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The EU’s Fixed Quota Allocation (FQAs) limits the amount of fish which can be landed – meaning if trawlers catch over their allowance of a certain type of fish, they must throw their catch back into the sea even if the fish are dead. Owen Paterson, a former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) claimed an estimated one million tonnes of fish was dumped back into the sea due to the centralised Brussels policy.

EXPRESS.CO.UK Thousands of pounds worth of sea bass was dumped into the sea in one haul

EXPRESS.CO.UK £125,000 of sea bass had to go back into the sea

The pictures obtained exclusively by Express.co.uk shows a 500 box (25 tonne) haul of prime sea bass – worth an estimated £125,000 – caught in the Celtic Sea off the south west coast. The whole catch was dumped back into the sea dead in the name of “conservation” to comply with EU law. Britain’s diverse sea life means fishermen often snag more than one type of fish during their trips – meaning it is impossible to determine how much of a certain fish will be caught.

EXPRESS.CO.UK Pictures obtained exclusively by the Express.co.uk show the extent of the dumping

If the EU was to make off with half our livestock and made us shoot half our cows and sheep to leave them dead on the road there would be national uproar Fishing For Leave

A Fishing for Leave spokesman said: “Quotas are a disaster economically, socially and operationally. They lead to increased mortality as vessels have to catch more fish to find what they are allowed to keep whilst the system is crippling the industry. “If the EU was to make off with half our livestock and made us shoot half our cows and sheep to leave them dead at the side of the road there would be national uproar.” Fishing for Leave spokesman added: “The discard ban will result in ‘choke species’, when a vessel or area runs out of the lowest species all fishing must stop as they will inevitably catch it whilst continuing to fish for others.” The Brexit-backing pressure group advocate a days-at-sea system, where vessels are given a set number of hours out on sea and can keep everything they catch.

EXPRESS.CO.UK Brexit gives Britain the chance to ditch the EU's common fisheries policy

EU bigwigs say this would lead to vessels targeting the highest value species, but Fishing for Leave claim they have devised a system which would avoid such actions. A spokesman told the Express.co.uk: “We propose a system of flexible catch compositions with a time penalty system to encourage vessels to avoid particular species. “Vessels will have to aim for a certain percentage of their catch to be cod or sea bass, however they needn’t discard if this percentage is exceeded.

Fishermen need Brexit now! Mon, March 20, 2017 Cornwall fisherman says EU is killing his industry Play slideshow Express.co.uk 1 of 9

“They can sacrifice time at sea in compensation - time they will no longer need as they have a viable catch aboard. “In the case of the scandalous dumping of the sea bass in these pictures. Our system would have allowed the skipper to keep all this fish.” An EU Commission spokesman said: “EU fisheries policy aims to keep fish stocks at healthy levels, ensuring that fishermen can continue to fish for generations to come. To achieve this, the Common Fisheries Policy generally sets total allowable catches and quotas. “This has the advantage of providing fishermen with long-term certainty of how much they can catch, while giving them full control of deciding when and where they fish.

FISHING FOR LEAVE Cod (pictured above) also has a quota limit