Joint NGO position: Recovering fish stocks and fully implementing the Landing Obligation – managing fishing mortality to meet CFP objectives

This joint NGO paper developed by ClientEarth, Pew Charitable Trusts, Seas At Risk, Oceana, Fisheries Secretariat, New Economics Foundation and WWF sets out how the landing obligation and the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) objective in Article 2(2) of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) should be implemented to recover fish stocks above sustainable levels, in line with the CFP’s requirements. It contains key recommendations for how the challenges posed by the landing obligation, e.g. potential ‘choke’ issues in mixed fisheries, should be addressed in order to ensure that the CFP’s objectives, including sustainable exploitation, the minimisation of unwanted catches and elimination of wasteful discards, are met. The paper outlines a range of options that have been put forward, and explains how the associated risks should be dealt with and what conditions need to be met, respectively.