An interview with Jónas Viðarsson at Matís was recently published on the news website Fiskifréttir about a change in the European Union's policy in connection with discards of fish. Matís is a key participant, together with the Association of Fisheries Companies (SFS), Hampidjan and Marel in the DiscardLess project, which is intended to facilitate the implementation of the discard ban that is being implemented within the European fishing fleet.
In the interview, Jónas talks about this policy change in EU fisheries management and the changes that have taken place in the general attitude towards discards. The European Union's common fisheries policy has clearly required fish to be thrown into the sea. "It has not only been permitted but also an obligation if the fishing vessel does not have a quota for it or if the fish is below the permitted minimum size," says Jónas. "It's just been their custom, and it's all according to the rules. But now that is changing. "
Jónas also mentions the special position of Iceland, which has a definite advantage over almost all other nations with a ban on expulsions. "Here, for example, we have the opportunity to land in this VS catch, for example. The catch then goes directly to the fish market and 80 percent of the catch value goes to research, to this VS fund. The crew only gets 20 percent and this is not counted against quotas, but this has not been very new lately. And the same is true with a lower limit, only estimated at 50 percent in relation to quotas, so various measures are now being taken to counteract this, "says Jónas.
European leaders and other stakeholders look to Iceland and other countries that have experience of working under a ban on expulsions, and therefore Iceland's contribution is important in the project, in addition to which Matís leads one work package and has a key role in several other work packages.
The interview can be read in its entirety on Fiskifréttir's website.