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Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR)

Fishing quotas set too high as EU ministers largely ignore science

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Fish-Market-in-Nouadhibou-Harbour,-Mauritania,-West-Africa.-Credit-Marco-Care_Marine-PhotobankOpinion by ClientEarth

Last night's meeting (15 December) leaves overfishing as a serious threat to oceans and industry, as EU ministers set quotas which disregard fisheries law and sound science.  These annual limits dictate how many fish can be caught in the North East Atlantic and North Sea, which supply 70% of fish caught in the EU. 

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) legally requires fishing to be sustainable by 2020. For some stocks in some areas, including herring and anchovy, ministers followed scientific advice to set catch limits that will help tackle overfishing. However, in some cases – including for cod and haddock – they defied it. Preliminary analysis suggests Council set quotas higher than advised for 34 stocks. See the Council’s catch quotas and press release.

ClientEarth scientist Liane Veitch said:“The 2016 catch limits do not go far enough toprotect fish populations. Some quotas continue to allow severe overfishing, threatening the sustainability of the stock and the industry that relies on it.  “For other stocks, the Council has started to follow scientific advice and EU fisheries law.We need to see more of this ambition from ministers to safeguard the future of EU fishing, and to avoid sharp shocks for fishermen and consumers as we approach 2020.”

The CFP requires immediate action to make fishing more sustainable and 2020 is the legal deadline for fishing to be fully sustainable, with no exceptions. If ministers continue to ignore scientific advice, quotas will have to be cut drastically in next few years. It will be much more painful than gradual moves towards sustainable fishing, which is what the law is designed to do.  With four years to meet the deadline, there is no time to waste. We must follow the science to set sustainable fishing limits and stick to them.

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