Press Release: EU action plan for seabirds: the Commission calls for stakeholder input to enrich the debate

Seabirds often lead fishermen to productive fishing grounds; in return, they can often take advantage of the fishermen's operations to get an easy meal. A happy arrangement for all concerned, you might think. Not so, however – for the birds can become caught in fishing gear and will frequently die as a result. In an attempt to deal with this problem, the European Commission proposed on 14 June 2010 a European Union action plan to limit these incidental catches of seabirds by reducing as much as possible the interaction between seabirds and fishing gear. This initiative should benefit fishermen and seabirds alike, as it should curb – or indeed eliminate – the environmental impacts of fishing and at the same time lessen the seabirds' impact on the productivity and profitability of fishing operations.