The EU Parliament agreement amends the “omnibus” regulation setting out detailed arrangements for enforcing the ban.
MEPs sought to make small fishermen’s lives easier by restricting the obligation to keep a fishing logbook listing all quantities of each species caught and kept on board to catches above 50 kg of live-weight equivalent. They also deleted a requirement to separate out undersized catches in different boxes.
The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), with funding from the Walmart Foundation, is launching aquaculture improvement Projects in Indonesia, China, and Thailand.
Shrimp farmers in Indonesia and Thailand and tilapia farmers in China will receive training and knowledge to help them improve their livelihoods and increase collaboration to manage and improve water quality and reduce incidences of disease outbreaks.
“Small-scale aquaculture farming families in Asia provide the bulk of farmed fish and shrimp that ends up on our plates. Training them on improved production practices and the value of working together to improve the environment they are growing these fish and shrimp in is a win-win for everyone,” said Anton Immink, Aquaculture Director at SFP.
In shellfish news, harmful algal blooms are causing chaos for mussel farmers in Ireland.
The Irish Shellfish Association has put a strong case to Minister Simon Coveney outlining the severe crisis in the mussel production sector in west Cork and Kerry.
“Some bays have been forced to close down for five consecutive months and farmers have had to watch their crops wash away during the winter storms instead of fetching premiums in top supermarkets and restaurants,” said the Association.
Analysis shows that up to 10,000 tonnes of top quality mussel crop has been lost to the elements or is now unusable.
