Landmark deal on fish discards

Ireland has brokered a landmark regional deal between six EU countries to reduce fish discards — the wasteful dumping at sea of millions of tonnes of perfectly good fish.

Marine Minister Simon Coveney hailed the unanimous agreement by the North Western Waters group (NWW), chaired by Ireland and which includes Belgium, France, Spain, the UK, and the Netherlands, as the first step on the road towards a total ban on the wasteful practice of discards by 2019.

“There were some interest groups and members of the public who thought we’d never make it happen,” Mr Coveney said.