EU fisheries policy ''an outrage''

Originally from: lina
                        
EU fisheries policy 'an outrage'

By Alex Kirby
BBC News Online environment correspondent

Plenty on sale, but few fish left in the sea
The UK's premier scientific body has now thrown its
weight behind efforts to save Europe's declining fish
stocks.
The Royal Society, Britain's national academy of
science, says European Union politicians are gambling
with the health of the remaining European fish.

It accuses the politicians of ignoring sound science
in continuing to set catch quotas above sustainable
levels.

The society criticises the system of subsidies for the
fishing industry, and says fisheries policy is an
outrage.

In a submission to the consultation by the Prime
Minister's Strategy Unit on UK Fisheries, the society
says Europe's fish stocks are on the brink of
collapse.

 The evidence is pretty desperate

Professor Patrick Bateson, Royal Society
Cod and haddock are now less than half their strength
30 years ago, with North Sea cod at their lowest
recorded level. Yet EU ministers are agreeing higher
quotas for the fleets than the scientists suggest are
safe, the submission says.

Professor Patrick Bateson, vice-president of the
society, said: "Current fishing practice is
unsustainable.

Out of sight

"Too many fish are being taken from the sea, leaving
too few adult fish to reproduce and rebuild the
stocks.

Cod remain in huge demand
"If such widespread destruction of a natural resource
were happening on the land where we could see it,
there would be outrage and condemnation. But because
it is happening in our oceans it is all too easy to
ignore.

"The wrangling over quotas by EU fisheries ministers
risks making the situation worse. The level of
reduction that is adopted is often less than required,
due to lobbying by the fishing industry and disputes
between different countries.

"Unless real action to restrain fishing is taken now
there could be nothing left to fish in the future."

The submission says recent recovery plans for
exploited stocks are "steps in the right direction",
but says they have been critically weakened by delays
in implementing them.

Safe haven for fish

The society wants conservation methods made more
enforceable, and traditional catch quotas replaced by
controls on fishing effort, for example by limiting
the number of days boats spend at sea and the type of
equipment they use.

Russia and Norway now supply much of western Europe's
fish
It thinks satellite monitoring could be used to
monitor days at sea, and also suggests introducing
"no-take" marine reserves or national parks of the
sea.

It says: "Evidence suggests marine reserves can be a
powerful tool to help rebuild stocks and habitats
damaged by fishing. Overall abundance of fish is 3.7
times higher than outside the reserves."

It argues as well for the ending of UK Government
subsidies to the fishing industry: "Subsidies provide
funds for new vessels and gear, so further encourage
over-exploitation. Transitional aid should be
introduced as quotas are reduced."

Credibility gap

Many UK fishing crews dispute the scientists'
findings, saying their continuing big catches show
there are still plenty of fish.

Professor Bateson told BBC News Online: "It's tough
for the crews, really tough. But if you take the
wonderful Newfoundland fishery, the industry said that
was fine, and then it collapsed.

"The people on the boats have no ability to assess the
stocks scientifically. That's the job of the
scientists, who have no axe to grind and who are
finding this decline.

"We should listen to the scientists. There's no good
reason for thinking the crews are right, and the
evidence is pretty desperate. And this has all
happened before."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3162434.stm