EJF welcomes engagement on the important issue of remote electronic monitoring (REM) and notes the PFA's public reactions in the Undercurrent News and The Fishing Daily, to our recent briefing, 'Why the EU should follow Scotland and require CCTV on Supertrawlers'. We would like to take this opportunity to clarify several points.

Our briefing draws on a substantial evidence base, including scientific studies, European Commission documents, and documented incidents. This includes the Commission's own audit following the 2022 blue whiting spill in the Bay of Biscay, which assessed pelagic freezer trawlers as "inherently very high risk" of illegal, undocumented discarding, and noted that CCTV footage that could have clarified the circumstances of that event was never provided to Lithuanian authorities. Without effective oversight, it becomes impossible to determine whether such discards are accidental or intentional, which is precisely why EJF is calling on the EU to follow Scotland and adopt secondary legislation determining which fleet segments are required to install REM.

We would also like to address what appears to be a misreading of our position: EJF has not singled out pelagic freezer trawlers. A separate EJF briefing this year explicitly called on Member States to prioritise REM rollout across all discard-prone fleets, including bottom trawlers and vessels equipped to facilitate discarding.

We are genuinely pleased to learn that REM and CCTV are already in place on freezer trawlers operating in Scottish waters. This is exactly the kind of leadership we are calling on the EU to follow, and it demonstrates that compliance is entirely achievable. It also means that, should the EU align with Scotland, operators already meeting Scottish standards will face no additional burden.

We strongly encourage industry to go further and voluntarily roll out CCTV across all vessels and jurisdictions, not just where it is legally required. Doing this would go a long way towards proving its own case and building truly sustainable, legal and ethical fisheries.

EJF looks forward to continued constructive dialogue and welcomes support for the timely implementation of the EU's REM mandate.