Ban on discarding fish
The ban on discarding fish that are dead or dying was introduced in Norwegian fisheries legislation in 2007 the European Council of Ministers agreed to restructure their management policy by gradually working to reduce discards also in the EU fisheries. The ban on discarding fish that are dead or dying was introduced in Norwegian fisheries legislation in 1988.
In 2007 the European Council of Ministers agreed to restructure their management policy by gradually working to reduce discards also in the EU fisheries.
The Norwegian ban originally covered cod and haddock in the economic zone north of 62°N, but the ban has been gradually expanded so that today it is prohibited to discard most species of fish in Norwegian waters.
The term discard means throwing overboard catches taken on board a vessel as well as releasing dead or dying fish from gear during a catch operation.
Russia, the Faroe Islands and have later introduced similar discarding bans. In EU waters, on the contrary, it is prohibited Iceland to keep on board or land catches taken in contravention to the regulations.
With its resistance against an introduction of a ban on discards the EU consequently occupies a special position among the fishery nations bordering the North East Atlantic.
In 2007, however, the European Council of Ministers agreed to restructure the management policy by gradually working to reduce discards the fisheries. Implementing this decision on principle in the form of practical policy will presumably be a challenging and time-consuming process. In this context it must be noted that in regard to the discard problem the EU, operating mixed fisheries mainly in the North Sea and the Skagerrak, has a considerably more complex fishing pattern than for example Norway.
The EU’s new policy in this field is of course welcome seen from a Norwegian perspective. Together with Russia, the EU is our most important partner in the area of fisheries management.
The cooperation on management of the fisheries in the North Sea will no doubt be strengthened when the parties achieve a common policy concerning the discard problem, making harmonisation of rules easier to accomplish.