Spotlight on CFP
EU Commissioner Maria Damanaki met with the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Seafood group recently as part of an industry alliance pressing for radical reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
The alliance, which includes FDF, WWF and retailers, has put together a common position calling for more sustainable fisheries management policies and the elimination of the current wasteful practice of ‘discards’, where fish in excess of quota limits are thrown back into the sea dead.
FDF’s director of sustainability Andrew Kuyk joined David Norman of the WWF and Stephen Parry of AIPCE-CEP – the EU fish processors association – and Ally Dingwall representing the retail sector, to present proposals to Damanaki. These included an end to the current ‘race for fish’ based on long-term fishery management plans and more local decision-making involving the whole supply chain.
“We are calling for the new CFP to identify long-term targets and to make these plans the means by which we reach our goals,” says Andrew Kuyk. “The plans would include environmental impact assessments of the individual fisheries and more regional management to develop a clear strategy for reducing discard levels.
“Taking less but earning more should be core to this work and with better marketing and liaison between processors and suppliers we can better match demand, and meet consumer needs for this healthy and renewable food source.”
