European Fisheries Ministers, gathered in Brussels to set fishing limits for fish populations in EU seas for 2022, this morning decided to continue overfishing of over one third of stocks, in disregard for both science and EU law.
Ahead of this week’s EU AGRIFISH Council meeting, several countries – Spain, Portugal and France in particular – proudly stated their intention to go against both scientific advice and EU legislation on fishing limits for EU-only fished stocks, claiming to defend fishing industry interests, despite there being no future for the fishing industry without ending overfishing and achieving healthy fish populations.
As a result, despite efforts from the European Commission to make progress towards ending overfishing, fisheries ministers have today disregarded the maximum fishing limits proposed by scientists for iconic fish stocks such as southern hake, sole or nephrops. This runs counter to warnings from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), which for the first time since 2005 has reported a setback in progress towards ending overfishing in EU waters.
“It is unacceptable that ministers openly advocate for ignoring the advice given by scientists and instead choose to respond to industry lobbyists”, says Andrea Ripol, Fisheries Policy Officer of Seas At Risk. “Ministers have this morning decided to continue overfishing, claiming that this was necessary for socio-economic reasons. But what they are failing to grasp is that ending overfishing and ensuring abundant fish populations is in the interest of fishers, and theses narrow-minded decisions will only jeopardise the health of our ocean, our planetary support system, and with it, the fishing industry and communities they are claiming to protect” she added.
“It’s shocking that EU fisheries ministers remain so dysfunctional and out of touch with the concerns of European citizens, that they continue overfishing as if they will not be held responsible for fulfilling their legal obligations, or for the repercussions of worsening the ecological and climate crisis”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Program Director for Our Fish. “EU leaders must hold their fisheries ministers to account for the laws and pledges they’ve signed up to, both internationally and at home, including ending overfishing.”
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