Richard Benyon

Last Friday was World Oceans Day. Being an oceans campaigner that, on one hand, means a lot – but on the other it begs the question of why the rest of the world doesn’t think about oceans all the other days, like I do!?

EU council meetings are rarely something that the vast majority of us get excited about. These meetings are when the representatives from each of the EU governments get together, to discuss specific topics. Usually it’s the relevant minister who goes, but they are effectively deputising for their government.

In the same way that discarding perfecting good fish, dead or dying back into sea is a disgrace, so is the attitude of many European fisheries ministers charged with ensuring sustainable fish stocks and viable fishing communities. For years they have ignored the obvious: that if they negotiated policies that allowed fish stocks to recover and championed low impact fishing, they would create more jobs.

The day those of us in fish world have been waiting for is upon us. Today the European Commission officially launched its proposals for a new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and finally we'll find out if Europe intends to meet its targets to recover our decimated fish stocks, or bend to the same political pressures of its 40 year history and failing put the environment first.