Catch of Today: A ten point plan for British fishing
This new report, written by the Institute's President Dr. Madsen Pirie, calls on the government to take back control of UK waters and bring an end to the billions of fish thrown back dead into the sea each year.
The report lays out a comprehensive ten point plan for how Britain can replenish its waters following Brexit and reveals the full extent of the damage caused by the European Common Fisheries Policy (ECFP).
- Extension of Exclusive Economic Zone from 12 miles to the 200 miles from UK shores as specified by the United Nations International Convention on the Law of the Sea.
- Ban fishing in UK waters without specific consent and require all boats to be registered.
- Naval and air patrols over UK fishing waters to identify and intercept illegal fishing.
- Creation of a Maritime Research Institute tasked with monitoring fish stocks, examining the levels of the different species, mapping breeding grounds, and recording all catches made within UK waters.
- Creation of a National Fisheries Council to determine a total allowable catch for each species and assign a quota to each registered fishing vessel that is divisible and tradable. All catches must be landed, and if any exceed the quota, the vessel must trade or buy quotas from others.
- All boats fitted with satellite tracking devices, and their position constantly indexed.
- All catches size and species recorded on landing with information uploaded to a public database.
- UK fishing waters divided into administrative zones with the National Fisheries Council able to impose an immediate suspension of fishing in any areas where the sustainability of any fish stocks appears to be at risk.
- Inspections from the National Fisheries Council on any boat two times per year.
- The National Fisheries Council and the Maritime Research Council to publish all their information online, accessible to members of the public as well as to the industry.
Read the full report here.