth of fish that is currently dumped back into our seas by boats from across Europe. It is a waste of a precious resource on a monstrous scale.

‘Having seen for myself the simple and effective cutting-edge technology I strongly believe that it can make a major contribution to scientific data, fisheries management behaviour and discards reduction. I commend the determination of forward thinking skippers who want to deal with the issue.”

The use of CCTV, if adopted throughout the fleet, will then be used as a bargaining tool in quota negotiations in autumn and at the end of the year, where Scotland will expect to be rewarded with extra quota for being at “the forefront of conservation and responsible fishing”

According to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), in the North Sea 45 per cent of cod caught last year was discarded (21,800 tonnes out of total removals of 48,700 tonnes); 50 per cent of west of Scotland haddock was discarded; 94 per cent of the one-year old North Sea cod that is caught is discarded; and 35 per cent of the North Sea plaice that was caught in 2008 was discarded.

Related posts:

1. North Sea stocks not at risk