Tuesday 12 July 2011

Stop It! 50% Of Fish Are Thrown Away. WTF!



It is what it is. MADNESS.


Around half of the fish caught by fishermen in the North Sea are unnecessarily thrown back into the ocean dead. 

The problem is that in a mixed fishery where many different fish live together, fishermen cannot control the species that they catch.

Fishing for one species often means catching another, and if people don’t want them or fishermen are not allowed to land them, the only option is to throw them overboard. The vast majority of these discarded fish will die.
Because discards are not monitored, it is difficult to know exactly how many fish are being thrown away. The EU estimates that in the North Sea, discards are between 40% and 60% of the total catch. Many of these fish are species that have fallen out of fashion: we can help to prevent their discard just by rediscovering our taste for them.
Others are prime cod, haddock, plaice and other popular food species that are “over-quota”. The quota system is intended to protect fish stocks by setting limits on how many fish of a certain species should be caught.

Fishermen are not allowed to land any over-quota fish; if they accidentally catch them – which they can’t help but do - there is no choice but to throw them overboard before they reach the docks.


Do me, yourself, and your kids a favor and go to fishfight.net and sign the petition to stop this madness. Takes less than a minute, and frankly is very important.


Thanks
SBW