Landing Obligation not respected in the North Sea and North-Western Waters

A report published today has condemned fishermen in the North Sea and North Western Waters  for not respecting the Landing Obligation regulations.

The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) has published three compliance evaluation reports on the implementation of the landing obligation. These reports confirm that non-compliance with the landing obligation has been widespread in the North Sea and North Western Waters for specific fisheries during the evaluation period (2015 to 2017). 

The failure to enforce the landing obligation is a matter of serious concern to the European Commission and jeopardises the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) which includes ensuring the long-term environmental sustainability of fishing activities and the gradual elimination of discards.

The reports also note that traditional control tools (e.g. inspections at sea) have proven to be ineffective at enforcing the landing obligation and that the introduction of remote electronic monitoring (REM), incorporating closed-circuit television systems on board fishing vessels, would provide an appropriate solution.