Balticsea 2020

Important article: "Sweden cannot afford to lose the leader’s jersey when it comes to fisheries policy."

It is important to establish a working discard ban, writes Eskil Erlandsson, rural policy spokesperson for the Centre Party.

In the near future, the ICES will be releasing its scientific recommendations concerning cod quotas in the Baltic Sea. Sustainable fishing policies are crucial to the achievement of viable fish stocks. Therefore, the introduction of a discard ban in the Baltic Sea in January 2015 was an historic success for the EU’s new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). 

Discarding means that fish that have already been caught are thrown back into the sea, dead or alive, and later replaced with better quality fish. Doing this enables the operator to remain within the bounds of its fishing quota. A discard ban is an important step towards sustainable fishing and respecting the resource that we have in fish.

The new ban means that all cod, herring, sprat and salmon caught in the nets and trawls of fishing operators in the Baltic Sea must be registered, landed and counted against the quota – irrespective of size.

Although the discard ban was introduced in January 2015, data from Swedish and European supervisory bodies indicate that dumping within the Swedish cod trawl-fishing industry amounted to 20-30 percent in 2015. This represents approximately 15,000 tons of cod being caught and thrown back into the sea to die.

Despite enacted legislation and the imposition of the ban, the wastage of Baltic Sea fishery resources also continues in Denmark and Poland, the two other major fishing nations in the Baltic. Unfortunately, the conviction by politicians that the discard ban would be adhered to meant that they set higher quotas than those contained in the scientific recommendations. The situation has become worse than before introduction of the ban.

The responsibility rests heavily on the government to ensure that the decision to ban discard is also put into practice.

Many of those involved gave a warning, at an early stage, that the discard ban would precipitate major practical challenges.

Today, 18 months later, there is still no effective control over how the discard ban is being complied with. The proposals put forward by authorities and organisations with an interest in what is going on have included electronic log books, on-board cameras (filming catches), aerial surveillance and several other electronic solutions. Concrete measures have been taken by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, but so far all initiatives have been hindered by outdated and ineffective laws pertaining to permissible fishing equipment.

There is still silence from the government. From a Swedish perspective, silence is of particular significance. The idea was to use Baltic Sea fishery operations as a model for the whole of the EU fisheries policy. Establishing a working discard ban is one of the most important issues for Swedish and European fisheries.

Sweden cannot afford to lose the leader’s jersey when it comes to fisheries policy. Our voice is needed around the Baltics and in Europe. Göran Persson’s government (1996-2006), in cooperation with the Green Party, drove a very aggressive policy, especially in terms of cod in the Baltic Sea. The Green Party’s new spokesperson Isabella Lövin became politically active after her commitment to the fishing industry with her book “Tyst hav” (Silent Sea). The Alliance Government succeeded during the previous legislature in securing a European discard ban. But where is the driving force now?

Could it be that an offensive fisheries policy in the Baltic risks a few precious votes in the campaign for a Swedish seat in the UN Security Council and that it is therefore more appealing to talk about fisheries policy in the islands of the Pacific than in Gdynia or Skagen.

Finalised plans exist for how a discard ban could be supported practically, such as more effective fishing equipment and better control measures. It is, therefore, high time for Sven-Erik Bucht (Social Democrats) to take the discard ban out of the drawer in his desk, and talk with his government colleagues. The government needs to issue the authorities with directives to facilitate the financial and administrative conditions for the ban to be implemented in practice and to have its intended effect. In view of the fact that discarding is continuing, this is a matter of urgency.

It is said that, for both health and climate reasons, we should be eating less meat. Given that, it is then quite unreasonable that 30 percent of fished cod is being thrown back, dead into the sea.

Eskil Erlandsson (Centre Party), rural policy spokesperson

This article was published in Aktuell Hållbarhet 2016-05-27, click here to go to the article. (The article is in Swedish)