Members of the European parliament will play a pivotal role in the reform of the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy when they debate and vote on the proposals tomorrow and Wednesday.

Fishermen will be obliged to land almost all fish they catch from next January, whether they have a quota for them or not under a plan brokered by Marine Minister Simon Coveney.

EU fishery ministers have agreed to implement a ban on discards, the wasteful practice of dumping unwanted fish overboard so fishermen do not exceed their quotas.

The biggest shake-up in the history of the EU’s fisheries policy will massively boost fish stocks and fishermen’s incomes and create a third more jobs in the sector, it was claimed last night.

FUTURE European fishing regulations will be guided by the principle of sustainability, a yardstick by which the EU is currently lagging behind the US, Australia, New Zealand, and others.

A new fishing lobby body has made a direct plea to EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki for a greater share of the EU white fish quota for Ireland.

EU member states that have repeatedly flouted EU limits on how much fish they can catch will receive greatly reduced quotas for this year, to ensure sustainable fishing, the European Commission said yesterday.

The breakthrough on fish discards is one of the most significant at an EU Fisheries Council in a decade, writes Minister Simon Coveney

Plans to reform Europe's fishing industry would not stop the destruction of fish stocks for at least another decade, campaigners claimed today.

We don’t have to step too far back from the turmoil threatening parts of the European Union to see that EU membership has been a hugely positive experience for Ireland.

Ireland can play a key role in the renegotiation of the Common Fisheries Policy, which some nations want to alter to reverse the effects of decades of overfishing, writes Europe Correspondent Ann Cahill

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, has called on the EU to take further, stronger action against Iceland and the Faroe islands for their unsustainable fishing of mackerel.

Tensions increased across the eurozone and globally as negotiations on Greek debt and cutbacks reached a critical point, amid fears that the country could default.

FISHING industry leaders predict that a meeting of EU fisheries ministers beginning this morning will deliver an unanimous rejection of proposed EU catch quotas.

Europe’s governments were urged today to back a global ban on EU fishermen removing shark fins at sea.

OVER a third of white fish caught in Irish waters by the domestic fleet is dumped back into the sea dead or dying.

THE amount of fish thrown overboard as “discards” can be dramatically reduced by a scheme in which fishermen must count all the fish they catch towards their quotas, a report suggested yesterday.

FISHERMEN have criticised as “perverse” plans to reduce the amount of some fish they can catch next year, under European Commission proposals that would shut the cod fisheries in the Irish Sea.

IRELAND has rejected EU plans to lease fishing rights to trawler owners and impose a ban on fishermen dumping fish at sea.

A REVOLUTION in the way Europe manages its fishing industry has been unveiled in Brussels, with the warning that the choice is between a near wipe-out of fish stocks or an increase of 70% with a tripling of profits over the next decade.

The value of Europe’s struggling fishing industry will almost double in a decade to €2.95bn under sweeping reform plans unveiled.

UNTENABLE mackerel fishing by Iceland and the Faroe Islands must be resisted, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney told European Maritime Affairs Commissioner Maria Damanaki at a special meeting in Luxembourg.

EUROPEAN fishermen need to be invited into a meaningful debate on enhanced environmental strategies rather than being hit with a populist blanket ban on discards, according to the Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF).

EUROPEAN fishermen have been accused of “mincing” thousands of undersized mackerel for their valuable omega oils and dumping the discarded catches in Irish waters.

Banning landings of Icelandic mackerel at all European ports has been hailed as the right response to end a damaging stalemate over catch quotas.

IRISH fishermen have come away reasonably happy with the quota of fish they can take from the seas next year following negotiations in Brussels.

QUOTAS for the country’s most valuable fish, mackerel, could be facing cuts next year instead of being increased because of the actions of Iceland and the Faroe islands.

Ireland has secured the Research and Innovation portfolio in the European Commission.