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Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney today brokered political agreement at today’s Council of Fisheries Ministers for the introduction of a Europe wide discards ban.

The decision made by the Council of Ministers in Brussels is a very important decision for the future of European fisheries and is a clear expression of the will of the Council to consign to history the current discard practices in European fisheries. The decision is also important in that it will allow the Irish Presidency, on behalf of the Council, to engage directly with the European Parliament and Commission with a view to reaching political agreement on the reformed Common Fisheries Policy during the Irish Presidency.

Minister Coveney said

I have been a strong advocate for the elimination of the wasteful practice of discards over many years, to my mind today’s decision by the Council of Ministers is a historic milestone in European Fisheries Policy.

The discarding issue was always going to be contentious and resolving it difficult, not that there was any disagreement on the overall objective, but because there were divergent views on the associated management tools needed to make a discard ban a reality in practice.

The discard ban will be introduced on a phased basis, starting in January 2014 for pelagic stocks moving onto the Baltic Sea in January 2015. It will apply to the main demersal stocks in the North Sea and the North and South Western waters from January 2016. Finally the discard ban will apply to fisheries in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and all other Union waters on 1^st January 2017.

The Minister paid tribute to his Ministerial colleagues:

I have to thank my Ministerial colleagues for their co-operation, help and stamina in agreeing this very ambitious programme for change. I would also like to mention the contribution I have received from Commissioner Damanaki throughout the whole process.

Read the full press release here.