European Union Common Fisheries Policy Scrapped
At a meeting in Brussels last week, European fisheries ministers reached an agreement that effectively scraps the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy.
They decided to eliminate the current scheme and the hated practice of discards where fishermen have to throw back perfectly good fish simply because they have reached the end of their quotas. Environmentalists and fishermen alike have long argued that the current system – which is set annually – fails the industry.
Ministers have agreed to draw up a new Common Fisheries Policy by 2012 which will also be radically decentralized, giving more power to the industry over the management of its fish stocks.
The European Commission says more than 80 per cent of Europe’s fish stocks are now overfished compared with a global average of 28 per cent.
The EU is expected to turn to Iceland, which has one of the best fishing conservation record, for advice on creating a new policy.
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