mr president i welcome these measures to encourage selective fishing practices which minimise harm to the complex ecosystem in which the resources are found while enabling responsible fishing to continue and to maximise returns while minimising by-catches and subsequent discards
we must get to the point of banning discards as soon as possible commissioner
the variety of the fishing grounds found in the eu is part of our strength but consequently an additional complication when producing legislation that is adequate responsive and coherent
each of the seas in europe has its own specificity and it is important to recognise the level of knowledge and expertise that can be provided by the stakeholders on the ground and to resist the temptation to micro-manage on an eu level
as this is our last debate on fisheries in this political mandate i would like to thank you commissioner and all your staff for your huge commitment and thorough knowledge of your brief and for the time and attention you always gave to the pech committee
you were always available for us
it has been much appreciated and noted and the comparison made with other commissioners availability
