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Under the current legislation, half of the fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back overboard dead due to the quota system imposed by the Common Fisheries Policy  (CFP) – a senseless waste when UK fish stocks are significantly in decline.   

Hugh has fought hard for the backing of UK government and the general public, with 739,447 people offering their support to the Big Fish Fight to date. As a result, the campaign influenced the decision by European Commissioner Maria Damanaki to include a ban on fishing discards in the recently announced CFP reforms.

Here at Astec, we are fully supportive of the Big Fish Fight and the importance of providing a long-term solution to the issue of depleting fish stocks. The active role we can play in helping to address this issue is by demonstrating our commitment to the development of sustainable, ecologically viable aquaculture solutions.

Last month Astec welcomed Commissioner Damanaki’s recognition of the importance of aquaculture as part of proposals for managing fish stocks, and we were pleased that the need to reduce administrative and legislative barriers to trade was addressed.

With 18 months to go before the proposed CFP reforms become law, Hugh is rolling out the campaign in another 11 countries and languages in order to increase the pressure on the European Parliament.  We hope that the banning of discards does become law and that the measures suggested in relation to the role of aquaculture in tackling this important issue get the support they deserve in Brussels.

To learn more about the Big Fish Fight campaign visit www.fishfight.net