Posted: Thursday 30th May 2013 by LivingSeas
Saithe Shoal- Paul Naylor
In the early hours of this morning, the Irish Presidency of the European Council, the European Parliament and the Commissioner Maria Damanaki finally secured political agreement on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.
The details of the deal are still coming through but it appears it is broadly positive and much better than we expected. It should allow our fish stocks to be rebuilt, has set legally binding targets to end overfishing by 2020 and should see a huge reduction in unwanted catch and in turn, discarding. Importantly, agreement has also been reached that fishing opportunities will be distributed using a range of transparent criteria including the consideration of the impact of the fishery on the environment.
This deal could not have been reached without a huge amount of public pressure. In particular, thanks to all of you who wrote to your MEP, signed petitions and supported the campaign. The increased pressure and spotlight that society placed on reform of the CFP ensures that this policy can make a huge difference to our fish stocks and the sustainability of our seas.
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