Under the European Common Fisheries Policy quota restrictions are in place for some species and limit the amount of fish which can legally be landed. Under the current system, not all quotas are held by working fisherman. Some holders may be retired or inactive - so called "slipper skippers" - while others may be organisations or individuals outside the fishing industry. These quotas may then be leased back to ordinary fishermen or traded for profit. In this report, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee says it is "unacceptable" that the government has not been monitoring this trading of EU fish quotas. An unknown number are being bought and sold by people with little or no link to the industry "at the expense of working fishermen". Defra needs to "justify" the current situation since quotas should only be traded if there was a "clear benefit" to fishing communities and there needs to be a register of who these non-fishing interests are. As far as possible, these quotas should not be traded but return to be used by the fishing communities. The Committee also says it is concerned that due to a historic miscalculation, smaller vessels under 10 metres (33ft) long had an unfairly small quota share compared with larger offshore enterprises and recommend a quota reallocation. Defra also needs to do more to tackle the problem of discards, where fish are thrown back into the sea - often to die - because they are of an unwanted species or size, or because of quota restraints.

The development and ecology of coastal waters is an increasingly important topic and one which touches a wide range of areas including oceanography, hydrology, biology, ecology, fisheries science, aquaculture, civil engineering, geography, economics, law and the social sciences. This book provides a balanced overview allowing the reader to understand exactly what is at stake in the development and management of coastal waters. There is no other book currently available which provides such an overview of this important area. Divided into three parts, the first part provides the background knowledge necessary for an understanding of the physical, chemical and biological phenomena of coastal waters. Part 2 looks at marine ecology from something other than the traditional view of placing organisms at the centre of the problem and considering them in relation to other organisms and environments, instead the authors show how it is possible with marine ecosystems in which the biological, physical and chemical components are equally important when defining an entire system. Finally an exhaustive review of the available technology for various types of development is provided. All in all, this book constitutes a succint and up-to-date summary of the functions of coastal ecosystems which should be read by all those active in, and with an interest in, the management and development of coastal seas.

This publication describes major developments affecting fisheries in OECD countries in 2005, 2006 and some recent events of 2007, including changes in national and international policies, trade, and fisheries and aquaculture production.