Overhaul will see fishermen landing most caught fish

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.

The new practice, worked out in a 20-hour long meeting in Brussels, will involve changes to quotas of the fish they will be allowed to catch, fresh investment in equipment, and a change to fishing practices that many fishermen fear will signal their demise.

The European Commission, which put forward what is the biggest reform of the fisheries industry in decades in order to reverse declining fish stocks, has said it has funds to see fishing communities through any difficult times as it works to restore fish stocks to a healthy state.