Hugh's taken his anti-discard Fish Fight to Brussels . . .

For the past few months, I have been travelling around the UK meeting fishermen, marine conservationists, politicians, supermarkets bosses, and of course fish-eating members of the public.

You can find out all about my experience, and how it has changed the way I think about fish, in the Channel 4 series, Hugh’s Fish Fight, to be broadcast in January 2011.

I attended the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) reform meeting “Another Future for Fish” in Brussels on Tuesday.

My team and I set up a massive screen outside the Conference Building opposite the European Commission, and our viral video was playing all day.

I also managed to get an interview with Maria Damanaki, the Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the head honcho of CFP Reform.

Fishery stakeholders from all over Europe were present, and many of them agreed to join the Fish Fight Campaign. The discard issue was raised throughout the day, during various debates and presentations.

It was a great way to launch the campaign, in Brussels, right at the heart of policy making.
 
According to an EU paper in 2007, between 40% and 60% of all fish caught by trawls in the North Sea are being discarded.

For obvious reasons, fishermen hate discards. Conservationists hate them too. Even politicians don’t like them. But they are an unavoidable consequence of the current Common Fisheries Policy and the quota system.

fishfight.net is the website and campaign hub which will accompany the series and continue its work over the coming months.

We do not seek to dictate policy, merely the consequences of policy. By signing up to our campaign you will be writing directly to the policy makers in Europe.

And you will help to ensure that a reformed CFP has the elimination of discards as a primary objective. Thank you so much for your support. Please spread the word!

Sign up here:  http://www.fishfight.net