Today is a final opportunity for MPs to prove that the UK can truly set a ‘gold standard’ for sustainable fisheries – protecting the UK’s valuable fish stocks for generations to come, according to the world’s largest ocean conservation organisation, Oceana. Ending overfishing is critical to securing the future livelihoods of those working in the … Read more
Blue Manifesto: A rescue plan that works In January 2020, over 100 organisations, led by the ‘Blue NGOs’ —BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, Oceana, Seas At Risk, Surfrider Foundation Europe, and WWF— launched the Blue Manifesto, a rescue plan outlining specific actions to protect our oceans and coastlines. Each year since, the six NGOs have tracked the … Read more
2020 is a unique year and one where the UK Government needs to show leadership as we enter a new era of independent fisheries management outside the European Union. In this context we – ClientEarth, Marine Conservation Society and Oceana – wish to present our recommendations on the setting of Northeast Atlantic fishing opportunities for … Read more
As a new round of negotiations between the UK and the EU begins this week, Oceana draws attention to the urgent need for a successful conclusion of the talks when it comes to fisheries. Due to the shared nature of ecosystems and fish populations, a deal on fisheries is essential not only to settle issues … Read more
Responding to the publication of the European Commission’s proposal for Baltic Sea fishing limits for 2021, NGOs today called on EU Baltic state governments to adopt most of the Commission’s proposed measures – and to go a step further by putting a stop to overfishing of Baltic herring [1]. NGOs WWF, Oceana, Seas At Risk, … Read more
Many important catch limits for 2021 need to be agreed between the EU and third countries such as Norway, or through the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) coastal states process. Moreover, as things currently stand, next year some of the richest fishing grounds that have until now been managed under the EU’s CFP, will instead be under the sovereignty of the UK because they fall within that nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). A new joint management framework will be required for around 100 stocks shared by the UK and the EU. In the 2013 reform of the CFP, EU member states – including the UK at the time – committed to ending overfishing by 2015 where possible and 2020 at the latest. More recently, the EU has bolstered its wider environmental commitments with the publication of its Green Deal for Europe. Meanwhile, the UK government has said it wants to become a “world leader” in fisheries management following its departure from the EU. Commitments to sustainable fishing have also been made by all parties through the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 14 on ‘life below water’. The EU, the UK and the other coastal states … Read more
Fisheries ministers and the European Commission failed to achieve the objective of ending overfishing in the Northeast Atlantic region, as per the 2020 deadline outlined in Article 2.2 of the CFP. In 2020, when the transition period and legal deadline to end overfishing concluded, 46 percent of Northeast Atlantic TACs were still set exceeding scientific advice by fisheries ministers in December 2019. Even in the Commission’s TAC proposal that set the basis for these decisions, almost half of the proposed TACs exceeded scientific advice. In addition to failing to meet the CFP’s own legal deadline for achieving sustainable fisheries, these TAC decisions do … Read more
On behalf of The Pew Charitable Trusts, Oceana, ClientEarth, Seas At Risk, FishSec and Our Fish, we present our response to the 2020 European Commission’s consultation on the progress of management of fish stocks in the EU. This year is unlike any other and the fishing industry has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. … Read more
The Fisheries Bill returns to the House of Lords on 22 June, and the UK government is still refusing to amend it to require sustainable fishing. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) namely refuses to include a legal duty in the bill to exploit fish populations in line with the best internationally … Read more
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We have already protected nearly 4 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life - but there is still more to be done.
Oceana in Europe gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.
