Worrying signals from Europe on maintaining sustainable fish stocks: in recent days the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs released this statement. It supports the Commission’s decision to abandon plans to limit fishing in areas where there is currently inadequate data about fish stocks. The plans would have seen an automatic cut in total allowable catches (or TACs) in such areas.  TACs are the the limits on the amount of fish that can be taken from any particular fish stock, and the cancelled plans would have applied across the board - offering vital protection for stocks about which too little is known to confidently fish sustainably.

photo: ALBOWIEB

Good access-to-information news! This year we helped NGO TransparentSea in an access to documents case regarding EU Fisheries Partnership Agreements (FPAs) with third party states. We requested access to all the reports held that provide evaluations and audits of EU fisheries agreements with non-EU countries.  TransparentSea had originally been refused access on the grounds that the documents are confidential to protect commercial interests of the European fishing fleet and preserve the international relations of the EU.