argylesock says… eivindburkow at The Coastal House told us, back in February, that a ban on discards had been agreed. Eivind warned us that there was one more hurdle: final debate in the European Parliament. Now here comes that debate.
Crucial negotiations in Brussels in the next few days will decide whether the EU’s wasteful fish discards policy will come to an end.
Currently, millions of healthy fish back are thrown back into the sea each year after they have been caught, because of the way the EU’s quotas are managed.
But a ban on discards has gathered huge public backing since the TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall made it a personal campaign more than two years ago, highlighting the waste of the EU’s rapidly dwindling fish stocks. He has gathered the support of the UK fisheries minister, Richard Benyon, who will fight for the ban in an EU meeting starting on Monday.
This week’s battle will be intense. For the opponents of a ban, including Spain and Portugal, this is the last chance to scupper proposals that would mean the biggest shakeup of the EU common fisheries policy since it was brought…
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