Press release: 24 November 2020

Media reaction: Fisheries Act fails to deliver UK environmental leadership

UK Environment Lawyer Sarah Denman:

"The UK Government championed the Fisheries Act as the key piece of Brexit legislation to ensure world-leading sustainable fisheries management. But it fails to deliver on this promise.

“Without a legal requirement for fishing at sustainable levels in line with scientific advice, there is no way to ensure the health of our oceans and prevent overfishing. And by failing to make sustainability the key objective of the Act, the Government missed the opportunity to support both marine life and the coastal communities that depend on it.

“It’s now critical that future fisheries policy prioritises sustainability and marine protection if the UK has any hope of delivering on its ‘world leading’ environmental promises.”

ENDS

About ClientEarth

ClientEarth is a charity that uses the power of the law to protect people and the planet. We are international lawyers finding practical solutions for the world’s biggest environmental challenges. We are fighting climate change, protecting oceans and wildlife, making forest governance stronger, greening energy, making business more responsible and pushing for government transparency. We believe the law is a tool for positive change. From our offices in London, Brussels, Warsaw, Berlin and Beijing, we work on laws throughout their lifetime, from the earliest stages to implementation. And when those laws are broken, we go to court to enforce them.