Proposals to slash North Sea cod quotas by more than half may do little to protect dwindling stocks, say fisheries experts.
The European Commission has recommended that the 2001 cod quota be cut by 54 per cent in the most overfished areas. The proposal is likely to be accepted when EU ministers make a decision later this month.
But the revised quota could be too late, says John Shepherd of Southampton University. 鈥淐od have been fished out and we鈥檙e grinding along at rock bottom,鈥� he told 快猫短视频. 鈥淐utting the quota in itself won鈥檛 achieve much.鈥�
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Shepherd says: 鈥淎round Newfoundland, there has been a moratorium on cod fishing for more than ten years and that stock has not come back. In the long term, the prospects for the cod industry are not good.鈥�
North Sea stocks of other fish are also under threat, and the Commission recommends that quotas for many species be substantially reduced.
鈥淏ut cod is the real horror story,鈥� says Shepherd. Last year, fishermen managed to catch only 60 per cent of their quota. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 very bad news. It means the fish are just not there to be found.鈥�
Some scientists have called for a total ban on North Sea cod fishing. But Shepherd thinks this could be unnecessarily detrimental to the fishing industry. 鈥淭he problem is that it鈥檚 very difficult to avoid catching cod if you鈥檙e going to catch anything else. Cod are often caught unintentionally. If you set the quota too low, fishermen will have to throw dead cod back into the sea.鈥�
He thinks that a 54 per cent quota cut in some areas is reasonable. The Commission has also called for a 20 per cent cut in quotas for all fisheries that involve unintentional cod catches.
But Shepherd thinks much tougher action will have to be taken if North Sea cod stocks are ever to recover. 鈥淚 think the EC will have to try stopping fishing altogether in certain areas 鈥� where there are large numbers of young cod, for example.鈥�
Peter Hooley of the British Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food thinks it is possible that this will happen. 鈥淭he North Sea situation is very serious,鈥� he told 快猫短视频. 鈥淭emporary closure of certain areas might be part of the solution. And there have been some calls for the decommissioning of boats.鈥�
Hooley admits this would not be popular but says the current size and sophistication of the fishing fleet would quickly deplete even the high stock levels of many years ago.