Biological impact of fisheries

In adopting the report by Mrs Brigitte LANGENHAGEN (PPE, D), Parliament stressed the need for the widest possible consultation and coordination of research on the interaction of fisheries and the marine ecosystem, especially with the individual regional producer organizations. It called for action to be taken to restore the confidence of fishermen in the work of the scientists. It regretted that the report did not give sufficient emphasis to the measurement of discarding, and called on the Commission to ensure ways of accurately estimating the level of discards by area and by species, its biological impact upon the total biomass, and the changes in level of discards caused by annual changes in TACIS and quotas. The Commission was requested to bring forward financial proposals in the 1997 preliminary draft budget that would adequately address the needs of the sector, to be furnished with ongoing data of sufficient quality. �