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WWF challenges Danish sand eel fishery on cod bycatch grounds
SEAFOOD.COM
[Courtesy Aberdeen Press and Journal]
28th January 2003
One of the world's leading environmental organisations has queried why Europe is continuing to allow Denmark's industrial sandeel fishery to continue to operate in the face of cod quota cuts.
WWF said yesterday the recent decision by Europe's fisheries ministers to give a 1 million ton quota to Danish sandeel fishermen was at odds with claims that fishing effort in the North Sea had to be cut to preserve cod stocks. There is growing anger throughout the UK that, while the country's whitefish fleet has had its cod quotas dramatically cut, bringing the industry to crisis-point, the Danes emerged from December's negotiations virtually unscathed.
Scientists from the UK's Fisheries Research Service are claiming the decision is bound to have an effect on the recovery of North Sea cod stocks, as sandeel is an important part of the diet of cod.
Helen McLaughlin, the marine policy officer for the WWF, claimed the decision to allow the sandeel fishery to operate virtually unchanged as 'bizarre', given the crisis situation regarding cod stocks.
She added: 'This is a very odd interpretation of the precautionary principle.' Ms McLaughlin said the Danish industrial fishery also took large quantities of immature cod as by-catch.
Euan Dunn, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: 'Even if you accept that the whole North Sea sand-eel fishery only takes 2% by-catch, that would amount to 20,000 tonnes or so of whitefish. If you compare that with the actual catch quota for these fish given to UK fishermen, you can see there's a problem there - and you probably get even higher by-catch rates in the Norway pout fishery.' Both WWF and the RSPB are calling for an urgent study by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea on the impact of the sandeel fishery.
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