Enviros fret EU ministers set quotas too high as CFP reforms begin
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Reuters] - December 17, 2014 -
BRUSSELS, European Union fisheries ministers agreed on Tuesday night to new catch quotas for next year, but environmental groups said the limits were still too high and would fail to end decades of overfishing.
The agreement was the first time ministers set catch levels on the basis of scientific advice in line with a new fisheries policy agreed last year, however not all the recommendations were followed.
While the quotas for mackerel and herring were reduced, cod and sole catches were kept at the same level or not cut by nearly as much as scientists had suggested.
Ministers also agreed to end the controversial practice of throwing unwanted fish back into the sea. From 2015, fishermen will have to keep all unwanted catches on board and count them towards their quotas.
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