Several of the regional bodies bringing Member States together under the new CFP are now in the last stages of preparing joint recommendations on discard ban plans for 2015, and stakeholders in the Advisory Councils are being consulted.
Aside from BALTFISH work in the Baltic, Member States in the North Sea region and the North Western Waters have also been drafting discard ban plans in order to implement the landing obligation in 2015. Draft plans were circulated to stakeholders in the Advisory Councils yesterday for consultation.
The Scheveningen Group – the North Sea Member States – began their work earlier, in the Autumn of 2013, and prepared a Discard Atlas of the North Sea fisheries. This was finalized early this year, and has been one of the starting points for their draft joint recommendation on a discard plan for the North Sea, covering pelagic fisheries.
The Scheveningen Group has also coordinated its work with the North Western Waters Group – a much more recently established regional body – in order to facilitate a consistent approach to joint stocks such as horse mackerel, mackerel and blue whiting.
The draft discard plan for the North Western Waters region, covering pelagic species from tuna to small pelagics, is also in its last stages.
It therefore looks as if at least three regional joint recommendations on discard plans being implemented already in 2015 will be sent in to the Commission in the coming weeks, perhaps more.
There have been quite extensive concerns among stakeholders, both within and outside of the Advisory Councils, about the lack of involvement in the early stages of preparation of the regional discard ban plans, even though ACs have generally been able to comment on different versions of the joint recommendations. A more collaborative approach, taking advantage also of the expertise of stakeholders, would have been preferable. Over time, we will find out whether it was the particular time-pressure in preparing these first plans that prevented it, and whether the process will improve.