Emma McClarkin MEP Welcomes News on Fish Discards

East Midlands Conservative MEP Emma McClarkin has today welcomed the news that the practice of wasteful discarding of fish will be brought to an end.

Earlier this year, Emma backed TV Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s campaign to prevent over 1 million tonnes of fish being dumped in the North Sea each year, which brought the issue to the attention of the nation.

Speaking about the news, Emma said:

“Finally the Commission has come to its senses in bringing to an end the mindless EU rules on fish discards. In a time where we have worries over food security it’s crazy that fishermen have had to throw perfectly good fish back into the sea.

“Commissioner Damanaki should be congratulated for tackling the discards issue in such a decisive way. She has been quite outspoken in her determination to end the obscenity of discards since she took over as Fisheries Commissioner.

“It was simply not sustainable to pursue a management policy that forced Europe’s fishermen to dump up to one million tonnes of perfectly healthy fish back into the sea, dead, annually, when 80% of EU fish stocks are either over exploited or under threat of imminent collapse.

“Now we need to see how a new ‘land-all’ policy can be implemented, which must be designed to protect fish stocks, while at the same time enabling our fishermen to have a sustainable livelihood.”