Quotas could lead to fish dumping

South West fishermen say stock assessments lead to fair quotas

South West fishermen are up to 90% of their total quotas, raising fears that large numbers of fish will have to be thrown back.

The concern follows claims by North Sea fishermen that EU quota rules are seeing millions of freshly-caught fish end up back in the sea.

The Cornish Fish Producers Organisation warned that quotas could be exceeded before the end of the year.

Fishermen say it is vital that quotas keep up with fish stocks.

It's very frustrating throwing back dead fish... it does nothing for conservation Fisherman Anthony Hendy

Paul Trebilcock, chief executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation said: "We have 90% of the totally allowable quota so it's going to be tight between now and the end of the year."

He said the large-scale discarding in the North Sea was a product of the quota system.

"For many years now cod has been in decline in the North Sea, but now there has been an improvement in the stock and the quotas have not been able to keep up the pace of recovery, so you are seeing large scale discarding.

"In Cornwall we have taken government scientists on board to make stock assessments and that has led to a closer match between the quotas set and the fish that's around."

James Chown, who fishes for pollack on wrecks off the Cornish coast, said: "We find it quite easy to go over the quota on certain species.

"We target pollack mostly but there's other fish swimming round the wreck. You either have to go over quota or dump them back."

Anthony Hendy, who fishes out of Newlyn, said any haddock caught in the nets has to be thrown back because he does not have a quota for it.

He said: "It's very frustrating throwing back dead fish.

"It is just to make it look good on paper but it does nothing for conservation."