CCTV: WWF Scotland urges Europe to follow Scottish fishing industry lead
8 October 2009
Fisheries Ministers from Scotland, the UK, Germany and Denmark have today (Thursday 8 October) put their support behind new measures that will reduce the wasteful practice of discards - by installing CCTV cameras on all fishing vessels. [1]
WWF Scotland has long campaigned for Europe’s fisheries to introduce mandatory discard reduction measures and welcomes today’s proposals. [2]
The introduction of CCTV is an innovative use of modern technology for the fishing industry and is more cost-effective than using on-board observers to monitor catch. Cameras already in use on Danish vessels have proved to be unobtrusive and are capturing vital information for the fishing sector.
Louize Hill, Marine Policy Officer at WWF Scotland said:
“In August a number of Scottish fishing vessels began trailing CCTV and initial feedback is positive. The footage enables scientists or managers to monitor exactly what species and what size fish fishermen are catching, information that is invaluable for managing our fisheries, and increasing our understanding of the marine environment."
Today’s announcement could help tackle one of the biggest issues facing Europe’s fisheries. Low quotas for some species and unselective fishing practices mean large numbers of fish are caught but cannot be landed and therefore are discarded. In the North Sea, about one million tonnes of fish - a third of all catches - are thrown overboard. This is a huge waste of natural resources that is also economically irrational.
Louize Hill added:
“The introduction of CCTV could pave the way for reduced levels of discards. We strongly encourage other EU Member States to introduce a similar scheme and would like to see greater incentives for reducing discards in the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. The key result we need to see is that fish stocks return to healthy levels, so fishing can become sustainable and profitable."
Notes to Editors
[1] Conference: A New Fisheries Policy for fishers to take over stewardship of the fishery, Aalborg, Denmark, 8th October 2009) organised by the Danish Ministry and with the presence of UK and Scottish ministers amongst others - http://www.danfish.com/page2322.aspx
[2] WWF report advocating the use of observers onboard vessels http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/observer_report01.pdf
[3] A full copy of the joint statement, signed today by Mr Lochhead, Danish Fisheries Minister Eva Kjer Hansen, Germany’s Fisheries Minister Ilse Aigner, and UK Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies is available here: www.fvm.dk/yieldoffish
[4] Scottish Government press release
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/10/08161207
