The Netherlands: Government seeks to reintroduce pulse fishing

by Eurofish
Pulse fishing gear

The Dutch government is seeking to reintroduce electric pulse fishing, despite the European Union having banned the practice in 2021. The right-wing coalition government, led by Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PPV), was sworn in July after nine months of negotiations. State Secretary Jean Rummenie is now seeking to return pulse fishing to the EU agenda, although he has reportedly adopted a discreet approach to the issue in recent consultations. Pulse fishing uses pulses of electricity to stun fish, which then float upwards into trawl nets. The practice was invented in the Netherlands and, prior to the ban, was mostly used to catch flatfish like sole. Dutch fishermen argue that the technique is more environmentally friendly than conventional trawling, as it allows for boats to operate with much less diesel, and without the heavy tickler chains that are otherwise dragged along the seabed. Environmental groups argue that the process is inhumane, harming the marine ecosystem as well as the fish that it sets out to catch.

There is currently no scientific consensus on the sustainability or cruelty of the practice. A recent study conducted through Wageningen University, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science in January 2024, concluded that it is unlikely for fish outside the trawling nets to be affected by the electrical pulsing. In 2023, the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) Working Group on Electrical Trawling noted that the practice has the potential to improve sustainability, reduce unwanted bycatch, and lessen the impact of trawling on the benthic ecosystem. They also noted that the ban on pulse fishing throughout the EU has prevented sufficient new research into the topic from taking place.

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If the Dutch are able to convince the EU to reassess the ban, British opposition would make the reintroduction of the practice complicated to negotiate. Following Brexit, the United Kingdom enacted a ban on pulse fishing in British waters. The practice is viewed as extremely detrimental to the environment by the British—particularly by small-scale fishermen, who argue that fish stocks have not recovered in grounds where pulse fishing was practised before the EU ban. If the EU were to reintroduce pulse fishing, British opposition would cause complications for the waters managed jointly under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

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