OCEANA: EU fails to ensure sustainable exploitation of fish stocks

Ministers set 35% of catch limits in the Atlantic above sustainable levels

Short-termism aggravates the fishing situation in the Mediterranean

Brussels - The 27 EU fisheries ministers have reached an agreement on fishing opportunities for EU stocks in 2021. Despite the deadline imposed by EU legislation and by commitments with the United Nations to end overfishing in By 2020, the catch limits set by the ministers do not ensure that all fishery resources are exploited sustainably. Some fishing opportunities, especially those in the Mediterranean, far exceed scientific recommendations.

“By exceeding scientific recommendations in 35% of catch limits, ministers clearly set aside the objectives and legal obligations of EU fisheries policy, which requires that all stocks be fished sustainably. Despite all the ambitions of the Green Pact and the background of the environmental emergency, the short term continues to be the driving force behind decisions ”, states Vera Coelho, Senior Director of Policies and Communication at Oceana in Europe

The decisions on fishing opportunities taken by the EU encompass 23 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) in the Northeast Atlantic, as well as fishing effort limits in the Western Mediterranean. Despite the reasonable initial proposals of the European Commission and its attempts to increase transparency, the AGRIFISH Council has not adhered to scientific recommendations in all TACs in the Northeast Atlantic. Many TACs, especially in stocks with limited data, have exceeded the limits recommended by scientists, such as those of southern hake or sole in waters of the Iberian Peninsula, among others.

EU ministers also strongly opposed the European Commission's proposal to reduce the “fishing days” of Mediterranean trawlers by 15% in 2021, ultimately adopting a 7.5% reduction. It is a short-sighted decision that ignores scientific recommendations to apply greater effort reductions, of up to 80% in some cases. A decision that will perpetuate the unenviable title that the Mediterranean holds of being the sea with the most overfishing in the world, in addition to endangering the application of the Multi-Year Plan for demersal fishing in the Western Mediterranean

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In view of the prolonged uncertainty surrounding future relations with the UK, the Council has also set more than 120 provisional TACs for stocks shared with third countries (including the UK and Norway) for EU vessels in EU waters and international These TACs will be provisionally applied from January 1 to March 31, 2021 to ensure the continuity of fishing activity until agreements are reached on these stocks. In case of no agreement, the Council will decide definitive unilateral TACs for 2021. Oceana calls on all parties involved to follow scientific recommendations to prevent an escalation of overfishing between the EU and the UK.

Context information

The IPBES (United Nations) Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services warns that fishing has been the major cause of biodiversity loss in the last 40 years. In the Northeast Atlantic, the overfishing rate has fallen in the last decade from 66% to 40% in the stocks evaluated, while it continues at high levels in the Mediterranean. The transition to a fully sustainable activity needs to be accelerated so that overfishing becomes a memory of the past.

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) marks a clear legal obligation to end overfishing by 2020 and to ensure that all stocks exploited by the EU exceed healthy levels that can generate a Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). The CFP also stipulates that stocks managed through fishing agreements with third countries must be exploited according to similar standards. In 2019, the EU adopted the Multi-Annual Plan for demersal fisheries in the Western Mediterranean [(EU) 2019/1022], which creates a framework to achieve the CFP targets in 2025 and addresses excessive fishing effort.

Due to Brexit, more than 100 catch limits for the most important Atlantic stocks, including deep ones, will be subject to the outcome of negotiations between the EU and the UK: 2021 will be the first year that the UK is absent. subject to EU law.

Related news:

• Friday, December 18, 2020, 08:00 (GMT + 9): Cepesca considers negative the result of the negotiation of TAC and quotas for 2021
• Thursday, December 17, 2020, 20:00 (GMT + 9) : First EU fishing limits post-Brexit miss the mark on sustainability – ClientEarth
• Thursday, December 17, 2020, 19:00 (GMT + 9) : Agreement on fishing opportunities in the Atlantic, North Sea, Mediterranean and Black Sea for 2021

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