Reforms could relax dead fish rules, say campaigners

Planned reforms could lead to more dead fish being thrown back from boats in Scottish waters, campaigners have claimed.

Greenpeace and campaign group Open Seas said laws to enforce a ban were put in place 10 years ago but have not been effectively enforced.

They claimed new proposals would relax the ban further.

The Scottish government said it was "inaccurate" to say rules were being relaxed, but simplification was needed.

The campaign groups have been using drones to catalogue dead fish being thrown back into the sea from boats in Scotland's waters.

Discarding of dead fish came under intense scrutiny after the practice was highlighted by the River Cottage chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall a decade ago.

They are caught as "bycatch" while targeting other species which are often more lucrative.

The TV chef's campaign led to more selective fishing gear being used to reduce the bycatch and a change in EU rules that meant all fish caught had to be landed.

But exemptions exists for some species in specific fishing grounds, including the North Sea where stocks are said to be in a less perilous state.

Nick Underdown, from Open Seas, told BBC Scotland News: "For some fish stocks that are not in good condition, that is putting a huge pressure on the condition of that fish population.

"Unfortunately, the Scottish government have not been able to effectively enforce the laws that were put in place 10 years ago. And rather than dealing with that problem they're just proposing to legalise discarding again."

He said the rules should be strengthened rather than relaxed and called for cameras to be installed on all fishing boats to monitor what was being caught.

The measure is being proposed as part of the Future Catching Policy on which the Scottish government is currently consulting.

But those same proposals include plans to introduce an "exemption for discarding whitefish bycatch on the basis of disproportionate cost", which conservationists say amounts to a relaxation of the rules.

Fishing industry organisations said that was not the case.

Mike Park, from the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, said: "It is, I guess, suggesting that in some cases fish can be discarded but that in itself is not a bad thing so long as appropriate measures are in place to record it."

He pointed out that fishing techniques had changed significantly in recent years to reduce the amount of unwanted catch which comes on to the boats.

Mr Park added: "There is a commitment by us to get the amount of unwanted catch down to the lowest possible level and we've already started working with government and others in trying to achieve that."

The Scottish government pointed out that the EU's Common Fisheries Policy had exemptions in place in relation to discarding, which created a complex set of rules and a lack of transparency.

A spokesman added: "Through the Future Catching Policy, we are looking at simplifying and improving the application of these exemptions in order to increase accountability and confidence in our fishing practices.

"The suggestion that the current EU legislation on tackling discards is being relaxed is inaccurate."