Discarding dead fish to be banned

THE process of discarding dead fish is to be phased out by the EU Fisheries Council in Luxembourg and eventually banned.

The process is to be provisionally phased out over the next six years. Discarding pelagic fish, such as mackerel and herring, will be phased out by 2012, while the ban on discarding whitefish, such as cod and plaice, will begin 12 months later and will be fully implemented by 2018.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney, who was involved in the 20-hour long negotiations, which ended at 5am yesterday, said he was satisfied with the outcome.