02-12-2019 15:15
Hearing: State of play of the Landing Obligation: challenges and best practices

Paul Henri-Spaak PHS 5B1
Fisher with fresh fish on blue boat
Unloaded freshly caught fish © Image used under the license of Shutterstock

The reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) of 2013 foresaw the gradual elimination of the practice of discarding through the introduction an obligation to land all catches. It is one of the main features of the fisheries policy reform and as such requires continued committee attention.

The landing obligation has been phased in since 2015 through to 2019 for all commercial fisheries (species under TACs, or under minimum sizes) in European waters and for European vessels fishing in the high seas. This year completes first full year of landing obligation policy implementation. We shall listen to eminent speakers covering different aspects of the policy ranging from science to gear innovation. Based on first hand information the experts will expose not only challenges in implementation but also best practices. The current hearing is the fourth consecutive event on this crucial subject and summarises the first full year of implementation of the policy.