Brussels, 10/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - Restoring European stocks of cod, haddock, herring and whiting, all of which have suffered from over-fishing, while at the same time ensuring sustainable exploitation of these stocks could create 83,000 jobs in the EU, claims a study by an British NGO, published on Friday 10 February.
“Restoring 43 stocks to their maximum sustainable yield (MSY) would generate 3.53 million tonnes of additional landings” every year, worth €3.2 billion, €1.8 billion of which would flow to the EU, according to the new economics foundation (nef). This “could support 100,790 new jobs, around 83,000 to the EU27”, nef adds, noting that this would be 31% more than current employment in the EU fishing sector.
Restoring fish stocks to their maximum sustainable yield corresponds to the highest average catch that a fish population is capable of while still sustaining itself. Exceeding that level would mean that more fish were being removed from the stock than could be replaced, so the size of the stock would fall.
The fish worst affected by over-fishing are cod which is losing 970,000 tonnes per year, according to nef figures, haddock (378,000 tonnes/yr), herring (854,000 tonnes/yr) and whiting (834,000 tonnes/yr). Restoration of the 43 stocks studied by this British think tank would be “enough to meet the annual demand of fish for almost 160 million EU citizens”. Restoring fish stocks could increase catch values from these stocks by 81% for the EU27, and more than double for most countries, including the UK (+109%) and Germany (+116%). (LC/transl.rt)