2017 begins under a busy schedule for the newly appointed Maltese presidency of the Council of the European Union. For the next six months, the smallest member of the European Union, in the heart of the Mediterranean, is undertaking an ambitious leadership for the first time.
Early this morning, EU fisheries ministers agreed on new fishing limits for the North-East Atlantic Ocean. Oceana is disappointed that, once again, ministers have ignored scientific advice for key commercial fish stocks.
For the first time ever, we know the full potential of fish recovery in Europe and its good news!
If we manage fish sustainably, fish catches can increase by 57% or 5 million tonnes. That’s a lot of fish currently missing from our seas.
The AGRI-FISH Council of the EU is gathering in Brussels on December 12th-13th to decide on annual catch limits (TACs) for the main commercial fish stocks in the Atlantic and the North Sea for 2017. Oceana recently released the most comprehensive study of EU fisheries ever and the case for recovering fish stocks is stronger than ever.
Yesterday we received very good news – the OSPAR expert group on species and habitats agreed to consider protecting Haploops communities! Side note: OSPAR is the international Commission in charge of protecting the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic, and Haploops are tiny crustaceans that live in tubes that they themselves build on muddy sea-beds.
