Briefing Series “Recommendations to the EU and the UK on the setting of fishing opportunities” – Briefing 9 of 11: Depleted stocks with zero or very low catch advice

This Briefing is part of a joint Briefing Series, co-signed by 29 organisations (including environmental NGOs and recreational representatives), which presents our key recommendations to EU and UK decision-makers regarding the setting of recovery-focused, precautionary and ecosystem-based fishing opportunities. 

Many fish populations caught in EU and UK fisheries are severely depleted, and limited effort has so far been made to effectively promote recovery, while Total Allowable Catches (TACs) continue to exceed scientific advice. This failure to prioritise rebuilding is not only at odds with the EU’s and UK’s shared legally binding objectives regarding stock recovery, ecosystem-based management and Good Environmental Status (GES). It is also perpetuating a vicious cycle in which mixed fisheries are eternally overshadowed by “choke” risks, created and continued by overfishing of depleted stocks in order to avoid short-term quota cuts or closures (also see Briefing 6).  

This Briefing provides recommendations for how EU and UK decision-makers should put stock recovery at the heart of their fisheries decisions to finally escape this dilemma, by: 

Related links: 

Find all Briefings as part of the Briefing Series “Recommendations to the EU and the UK on the setting of fishing opportunities” here. 

Find other files produced or co-signed by ClientEarth related to the annual negotiations on fishing opportunities from 2015 onwards here.