If Total Allowable Catches followed scientific advice, many EU fish catches could more than treble in size including sardine in the Cantabrian Sea, and cod and haddock in the North Sea Brussels, 14 November.- Fish catches in European waters could increase by 57% if fish stocks were exploited sustainably and based on scientific advice, according … Read more
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) finally agreed on a recovery plan for the severely depleted Mediterranean swordfish, which has shrunk by two thirds from the 1980s due to overfishing. The plan includes a modest reduction of catches and the adoption of a quota system, enforced by monitoring and control measures … Read more
Brussels — The European Commission released today its annual proposal on catch limits (TACs) for the North East Atlantic waters in 2017. Oceana considers the Commission’s proposal a step in the right direction but stresses more effort and political will is needed to eradicate overfishing. The proposal covers over 70 fish stocks, including commercially important … Read more
The European Union is now facing an ultimatum on a key fishery in the Mediterranean. Oceana has called on EU countries to stop all swordfish fishing in the Mediterranean unless an immediate recovery plan to rebuild stocks is put in place. Mediterranean swordfish has been reduced to one third of its size in just thirty … Read more
The revision of the EU’s external fishing fleet regulation is a critical opportunity to ensure that all of the EU’s vessels, whether operating within or outside EU waters, are subject to common standards and requirements in line with the Common Fisheries Policy and the EU’s global policies. A proposal for a new regulation governing the … Read more
In advance of the Fisheries Council decision in October on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea, Oceana releases its recommendations for setting total allowable catches (TACs) for 2017, in line with the most recently available scientific advice and aimed at ensuring Baltic fisheries recover from overfishing before 2020. The end of overfishing is necessary not … Read more
The entry into force of the new European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2014 was an historic benchmark as it defines the path towards European Union (EU) stocks recovery mainly through Multiannual Management Plans (MAP). These should be aimed at rebuilding stocks to Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) levels and implementing an ecosystem-based approach to fishing … Read more
Oceana states that EU Commission fishing limits proposal only follows scientific advice when economically convenient whilst ignoring environmental sustainability priorities when it implies short-term sacrifices. Today, the European Commission (EC) has published its annual proposal for fishing limits (“total allowable catches” or TACs) for the Baltic Sea in 2017. The proposal should be based on … Read more
Mediterranean swordfish has been assessed as overfished for the last three decades. The stock has declined steeply since the 1980s, falling to levels that are currently 88% lower than what is considered sustainable. The minimum landing size (90cm) is set much smaller than the age of sexual maturity for the stock (130cm for males, 149cm … Read more
Today, the European Commission has released its figures on the status of fish stocks in the European Union (EU). Following the Commission’s annual report on fishing opportunities, Oceana calls on the EU and its Member States to immediately redouble EU-wide efforts to curb this year’s slowdown in the number of fish stocks that are caught … Read more
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