Ministers set 35% of Atlantic fishing limits above sustainable levels Mediterranean fisheries further jeopardized by short-termism Today the 27 EU fisheries ministers reached an agreement on fishing opportunities for EU fish stocks in 2021. Despite deadlines in EU law and United Nations’ commitments to end overfishing by 2020, ministers failed to set fishing limits that … Read more
Italy is worst-performing Member State, allowing bottom fishing to occur over sensitive habitats and in “protected” areas Extending the current trawl ban to within 10 nm of the coast or 150 m depth would protect almost the totality of sensitive habitats under the Mediterranean Regulation Following the release of the European Court of Auditors’ marine … Read more
Some Member States are considering increasing annual quota flexibility from current 10% to 25% as a COVID-19 crisis response. In this short paper, we explain why this approach is risky from legal, environmental and economic point of view and call on the Member States and the European Commission to oppose any such attempts. Alternative measures … Read more
Oceana regrets that the Fisheries Bill, which has today received Royal Assent making it the Fisheries Act, fails to include a legal duty to fish sustainably, below Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), for all stocks. The Fisheries Bill originally offered hope of a new gold standard for fisheries management in the UK, which could have served … Read more
The future of fish looks bleak in Europe. Nearly nine months since the official Brexit and after multiple rounds of fisheries negotiations, the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) are racing against the clock to conclude a fisheries agreement. The problem? The UK is gambling with the long-term health and abundance of the … Read more
The Fisheries Bill concluded in Parliament today (Thursday 12th November) as hopes flounder for the UK to lead the way in sustainable fishing. The Fisheries Bill includes scant legal commitment to fish sustainably, despite having been much lauded by Ministers as the UK’s chance to showcase “gold standard” fisheries management as an independent coastal state … Read more
This factsheet is also available in French and Spanish.
Today the European Commission published its proposal on 2021 fishing opportunities for over 23 stocks in the Atlantic and the North Sea. The proposal covers catch limits for stocks present exclusively in EU waters. While all the proposed catch limits for the fully assessed stocks are in line with the best available scientific advice, around … Read more
Responding to the European Commission’s proposal for deep sea fishing limits for 2021-2022, published today [1], NGOs welcome the positive steps towards following scientific advice. However, the proposal does not go far enough to ensure protection and allow the recovery of these very sensitive and unique species, some of which are the most vulnerable known … Read more
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